YouTube Subtitle Downloader
Pull the subtitles from any YouTube video as clean, timestamped text — free, instant, no sign-up.
Free · No sign-up · Works on any public YouTube video
Subtitles, captions, transcript — same underlying text
A YouTube video's subtitles and its transcript come from the same caption track. This tool reads that track and presents it as timestamped text you can copy — whether the captions were written by the creator or generated automatically by YouTube.
If a video offers captions in more than one language, the extracted text follows the track YouTube serves for it.
Creator and auto captions
Works with both uploaded subtitle files and YouTube's automatic speech recognition.
Timecoded lines
Each subtitle line keeps its timestamp, preserving the timing structure of the original track.
No software required
No desktop downloader, no command line, no browser extension for the extraction itself.
How to download YouTube subtitles
- 1
Copy the video URL
Grab the link to the YouTube video whose subtitles you want.
- 2
Paste and extract
Paste it above. The subtitle track is read and formatted into timestamped text.
- 3
Copy the text
Copy the result into a document, a subtitle editor, or a translation tool.
Common uses
Translators & localizers
Start from the original subtitle text instead of transcribing the audio by hand.
Editors
Check caption accuracy or reuse the subtitle text as the basis for a corrected track.
Accessibility
Provide a readable text alternative for viewers who rely on captions.
Students
Turn a two-hour lecture into text you can search, quote, and revise from — far faster than scrubbing the video for one definition.
Subtitle downloader FAQ
What is the difference between subtitles and a transcript?
On YouTube they come from the same caption track. Subtitles are the timed lines shown over the video; a transcript is that same text laid out for reading. This tool gives you the text with its timestamps.
Does it work with auto-generated captions?
Yes. Both creator-uploaded subtitles and YouTube's automatic captions are supported.
What if the video has no subtitles at all?
Then there is no caption track to extract. A small number of videos have neither uploaded subtitles nor auto-captions.
Do I need an account or an extension?
No. Transcripts here are free with no sign-up. The free JumpWatch Chrome extension adds AI summaries and chat directly on the YouTube page if you want them.
Get AI summaries and chat on every video
The transcript is free here. Add the free JumpWatch extension to summarize and chat with any video without leaving YouTube.
Add to Chrome — FreeOr browse recent transcripts.