Can I search the text after I get YouTube transcript?
Our own engine reads the video from YouTube and gives the text back; the part the platform decides is only the download.
YouTube, step by step
How to get YouTube transcript
How to get YouTube transcript: the steps that take the video from YouTube and turn it into text, with the export that comes back. Free $0, 3 files a day.
3 files a day up to 30 minutes, free99+ languagesSpeaker separation and timestamps
In short
The video from YouTube is the only thing this service needs from YouTube. The whole recording comes back as one document. The file of the recording may be 30 minutes, and the free plan is $0 with 3 files a day.
How to get YouTube transcript, step by step
- 1
Open your own video
Sign in to the account that uploaded the video and open the video on the site or in the app.
- 2
Press Download
The Download button under the video offers the file as an MP4 in 720p or in 360p.
- 3
Check the file
A file taken for offline use is encrypted, and it plays only inside the app of YouTube.
- 4
Wait for the text, not for the file
The upload of the video from YouTube is quick; the engine reads it once and hands the whole text back as a document.
- 5
Keep the file on your own disk
The file of the video from YouTube stays where it was downloaded, and the text that comes back is a separate document.
What comes back from the engine
- TXT
One segment per line, the way a person wrote it down. It is the format to paste into a ticket, a chat or a document.
- TXT, CSV
The start and the end time of every segment, and the speakers named separately when you ask for it.
- SRT, VTT
SRT and VTT with the time of every line, so the recording can carry its own subtitles.
- Markdown, DOCX
The transcript is edited through the API and exported as Markdown for a wiki, or as DOCX for a review.
How YouTube stores the file, and what it says about it
| What | What the platform says |
|---|---|
| What can go wrong | A video of somebody else cannot be downloaded as a file with the official tools of YouTube. |
| What usually fails | The file of a video downloaded for offline use is encrypted and plays only inside the app of YouTube. |
| Length of one file | up to 30 minutes on the free plan, no minute limit on Pro |
| Free plan | $0: 3 files a day, up to 30 minutes per file, no card |
The case
What the recording does not give you
Say one word of a decision three weeks later and see whether you can find it in the video from YouTube. Almost every question after a meeting is the same question with another name, and the file answers none of them. Our own engine reads the video from YouTube and keeps the time, so a quotation can point at the minute it was said.
Tips
Turn on the split by speaker when more than two people talk in the video from YouTube.
Give the speakers of the video from YouTube their names in the editor, one time, and export again.
Send the audio track of the video from YouTube when the platform gives you both.
The audio of the video from YouTube is smaller than the video of the same call.
Export SRT when the video from YouTube has to become a subtitled video.
Questions about how to get YouTube transcript
What are the steps to get YouTube transcript?
For how to get YouTube transcript, the text comes out of one upload: the file of the video from YouTube goes to the engine and the text comes back.
What do I need before I get YouTube transcript?
The recording of YouTube is enough for the engine, and the text of it comes back with the time of every line.
Do I need an account to get YouTube transcript?
Upload the video from YouTube and read the result: our own engine writes down what it hears, with the time of every piece.
What is in the file after I get YouTube transcript?
The file is all it takes: the video from YouTube goes to our own engine and a document comes back.
Related pages
- Transcribe YouTube videoTranscribe YouTube video: the steps of the platform, and what comes back from the engine.
- Free YouTube transcriptionFree YouTube transcription: the file of YouTube, the limits of it and the price of the service.
- How to download subtitles from YouTubeHow to download subtitles from YouTube: what YouTube says about the recording, and what the engine adds to it.
- Transcribe a YouTube videoWhat YouTube gives the owner of a video and what can be done with the file.
Sources
- SYouTube help: download a video (read 2026-10-24)support.google.com · checked
- SYouTube help: watch videos offline (read 2026-10-24)support.google.com · checked
- TTranscription service page (read 2026-10-25)transcrib.si · checked
- TPricing page (read 2026-10-25)transcrib.si · checked
Reading: 4 minutesUpdated 
Transcribsi editorial team
Drop a recording — the text arrives in a minute
Speakers by name, a time on every line, export to TXT, SRT, VTT, CSV and Markdown.
3 files a day up to 30 minutes, free99+ languagesSpeaker separation and timestamps