# YouTube Transcript API | YouTube to Text, Any Language | $2/1K (`shahab_adl/youtube-transcript-scraper`) Actor

Get YouTube video transcripts (captions/subtitles) as plain text, timestamped text or segments — YouTube to text for any language, bulk URLs, Shorts, and live. Title, channel, and views included. Paid only for transcripts found; videos without captions are free.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/shahab_adl/youtube-transcript-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [shahab adeli](https://apify.com/shahab_adl) (community)
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $2.00 / 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.

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

## YouTube Transcript Scraper

**Get the transcript of any YouTube video as clean text** — plain, timestamped, or as caption segments — in the original language or the one you choose. Paste one link or thousands. No login, no API key, no proxy setup.

Built for **AI / LLM pipelines (RAG, summaries, chatbots), content repurposing, research and SEO**. Pay only for transcripts you get — **$2 per 1,000 videos**. Videos without captions are **never charged**.

### How to use it (1 minute)

1. Paste YouTube links or video IDs into **Videos** — watch, youtu.be, Shorts, live and embed links all work.
2. Optional: set **Language** (e.g. `en`, or `es,en` for a fallback). Leave it empty to get the video's original spoken language.
3. Click **Start**, then download JSON, CSV or Excel — or pull results through the API.

### Output example

One row per video:

```json
{
  "videoId": "aircAruvnKk",
  "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aircAruvnKk",
  "title": "But what is a neural network? | Deep learning chapter 1",
  "channelName": "3Blue1Brown",
  "channelId": "UCYO_jab_esuFRV4b17AJtAw",
  "durationSeconds": 1120,
  "viewCount": 22000000,
  "availableLanguages": ["ar", "en", "en (auto)", "es", "fr", "de", "..."],
  "language": "en",
  "languageName": "English",
  "isAutoGenerated": false,
  "wordCount": 3357,
  "transcript": "This is a 3. It's sloppily written and rendered at an extremely low resolution of 28x28 pixels, but your brain has no trouble recognizing it as a 3...",
  "transcriptWithTimestamps": "[0:04] This is a 3.\n[0:06] It's sloppily written and rendered at an extremely low resolution of 28x28 pixels,\n..."
}
```

Turn on **Include segments array** to also get `segments: [{ "start": 4.22, "duration": 1.6, "text": "This is a 3." }, ...]` — ready for subtitles, chapters or clip finding.

### What people use it for

- **AI & LLM input** — feed transcripts into ChatGPT/Claude, a vector database or an agent for summaries, Q\&A and RAG.
- **YouTube to text** — convert any video into a text file you can search, translate or archive.
- **Content repurposing** — turn videos into blog posts, newsletters, tweets and show notes.
- **Research** — analyze what competitors, experts or a whole channel say, at scale.
- **SEO & accessibility** — publish text versions of your videos.
- **Translation & learning** — pick any caption language the video offers.

### Pricing

You pay **$2 per 1,000 transcripts** ($0.002 each), plus $0.00005 per run. Proxy costs are included.

| You collect | Approximate cost |
|---|---|
| 1 video | $0.002 |
| 500 videos from a channel | $1.00 |
| 10,000 videos for an AI dataset | $20 |

Videos with no captions, private/deleted videos and invalid links are **never charged** — they're listed in the run's `RUN_SUMMARY` with the reason. Set a spending limit and the run stops there.

### Input example

```json
{
  "videos": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aircAruvnKk",
    "https://youtu.be/kJQP7kiw5Fk",
    "https://www.youtube.com/shorts/jNQXAC9IVRw"
  ],
  "language": "en",
  "includeTimestamps": true,
  "includeSegments": false
}
```

### FAQ

**Which language do I get?** With *Language* empty: the video's original spoken language (a human-made caption if one exists, otherwise YouTube's auto-generated one). With *Language* set: the first match from your list; `isAutoGenerated` tells you which kind you got.

**What if a video has no transcript?** It's skipped, not charged, and listed in `RUN_SUMMARY` → `withoutTranscript`. This tool reads YouTube's captions; it does not do speech-to-text.

**Does it work for Shorts and live streams?** Yes, as long as the video has captions.

**Can I use it from code, Make, Zapier or n8n?** Yes — start runs and read results through the Apify API, or use Apify's integrations.

**Is it legal?** It reads only publicly available captions. You're responsible for using the content in line with copyright law and YouTube's terms.

**Something broken?** Open an issue on this page — I usually reply within a day.

### Related tools

| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
| [Google Play Reviews Scraper](https://apify.com/shahab_adl/google-play-reviews-scraper) | App reviews with rating, text, version and developer replies |
| [Google Play Apps Scraper](https://apify.com/shahab_adl/google-play-apps-scraper) | Keyword search with rank, top charts, app details and developer email |
| [App Store Reviews Scraper](https://apify.com/shahab_adl/app-store-reviews-scraper) | iOS reviews, many countries per run |
| [Reddit Scraper](https://apify.com/shahab_adl/reddit-scraper-no-login) | Posts and comments by subreddit, keyword, user or post — $1.5/1K |

# Actor input Schema

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

YouTube video links or 11-character video IDs. Works with watch, youtu.be, Shorts, live and embed links.

## `language` (type: `string`):

Optional language code, e.g. en, es, ar, de. Comma-separate for fallbacks (e.g. en,es). Leave empty to get the transcript in the video's original spoken language.

## `includeTimestamps` (type: `boolean`):

Adds a transcriptWithTimestamps field: one line per caption, like \[1:23] text.

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

Adds a segments array with start time, duration (seconds) and text for every caption — useful for subtitles or chaptering.

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

How many videos to fetch at the same time (1–10).

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

YouTube blocks datacenter IPs, so residential proxy is used by default and included in the price. Change only if you know what you are doing.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "videos": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aircAruvnKk"
  ],
  "language": "",
  "includeTimestamps": true,
  "includeSegments": false,
  "maxConcurrency": 5,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": [
      "RESIDENTIAL"
    ]
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `transcripts` (type: `string`):

No description

## `summary` (type: `string`):

No description

# 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.youtube.com/watch?v=aircAruvnKk"
    ],
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": true,
        "apifyProxyGroups": [
            "RESIDENTIAL"
        ]
    }
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("shahab_adl/youtube-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.youtube.com/watch?v=aircAruvnKk"],
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": True,
        "apifyProxyGroups": ["RESIDENTIAL"],
    },
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("shahab_adl/youtube-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.youtube.com/watch?v=aircAruvnKk"
  ],
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": [
      "RESIDENTIAL"
    ]
  }
}' |
apify call shahab_adl/youtube-transcript-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,shahab_adl/youtube-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/35Jmj2roxchZWakTA/builds/3Je7Fql3qxzKbm2xo/openapi.json