YouTube Transcript Pro — Videos, Shorts, Playlists & Channels

Extract clean, structured YouTube transcripts from videos, Shorts, playlists, channels, and search results. Use the results for AI, RAG, automation, research, content analysis, and subtitle workflows.

$5.99 per 1,000 successful transcripts. Failed videos are not charged as successful transcripts. Platform usage is included.

Why use this Actor

• Collect captions from videos, Shorts, playlists, channels, and search results, with batch processing and duplicate handling.
• Choose manual captions, auto-generated captions, language priority, and translation where YouTube supports it.
• Return plain text, timestamped segments, SRT, WebVTT, and RAG-ready chunks.
• Include video metadata when publicly available.
• Isolate failures so successful transcripts are preserved, and use configured proxy fallback and persistent transcript caching to reduce repeated network work.

Use cases

• Ingest transcripts into a RAG pipeline or vector database.
• Build or curate LLM training and evaluation datasets.
• Research topics and references across YouTube videos.
• Monitor public channel uploads with scheduled runs.
• Analyze themes, terminology, or content across a video collection.
• Connect transcript results to n8n, Make, or Zapier workflows through Apify integrations or the API.
• Export subtitles for editing and localization workflows.
• Search and review interviews, talks, and podcast episodes.

Supported inputs

Provide one source or mix multiple sources in a batch:

• Single video URL or 11-character video ID
• YouTube Shorts URL
• Playlist URL
• Channel URL or @handle
• Search query using searchQueries or a search: source
• Multiple mixed video, Shorts, playlist, channel, and search sources

Examples:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ
https://www.youtube.com/@TEDEd
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAYLIST_ID
search:quantum computing explained

Output formats

Choose plain text, timestamped segments, SRT, WebVTT, or RAG chunks. Segment records include caption text and timing. RAG chunks include chunk text, start and end times, and a timestamp link to the corresponding point in the video.

Metadata

Metadata is best effort and returned when publicly available. It can include title, channel name and URL, duration, thumbnail, upload date, views, likes, comments, playlist details, and Shorts classification. Individual fields may be null when YouTube does not provide them.

Reliability

The Actor separates failures by video, so one unavailable video does not discard other successful results. It uses bounded retry and bot-check-aware behavior, with direct, datacenter, and optional residential proxy routing according to your settings. A persistent transcript cache can reduce repeated transcript network requests on later runs. YouTube availability and route responses can still vary.

Pricing

• $5.99 per 1,000 successful transcripts
• Equivalent to $0.00599 per successful transcript
• Failed, no-caption, and private videos do not trigger the Successful Transcript event.
• Actor Start: $0.00005 per run
• Platform usage: Included

The Successful Transcript event is emitted for a successfully delivered transcript. Failed videos are not charged as successful transcripts.

Input examples

Example 1: Single video

{
  "sources": ["https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ"],
  "languages": ["en"],
  "outputFormats": ["text", "segments"]
}

Example 2: Channel Shorts

{
  "sources": ["https://www.youtube.com/@TEDEd"],
  "includeVideos": false,
  "includeShorts": true,
  "includeLive": false,
  "outputFormats": ["text", "segments"]
}

Example 3: Playlist and search query

{
  "sources": ["https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAYLIST_ID"],
  "searchQueries": ["quantum computing explained"],
  "maxVideosPerSource": 10,
  "maxVideosPerSearch": 5,
  "outputFormats": ["text", "segments", "srt", "vtt", "rag"]
}

Output example

The following compact example shows the available fields when the matching formats are selected. Metadata fields may be null when unavailable.

{
  "videoId": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
  "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ",
  "title": "Example video",
  "channelName": "Example channel",
  "transcriptLanguage": "English",
  "languageCode": "en",
  "isAutoGenerated": false,
  "isShort": false,
  "durationSeconds": 212,
  "fullText": "A short transcript excerpt…",
  "segments": [
    {"start": 0.0, "duration": 2.1, "end": 2.1, "text": "A short transcript excerpt."}
  ],
  "srt": "1\n00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,100\nA short transcript excerpt.",
  "vtt": "WEBVTT\n\n00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.100\nA short transcript excerpt.",
  "ragChunks": [
    {
      "chunkIndex": 0,
      "text": "A short transcript excerpt.",
      "start": 0.0,
      "end": 2.1,
      "timestampUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ&t=0s"
    }
  ],
  "success": true,
  "status": "OK"
}

API and automation

Run the Actor from Apify Console, call it through the Apify API, or connect it through Apify integrations. It can be used in n8n, Make, and Zapier workflows, as well as MCP and AI workflows connected to Apify. No dedicated third-party n8n node is required to use the Apify API or integration options.

Limitations

• A transcript is available only when YouTube provides caption or transcript data for the video.
• Some videos may be private, unavailable, age- or region-restricted, or blocked from access.
• YouTube may temporarily apply bot checks or rate limits.
• Rich metadata fields are not available for every video.
• Captions for live or recently uploaded videos may not be ready immediately.

FAQ

Do I pay for failed videos?

Failed, no-caption, and private videos do not trigger the Successful Transcript event. A run can still have its Actor Start event; see the Pricing section for the current event rates.

Can it process Shorts?

Yes. Provide a Shorts URL directly or include Shorts when discovering a channel.

Can it process channels and playlists?

Yes. Provide a public channel URL or handle, or a playlist URL. Available videos are discovered and processed in a batch.

Does it support SRT and VTT?

Yes. Select srt and/or vtt in outputFormats.

Can I use the results for RAG?

Yes. Select rag in outputFormats or enable ragChunks. Chunks contain text, timing, and a timestamp link.

Does it use AI transcription?

No. This Actor retrieves available YouTube caption/transcript tracks. It does not currently perform Whisper or audio transcription.

What happens when YouTube blocks a request?

The Actor uses bounded retry and the proxy routes allowed by your settings. If a video remains unavailable, it is reported as failed while other successful transcripts are retained. Failed videos are not charged as successful transcripts.