Getting your files out
How to download original files from Vimeo.
Three routes, and a check that tells you which version you got.
Vimeo hands back a source file, a re-encode or nothing, depending on the plan, one checkbox and whether the subscription ever lapsed. Three ways out, what each needs, and how to check the file against the master you kept.
Video hosting for filmmakers · 5 GB free · Paid plans from USD 9/month
By uncompressed.io · Updated September 2026
Before you start
Vimeo may not have your original.
Here is why.
The download list shows a 1080p file where a 4K master went in. That is not a bug. Vimeo keeps the file you uploaded only when a paid plan asked it to, and only while that plan is paid.
The setting is Keep source video files: paid plans only, unchecked until you check it, and checking it does not restore a file already removed. It holds only while you pay: if the subscription ends or the setting is turned off, the source files “may be deleted and may not be recoverable.” On Free and Basic the source file is permanently deleted by default, and API uploads from before September 2016 have no downloadable source at all.
One legacy number remains: a paid membership that lapses to Basic loses its source files after 60 days, unrecoverably. Basic is no longer sold and Vimeo publishes no window for Free, so treat the lapse itself as the deadline, and read how to cancel Vimeo without losing videos before touching the subscription.
If the plan has already ended, the library is restricted, not deleted: everything above the 1 GB Free cap, most recent uploads first, cannot be played, edited or downloaded. A deleted video can be recovered for 30 days; deleting a restricted video is permanent.
Route 1
From the video page,
one film at a time.
No code, no third party. It works on any paid plan, one video at a time, and Vimeo has no bulk download from the library.
Sign in as the owner
Vimeo requires a log-in to download a source file, even from a Public video, so a colleague with the link cannot pull it for you.
Share, then Download
On the video page, open Share, then Download. Vimeo lists the versions your account can currently download; a missing source option does not prove why it is unavailable.
Choose the version
Take the source file when it is offered. Otherwise, inspect the available versions and compare them with the master you kept; file size alone does not identify an original.
Repeat per video
There is no bulk download, on any plan. A hundred films is a hundred visits, so work from a list, newest first.
Downloading is a paid-plan feature, so on a lapsed account the order is: renew if you must, download everything, then cancel. The pre-cancel checklist is in Vimeo export before canceling.
Route 2
Through the API,
with a script and a 24-hour clock.
Direct file links let a script retrieve available files without opening each video page. Access depends on your Vimeo plan and token permissions; transfer time depends on file size and network conditions.
Check the plan
API downloads need a Standard, Advanced, Pro, Business, Premium or Enterprise plan. Starter and Free do not expose them, whatever token you hold.
Get the scopes
Use a bearer token with the public, private and video_files scopes. The download field is only returned to a token with the private scope.
Read the download field
Request each video with the download field. Prefer a usable entry explicitly marked source. Known hd/sd entries are renditions; missing or unfamiliar labels leave the source unconfirmed. Do not infer original status from file size.
Fetch within 24 hours
Download links expire 24 hours after they are issued. Fetch right after the request, and re-request any video whose transfer runs past the window.
The download field supplies expiring file links. When a link expires, request a fresh link for the same selected file. Use the explicit source label to identify an original; an absent or unfamiliar quality label should remain unconfirmed. Selecting only by size can choose a rendition even when a usable source is present.
Route 3
The importer here,
server to server.
Connect Vimeo once, the library appears, and the files move server to server, never through your connection, never re-encoded. It uses the same API route a script would, so it inherits the same plan gate.
Connect Vimeo once
Sign in to Vimeo from the import page. Your library lists itself, ready to select.
Select all, or tick films
Choose files that fit your available storage. The video bytes move directly from Vimeo, without downloading and re-uploading through your computer. Keep the import tab open.
Source first, clearly labelled
A usable file explicitly identified by Vimeo as the source is selected first. Otherwise, the importer selects the largest available file and labels it as a Vimeo rendition or an unconfirmed source. A paid plan alone does not guarantee that Vimeo retained the original.
Small in one pass, large in pieces
Keep the import tab open while it runs. Files above the 3 GB one-pass threshold use chunks; completed chunks can resume while the same selected Vimeo file remains available. A changed or missing file, or an older unfinished job, can require a restart.
Starter and Free: download from Vimeo's page instead
On Starter, then, the video page is the route. On Standard or above, the importer is the direct route for available files, with source originals only when Vimeo retained and exposes them. Leaving Vimeo covers the order of operations; moving Vimeo videos without re-uploading covers the transfer.
Side by side
Three routes,
one table.
Vimeo prices in US dollars from vimeo.com/upgrade-plan; plan gates, link lifetimes and the bulk rule from Vimeo's help center and API reference, all fetched 2 September 2026.
Check what you got
Source file or re-encode?
Resolution, frame rate, size.
A download named after your film says nothing about what is inside it. Three things do, read against your export.
Check Vimeo’s explicit source label first. Compare codec, resolution, frame rate and size with your saved export. A ProRes file is consistent with a retained editing master, but its codec alone does not prove that it is the same file.
A changed frame rate or resolution tells you the downloaded file differs from your export. Matching those properties does not prove identity: a rendition can retain both.
Size divided by duration estimates average bitrate and can expose a much smaller rendition. It is not proof of an original. Use a full-file checksum against your local master when you need to confirm an exact copy.
Maximum transcode bitrates and upload guidance from Vimeo's help center, fetched 2 September 2026. Vimeo states the listed bitrates are a maximum and that it generally transcodes to 30 fps unless otherwise noted.
Take a ten-minute 4K film exported at 50 Mbps, inside Vimeo’s own 30 to 60 Mbps guidance: about 3.75 GB. The same film as a Vimeo H.264 re-encode is at most 1.65 GB, because 22 Mbps for 4K H.264 is a ceiling. A much smaller download warrants checking the selected version. A similar size does not establish that it is the same file. The division lives in the bitrate calculator, the reasoning in video bitrate explained, and the same check applies to whatever the importer brought in.
Vimeo prices depend on the selected billing term and team seats. Check current Vimeo pricing and allowances before choosing or changing a subscription.
Questions
Frequently asked
Does Vimeo keep the original file I uploaded?
Only on a paid plan with Keep source video files checked, and only while the plan stays paid. The setting is off by default, checking it does not restore files already removed, and a lapsed subscription can delete them beyond recovery. On Free and Basic the default is permanent deletion.
Can I download all my Vimeo videos at once?
Not from Vimeo's site: there is no bulk download from the library, on any plan. To move a whole library, script the API on Standard or above, or use the importer here: one sign-in lists the library and selected films move server to server.
How do I know whether I got the original or a re-encode?
Start with Vimeo's source label, then compare with the master you kept. Codec, resolution, frame rate and size are clues, not proof of identity. If both files are available, matching a full-file checksum verifies an exact copy.
My paid plan already ended. Can I still download my videos?
Everything above the 1 GB Free cap is restricted, newest uploads first: not deleted, but it cannot be played, edited or downloaded. Downloading is a paid-plan feature, so a paid plan is the way back. Do not delete restricted videos to make room: that is permanent.
I am on Vimeo Starter or Free. What does the importer get me?
Not your source file: Vimeo gates API downloads to Standard, Advanced, Pro, Business, Premium and Enterprise. Download from the video page instead and drop the file in. On Free the page download is unavailable and the source was deleted by default, so upload your own export.
Bring the originals home
Connect Vimeo and check which files are available. The importer selects a usable source first, then labels any fallback. Try one film with 5 GB free, without a download-and-upload round trip through your laptop.
Sources
- 1.Vimeo Help Center: downloading videos (Share, then Download; a paid-plan feature; no bulk download from the library) (fetched 2 September 2026)
- 2.Vimeo Help Center: downloading a source file (bulk downloading not supported; log-in required even for a Public video) (fetched 2 September 2026)
- 3.Vimeo Help Center: Store your source files on Vimeo (paid plans only, off by default, no restore of removed files, deletion when a subscription ends, the Free and Basic default, API uploads before September 2016) (fetched 2 September 2026)
- 4.Vimeo Help Center: source files deleted 60 days after a paid membership lapses to Basic (fetched 2 September 2026)
- 5.Vimeo API reference: the video response, download and files fields (fetched 2 September 2026)
- 6.Vimeo API reference: the video file response, quality values including source (fetched 2 September 2026)
- 7.Vimeo Help Center: API video file links (plan requirement, scopes, download links valid for 24 hours, files links that do not expire) (fetched 2 September 2026)
- 8.Vimeo plans: Starter, Standard and Advanced prices and storage; the 300 GB and 24-hour limits per video file (fetched 2 September 2026, US dollars)
- 9.Vimeo Help Center: guidelines for determining playback resolution (maximum H.264 and HEVC bitrates per rung; 30 fps unless noted) (fetched 2 September 2026)
- 10.Vimeo Help Center: upload and compression guidance (recommended bitrates; ProRes 422 HQ 1080p29.97 at 220 Mbps) (fetched 2 September 2026)
- 11.Vimeo Help Center: what happens when a paid plan ends (1 GB Free cap, restricted videos, most recent uploads first, permanent deletion of a restricted video) (fetched 2 September 2026)
- 12.Vimeo Help Center: recently deleted videos recoverable for 30 days (fetched 2 September 2026)
- 13.uncompressed.io pricing: plans, included storage and the Vimeo importer (verified 2 September 2026)