YouTube Transcript Scraper: Text, SRT & Timestamps

Extract YouTube transcripts and subtitles from public videos with captions. Get text, timestamped segments, Markdown and SRT for manual or auto-generated captions in your language. $0.50 per 1,000 videos; failed videos are not charged.

Store page: https://apify.com/nexo_data/youtube-transcripts-timestamps

What can you do with this YouTube transcripts scraper?

• Feed video transcripts into RAG / LLM pipelines
• Repurpose videos into blog posts, summaries and SRT subtitles
• Research competitors' video content at scale
• Search spoken content across a channel or playlist

How to extract YouTube transcripts with timestamps

1. Open the Actor on Apify Store and click Try for free.
2. Paste your input (see the example below) in the Input tab.
3. Click Start and wait for the run to finish.
4. Download results as JSON, CSV, Excel or HTML, or fetch them via the Apify API.

How to extract YouTube transcripts with timestamps via API

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/nexo_data~youtube-transcripts-timestamps/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=YOUR_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"videoUrls": ["https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw"], "languages": ["en", "es"], "proxyMode": "auto"}'

You can also call it from Python/JS with the apify-client, schedule it, or connect it to Make, Zapier, n8n or an MCP-enabled AI agent.

How to schedule it for monitoring

Create an Apify Schedule (e.g. daily) with the same input. Combine with webhooks or integrations to get alerts in Slack, email or Google Sheets.

Input example

{
  "videoUrls": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw"
  ],
  "languages": [
    "en",
    "es"
  ],
  "proxyMode": "auto"
}

Output example

Each item in the dataset is one result. Typical fields are listed in the Output tab; export to JSON/CSV/Excel.

Pricing (pay per event)

You only pay for what you get — no monthly rental. Apify platform usage is included in the event prices below.

Event	What it is	Price
run-start	Run initialization — One initialization event per valid run. Covers setup and unsuccessful network attempts.	$0.0002 ($0.2 / 1,000)
transcript	Successful transcript — One video with a successfully extracted caption track.	$0.001 ($1.0 / 1,000)
residential-data-100kb	Residential route data (100 KB) — Charged only when YouTube blocks the direct route: each 100 KB of compressed residential proxy transfer beyond the first 50 KB per video.	$0.0015 ($1.5 / 1,000)

Tip: set Maximum cost per run in run options to cap spend. New Apify accounts get free monthly credits, so your first runs are effectively free.

FAQ

Is it legal to scrape YouTube transcripts? This Actor collects only publicly available data. Make sure your use complies with the site's terms and data protection laws (e.g. GDPR).

Do I need an API key or login? No. Only an Apify account.

What if a source fails? Failed or empty sources are reported in the output for diagnosis; you are not charged the transcript event for them.

Can I use it with AI agents / LLMs? Yes — output is structured JSON, ready for RAG, LangChain, LlamaIndex or the Apify MCP server.

Found a bug or need a feature? Open an issue in the Issues tab — we usually respond within 24 hours.