Free YouTube Transcript Generator
Paste a YouTube link and get the full transcript in seconds. Free, unlimited, and no account required. Copy the text or download it as TXT, SRT, or VTT.
Try it now:
How to get a YouTube transcript in 4 steps
- 1
Copy the YouTube URL
Open the video and copy its link from the address bar or the Share button.
- 2
Paste it into the tool
Paste the link into the input box on this page.
- 3
Get the transcript
Press Get Transcript. The full text loads in a few seconds.
- 4
Copy or download it
Pick plain text, timestamped, SRT or VTT, then copy the text or download the file.
Every transcript format you need
Plain text
A clean paragraph with no timestamps, ready to paste into a document, an email, or an AI prompt.
Timestamped
Every line prefixed with its time marker, so you can jump back to the exact moment in the video.
SRT
The standard subtitle file. Import it into Premiere, Final Cut, DaVinci Resolve or re-upload it to YouTube.
VTT
The web subtitle standard for HTML5 video players and streaming platforms.
Why this YouTube transcript generator is 100% free
Reading and downloading a transcript costs us almost nothing to serve, because the text already exists: it's the caption track YouTube stores for the video. There's no audio to process and no AI model to run, so there's no reason to charge for it, gate it behind a signup, or cap how many times you use it.
We make money when someone needs more than that: transcribing a video or audio file that has no captions at all, adding speaker labels, translating a transcript, or cleaning up punctuation. That's a different, harder job that genuinely costs compute, so it lives behind a Transgate account. The free YouTube transcript generator on this page will never ask you to sign up just to read or download a caption transcript.
Free tool vs. browser extension vs. manual copy vs. AI transcription
There are four common ways to get a YouTube transcript. Here's when each one actually makes sense.
| Method | Setup | Cost | Works without captions | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| This free YouTube transcript generator | None, just paste a link | Free | No | Fast, one-off transcripts with copy/download and no install |
| Browser extension | Install + permissions | Usually free | No | Grabbing transcripts while you browse, without leaving the video page |
| Copying manually from YouTube's own panel | None | Free | No | One-off use when you don't mind losing formatting and timestamps |
| AI transcription (Transgate) | Sign up | Free tier, then paid | Yes | Videos with no captions, speaker labels, translation, your own files |
If the video already has captions, this page is the fastest path, with no install and no account. If it doesn't, no method above except AI transcription can produce one, because there's no text to extract in the first place.
Who uses a free YouTube transcript generator
Students and researchers quoting a lecture, talk, or interview accurately, with a source they can cite.
Writers and marketers turning a video into a blog post, newsletter, or social caption without re-watching it.
Anyone feeding a long video into ChatGPT or Claude, since reading text is faster than uploading video, and most chat tools handle text far better than video links.
Video editors and captioners pulling an SRT or VTT file to re-caption, translate, or repurpose a video.
Anyone who'd rather skim a 45-minute video as two minutes of reading.
Get a YouTube transcript with timestamps
Switch the format selector to Timestamped to get every line prefixed with the moment it was said, which is useful for citing an exact point in a video or jumping back to it later. If you need a file a video editor or media player can load directly, choose SRT or VTT instead; both carry the same timestamp data in a standard subtitle format that Premiere, Final Cut, DaVinci Resolve, and HTML5 video players all understand.
Supported URL types & languages
This tool accepts standard youtube.com/watch links, youtu.be short links, Shorts URLs, embed links, and live replay links. Paste any of them and it resolves to the same video.
Language support follows whatever caption track YouTube has generated or the creator uploaded, so the tool returns that language as-is, which covers the vast majority of YouTube's supported caption languages. For videos with no caption track in any language, Transgate's own AI transcription supports over 100 languages and can produce a first transcript from the audio directly.
What this tool does, and what it doesn't
A YouTube transcript is the text of everything spoken in a video. YouTube stores one for most videos, either written by the creator or generated automatically by its own speech recognition. This tool reads that caption track and hands it to you as clean, usable text.
That is worth being precise about, because it sets the limits. If a video has captions, you get the transcript instantly and for free. If the creator disabled captions and YouTube never generated any, there is genuinely no text to extract, and no tool of this kind can produce one.
For that case you need actual speech recognition running over the audio, which is what Transgate does. It also handles the things a caption track cannot give you: speaker labels that identify who said what, punctuation and formatting cleanup, translation into another language, and transcription of your own audio and video files rather than a public YouTube link.
Your data, handled simply
Paste a link, get a transcript. We don't ask for an account, an email address, or payment to use this tool. The video URL you paste is used only to fetch that video's public caption track from YouTube and is not shared with third parties or used for anything beyond returning your transcript.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this YouTube transcript generator free?
Yes. Pasting a link, reading the transcript, and downloading it as TXT, SRT or VTT is completely free with no account and no daily limit. We only ask you to sign up if you want Transgate to transcribe audio or video that has no captions.
How do I get a transcript from a YouTube video?
Copy the video URL from your browser or the YouTube share button, paste it into the box above, and press Get Transcript. The full text appears in a couple of seconds and you can copy it or download it as a file.
Why does it say the video has no transcript?
This tool reads the caption track that YouTube already holds for a video. If the creator never added captions and YouTube never auto-generated any, there is no text to extract. In that case Transgate can transcribe the video with AI speech recognition instead.
Can I download a YouTube transcript with timestamps?
Yes. Choose the Timestamped format for a readable transcript with a time marker on every line, or SRT and VTT if you need a subtitle file you can load into a video editor.
Does it work with YouTube Shorts and live streams?
Yes. Shorts URLs, youtu.be short links, embed links and live replay URLs all work, as long as the video has a caption track.
What languages are supported?
Any language YouTube has captions in. The tool returns whatever caption track the video carries. For videos with no captions, Transgate's own transcription supports over 100 languages.
Does YouTube have transcripts for every video?
No. YouTube only has a transcript to offer when a caption track exists, either written by the creator or auto-generated by YouTube's own speech recognition. Very old videos, some music videos, and creators who explicitly disable captions often have none, and in that case a free YouTube transcript generator has no text to extract, no matter which tool you use.
Are YouTube auto-generated transcripts accurate?
They're generally good for clear, single-speaker English audio, but accuracy drops with background music, heavy accents, technical jargon, or crosstalk between multiple speakers. This tool returns whatever caption track YouTube has, unedited. If you need a cleaned-up, punctuation-corrected transcript, Transgate's AI transcription is built specifically for that.
Can I get a YouTube transcript without installing a browser extension?
Yes. This page works entirely in your browser tab with no extension, no permissions request, and no install. Paste the link and the transcript loads on the page itself. That also means it works the same way on a phone or tablet, where installing a desktop extension isn't an option.
Can I download a YouTube transcript, not just copy it?
Yes. Every transcript on this page can be copied to your clipboard or downloaded as a file in TXT, SRT, or VTT format, so you can keep it, share it, or import it into another tool like a video editor or a notes app.
Do I need a Google or YouTube account to use this?
No. This is a free YouTube transcript generator that works with just the video's public link, so you don't need to sign into YouTube, Google, or Transgate to read, copy, or download a transcript.
What's the difference between a YouTube transcript and captions?
They're usually the same underlying text: captions are that text displayed as an overlay timed to the video, while a transcript is the same text laid out to read on its own, with or without timestamps. This tool extracts the caption data and reformats it as a clean, readable transcript.
Try it now
No signup, no credit card, no catch. Paste a link above and get your transcript in seconds. Need more than a caption transcript? Transgate transcribes audio and video with no captions at all, in over 100 languages.
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