YouTube Transcript Extractor
Pull the exact text out of any YouTube video's captions in seconds. Free to try, no sign-up.
Works with watch links, youtu.be links, Shorts, live replays and bare 11-character video IDs.
Extracts from any public video with captions, manual or auto-generated.
How to extract a YouTube transcript
- Copy the URL of the video you want to extract text from.
- Paste it into the box above and press "Get Free Transcript".
- Copy the extracted text, or download it for later.
What extracted transcript text is good for
Pull quotes for research
Extract exact wording from an interview or lecture to cite, without retyping a single line by hand.
Feed a data pipeline
Plain extracted text drops straight into a spreadsheet, a notes app, or a script - no video player required to read it.
Search inside a video
Extract the text first, then use your browser's find-in-page to locate the one moment you actually need.
Tools
Show all 33 toolsShow fewer
Need it in an app or workflow?
The website extracts one video at a time. For bulk or automated extraction, use the API or the MCP tool.
YouTube Transcript Extractor FAQs
Is this YouTube transcript extractor free?
Yes. Extracting and reading the text is free. You can try it without an account, and a free account gives you more transcripts each day.
What does 'extract' mean here, exactly?
It reads the video's own caption track (manual or auto-generated) and pulls it out as plain text, stripped of timing data and formatting.
Can I extract text from a video with no captions at all?
No. The extractor needs an existing caption track, manual or auto-generated, to pull text from - a video with neither has nothing to extract.
Does the extracted text include timestamps?
The page itself shows plain text for reading and copying. The Chrome extension's sidebar view can show timestamps alongside it.
Can I extract a transcript in a language other than English?
Yes, in any language the video has captions for. Auto-detect finds the best match, or a specific caption language can be requested.
Do I need to sign in to extract text?
No. Signing in is only needed for AI features (summaries and chat about the video), which use account credits. Extracting the text itself never requires it.
