# TikTok Transcript Scraper: Subtitles to Text, SRT & VTT (`s_actors/tiktok-transcript-scraper`) Actor

Get TikTok transcripts by video link, ID or profile: the spoken text, timed segments, SRT and VTT subtitles, plus TikTok's translations into English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Arabic or Chinese. Follow creators: only new videos on a schedule. Videos without subtitles are free.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/s_actors/tiktok-transcript-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Superior Actors](https://apify.com/s_actors) (community)
- **Categories:** Social media, AI, Videos
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 1 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $0.79 / 1,000 transcripts

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

### TikTok Transcript Scraper: Subtitles to Text, SRT & VTT

Turn **TikTok videos into text**: paste video links, IDs or profiles and get the **transcript** of what is said in each video, **timed segments**, ready-made **SRT and VTT subtitles** and, if you want, **TikTok's translations** into English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Arabic or Chinese. Videos without TikTok subtitles can be transcribed by **AI (Whisper)** in any language. Export to CSV, Excel or JSON, or save `.srt`, `.vtt` and `.txt` files. Schedule it with profiles to get the transcript of **every new video** of the creators you follow.

```json
{ "videos": ["https://www.tiktok.com/@renreports/video/7307726351291960622", "@hubermanlab"], "translateTo": ["es"] }
```

No TikTok login, no cookies, no browser extension. Use it as a **TikTok transcript API**: one call returns clean JSON for hundreds of videos.

#### What you get

One row per video and language. Real example, October 2026:

| videoAuthorUsername | language | isTranslation | wordCount | durationSeconds | transcript |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| renreports | eng-US | false | 512 | 139 | I work in influencer marketing and I look at media kids all day long... |
| renreports | spa-ES | true | 477 | 139 | Trabajo en marketing de influencers y miro a los niños de los medios... |
| lequipe | fra-FR | false | 110 | 85 | Finir, je voudrais remercier, euh. Ma famille, ma mère... |
| lequipe | eng-US | true | 110 | 85 | Finish. I would like to thank. Uh. My family, my mother... |
| hubermanlab | eng-US | false | 175 | 55 | Hey everyone. Alright, my book is finally ready for release... |

| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| `transcript` | The whole spoken text as one paragraph, ready for ChatGPT, Claude, search or a spreadsheet |
| `transcriptSource` | `tiktok` (TikTok's subtitles), `tiktok-translation` (TikTok's translation) or `ai` (our AI transcription of a video without them) |
| `language`, `languageCode`, `isAutoGenerated`, `isTranslation` | Subtitle language (`eng-US`, `en`), made by TikTok's speech recognition or by the creator, original or TikTok's translation |
| `aiModel`, `aiMinutes`, `aiLanguageProbability` | For AI transcripts: the model (Whisper small), the charged minutes and how sure the language detection is |
| `wordCount`, `segmentCount` | Length of the transcript |
| `segments` | Every subtitle line with its `start` and `end` second: `{"start": 0.08, "end": 1.28, "text": "I work in influencer marketing"}` |
| `subtitlesSrt`, `subtitlesVtt` | The full subtitles as SRT (video editors, YouTube, CapCut, Premiere) and WebVTT (web players) |
| `srtFileUrl`, `vttFileUrl`, `txtFileUrl` | Download links of `.srt`, `.vtt` and `.txt` files with **Save .srt, .vtt and .txt files** |
| `subtitleLanguages`, `translationsNotAvailable` | All subtitle languages TikTok gave, and the chosen translations TikTok does not have for this video |
| `videoId`, `videoUrl`, `videoDescription`, `videoCreatedAt`, `durationSeconds`, `hashtags`, `videoLanguage`, `coverUrl` | The video: link, caption, posting time (UTC), length, hashtags, caption language, cover |
| `videoPlayCount`, `videoLikeCount`, `videoCommentCount`, `videoShareCount`, `videoSaveCount`, `musicTitle`, `isPhotoPost` | Video stats and sound as TikTok shows them |
| `videoAuthorUsername`, `videoAuthorName`, `videoAuthorId`, `videoAuthorVerified` | The creator |
| `hasTranscript`, `noTranscriptReason` | `false` with the reason when TikTok has no subtitles for the video (free) |
| `input`, `inputProfile`, `position`, `scrapedAt` | Which input the row came from |

#### How it works

1. Add **videos or profiles**: `tiktok.com/@user/video/...`, short links `vm.tiktok.com/...`, video IDs, `tiktok.com/@user` or `@user`
2. Optional: choose **translations**, turn on **Save .srt, .vtt and .txt files** or **Only new videos**
3. Run, then download the dataset as CSV, Excel, JSON or HTML. Files are in the run's **Storage → Key-value store**

| Input | What it does |
|---|---|
| **TikTok videos or profiles** | Any mix of links, IDs and profiles. A profile gives its latest videos (**Videos per profile**, default 5, `0` = all) |
| **Also get TikTok's translations into** | English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Arabic, Chinese: one more row per language TikTok has translated the video into |
| **Include the original language** | On by default. Turn off to get only the translations |
| **Timed segments**, **SRT and VTT in the row** | On by default. Turn off for smaller rows with the plain transcript only |
| **AI transcription of videos without subtitles** | Off by default. Downloads the videos TikTok has no subtitles for and transcribes the speech with Whisper |
| **Save .srt, .vtt and .txt files** | Subtitle files with permanent download links, free |
| **Only new videos** | Skips videos this Actor already transcribed in your account: for schedules |

#### Where the transcripts come from

The Actor reads the **subtitles TikTok makes itself** with speech recognition (and the ones creators upload), the same text you see when you turn on captions in the TikTok app. TikTok makes them for most videos with speech: in our test 17 of 18 talking videos had them. Videos with only music, photo posts, older videos and some creators' videos have none: they give a row with `hasTranscript: false` and `noTranscriptReason`, and are **not charged**.

Turn on **AI transcription of videos without subtitles** to fill the gaps: the Actor downloads such a video and turns its speech into text with OpenAI's Whisper model, running inside the Actor (no API key needed). A voice filter skips music and silence first, so a music-only video stays free. Song lyrics and text written on the screen are not transcribed: only spoken words. In our test of 12 videos without subtitles, 8 had speech and got transcripts (Spanish, English, French), 4 were music only. The model is Whisper small: it gets names and brands right ("My brand Dictador in the Dubai Duty Free", "I got a Nimbus 2000") and takes ~35 s per minute of video.

TikTok translates some videos into English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Arabic and Chinese (Simplified). A language TikTok has not made for a video is listed in `translationsNotAvailable` and is not charged.

#### Why this Actor

| | |
|---|---|
| 💰 **$0.99 per 1,000 transcripts** | Cheaper than the popular TikTok transcript scrapers, no subscription, videos without speech free |
| 🤖 **AI for the rest** | Whisper transcription of videos without subtitles, $0.01499 per minute, music-only videos free |
| 🔁 **Follow creators** | Add profiles, turn on **Only new videos** and schedule it: each run gives the transcripts of the new videos only |
| 🌍 **TikTok's translations** | Spanish, Portuguese, French, Arabic, Chinese and English versions TikTok shows only to viewers with that app language |
| 📄 **Every format in one row** | Plain text, timed segments, SRT and VTT, plus `.srt`, `.vtt`, `.txt` files |
| 📊 **Video stats on every row** | Plays, likes, comments, shares, saves, hashtags, posting time and author |
| ⚡ **Bulk and fast** | Hundreds of videos per run, 10 at a time |

#### Follow creators: transcripts of new videos

1. Add the profiles (`@hubermanlab`, `@garyvee`...) and turn on **Only new videos**
2. Save as a task and add a schedule, e.g. every morning
3. The **first run** transcribes the latest videos. **Every later run** returns only videos posted since: send them to [Google Sheets](https://apify.com/s_actors/google-sheets-import-export), Slack, email or your AI workflow with an integration

The list of transcribed videos is kept in your account (key-value store `tiktok-transcript-seen`). Videos without subtitles yet are tried again on the next run.

#### Pricing

Pay per transcript, no subscription needed. Apify Scale and Business plans pay less:

| Event | Free and Starter plans | Scale plan | Business plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Run start, per GB of memory (4 GB by default = $0.004) | $0.001 | $0.001 | $0.001 |
| Transcript (one video in one language) | $0.00099 | $0.000891 | $0.000792 |
| AI transcription, per started minute of video | $0.01499 | $0.01349 | $0.01199 |

| Task | Cost |
|---|---|
| Transcripts of 1,000 videos | ~$0.99 |
| 100 videos in the original language + Spanish | ~$0.20 |
| 10 creators followed daily, ~2 new videos each per day | ~$0.71 per month |
| 1,000 videos with AI on, 30% of them without subtitles but with speech (short videos) | ~$0.70 + ~$4.50 AI = ~$5.20 |

Videos without subtitles (when AI is off or finds no speech), photo posts and videos that are not found are not charged. A video of 0:40 is one AI minute, 1:30 is two.

#### Ready-made tasks

Open it, change the videos, and run:

| Task | What you get |
|---|---|
| [TikTok Transcript Generator: Video Link to Text](https://apify.com/s_actors/tiktok-transcript-scraper/examples/tiktok-transcript-generator) | The transcript of TikTok videos as text, SRT and VTT |

#### FAQ

**Does it transcribe videos without subtitles with AI?** Yes, with **AI transcription of videos without subtitles** on: Whisper runs inside the Actor, in any language, charged per started minute only when speech is found. With it off, such a video gives a free row with `hasTranscript: false`. AI transcripts have no TikTok translations.

**How much memory does AI transcription need?** Keep the run's memory at 4 GB (the default): with less memory the AI is slower.

**How accurate are the transcripts?** They are TikTok's own captions: the text TikTok shows in the app, usually very good for clear speech. Filler words like "uh" stay in, and names can be misspelled, as in the app.

**Which languages?** The language spoken in the video, whatever it is (English, Spanish, French, Arabic, Indonesian...). Translations come only from TikTok and only into English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Arabic and Chinese.

**Can I get the transcripts of all videos of a profile?** All of them: set **Videos per profile** to `0` for every video of the profile, or a number for the latest ones (newest first). To keep up with a creator, schedule it with **Only new videos**.

**How long do the file links work?** `srtFileUrl`, `vttFileUrl` and `txtFileUrl` point to your Apify storage and work as long as the run's storage is kept (unnamed storages are removed after your plan's data retention period).

**Do I need a TikTok account or cookies?** No. The Actor reads public videos the way the TikTok website does for a visitor.

#### Use with the API and AI agents

Run it via the [Apify API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2) from Python, Node.js or any HTTP client, or connect it to Claude, ChatGPT and other AI agents through the [Apify MCP server](https://mcp.apify.com): "Summarize what these 20 TikToks say about skincare and list the products they mention."

#### Other tools

| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
| [TikTok Profile Scraper](https://apify.com/s_actors/tiktok-profile-scraper) | All videos of TikTok profiles: plays, likes, dates, exact followers, new-video alerts, MP4 download |
| [TikTok Video Scraper](https://apify.com/s_actors/tiktok-video-scraper) | Views, likes, shares, hashtags and sound of TikTok videos, MP4 download, views tracker |
| [TikTok Comments Scraper](https://apify.com/s_actors/tiktok-comments-scraper) | Comments and replies of TikTok videos and profiles, keyword filter, only-new alerts |
| [TikTok Followers Scraper](https://apify.com/s_actors/tiktok-followers-scraper) | Followers and following lists of TikTok profiles: bio emails, follow time, new followers and unfollows |
| [TikTok Trending Hashtags Scraper](https://apify.com/s_actors/tiktok-trending-hashtags-scraper) | Trending TikTok hashtags by country: ~45 per country (not just the top 3), views, trend curve, top creators, new-trend alerts |
| [TikTok Trending Videos Scraper](https://apify.com/s_actors/tiktok-trending-videos-scraper) | Top TikTok videos by country: ~80 per country (not just the top 4), period and organic views, engagement, likes, creators, new-video alerts |
| [TikTok Viral Videos & Explore Scraper](https://apify.com/s_actors/tiktok-explore-scraper) | Viral TikTok videos from the Explore page in any country and 21 categories: plays, likes, plays per hour, creators, new-video alerts |
| [TikTok Trending Sounds & Songs Scraper](https://apify.com/s_actors/tiktok-trending-sounds-scraper) | Trending TikTok sounds and songs by country and Explore category: videos using each sound, plays, creators, commercial use, MP3 |
| [YouTube Transcript Scraper](https://apify.com/s_actors/youtube-transcript-scraper) | Transcripts and subtitles of YouTube videos, channels and playlists |
| [Google Sheets Import & Export](https://apify.com/s_actors/google-sheets-import-export) | Send the transcripts to a Google Sheet |

#### Is it legal?

The Actor collects only public videos and subtitles that TikTok shows to any visitor, without logging in. Transcripts are the creators' content: respect copyright when you republish them, and use personal data such as usernames in line with GDPR and other privacy laws.

# Actor input Schema

## `videos` (type: `array`):

One per line: video links (tiktok.com/@user/video/...), short links (vm.tiktok.com/..., tiktok.com/t/...), video IDs, or profiles (tiktok.com/@user or @user). A profile gives the subtitles of its latest videos (see Videos per profile).

## `maxVideosPerProfile` (type: `integer`):

Used only when you add a profile (tiktok.com/@user or @user): how many of its latest videos to transcribe, newest first. 0 = all videos of the profile. Video links are not affected.

## `aiTranscription` (type: `boolean`):

When TikTok has no subtitles for a video, download it and turn the speech into text with AI speech recognition (Whisper), in any language. Charged per started minute of video, only when speech is found: music-only videos stay free. Videos with TikTok subtitles are not affected. Runs best with 4 GB of memory (the default).

## `aiMaxVideoMinutes` (type: `integer`):

Videos longer than this are not transcribed by AI (they get a free row with the reason). Keeps the cost of a run predictable.

## `translateTo` (type: `array`):

Adds one more row per video for each language TikTok has already translated the subtitles into (TikTok's own machine translation). TikTok translates only some videos and only into these languages; a language it does not have is listed in translationsNotAvailable and is not charged.

## `includeOriginal` (type: `boolean`):

The subtitles in the language spoken in the video. Turn off to get only the translations chosen above (ignored when no translation is chosen).

## `includeSegments` (type: `boolean`):

Add segments: every subtitle line with its start and end second, for quotes with timestamps, clips and search inside a video.

## `includeSubtitleText` (type: `boolean`):

Add the full subtitle files as text: subtitlesSrt (for video editors and YouTube) and subtitlesVtt (WebVTT, for web players).

## `saveFiles` (type: `boolean`):

Save each transcript as .srt, .vtt and .txt files to the run's key-value store and add download links (srtFileUrl, vttFileUrl, txtFileUrl) to the row. Free.

## `onlyNewVideos` (type: `boolean`):

Skip videos already transcribed by an earlier run of this Actor in your account (remembered in the key-value store tiktok-transcript-seen). Use it with profiles on a schedule: each run returns only the videos posted since the last one. Videos without subtitles yet are tried again next time.

## `maxConcurrency` (type: `integer`):

How many videos are processed at the same time.

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Requests go direct first and switch to Apify datacenter proxies (then residential) when TikTok refuses them. The default works for most runs.

## `debugLog` (type: `boolean`):

Log every retried request (for troubleshooting).

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "videos": [
    "https://www.tiktok.com/@renreports/video/7307726351291960622",
    "https://www.tiktok.com/@bbcnews/video/7692723597244157206"
  ],
  "maxVideosPerProfile": 5,
  "aiTranscription": false,
  "aiMaxVideoMinutes": 10,
  "translateTo": [],
  "includeOriginal": true,
  "includeSegments": true,
  "includeSubtitleText": true,
  "saveFiles": false,
  "onlyNewVideos": false,
  "maxConcurrency": 10,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true
  },
  "debugLog": false
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `overview` (type: `string`):

Transcript text, language, word count, video and author.

## `files` (type: `string`):

Download links of the .srt, .vtt and .txt files (with "Save .srt, .vtt and .txt files" on).

## `all` (type: `string`):

Every field of every row: timed segments, SRT and VTT text, video stats.

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "videos": [
        "https://www.tiktok.com/@renreports/video/7307726351291960622",
        "https://www.tiktok.com/@bbcnews/video/7692723597244157206"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("s_actors/tiktok-transcript-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "videos": [
        "https://www.tiktok.com/@renreports/video/7307726351291960622",
        "https://www.tiktok.com/@bbcnews/video/7692723597244157206",
    ] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("s_actors/tiktok-transcript-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "videos": [
    "https://www.tiktok.com/@renreports/video/7307726351291960622",
    "https://www.tiktok.com/@bbcnews/video/7692723597244157206"
  ]
}' |
apify call s_actors/tiktok-transcript-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,s_actors/tiktok-transcript-scraper"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/VFX86kFUorLJtGhc1/builds/urYZPqEFGEHgUMfrp/openapi.json