Built for long episodes
The transcript is read from YouTube’s captions rather than re-transcribed, so a long podcast loads about as fast as a short clip.
Free · Podcasts · Live streams · Long videos
YouTube Podcast Transcript Generator
Get a YouTube podcast transcript in seconds, even for a three-hour episode. It also works for YouTube live streams and any long video that has captions.
- Handles multi-hour episodes
- Works with /live/ links
- Search and click to seek
Find any moment
Search the transcript for a guest’s name or topic and click the line to jump the video straight there.
Show notes, faster
Copy the text or download it as Word, Markdown or PDF to start your show notes, blog post or quote list.
How to get a YouTube podcast transcript
- Copy the link to the episode on YouTube.
- Paste it into the box above and press Get Free Transcript.
- Search the transcript, click lines to seek, and copy or download what you need.
How to get a transcript from a YouTube live stream
Paste the /live/ link or the regular watch link of the stream. Once a live stream has ended, YouTube normally processes captions for the replay, and the full YouTube live transcript can then be retrieved like any other video.
While a stream is still live, a complete transcript usually does not exist yet. If a recent stream returns nothing, wait a while for YouTube to finish processing the captions and try again.
Transcripts for long videos
There is no length limit on our side, so lectures, webinars, audiobooks and marathon podcasts all work. The one exception is on YouTube’s side: it sometimes skips automatic captions for very long uploads or recordings with poor audio, and then there is no transcript to return.
For a long episode, the summary page gives a quick overview first: runtime, word count, key terms and draft chapter timestamps.
Turn an episode into show notes
- Remove the sponsor reads and intro chatter, then copy the clean transcript.
- Search for each topic to find its timestamp and build a list of chapters.
- Pull guest quotes, each with the time it was said.
- Paste the transcript into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini with one of our prompts to draft a summary or episode description.
A note on speaker names
YouTube captions record what was said, not who said it, so the transcript does not label speakers unless the creator wrote names into the subtitles. For interviews you can edit lines in place to add speaker names before you copy or download.
Frequently asked questions
How do I get a transcript of a YouTube podcast?
Paste the episode link above and press Get Free Transcript. The full transcript loads next to the video.
How do I get the transcript from a YouTube live stream?
Paste the stream’s /live/ or watch link after the stream has ended and YouTube has processed its captions.
Can I get a transcript while the stream is still live?
Usually not. A full transcript is generally available only for the replay after the broadcast ends.
Is there a length limit?
Not on our side. If YouTube did not create captions for a very long upload, there is nothing to retrieve.
Can I download the YouTube live transcript?
Yes, as TXT, SRT, VTT, Markdown, Word or PDF.
Does the transcript show who is speaking?
Only if the creator included names in the captions. You can add them yourself by editing lines.
Is this YouTube podcast transcript generator free?
Yes, free with no sign-up and no extension.