So, my timeline with various download managers looks like this, at least the ones that I stuck with more than 6 months
IDM->Eagleget->XDM->Download Ninja->File Centipede->Neat Download Manager
There were numerous other download managers that I used to test in between for writing reviews on Gizmo's Freeware. Very few impressed me during the time that I was on Windows and then went on with Linux distro hopping hunt.
When I chose a download manager, I placed importance on these features mostly in this order: -
- download acceleration,
- media grabbing ability in browser,
- extension integration with custom browsers (even non-popular)
- ability to resume broken downloads & refreshing expired links
- batch downloading feature
- ability to create multiple download queues
- drag n drop file download tasks precedence within UI (when internet speed was slower)
- categorizing downloaded files
- scheduling downloads
Various other features like protocol support, export/import, exclusion/inclusion list, speed limiter, multiple mirrors, site manager, proxy support, virus checking etc. were also important.
In the past IDM provided most of these features with few exceptions, but then Eagleget came along and stole the show, providing all of these features for free. When Eagleget turned ad-ware and it's development ceased, an open-source alternative in XDM came along and I was a happy man because it worked beautifully even on Linux. However, its queuing system and usability wasn't as good as Eagleget, it's UI didn't provide drag n drop download precedence, it's development nearly stopped, and it was taking more resources than other alternatives. Then came Download Ninja, but it quickly turning into a paid software and it's development stopped since.
Then I started sacrificing my must-have feature list, because none of them that came after the above 4 provided me with as many features or usability as in the past. Now I've settled with Neat Download Manager for time being for the past 6 months or so, until a good one comes along. It doesn't have many flashy features of it's predecessors, but it works fine. Maybe I'll go back to XDM in due time.
If IDA (Internet Download Accelerator) decide to modernize itself for current generation I might consider using it. It's as old as IDM and still getting updates. Is latest versions of FDM worth trying out now?