How to Get the Transcript of a YouTube Video

Updated November 3, 2026 · Summ team

Most YouTube videos have a full text transcript hiding behind a button. It's built from the video's captions, either the ones the creator uploaded or the ones YouTube generates automatically. Getting to it is easy once you know where to look, but the button moves around between desktop, iPhone and Android, and some videos don't have it at all.

Short answer: the free way is YouTube's own transcript: open the video on desktop, click "...more" under the description, then click "Show transcript." To get the full text with timestamps on any device, export it as TXT, SRT or VTT, and get an AI summary too, share the video to the Summ app.

Below are four methods.

Method 1: Use the Summ app (transcript + summary)

This works on iPhone, iPad and Android, including phones where YouTube's own button is hard to find or the text can't be copied. It's also an easy way to get the transcript as a file.

1. Install Summ from the App Store or Google Play.
2. In the YouTube app, tap Share and choose Summ. Or copy the video link and paste it into Summ.
3. Open the transcript. You get the full text, with a timestamp on each line.
4. Export it as a TXT file (plain text), or as SRT or VTT (subtitle files with timings).

You also get an AI summary of the same video. There's a free plan with daily use, and Premium adds unlimited use and longer videos. On the web, summ.site/youtube-transcript shows the transcript (with Copy and TXT or SRT download) for videos already in Summ's library. For other videos it shows the video and a link to get the app. The transcript download page explains the file formats, and YouTube to Text covers getting plain text without timestamps.

Method 2: Get the transcript on YouTube desktop

YouTube's built-in transcript is free and works in any desktop browser.

1. Open the video on youtube.com.
2. Below the video, click ...more to expand the description.
3. Scroll to the bottom of the description and click Show transcript.
4. A transcript panel opens to the right of the video (or below it on narrow windows). Click any line to jump to that moment.
5. To hide timestamps, click the three-dot menu at the top of the transcript panel and choose Toggle timestamps.
6. If the video has captions in more than one language, use the language menu at the bottom of the panel to switch.

To copy the text, click and drag from the first line to the last, then press Ctrl+C (Cmd+C on a Mac). On long videos the panel scrolls, so selecting everything can be fiddly. Our guide on copying and downloading YouTube transcripts has tips for this.

Method 3: Get a YouTube transcript on iPhone or Android

The YouTube app for iPhone and Android has a transcript view too, though it's a little more tucked away.

1. Open the video in the YouTube app.
2. Tap the video title or the description area under the player to expand it.
3. Scroll down through the description and tap Show transcript.
4. The transcript opens as a scrolling panel. Tap a line to jump to that point in the video.

The catch: the mobile app doesn't let you select and copy the transcript text in any practical way, and on some app versions or regions the option doesn't show up at all. If you need the text on your phone, share the video to the Summ app (Method 1), where you can copy or export the transcript. You can also request the desktop site in your mobile browser, but the panel is cramped on a small screen.

Method 4: Skip the transcript and read the summary in Summ

A lot of people look for a transcript because they want to know what a video says without watching all of it. If that's you, a summary is often more useful than 8,000 words of raw captions.

Summ is our app for iPhone, iPad and Android. In the YouTube app, tap Share, then pick Summ from the share sheet (or paste the link into Summ directly). You get a brief overview, the key points and chapters with timestamps. You can choose a summary length, read it in 50+ languages, listen with text-to-speech, and keep it in an offline library. There's a free plan with a daily limit, and premium removes the limit.

On the web, the YouTube Summarizer page shows the transcript and links to a summary when Summ already has one. See how to summarize a YouTube video for a full walkthrough.

When YouTube doesn't have a transcript

The "Show transcript" option depends on captions. It won't be there if:

• The video has no captions and YouTube hasn't generated any. This happens with music-only videos, very noisy audio and some languages.
• The creator turned captions off or removed the auto-generated track.
• The video is brand new. Auto-captions usually show up after processing, which can take a while on long uploads.
• It's a live stream that's still running. Transcripts usually appear after the stream ends and is processed.
• You're on a YouTube version that hides the option, which happens on some mobile app versions, smart TVs and embedded players.

If a video has no captions at all, no transcript tool can pull text that doesn't exist. Your options then are a speech-to-text service that listens to the audio itself, or writing notes by hand.

How accurate are YouTube transcripts?

It depends on where the captions came from. Captions the creator uploaded are usually close to word-for-word. Auto-generated captions are good for clear speech in common languages, but they struggle with names, technical terms, accents, crosstalk and music. They also come without punctuation in many cases, so you get long run-on lines.

For a quote you plan to publish, check the line against the video. For research, study notes or a quick summary, auto-captions are usually fine. If you want structured notes rather than raw text, try YouTube to Notes.

What to do with a transcript

• Search it. Find the exact moment someone mentions a product, a number or a name, then click the timestamp.
• Quote it. Copy a precise line for an article, essay or social post, with the timestamp as a reference.
• Make subtitles. Export it as SRT or VTT from the Summ app and load it into a video editor or player.
• Feed it to AI. Paste the transcript into ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude and ask questions. This works far better than pasting a link. We explain why in Can ChatGPT watch YouTube videos?
• Study from it. Turn a lecture into reading material you can highlight and review.

Want to see what a finished summary looks like before you try it? Browse our library of example summaries.