YouTube transcript generator
Paste any public YouTube video or Shorts link. Existing captions are used when available for an instant result; otherwise the audio is transcribed directly.
How it works
- Copy a public YouTube video or Shorts link.
- Paste it into the transcriber.
- Read or copy the resulting transcript, with timestamps when captions were used.
Features
Captions fast-path
Existing captions are read directly — no waiting, no re-transcription.
Speech-to-text fallback
Videos without captions are transcribed automatically instead.
90+ languages
Auto-detected by default, with 90+ languages supported for speech-to-text.
Free daily use
No sign-up required for a limited number of transcriptions per day.
Limitations
- Private, unlisted-behind-a-login, or region-restricted videos can't be transcribed.
- Videos longer than 30 minutes aren't supported yet.
- Speech-to-text accuracy drops with heavy background noise or overlapping speakers.
See data methodology for the coverage rules that apply everywhere.
FAQ
- Does this use YouTube's own captions?
- When a video already has manual or auto-generated captions, the transcript is pulled directly from them — free and near-instant. If a video has no captions at all, speech-to-text is used instead.
- Does it work on videos without captions?
- Yes — speech-to-text (90+ languages) runs automatically when official captions aren't available.
- What about YouTube Shorts?
- Yes, Shorts links work the same way as regular YouTube video links.