How to download Instagram Reels in Chrome

Joseph Hu

Joseph HuLast reviewed September 14, 2026

Quick answer

Install FastReel for Reels alone, or Media Downloader for Instagram if you also save Stories and photos. Both add a download button on the Reel itself.

Cover illustration for How to download Instagram Reels in Chrome

Instagram has no download button for Reels. Its Save option keeps a Reel in your collection but not on your disk, and the share menu only copies a link. The two Instagram downloaders with the most search traffic this year, Exta and ESUIT, both left the Chrome Web Store in June 2026, so most guides on this subject now point at extensions that cannot be installed. The four below are listed as of September 2026, and the page says when each was last updated, because that is what predicts whether it still works next month.

Record the Reel with your computer's screen recorder

Without an extension, the only built-in route is to play the Reel in a browser tab and record the screen. It works for one clip you need today, and it is the wrong tool for anything more, because you get a screen recording rather than the original file.

  1. 1Open the Reel on instagram.com and make it as large as the page allows, then mute notifications so nothing pops over it.
  2. 2Start the built-in recorder (Shift+Command+5 on macOS, Windows+G then Record on Windows) and select the Reel's area.
  3. 3Play the Reel from the start, let it finish, then stop the recording.
  4. 4Trim the beginning and end in the system video viewer and save the file.

A recording is lower quality than the source, includes the interface around the Reel, and takes as long as the Reel itself. An extension saves the original MP4 in one click, and the good ones do it from the Reel page.

On this page

Share this guide

Save single Reels, and the sound in them

If Reels are all you download, a Reels-only extension has fewer Instagram pages to keep up with, and one of them also saves the audio track on its own, which no all-in-one downloader here offers.

FastReel

FastReel does one job: a download button on Reels and videos that saves the original file, with a separate option to save the audio. Because it only touches the Reel page, an Instagram redesign of Stories or profiles does not break it.

FastReel icon
FastReel Healthy & maintained
Users
40K
Rating
4.6★
Reviews
728
Featured
Chrome Web Store

The listing describes a download button on Reels and videos that saves the file at its original quality, and an option to extract the audio track. It works on public profiles from the browser, without an account.

  • Saves Instagram Reels and videos at their original quality.
  • Extracts and downloads the audio track from any Reel.
  • Works from the Reel itself, with no separate website.

Trade-offs

  • Reels and videos only; photos, Stories and Highlights are not covered.
  • Last updated 10 April 2026, the oldest update on this page.
  • Public profiles only.

IMDownloader

IMDownloader puts a download button on the Reel, the post and the Story, adds a right-click menu item, and has more users than any other option on this page. It is the choice when you want the button back and nothing else.

IMDownloader icon
IMDownloader Healthy & maintained
Users
30K
Rating
4.4★
Reviews
157
Featured Established publisher
Chrome Web Store

The listing describes a download button under posts on the home feed, in the top-right corner of a Story or Highlight, on hover in a profile grid, under the comments on a post page and beside a Reel, plus a right-click "Download" menu item on any image or video.

  • Downloads original-resolution Reels, videos, images, Stories and Highlights.
  • A download button in every place you would look for one, plus a right-click menu.
  • No account, no limits, no settings to learn.

Trade-offs

  • Multi-image posts download as a complete set.
  • No bulk or whole-profile download.
  • The listing is offered in one language.

Download Reels, Stories and photos with one extension

If Reels are one of several things you save, pick the downloader that covers Stories, Highlights and photos too, and was updated this month.

Media Downloader for Instagram

Media Downloader for Instagram covers every media type and adds a profile Download All with pause and resume, folders and file naming. It was updated on 9 September 2026, which matters in a category that breaks with every Instagram change.

Media Downloader for Instagram icon
Media Downloader for Instagram Healthy & maintained
Users
20K
Rating
4.8★
Reviews
222
Chrome Web Store

The listing describes a download button that appears when you hover a post, Story or Reel, a Download All action on profile pages with pause and resume, and up to three levels of folders named by account, date and media type. It works without an Instagram login and adds no watermark.

  • Downloads Reels, Stories, Highlights, photos and videos from the feed, profiles and Explore.
  • Profile Download All with pause and resume for large backups.
  • Folder and file naming rules by account, date and media type.

Trade-offs

  • Download All is the feature reviewers report failing, so try it on a small profile first.
  • Stories from private accounts you do not follow cannot be downloaded.
  • The folder and naming options are more than a casual user needs.

Download many Reels at once from a list

If you already have the links, for example in a spreadsheet of posts to archive, a bulk extension takes the list and downloads every Reel in it.

Reels Extractor

Reels Extractor is built for one thing: hand it a CSV file of Reel URLs and it downloads each video at full quality into your downloads folder.

The listing describes a CSV upload, automatic processing of every URL in the file, downloads at the highest available quality, and no data collection. It is intended for personal use.

  • Bulk downloads Instagram Reels from a CSV file of links.
  • Saves the highest-quality version of each Reel to your downloads folder.
  • Collects no data, according to the listing.

Trade-offs

  • Reels only; it does not download photos, Stories or profiles.
  • You need the links first, so it does not replace an in-page button.
  • About a thousand users and version 0.1.3, so a short track record.

Compare the solutions

Need

One Reel, now

Recommendation
FastReel
Why
A download button on the Reel itself, plus a second option that saves only the audio.
Keep in mind
Reels and videos only; last updated in April 2026.

Need

Reels plus Stories and photos

Recommendation
Media Downloader for Instagram
Why
One button for every media type, a profile Download All with pause and resume, updated 9 September 2026.
Keep in mind
Download All fails for some reviewers; Stories from accounts you do not follow are out of reach.

Need

A plain button, nothing to set up

Recommendation
IMDownloader
Why
A download button in five places on Instagram and a right-click menu item; 30,000 users.
Keep in mind
Multi-image posts download as a set; no bulk mode.

Need

A list of Reel links

Recommendation
Reels Extractor
Why
Upload a CSV of Reel URLs and it downloads each one at full quality.
Keep in mind
Reels only, about a thousand users, no reviews in the last 90 days.

Store data comes from a daily crawl of the Chrome Web Store; rating trends are computed from the public review history. Recommendations are editorial judgements, last reviewed on , with store figures from .

Methodology

Sources & verification

Product details and availability are checked against the linked official websites and Chrome Web Store listings. These sources support factual product information; the recommendation itself is an editorial judgement.

Did this answer your question?

Other things people ask