How to Download Niconico Videos
Updated 2026-09-19
Niconico has no download button outside its own app, and a lot of what is on it exists nowhere else. You can save a public video straight from your browser instead — here is how, and what the file will and will not contain.
- 1Copy the video link
Open the video on nicovideo.jp and copy the address. The Share button gives you a short nico.ms link instead, and that works too.
- 2Paste it into VoomReel
Open the VoomReel home page and paste the link into the box.
- 3Download
Tap Download. You get a single MP4 with the picture and sound already together.
The comments do not come with the video
This is the thing most people are surprised by, so it is worth saying first. Niconico's scrolling danmaku comments are not part of the video file. They are drawn by Niconico's own player, in real time, over the top of it — the file underneath is clean.
So a downloaded video plays without them. That is not something a downloader can change: there is no version of the file with the comments burned in to fetch. If the comments are the point for you, the video has to be watched on Niconico.
Why sound is the part that usually goes wrong
Niconico serves the picture and the audio as two separate streams. Grab only the one the address points at and you get a video that plays perfectly and is completely silent — which is why some tools produce exactly that.
Both have to be fetched and joined into one file. VoomReel does that step for you, which is the whole difference between a usable download and a silent one.
What quality to expect
Whatever the uploader provided, up to 1080p. Niconico has been running since 2006 and a great deal of its archive was uploaded when 360p or 480p was normal, so plenty of older videos simply have no higher version to get.
No downloader can add detail that was never uploaded. A tool promising 4K Niconico downloads is describing something that does not exist.
What will not download
Region-locked videos are the big one, and they catch people out. Niconico serves a lot of its channel and official uploads — the ones whose ids start with so — to Japan only. Open one from Europe and Niconico itself says “You cannot watch this from your region or country”, in your own browser, logged in or not. There is no public copy for any tool to fetch.
Channel videos, premium-only uploads and anything needing a paid account require being logged in to view at all. VoomReel never signs in, so it sees exactly what an anonymous visitor sees.
Deleted videos are gone for the same reason.
Is it legal to download a Niconico video?
Saving something for your own offline viewing is ordinarily fine. Re-uploading it, or presenting someone else's work as your own, is not — the rights belong to whoever made it, and Niconico's terms say so too.
If you intend to publish it anywhere, ask the uploader. That is a rule about the video, not about the tool.
FAQ
Is downloading Niconico videos free?
Yes. No account, no sign-up and no limit on how many you save.
Do I need a Niconico account?
No, and that is also the limit: only videos that play for a logged-out visitor can be downloaded.
Will the comments be in the file?
No. Danmaku comments are drawn by Niconico's player over the video, not stored in it, so the file is always clean.
Why is my downloaded Niconico video silent elsewhere?
Because Niconico stores picture and sound separately and most tools take only the first. VoomReel merges both.
Does a nico.ms link work?
Yes — the Share button's short link is resolved automatically.
Can I download channel or premium videos?
No. Those require a logged-in account, which VoomReel never uses — and many so… ids are also locked to Japan, so they will not play for you outside it either.
Does it work on iPhone?
Yes, in Safari or any browser. Tap Share, then Save to Files.