Transcribe YouTube Videos to Text
Paste a YouTube link and get an accurate offline transcript — plus subtitles, chapter timestamps and SEO-ready descriptions generated automatically.
How to get a transcript from a YouTube video
Paste a YouTube URL into ScribeForge and it automatically pulls the audio (via yt-dlp, supporting 1,800+ sites including YouTube, Vimeo and TikTok), then transcribes it locally with Whisper AI — no browser extension, no copy-pasting auto-captions, and no per-video fee. Pasting a URL directly is a feature of ScribeForge's paid plans; on the free plan, download the video yourself first and drop the file into ScribeForge's file-upload tab instead — see video to text for that workflow.
This is a different process from YouTube's built-in auto-captions, which are convenient but often mishear names, technical terms and fast speech. Because ScribeForge processes the actual audio with Whisper, you get a materially more accurate transcript, plus export options YouTube doesn't offer — SRT/VTT subtitles, AI-generated chapter timestamps, and SEO-ready video descriptions.
Sound familiar?
YouTube's auto-captions are often inaccurate
Names, jargon and fast speech frequently come out wrong or unpunctuated.
Free "YouTube transcript" web tools cap video length
Many online tools limit you to short videos or a handful of free uses per day.
Retyping a transcript from scratch wastes hours
Manually transcribing even a 20-minute video can take an afternoon.
From file to finished transcript
Paste the YouTube URL
Or drop in a downloaded video file directly — both work the same way.
ScribeForge fetches the audio
Powered by yt-dlp, supporting 1,800+ sites including YouTube, Vimeo, Twitter/X and TikTok.
Whisper transcribes locally
No upload, no per-video API cost, no rate limit.
Export or generate more
Get the transcript, SRT captions, AI chapter timestamps, or an SEO-ready video description.
What you get
1,800+ supported sites
YouTube, Vimeo, Twitter/X, TikTok, Twitch and more, all via a pasted URL.
Playlist & channel batch support
Queue an entire playlist or channel and transcribe it in the background.
Automatic chapter timestamps
Generate YouTube chapter markers directly from the transcript.
SEO description generator
Turn the transcript into a keyword-rich video description with one click.
SRT & VTT subtitle export
Upload properly timed captions back to YouTube for better accessibility and reach.
No API key or quota
No YouTube Data API setup, no daily quota to run out of.
Common questions
Can I transcribe a YouTube video without downloading it manually first?
On paid plans, yes — paste the URL directly into ScribeForge and it fetches and transcribes the audio automatically. On the free plan, download the video yourself first and use file upload instead.
Is this different from YouTube's built-in captions?
Yes. YouTube's auto-captions are generated by YouTube's own speech engine and are often less accurate; ScribeForge transcribes the actual audio locally using Whisper, then lets you export clean SRT/VTT files.
Can I transcribe an entire YouTube playlist at once?
Yes, on paid plans — ScribeForge supports batch processing for full playlists and channels.
Can it generate chapter timestamps automatically?
Yes, on paid plans — the AI tools can generate chapter markers directly from the transcript.
Is it free to transcribe YouTube videos?
Pasting a YouTube URL directly is a paid-plan feature. On the free plan, you can still transcribe YouTube content for free by downloading the video yourself and dropping the file into ScribeForge's file-upload tab — capped at 15 minutes per file and 5 hours per month. See /pricing for the full comparison.
Does it work for my own private or unlisted videos?
Yes — paste the URL for any video you have access to (paid plans), or drop in the downloaded file directly (any plan).
Related resources
Start transcribing today
Download ScribeForge free and transcribe your first file locally — no account, no upload, no subscription.