TranscriptYTHow to get a podcast transcript from YouTube
- 1
Copy the episode link
Open the episode on YouTube and copy the link from the address bar or Share → Copy link. Full episodes, clips, and live recordings all work.
- 2
Paste it above
The transcript of the whole episode loads in a few seconds, even for three-hour conversations.
- 3
Find the part you need
Click any line to jump the player there, turn timestamps off for clean text, or download TXT, SRT, PDF, or Markdown.
Read a podcast instead of listening to it
Skimming the text of a two-hour episode takes a few minutes. Search for the guest's name or a topic, jump straight to that moment, and skip the rest. It is also the quickest way to check whether an episode covers what you're looking for before you commit to it.
For show notes, clips, and newsletters
Podcasters use the transcript to write show notes and episode descriptions, pick timestamps for clips, and pull quotes for social posts and newsletters. Download it as Markdown to paste straight into Notion or a blog editor.
Need more?
Need transcripts at scale? Use the API
The same transcripts are available through the YouTube Transcript API: timestamped JSON, text, SRT, VTT, CSV, or Markdown, 150+ languages, and AI transcription for videos without captions. Or connect the YouTube MCP server to Claude, Cursor, or Codex and just paste links in chat.
curl "https://transcript-yt.com/v1/transcript?url=5f3Pn-N6yLc&format=text" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer ts_live_..."
Common questions
Can I get a transcript of a full podcast episode?
Yes. Episode length doesn't matter: a three-hour conversation loads the same way as a ten-minute clip, as long as the video has captions.
Does the transcript show who is speaking?
YouTube captions don't label speakers, so the transcript is the spoken text with timestamps. Most podcasts read clearly anyway, and the timestamps let you check who said what in the video.
How do I quote a podcast accurately?
Search the transcript for a word you remember, click the line to hear it in context, then copy the exact wording. The timestamp gives your readers a link to the moment.
Can I summarize a podcast episode?
Yes. Open the Summary or Notes tab after the transcript loads for an AI summary and timestamped notes of the episode.
What if the episode has no captions?
The free tool reads the captions YouTube already has, creator-uploaded or auto-generated, and most videos with speech have them. For a video with no captions at all, click Transcribe the audio with AI: it's on paid plans and credit packs, at 1 credit per minute.