YouTube transcript extractor: 7 tools tested
Every way we found to turn a YouTube video into text, from YouTube's own transcript panel to subtitle downloads, AI notes and bulk extraction. We ran each one on the same video and wrote down what happened.
Side by side
| Tool | Account to see the text | Timestamps | Export | Languages | Bulk | AI summary | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| YouTube's own transcriptBuilt in | No | Yes | Select and copy only | The video's caption tracks | No | No | Free |
| YouTubeToTranscriptWeb | No | Toggle | Copy | Translate button | No | After log-in | Free |
| TactiqWeb | No | Yes (to the millisecond) | Copy, download .txt | The video's captions | No | In a Tactiq account | Free |
| NoteGPTWeb | No for the transcript | Yes, in paragraphs | Copy, download | Many | Several links, playlists | 15 free a month after log-in | Free, paid plans |
| DownSubWeb | No | In SRT and VTT | SRT, VTT, TXT, raw | Every caption track, plus auto-translations | No | No | Free with ads |
| youtube-transcript.ioWeb, API | Yes (anonymous log-in offered) | Yes | Copy, download | Many | Playlists, channels, CSV | Chat with transcript (paid) | 25 free tokens; from $9.99/month |
| yt-dlpCommand line, open source | No | In the subtitle file | VTT, SRT and more | Any track, including auto captions | Playlists, channels | No | Free |
What happened when we tried each one
- 1Y
YouTube's own transcript Built in
Best for: One video, nothing to install
Under the video, open the description and press Show transcript. The panel opened beside the player, grouped by chapter (Introduction, Three themes…), with a search box and a language menu. There is no download button: select the text and copy it, or use one of the tools below.
- 2Y
YouTubeToTranscript Web
Best for: Fast, clean text with no account
Pasting the TED link opened the full transcript after a short automatic bot check, no account needed. Timestamps switch on and off, Copy takes the whole text, and Translate is one click. The long AI menu (summary, key insights, flashcards, blog post, tweet thread…) asks you to log in.
- 3T
Tactiq Web
Best for: A downloadable text file with timestamps
The free tool showed every caption line with a timestamp (00:00:27.103 Good morning…) and two buttons, Copy and Download. Summaries mean uploading the transcript to a Tactiq account. Tactiq's main product is meeting notes, so expect a pitch for that.
- 4N
NoteGPT Web
Best for: Notes, summaries and flashcards from a video
The transcript came back in readable paragraphs with a timestamp each, next to a Subtitles view and the video. Summary, mind map, quiz and flashcards sit on the right; they asked us to log in (15 free uses a month). You can add more links or a whole playlist.
- 5D
DownSub Web
Best for: Subtitle files (SRT, VTT) for editing or translating
DownSub listed the TED talk with SRT, VTT, TXT and RAW downloads for each language, dozens of them, from Afrikaans and Arabic to Chinese. It is the quickest way to a real subtitle file. The page carries display ads.
- 6Y
youtube-transcript.io Web, API
Best for: Bulk: whole channels, playlists, an API
Opening the video asked us to log in first (an anonymous log-in is offered). Its strength is volume: playlist, channel and CSV extraction and an API. Plus is $9.99 a month for 1,000 transcripts, Pro $24.99 for 3,000 (prices on its pricing page on the day we checked).
- 7Y
yt-dlp Command line, open source
Best for: Developers and scripts
One command saves subtitles without the video: yt-dlp --skip-download --write-subs --write-auto-subs --sub-langs en --sub-format vtt <link>. From our cloud server YouTube answered “Sign in to confirm you're not a bot”, so run it from your own computer, or pass your browser's cookies with --cookies-from-browser.
How to get a YouTube transcript without any tool
- On a computer: open the video, click the description to expand it, scroll down and press Show transcript. The transcript opens beside the video; the three-dot menu at its top hides or shows timestamps.
- On a phone: in the YouTube app, tap the description, scroll to Transcript and tap Show transcript.
- To copy it: select the lines with your mouse and copy. If you want a file instead, paste the link into Tactiq (.txt) or DownSub (SRT, VTT, TXT).
No Show transcript button means the video has no captions, and none of the extractors can help; see the FAQ below.
Want a summary, not the whole text?
Extractors give you every word. If you only want the gist, NoteGPT summarises after you log in, and browser extensions such as Glasp (YouTube Summary with ChatGPT & Claude) and Eightify put a summary next to the video. You can also paste a transcript into ChatGPT, Claude or NotebookLM and ask your own questions.
What is the best free YouTube transcript extractor?
For one video, YouTube's own Show transcript is enough if you only need to read or copy. For clean text with no account, YouTubeToTranscript and Tactiq were the quickest in our test; Tactiq also downloads a .txt file. For subtitle files (SRT or VTT) use DownSub. For summaries and notes use NoteGPT, and for whole channels or playlists youtube-transcript.io or yt-dlp.
Is a YouTube script extractor the same thing?
Yes. People search for a YouTube script extractor when they want the words of a video as text. Creators rarely publish their actual script, so every tool here pulls the video's captions: the ones the uploader added or YouTube's automatic captions. For a talking-head video that is close to the script, minus on-screen text.
Can I get a transcript of a video that has no captions?
Not with these extractors: they read caption tracks, and if a video has none they have nothing to pull. Download the audio you are allowed to use and run it through a speech-to-text tool such as Whisper, MacWhisper or Descript instead.
How do I get a YouTube transcript on my phone?
In the YouTube app, open the video, tap the description, scroll to Transcript and tap Show transcript. The web tools above also work in a phone browser: paste the link and copy the text.
Can I use the transcript of someone else's video?
Reading it, quoting short parts with credit, or taking study notes is fine. Republishing a whole transcript, or a translation of it, copies the creator's work, so ask them first.
How we tested
On 2026-10-27 (Pacific time) we opened the same TED talk in each tool in a normal desktop browser, without logging in, and noted what showed up, what asked for an account and which download buttons were there. yt-dlp ran on a cloud server. Prices come from each tool's own pages that day; free limits change often, so check before you rely on one.
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