TranscriptYTHow to count the words in a YouTube video
- 1
Paste the video link
Any public video with captions works.
- 2
Count
The tool loads the transcript and counts total and unique words and characters.
- 3
Check the pace
Words per minute shows how fast the speaker talks, and reading time shows how long the transcript takes to read.
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
Is the YouTube word counter free?
Yes. A few videos a day need no account, and signing in with Google raises the limit.
What's a normal speaking rate?
Most speakers land between 130 and 160 words per minute. Below 120 feels slow and deliberate; above 180 is fast.
How is words per minute calculated?
Total words divided by the time from the first caption to the end of the last, so silent intros and outros don't drag it down.
How many words is a 10-minute video?
Usually 1,300 to 1,600, at a typical 130 to 160 words per minute. Paste a link to get the exact count.
Is the count exact?
It counts the captions, so it's as accurate as they are. Auto-generated captions can drop or mishear a few words.