How to Download Niconico Videos on PC
Updated 2026-09-20
Niconico has no download option outside its own app, and a great deal of what is on it exists nowhere else. Two things decide whether a link works: which id prefix it has, and where you are in the world.
- 1Copy the video link
From the address bar on nicovideo.jp. The Share button's short nico.ms link works too.
- 2Paste it into VoomReel
Open the home page in another tab and paste the link into the box.
- 3Download
Click Download. You get one .mp4 with the picture and sound already joined.
sm, nm and so are not interchangeable
Niconico ids carry a prefix, and it tells you what kind of upload you are looking at. sm and nm are ordinary user uploads. so is usually a channel or official upload.
That distinction matters more than it sounds: so videos are the ones most often locked to Japan or placed behind a membership. If a Niconico link fails, the prefix is the first thing to check.
Japan-only is the usual reason
Niconico serves a large share of its channel and official uploads to Japan alone. Open one from elsewhere and Niconico itself refuses it, in your own browser, signed in or not — it is not a tool problem and there is no public copy to fetch.
VoomReel names that reason specifically rather than telling you the link might be wrong, because sending someone off to re-copy a correct link is worse than saying nothing.
Sound is stored separately, which is where downloads usually go wrong
Niconico serves picture and audio as two streams. Take only the one the address points at and you get a video that plays perfectly and is completely silent, which is exactly what some tools produce.
Both have to be fetched and joined into one file. That step is the difference between a usable download and a silent one.
The comments are not in the video
Niconico's scrolling danmaku comments are drawn by its player in real time over the top of the video. The file underneath is clean, so a download plays without them.
No tool can change that — there is no version of the file with the comments burned in. If the comments are the point, the video has to be watched on Niconico.
Expect the archive to look its age
Niconico has been running since 2006 and much of its catalogue was uploaded when 360p or 480p was normal. The site's single most famous video is 320x240, and that is genuinely all there is of it.
Nothing can add detail that was never uploaded, and a tool promising 4K Niconico downloads is describing something that does not exist.
FAQ
Do I need a Niconico account?
No, and that is the limit: only videos that play for a signed-out visitor. Channel and premium uploads cannot be fetched.
What is the difference between sm and so ids?
sm and nm are ordinary user uploads; so is usually a channel or official one, and those are most often Japan-only or behind a membership.
Why does it say the video is only available in Japan?
Because it is. Niconico geo-locks much of its official catalogue, and it refuses those videos in your own browser too.
Will the comments be in the file?
No. Danmaku is drawn by the player over the video, not stored in it.
Why is my Niconico download silent elsewhere?
Because Niconico stores picture and sound separately and most tools take only the first. Both are fetched and merged here.
Does a nico.ms link work?
Yes, the Share button's short link is resolved automatically.
What quality will I get?
Whatever was uploaded, up to 1080p — but a lot of the archive is 360p or 480p and always was.