Download YouTube Subtitles

1. Copy the URL of any YouTube video, Short, or live stream.
2. Paste it into the field above.
3. Click Get Subtitles.
4. The transcript is fetched instantly — no account needed.
5. Download the subtitles as a TXT file.

Need a detailed walkthrough? Read our full guide to downloading YouTube subtitles.

• Content creators — repurpose video content into blog posts, social media, or newsletters.
• Students & researchers — quickly extract lecture notes and citations from educational videos.
• Language learners — read along with foreign-language videos to improve comprehension.
• SEO professionals — index video transcripts for keyword research and content planning.
• Accessibility — provide text versions of video content for hearing-impaired users.
• Journalists — pull exact quotes from interviews and press conferences.
• AI & LLM users — download transcripts and count tokens before sending to GPT or other models.

Is SubtitlesYT free to use?

Yes. SubtitlesYT is completely free — no signup, no limits, no hidden costs.

Does this work with auto-generated subtitles?

Yes. The tool fetches both manually uploaded and YouTube's auto-generated captions.

What languages are supported?

All languages available on YouTube. If the video has subtitles in a given language, SubtitlesYT can download them.

Can I download subtitles from private or age-restricted videos?

No. YouTube's API does not expose subtitles for private or age-restricted content.

What format are the downloaded subtitles in?

Choose from TXT (plain text), SRT (with timestamps), or VTT (web captions) using the format selector. Learn more about subtitle format differences.

Do I need to install any software?

No. SubtitlesYT works entirely in your browser — nothing to install or configure.

Does it work with YouTube Shorts?

Yes. Paste a Shorts URL and the tool will extract subtitles the same way as regular videos.