How to Transcribe YouTube Video to Text in 6 Ways 2025

How to transcribe YouTube videos to text for free? Click the "Show transcript" button below the video and copy the text to the editor. What else?

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Dawn Tang

Updated On 03/10/2025

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Transcribe YouTube Video to Text:

▶️Copy the YouTube video URL, paste it into EaseUS YouTube Transcript Generator to process, then download and edit the transcript.

People transcribe YouTube videos to text to make them more accessible, easier to search, and useful in different formats. Transcripts help those with hearing impairments, allow viewers to skim content quickly, and improve discoverability for SEO. They're also great for repurposing videos into articles or summaries.

How to get the YouTube transcript for free? There are 6 easy ways for free. Keep reading.

The YouTube App
Web-EaseUS YouTube Transcript Generator-Recommended
Web-Tactiq
Extension-Selectext: Copy Text from Videos
Google Docs
Web-DownSub

Show and Get YouTube Transcript within the YouTube App

YouTube has a built-in auto-generated transcript feature that shows in the description panel below the video. Users can choose to export the transcript to either SRT with timestamps or TXT without timestamps. But it is not available for every video.

               Pros                Cons
  • No additional tools or software are needed.
  • Works directly on YouTube for most videos.
  • Ideal for obtaining text quickly.
  • Some videos lack this feature if captions are not enabled.
  • Auto-generated captions may have errors, especially for videos with accents, fast speech, or background noise.

To generate a transcript of a YouTube video:

Step 1. Open YouTube on your browser or phone. Find the video you want and play it.

Step 2. Click more to expand the description.

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Step 3. Scroll down and tap "Show transcript."

how-to-transcribe-youtube-video-to-text-youtube-app-3.jpg

Step 4. Click the three dots > "Toggle timestamps" for the TXT file.

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Step 5. Copy it to a text editor.

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Transcribe YouTube Video to Text Free Online

Online YouTube transcript generators generate YouTube transcripts using video links and allow you to choose between SRT and Text file formats. They are easy to use, free of login, and ideal for long video conversion. But they also come with ads.

               Pros                Cons
  • Quickly processes transcripts.
  • Many tools can handle non-English videos.
  • Advanced tools let you edit or refine transcripts.
  • Work for partial videos without the show transcript button.
  • Poor audio quality can result in inaccurate transcripts.

EaseUS YouTube Transcript Generator

One of the best online tools is the EaseUS YouTube Transcript Generator, which is completely free to use without requiring any subscription or registration. It supports over 100 languages, making it ideal for a global audience. The tool quickly transcribes both short and long YouTube videos, making it a valuable resource for content creators. Additionally, it allows users to locate specific parts of the video by clicking on individual transcript lines for easy navigation.

Step 1. Copy the YouTube video URL.

Step 2. Paste the URL into the EaseUS YouTube Transcript Generator. Allow the tool to process the video and generate the transcript.

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Step 3. Download the text transcript and edit it as needed.

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Tactiq

Tactiq is a simple, web-based transcription tool that requires no installation and supports both SRT and TXT files. Its AI note taker transcribes live meetings and provides summaries of key points and action items, which is especially helpful for those with back-to-back meetings.

It struggles with low-quality audio, which can affect transcription accuracy, particularly for challenging words. The transcription of Spanish is also basic.

Step 1. Copy the YouTube video URL and paste it into the Tactic box.

Step 2. Hit "Get Video Transcript."

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Step 3. Copy or download the transcript.

how-to-transcribe-youtube-video-to-text-tactiq-3.jpg

Convert YouTube Transcript to Word Using Extension

Selectext: Copy Text from Videos is a browser extension that allows you to easily copy on-screen text from videos on YouTube, Udemy, Coursera, social media sites, and university lecture recordings. It's ideal for quickly grabbing notes from lectures, code from tutorials, or even text in social media videos without the need to type everything out manually. The extension works seamlessly, even in full-screen mode.

               Pros                Cons
  • Fast and easy.
  • Supports over 50 languages.
  • Supports multiple platforms.
  • Uses advanced AI technology for detection.
  • Offers settings to adjust how text is displayed and copied.
  • Copy each text in the video.
  • You need to log in to your Google account.
  • Only works for text that is visible in the video.
  • You need to pause the video to activate the text selection.

Step 1. Add Selectext: Copy Text from Videos to your Chrome.

how-to-transcribe-youtube-video-to-text-selectext-1.jpg

Step 2. Play the YouTube video you want to transcribe.

Step 3. Pause the video, click the toggle button, and sign in with Google.

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Step 4. Select the text to copy directly to your clipboard.

how-to-transcribe-youtube-video-to-text-selectext-4.jpg

how-to-transcribe-youtube-video-to-text-selectext-5.jpg

Tip
You can use the Download YouTube Subtitles extension to save subtitles directly if you find the extension mentioned too complicated or inconvenient.

Change Speech to Text with Google Docs

There are various speech-to-text services to generate text from voice, such as Speech-to-text extensions, Descript, Speechnotes, voice memos, and Google Docs. It's easy, and you can control the text length. But it is not as accurate as those professional transcript generators, and you need to set up your microphone.

               Pros                Cons
  • Edit the text file all the way.
  • Suitable for all videos from different platforms.
  • Accuracy cannot be ensured.
  • Manual and time-consuming way.

Step 1. Open Google Docs and select the "Blank" document option.

how-to-transcribe-youtube-video-to-text-google-doc-1-a.jpg

how-to-transcribe-youtube-video-to-text-google-doc-1-b.jpg

Step 2. From the top menu, click on "Tools" and choose "Voice typing."

how-to-transcribe-youtube-video-to-text-google-doc-2.jpg

Step 3. In a new browser window, open the YouTube video you want to transcribe. Press "Play" on the video, then click the microphone icon in Google Docs to begin transcription.

how-to-transcribe-youtube-video-to-text-google-doc-3.jpg

Step 4. Let Google Docs transcribe the video as it plays. The time it takes will depend on the video's length.

Download YouTube Subtitles via Third-Party Tools

YouTube subtitle downloaders such as DownSub (web-based), Download YouTube Subtitles (browser extension), or EaseUS Video Downloader (desktop software) allow users to easily save YouTube subtitles in SRT or TXT file formats, depending on their needs. These tools provide a quick way to extract and store subtitle text for further use, whether for editing, archiving, or repurposing content.

               Pros                Cons
  • Easily extract subtitles from most videos.
  • Useful for multilingual content.
  • Suitable for video transcripts of all lengths.
  • Subtitles may include timecodes and formatting tags.
  • Some tools need to be downloaded.

DownSub

DownSub is a free, web-based tool that allows you to download subtitles directly from platforms like YouTube, VIU, Viki, Vlive, and more. It supports various subtitle formats, including SRT, TXT, and VTT. Unlike other services, DownSub doesn't require you to install any extensions or third-party software. Simply input the video URL, click Download, and you'll have access to the subtitles in no time. But it displays annoying ads.

Step 1. Copy and paste the link into DownSub. Click the download button.

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Step 2. Select the TXT format and click it to download. You can also choose the target language below.

how-to-transcribe-youtube-video-to-text-downsub-2.jpg

Step 3. Open the file, and you can see the result.

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Wrapping up

Transcribing YouTube videos to text is simple, with several free tools available in 2025. Whether using YouTube's built-in transcript, online generators, extensions, or speech-to-text services, you can easily convert videos into text. Each method has its strengths, and for a straightforward option, EaseUS YouTube Transcript Generator stands out. Just paste the video URL, and you'll get your transcript quickly, no subscriptions required.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Can you get a text transcript of a YouTube video?

  • Open the YouTube video.
  • Click the three-dot menu (or the gear icon) below the video.
  • Select "Show transcript" (if available). You can then copy the transcript.

2. How do I put a YouTube video in text?

  • Open the YouTube video that you want to send.
  • Tap the share button below it and choose "Messages."
  • Add the recipient and send the video.

3. How do I get YouTube to automatically transcribe?

  • Visit YouTube.
  • Click "Create Go Live" in the top-right corner.
  • From the left-hand menu, choose "Stream."
  • Enable Closed Captions in the stream settings.
  • Set the captions source to "Automatic Captions."
  • Select your video language (English only).

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