TranscriptYTSearchAPI Alternative: TranscriptYT vs. SearchAPI YouTube Transcripts
SearchAPI is a search-results API covering Google, Bing, YouTube, and other engines, and YouTube Transcripts is one of its engines. Plans start at $40 a month and are shared across every engine. TranscriptYT is a transcript API with plans that start at $3.
| TranscriptYT | SearchAPI | |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | YouTube transcripts, search, and playlists | Search results across Google, Bing, YouTube, and more |
| Free tier | 100 transcripts, one time | 100 requests |
| Entry plan | $3/mo for 1,000 | $40/mo for 10,000 searches |
| Price per 1,000 at $79–100/mo | $1.58 (Scale, 50,000) | $2.86 (Production, $100 for 35,000) |
| Output formats | JSON, text, SRT, VTT, CSV, Markdown | JSON segments |
| Translation | 150+ languages, timings preserved | Pick an existing caption language |
| No-caption videos | AI speech-to-text fallback | Not listed in their docs |
When SearchAPI is the better fit
If you already pay for SearchAPI for Google or Bing results, its transcript engine uses the same plan and key, and at multi-million volumes its largest plans go down to about $1 per 1,000.
When TranscriptYT is the better fit
If you mainly need transcripts, you pay for transcripts: no $40 monthly minimum, and roughly half the price per 1,000 at comparable plan sizes. Responses can come back as ready-made SRT, VTT, text, or Markdown, any transcript can be translated, videos without captions are transcribed from audio, and batch requests take whole playlists. YouTube search and playlist listings are included free.
The short version
Already on SearchAPI for web search? Its transcript engine is a convenient add-on. Need YouTube transcripts as a core feature? TranscriptYT is cheaper and returns more.
Try TranscriptYT free