Every available caption, as clean text.
Stop scrubbing timelines for that one quote. Paste a link and get the full transcript — clickable timestamps, every caption language available on the video, export to TXT / SRT / VTT / CSV / JSON, and one-click AI summaries. Your first 25 transcripts every month are free, no signup.
An 18-minute TED talk becomes 3,015 words of text you can search, skim, and export.
The words are in the video. Getting them out shouldn't take an afternoon.
Scrubbing a timeline for one quote, retyping captions by hand, or juggling sketchy downloader sites — that's the old way. VidWords reads the video's own caption data and hands you the complete text, timestamped and ready to use.
Hours of scrubbing → seconds of reading. Search the text instead of the timeline.
Word-for-word, not a paraphrase. Text comes straight from the video's caption tracks.
No retyping, no sketchy sites. Clean exports in five formats, straight from the page.
Three steps to clean text
No installs, no account, no copy-pasting captions by hand.
Paste a YouTube link
Use a public video with available captions, or drop a whole playlist or channel on the bulk page.
Get the transcript
The full text appears in seconds with timestamps, chapters, language switching, and in-transcript search.
Export or summarize
Copy it, download TXT/SRT/VTT/CSV/JSON, ask AI for a summary, or chat with the video.
When text isn't enough, watch it.
Watch with AI reads the frames, not just the captions — and turns the whole video into a journey you can read in minutes.
Chapter summaries. A TL;DR plus chapter-by-chapter notes with the verbatim quote from each part.
Real video frames. Slides, charts, and demos captured as visual evidence — the parts caption-only tools miss.
Study notes. Takeaways and a test-yourself section, exportable as Markdown.
Answers with receipts. Ask the video questions — every answer cites the exact timestamp.
Try Watch on a video → See a full example
The Free plan includes ten Watch minutes — no card. Failed analyses are refunded automatically.
Everything you need to work with video text
From a single quick lookup to automating thousands of videos through the API.
Fast & accurate
Transcripts come straight from YouTube's own caption data — manual subtitles when available, auto-generated otherwise.
Every language
Switch between all caption tracks a video offers, including auto-generated ones.
Bulk extraction
Pull transcripts for a whole playlist, channel, or list of URLs in one go.
AI summaries & Watch
Turn an hour-long video into a tight summary in one click — or launch Watch for chapter-by-chapter notes with real video frames as evidence.
5 export formats
Download as plain text, SRT, VTT, CSV, or JSON — ready for subtitles, sheets, or code.
Developer API
Automate everything with a simple REST API, up to 50 videos per request.
Built for humans and machines
One clean REST endpoint returns titles, timestamps, and full text as JSON — up to 50 videos per request. Free token, no credit card.
curl https://vidwords.com/api/transcripts \ -H "Authorization: Basic $TOKEN" \ -d '{"ids":["dQw4w9WgXcQ"],"lang":"en"}' // → 200 OK { "results": [{ "title": "Never Gonna Give You Up", "language": "en", "segments": [ { "start": 0.0, "text": "We're no strangers to love" } ], "text": "We're no strangers to love…" }] }
Who uses VidWords
See how different professionals turn video into actionable content.
Marketers & businesses
Analyze competitor videos and pull insights from industry talks for market research.
- Extract insights from competitor videos
- Watch competitor demos frame-by-frame with Deep mode
- Capture customer pain points and language
Creators & podcasters
Repurpose long videos into new content, starting from a clean transcript.
- Draft blog posts and show notes
- Pull quotes for social clips
- Generate captions and subtitles
Journalists & writers
Quote interviews and press conferences accurately, down to the second.
- Timestamped quotes that link to the moment
- Searchable records of long footage
- Fast first-draft material
Researchers & students
Take notes from lectures and build datasets from many videos at once.
- Get study notes with a self-test from any lecture
- Bulk-export whole playlists or channels
- Use any caption language the video provides
Simple, credit-based pricing
One credit = one transcript; AI summaries and chat use a few more. Credits reset every month. Cancel anytime.
Free
- 25 transcripts per month
- Watch with AI: 5 included minutes
- All export formats
- 7-day history
- API access
Starter
- 1,000 transcripts per month
- Watch with AI: 60 min/month
- Bulk playlist & channel
- 90-day history
- AI summaries & chat
Pro
- 3,000 transcripts per month
- Watch: 300 min + Deep mode
- Everything in Starter
- Channels API (50/req)
- Unlimited history
Advanced
- 10,000 transcripts / month
- Watch: 900 min + Deep mode
- Everything in Pro
- Highest included capacity
- Priority support
Prices in USD. Secure checkout · cancel anytime · no credit card for the free plan.
Frequently asked questions
Is it free?
Yes — everyone gets 25 free transcript credits per month, no account required. Need more? See pricing.
Which videos work?
Any public YouTube video that has captions (manual or auto-generated). Private, age-restricted, and caption-disabled videos can't be extracted.
How do bulk extractions work?
Paste a playlist URL, channel handle, or a list of video links on the bulk page. We resolve the video list for free; each extracted transcript costs one credit.
Can I use this programmatically?
Yes — create a free account to get an API token, then call POST /api/transcripts. Full reference in the API docs.
Do unused credits roll over?
No, credits reset at the start of each calendar month.
How accurate are the transcripts?
VidWords preserves the video's caption text. Creator-supplied captions are typically more reliable; auto-generated captions can mishear names, jargon, accents, crosstalk, and noisy audio, so verify important quotations against the timestamped video.
What is Watch with AI?
VidWords Watch turns a video into a chapter-by-chapter journey — a TL;DR, per-chapter summaries with real video frames, the verbatim quotes behind them, study notes with a self-test, and Q&A that cites timestamps. The Free plan includes ten Watch minutes and needs no card.
How is Watch different from an AI summary?
The one-click AI summary condenses the captions. Watch also looks at the video — slides, charts, demos, on-screen text — and anchors every point to a timestamp and frame you can verify. Use the summary for a quick gist, Watch to actually study or verify.
Do I need a credit card to start?
No. The free plan needs no card and no account — paste a link and go. You only enter payment details if you upgrade.
Paste a link. Get the words.
25 free transcripts every month, no account needed. Start in the box above — you'll have clean text before the video finishes buffering.
Extract a transcript