YouTube to Text Converter
Paste a YouTube link to get its captions as text. No captions? Upload the file.
Free · no card needed
Paste a YouTube URL
Get the video's captions as text, no account needed
5 videos free · up to 5 hours each · no sign-up required
How it works
Three steps. Fast, even for long files.
Paste the YouTube link
Open the YouTube tab above and paste the video URL. We fetch the video's captions — no download needed, and your first 5 videos need no account.
No captions? Upload the file
If a video has no captions, save it as MP4 or WebM (for example with the free yt-dlp tool) and drop it into the File tab — our AI transcribes the audio. Your first file needs no account.
Get your transcript
Copy the text or download it as TXT. Uploaded files can also be saved as SRT subtitles, and they're deleted from our storage after processing (a free-preview upload is kept for up to 24 hours).
Link or file: what you get
A link is the quick, free way to get the captions a video already has. A file gets its own transcript.
| Paste a link | Upload the file | |
|---|---|---|
| The text | The video's YouTube captions | Our AI transcribes the audio |
| Punctuation | As in the captions (auto-captions often have little) | Yes |
| Downloads | TXT | TXT and SRT (JSON with Pro) |
| Videos without captions | Not possible | Yes |
| Price | Free | First 30 min free · full file US$5, one-time |
File transcripts use Whisper large-v3 turbo, an open-source speech-to-text model.
Who uses it
YouTube video transcription has a surprisingly wide range of use cases.
Research & note-taking
Turn long lecture recordings or interview videos into searchable text. Find the exact quote you need without rewatching.
Content repurposing
Convert a YouTube video into a blog post, newsletter, or social captions. Start from a transcript instead of a blank page.
Students & educators
Create study notes from video lessons or generate subtitles for class recordings. Works in 99 languages.
Accessibility
Produce accurate captions for videos that lack proper subtitles. Export as SRT and add them back to any platform.
Frequently asked questions
Can I transcribe YouTube videos directly from a URL?
Yes. Paste the link in the YouTube tab above and TranscribTxt fetches the video's existing captions (including YouTube's auto-generated ones) as clean text in seconds. If a video has no captions, download it and upload the file instead — our AI (Whisper large-v3 turbo) then transcribes the audio itself.
Is the link transcript better than YouTube's own captions?
No, it's the same text: a link gives you the video's existing YouTube captions, free, in seconds. Auto-captions often have little punctuation. For a transcript with punctuation and SRT subtitles, upload the video file if you have it: our AI (Whisper large-v3 turbo) transcribes the audio itself, and the first 30 minutes are free.
Is my YouTube video stored after transcription?
No. Uploaded files are deleted from our storage after processing (a free-preview upload is kept for up to 24 hours), and we don't store transcripts. We keep only a basic usage record (such as duration and file name) to enforce plan limits.
What video formats can I upload?
You can upload MP4, MOV, AVI, MKV, WebM, and most common audio formats (MP3, WAV, M4A). YouTube videos you download are usually MP4 or WebM — both work.
Step-by-step guide
Want a full walkthrough — from downloading a YouTube video to getting a clean transcript?