Free YouTube transcript tool
YouTube Transcript Generator
Paste a public YouTube video URL — a normal watch link, a youtu.be short link, or a Shorts URL — and this YouTube transcript generator returns the full transcript with timestamps. Read it online, copy the text, or download the YouTube transcript as TXT, SRT, or VTT. No account — the YouTube transcript generator is free for every public video.
- Works with watch links, youtu.be, and Shorts
- Reuses official captions when they exist
- Copy or download the transcript instantly
Step by step
How to get a YouTube transcript in four steps
The YouTube transcript generator is the fastest way to pull the full text of a lecture, podcast, tutorial, or commentary video — the YouTube transcript generator does the reading for you.
- 1
Copy the YouTube link
Copy the URL from your browser's address bar or the YouTube app's Share menu. Watch links, youtu.be links, and Shorts links all work in the YouTube transcript generator.
- 2
Paste the link above
Paste it into the field at the top of this page and press Get Transcript. Playlists and channel links aren't supported — paste a single video URL.
- 3
Captions first, audio second
The YouTube transcript generator reads the video's official caption track when one exists, giving you the most accurate text almost instantly.
- 4
Read, copy, or download
Scan the transcript with timestamps, copy the whole text with one click, or download the YouTube transcript as TXT, SRT, or VTT.
Features
What you get from this YouTube transcript generator
A complete, readable YouTube transcript with the metadata and exports to make it useful.
Full YouTube transcript text
The generator returns every spoken line of the video — from the hook to the outro — as one continuous, readable YouTube transcript.
Timestamps for navigation
Each line carries its start time, so the YouTube transcript doubles as a clickable map of long videos like lectures and podcasts.
Official captions preferred
When the creator uploaded captions, the YouTube transcript generator reuses them for maximum accuracy instead of re-transcribing. That caption-first design keeps the YouTube transcript generator fast and free.
TXT, SRT, and VTT exports
Download the YouTube transcript as a text document or as timed subtitle files for editors, players, and translation tools.
Works for Shorts and long videos
One-minute Shorts and hour-long talks get the same treatment: paste the link and read the YouTube transcript immediately.
Free and account-free
No Google account, no subscription, and no sign-up wall — the YouTube transcript generator is free to use on any public video.
Explainer
What is a YouTube transcript and why generate one?
A YouTube transcript is the complete written text of a video's spoken audio, usually shown with timestamps. YouTube itself displays captions inside the player, but they're awkward to copy, impossible to download as a clean file, and hidden behind several clicks. A YouTube transcript generator turns that same speech into text you can actually work with — for notes, quotes, summaries, subtitles, or search — in a couple of seconds — that is the entire job of a YouTube transcript generator.
The engine behind this YouTube transcript generator prefers the video's official caption track: when the creator uploaded captions or YouTube's auto-captions are available, they are fetched directly and normalized into clean, timestamped lines. That path is fast, free, and highly accurate. When a video has no captions at all, the tool can fall back to transcribing the audio with speech recognition, or you can use the upload fallback and transcribe the video file itself. The result panel always labels which source produced your YouTube transcript.
Students use it to review lectures without re-watching; researchers quote interviews precisely; content teams repurpose talks into articles; and viewers search inside videos by scanning the text. Whatever the job, the workflow with the YouTube transcript generator stays the same: paste the link, read or copy the text, and export TXT, SRT, or VTT when you need the transcript as a file.
- 3
- export formats
- 250 MB
- max upload size
- 6
- interface languages
- 100%
- free, no sign-up
Sources:TikTok Help CenterYouTube HelpWebVTT 1.0 (W3C)MDN Web Docs
Reviewed by the ZUGFeRD editorial team · Last updated September 2026
Export formats
Every YouTube transcript in three formats
The YouTube transcript generator exports the same text in the three formats workflows expect from a YouTube transcript generator.
TXT — plain YouTube transcript
A readable text document of the full transcript: the standard input for notes, quotes, summaries, and AI tools.
SRT — subtitle file
Timed cues for video editors and subtitling software — re-caption an edit or translate the YouTube transcript with timing intact.
VTT — web captions
The WebVTT version for web players and platforms that prefer VTT captions over SRT.
Use cases
Who needs a YouTube transcript generator
Long-form video is full of spoken knowledge — the YouTube transcript makes it searchable, and the YouTube transcript generator makes getting it trivial.
Students and lifelong learners
Review a lecture's YouTube transcript before an exam, quote it in papers, and find the exact minute a concept was explained with the YouTube transcript generator.
Podcast and interview listeners
Turn talk-heavy videos into skimmable text and pull exact quotes without scrubbing the timeline.
Content and SEO teams
Repurpose webinars and talks into blog posts with the YouTube transcript as the first draft, timestamps included.
Accessibility advocates
Provide captions and text alternatives for videos you share, using the SRT and VTT exports from the YouTube transcript generator.
FAQ
YouTube transcript generator FAQ
Common questions about getting transcripts from YouTube videos.
Related tools
More free transcript tools
Get your YouTube transcript now
Paste a public YouTube link at the top of the page and copy or download your YouTube transcript in seconds — free, no sign-up. The YouTube transcript generator keeps your reading flow uninterrupted.
Uploaded files are sent directly from your browser to the speech-to-text provider for transcription. This site does not store a copy of your video, and submitted links are only used to retrieve transcript information.