Live caption track
Public caption file for the URL — not a scraped screenshot.
Free · no signup
YouTube transcript generator.Data, not scrapers.
Paste a video link, get the full transcript. Transcribe thousands with our API.
Use in Claude or ChatGPTSame lookup, live, from your AI.GET/v1/youtube/videos/transcript
ReadyProtected by Cloudflare Turnstile
Teams running monitoring, research, and enrichment pipelines
What you get
Copy captions without the download dance
Skip downloader sites. Paste a URL, get the spoken text.
Copy-ready plain text
Paste a URL, get spoken text. No ads, no signup.
Any share link
Watch URLs, youtu.be, Shorts, and embeds all resolve.
Caption tracks, not guesswork
Manual or auto captions — whichever YouTube exposes.
Quick start
How to get a YouTube transcript
Three steps from a video link to copyable captions.
01
Copy the YouTube URL
Grab a watch URL, youtu.be link, Shorts URL, or embed — anything with a public video ID.
02
Paste it above
Drop the URL in and submit. No Google account, no API key, nothing to install.
03
Copy the text
Read it, switch to the timestamped view, or download TXT, SRT or VTT for docs, show notes, subtitles or LLM prompts.
Use cases
What people use YouTube transcripts for
Captions unlock search, editing, and automation.
Show notes and blog posts
Turn uploads into articles, newsletters, or chapter outlines.
Quote checks and research
Find exact spoken claims without scrubbing the timeline.
Accessibility and SEO
Publish transcript text beside embedded video for indexing.
AI pipelines and products
Chunk segments for embeddings, or call the API for volume.
What you actually get
Captions, formats, and what you get back
Browser shortcut for YouTube. The API also covers TikTok and Instagram Reels. Read the transcript guide Also try the free TikTok transcript generator.
Manual vs auto captions
YouTube doesn't label tracks. Pass language on the API when several exist.
When the video has no captions
Caption-disabled or music-only uploads can return no text — expected, not a bug.
Browser tool vs API response
Readable, timestamped and raw views here. The API returns transcript.segments with startMs/endMs.
Instagram Reels too
Reels: GET /v2/instagram/media/{media}/transcript. TikTok has its own free tool here.
Fair use on a free page
Built for one-off YouTube transcripts, not automation
2 / hour6 / day
2 transcripts an hour and 6 a day per visitor. Only transcripts that come back count — a bad link or a video with no captions is free.
A free account lifts the wait: 100 credits, 100 transcripts, no card — in the dashboard or from code.
From code
The same transcript, from code
The transcript above is one call to this route. Point it at a list of videos for show notes, research or an AI pipeline — from any language, with the same JSON every time.
- 100 free credits on sign-up — 100 transcripts, no card
- Fetch URL lists with bounded concurrency
- Keep segments for timestamps; plainText for embeddings
- Chunk by sentence (~500 tokens) for RAG indexes
Request
Pricing
What more transcripts cost
Every transcript is 1 credit. Failed transcripts aren't billed, and the free credits need no card.
- Free account
100 credits
on sign-up, no card
≈ 100 transcripts
No hourly wait. Same data, in the dashboard or by API.
- Starter pack
$14
one-off · 1,000 credits
≈ 1,000 transcripts
Credits never expire. Buy again whenever you need more.
- Starter plan
$29
per month · 18,000 credits
≈ 18,000 transcripts a month
For lists, CRM enrichment and monitors. Cancel any time.
Bigger packs and plans go down to a fraction of a cent per profile. All plans and packs
Start with 100 free creditsOne key, one schema. The same credits work on every platform we cover.
Supported platforms
TikTok
Instagram
YouTube
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Facebook
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Google
Threads
Bluesky
GitHub
Twitch
Linktree
Truth Social
Hacker News
Spotify
TikTok
Instagram
YouTube
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Facebook
Google
Threads
Bluesky
GitHub
Twitch
Linktree
Truth Social
Hacker News
Spotify
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FAQ
YouTube transcript FAQ
How do I get a free YouTube transcript?
Paste a public YouTube URL into the tool above and submit. Copy the transcript as readable text, switch to the timestamped view, or download TXT, SRT or VTT.
Does this work on any YouTube video?
Any public video with a caption track. Private, members-only, or caption-disabled videos return no text.
What's the difference between manual and auto-generated captions?
YouTube does not label tracks as manual or auto — you get the best available file. Pass language on the API when several tracks exist.
Can I get a YouTube transcript with timestamps?
Yes. Switch the result to the timed view, or download SRT or VTT subtitle files. The API returns the same transcript.segments with startMs and endMs.
How many free transcripts do I get?
2 an hour and 6 a day per visitor; only transcripts that come back count. A free Social Fetch account comes with 100 credits — 100 transcripts with no hourly wait — and needs no card.
Can I transcribe Instagram Reels here?
No — Reels are API-only at GET /v2/instagram/media/{media}/transcript.
How do I batch-fetch transcripts or feed a RAG pipeline?
Use the API with bounded concurrency. Keep segments for timestamps, plainText for embeddings. See the transcript guide for examples.
How is this different from the free downloader sites?
Live caption data — no ads, no scraper chain.
What URL formats are supported?
Watch URLs, youtu.be short links, Shorts, and embeds — anything with a public video ID.
Is there a free YouTube transcript API with no key?
This page needs no key. From code, GET /v1/youtube/videos/transcript takes an x-api-key header; a free account's key comes with 100 credits, enough for 100 transcripts, and no card.
100 free credits
Your next 100 transcripts are free.
Create a free account for 100 credits — 100 transcripts with no hourly wait, in the dashboard or from code. No card.