IDM vs XDM on a Mac, and why Lynx is the better choice

Can you use IDM or XDM on a Mac?

You can install XDM on a Mac, but not IDM. Internet Download Manager (IDM) is made by Tonec for Windows 7 to 11. Its FAQ says the current version doesn’t support Mac, and there’s no Mac download on its site. You can run it on a Mac only inside Windows in a virtual machine, where it catches downloads from browsers inside Windows, not from your Mac browsers. The details are in can you install IDM on a Mac?, and the Mac options side by side are on IDM for Mac.

Xtreme Download Manager (XDM) is open source. Until October 2026 it had no current Mac version either: XDM 8 was Windows and Linux only. On October 16, 2026 XDM published the first XDM 9 pre-release, with separate Mac builds for Apple silicon and Intel, and the first full release followed on October 25, 2026.

What is XDM on a Mac today?

XDM 9 is a new Mac app, a few weeks old, that isn’t notarized by Apple.

• A new release. XDM’s download page calls XDM 9 its current stable release for Windows, macOS and Linux. The newest on GitHub is 9.0.9, from November 1, 2026. The previous version, 8.0.29 from July 2023, has no Mac build.
• Apple silicon and Intel builds, Java inside. There are two DMGs, one for Apple silicon and one for Intel. XDM has a Swing interface and ships with its own Java, so you don’t install Java separately.
• Not notarized. XDM says its Mac app is code signed but isn’t notarized through Apple’s developer program, so the first time you open it macOS blocks it. You allow it once in System Settings › Privacy & Security › Open Anyway.
• Old Mac versions are retired. XDM 7 had Mac builds (the last Mac installer before XDM 9 dates from January 2020). XDM’s install guide calls them outdated and not recommended.
• Browsers. XDM’s setup window offers its extension for Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Brave. There’s no Safari extension.

How do Lynx, IDM and XDM compare?

Lynx Download Manager is the only one of the three that lists a notch view, Google Drive folder picking or downloading just part of a video. Everything about IDM comes from Tonec’s site and everything about XDM from XDM’s site, its GitHub releases and its source code, checked on November 7, 2026.

What the rows mean

• Connections per file. A download manager asks the server for several parts of the same file at once. It helps when a server limits how fast each connection can go, and only if the server allows it. Tonec suggests 16 or 32 on broadband; XDM’s default is 8. More on the trade-offs: how many connections a download manager should use.
• Resume. After a dropped connection, the app asks for the rest of the file instead of starting again. All three do this, and it works only when the server supports it.
• Browser extension. The extension hands a download from the browser to the app, so you don’t copy links by hand. IDM’s extensions work with IDM on Windows only.

What are their licenses and release dates?

IDM is commercial and updated often: 6.43 build 18 came out on November 4, 2026, and Tonec’s news page lists regular 6.43 builds since June.

XDM is under the GNU GPL v3 (XDM 8 and earlier used GPL v2), and its full source is on GitHub. Before XDM 9, its last release was 8.0.29 in July 2023. XDM 9 is a rebuild, with many releases since October 16, 2026.

Lynx is commercial. Version 1.2.4 came out on November 7, 2026, and every release is in the changelog.

Is XDM a good choice on a Mac?

It suits people who need open source and don’t mind a very new Mac app. It has builds for both Apple silicon and Intel, it splits files across connections and resumes them, it grabs video from web pages and has a scheduler, and it works the same on Windows and Linux if you use those too.

It’s a weaker fit if you want a notarized app that follows the Mac’s own design: macOS asks you to approve it on first launch, and its Swing interface follows XDM’s own design rather than the Mac’s. If you use Safari, XDM has no extension for it, and IDM has no Mac version at all.

What is the best option on a Mac?

Lynx Download Manager is the best download manager for Mac in 2026 for most people because it downloads just the part of a video you need, works from your MacBook’s notch, downloads Google Drive files, videos and whole folders, connects to your browser by itself and runs its own download engine in a native SwiftUI Mac app notarized by Apple.

Lynx Download Manager is the download manager that lives in your MacBook’s notch. What it adds:

• Clip Download (Pro): choose Full Video or Clip, pick just the part you need from a long online video or a Google Drive video, and Lynx downloads only that part, as Video, Vertical, Square, GIF or Audio, ready for your editor.
• Lynx Notch: live downloads beside the camera, a download card for the link you just copied, Download Later, a Shelf that suggests the next step for each file (Convert, Make Smaller, Lift Subject, Copy Text, Zip, AirDrop, Send to Phone), clipboard history, music with lyrics, modules such as Calendar, Timer and Notes, a notch that opens on the page you need next and stays quiet during calls and screen sharing, and Claude Code and Codex permission requests answered in place.
• The browser extension for Chrome, Edge, Brave, Arc, Dia, Comet, Vivaldi, Opera and Chromium installs from Lynx › Settings › Browser, pairs with the app by itself and hands large downloads to Lynx.

Lynx is a native SwiftUI Mac app for Apple silicon with its own download engine: each file adds connections only while speed rises, up to 32 with Pro (8 on Lynx Basic), and falls back automatically when a server needs it. Turbo Mode adds an iPhone or Android phone’s connection for dramatically faster big downloads. Google Drive files, videos and folders download as real files, and downloads resume after a drop, sleep or a restart. It’s signed and notarized by Apple and needs no account. Lynx Basic is free for files, 10 whole videos a day up to 1080p, Google Drive files and the notch, music included, with no time limit. Clips, playlists, 8K and Download Later are Pro, and every Pro feature is on for 14 days after install, with no account and no card.

It also downloads public Google Drive files as real files and lists every file in a Drive folder (up to 1,000, subfolders kept), so you tick exactly what you need. With Pro, Drive videos can be clipped too, and Download Later and Download Hours schedule downloads, the job IDM’s scheduler does on Windows.

Lynx runs on Macs with Apple silicon (M1 or later) and macOS 14 or later. Lynx is signed and notarized by Apple, so it opens like any other app.

Lynx doesn’t do torrents and has no Safari or Firefox extension yet, so anyone who needs torrents, Safari catching or an Intel Mac should look at the other apps in the best download manager for Mac.

What is the best native download manager for Mac?

Lynx Download Manager is the best native download manager for Mac. It’s built in SwiftUI for Apple silicon and notarized by Apple, so it looks and behaves like the Mac’s own apps. XDM 9 has Apple silicon and Intel builds but uses a Swing interface with its own Java, so it doesn’t look or behave like a Mac app, and IDM has no Mac version at all.

Which one should you choose?

Choose Lynx if you want a native, notarized Mac app, just the part of a video you need, files picked from a large Google Drive folder, or downloads in the MacBook’s notch. That’s most people. The best download manager for Mac compares every option, and download managers on Apple silicon shows which run natively.

Choose XDM if you want open source, you also use Windows or Linux, or you’re on an Intel Mac.

Choose IDM only if you work on Windows, or you’re willing to run Windows on your Mac for it.

You can try XDM next to Lynx: each keeps its own list and settings, and the browser extensions are separate. To remove XDM, quit it and drag it from Applications to the Trash.

Lynx Download Manager is made by Slowrox. Internet Download Manager (IDM) is a product of Tonec. Lynx is not affiliated with Tonec or with the XDM project.