YouTube Transcript Extractor

Free tool to extract transcripts, captions, and subtitles from any YouTube video

Why use our transcript extractor?

Instant access to complete transcripts without watching entire videos

Time-synced segments with precise timestamps for easy reference

Compatible with all videos that have captions (auto or manual)

No registration required — completely free and private

Try these examples with one click

How to Make it on YouTube in 2025 (Jack Conte Interview)

Colin and Samir

How to sound smart in your TEDx Talk | Will Stephen | TEDxNewYork

TEDx Talks

How to Speak

MIT OpenCourseWare

Enter a YouTube Video URL or ID

YouTube URL or Video ID

Enter a YouTube URL or just the video ID

Example formats: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ, https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ, or dQw4w9WgXcQ

How to Extract YouTube Video Transcripts, Captions, and Subtitles

Our free YouTube Transcript Extractor tool makes it easy to access automatically generated captions or manually added subtitles from any YouTube video. This powerful caption extractor helps you:

Content Research

Quickly extract information and captions from YouTube videos without watching them entirely

Creating Notes

Convert spoken content into written transcripts for easier reference and studying

Accessibility

Make video content accessible to people with hearing impairments through text captions

Content Repurposing

Transform YouTube video transcripts into blog posts, articles, or other written content

How to Use Our Free YouTube Transcript Extractor

Enter a YouTube video URL or ID in the input field above

Click "Extract Transcript" to retrieve the video captions and subtitles

View the YouTube transcript results with timestamps or as full text

Copy or download the YouTube video transcript for your use

Our caption extractor supports various YouTube URL formats and will automatically extract the video ID to access subtitles and transcripts.

Video Tutorial: How to Use the YouTube Transcript Extractor

Watch this quick tutorial to see how to extract transcripts from YouTube videos:

YouTube Transcript Tool Limitations

Only works with YouTube videos that have captions available (either auto-generated or manually added subtitles)

Some videos may have disabled captions or transcripts by the content creator

Currently extracts YouTube transcripts in English by default (language selection coming soon)

Transcript accuracy depends on YouTube's auto-captioning system, which may not be perfect for all videos

Privacy and Data Usage

This free YouTube transcript tool only processes the caption data for the video you request. We don't store the video transcripts permanently. Your video ID might be temporarily cached to improve performance, but no personal data is collected through this tool.

YouTube Transcript Extractor FAQ

How do I extract a transcript from a YouTube video?

To extract a transcript from a YouTube video, simply paste the YouTube video URL into our tool above and click "Extract Transcript." Our tool will automatically retrieve and display the captions or subtitles from the video with timestamps. You can then copy or download the full transcript for your use.

Can I download YouTube transcripts as text files?

Yes, our YouTube Transcript Extractor allows you to download captions as text files. After extracting the transcript, you'll see a download option that lets you save the complete transcript with or without timestamps as a text file on your device.

Why can't I extract transcripts from some YouTube videos?

Not all YouTube videos have available transcripts due to several reasons:

The video creator has disabled captions
Auto-generated captions haven't been processed yet
The video uses a language not supported by YouTube's auto-captioning system
The audio quality is too poor for accurate speech recognition

Our tool can only extract transcripts when they're available on the original YouTube video.

Are the extracted YouTube transcripts accurate?

The accuracy of YouTube transcripts depends on whether they are auto-generated or manually added. Auto-generated captions use YouTube's speech recognition technology, which works well for clearly spoken content but may have errors with accents, background noise, or technical terminology. Manually added captions (created by the video owner) are typically more accurate.

Is this YouTube transcript extractor tool free to use?

Yes, our YouTube Transcript Extractor is completely free to use with no limitations. You can extract transcripts from any YouTube video that has captions available without registration or payment. We offer this as a free utility to help make YouTube content more accessible.