How to download a Facebook Live video

While it’s live: wait

During a broadcast Facebook streams short segments; there is no complete file yet. Once the host ends the stream, Facebook processes the replay (usually within minutes, sometimes longer for multi-hour streams). FB Media Tools tells you if a video is still live.

Find the replay link

• On the Page or profile, open Videos or Live and click the past broadcast.
• Copy the address bar or use Share → Copy link. Links like /videos/… and /watch/?v=… both work.

Quality and size

In our test of a 2 h 27 min NASA live replay, Facebook offered H.264 1080p at ~1.5 Mbps with ~65 kbps audio, roughly 1.7 GB for the full broadcast at 1080p, or about 0.7 GB at 720p.

Tips for long streams

• On phones, choose HD (direct file) for streams over ~30 minutes. It goes straight to your Downloads without being held in memory.
• Only need the talk? Choose MP3: a two-hour stream is around 170 MB at 192 kbps.
• Need one segment? Download, then use Edit → Trim to cut it without re-encoding.