**More from this account:** [Website Contact & Email Suite](https://apify.com/vonsensey/website-contact-email-extractor) · [Career Site & ATS Jobs Suite](https://apify.com/vonsensey/career-page-job-postings-scraper-api) · [Google News Suite](https://apify.com/vonsensey/google-news-scraper-api) · [Keyword Research Suite](https://apify.com/vonsensey/google-keyword-ideas-scraper) · [Shopify Store Intelligence Suite](https://apify.com/vonsensey/shopify-store-leads-scraper) · [eBay Data Suite](https://apify.com/vonsensey/ebay-scraper-api) · [Amazon Reviews Suite](https://apify.com/vonsensey/amazon-reviews-scraper-api) · [Reddit](https://apify.com/vonsensey/reddit-scraper-posts-comments-api) · [Meta Ad Library](https://apify.com/vonsensey/facebook-ads-library-scraper-meta-ad-api) · [Vinted](https://apify.com/vonsensey/vinted-scraper-api) · [Trustpilot Review Intelligence Suite](https://apify.com/vonsensey/trustpilot-reviews-scraper) · [App Store & Google Play Reviews Suite](https://apify.com/vonsensey/app-store-google-play-reviews-scraper) · [Etsy Research Suite](https://apify.com/vonsensey/etsy-scraper) · [YouTube Comments Intelligence Suite](https://apify.com/vonsensey/youtube-comments-scraper) · [Telegram Channel Intelligence Suite](https://apify.com/vonsensey/telegram-channel-scraper-api) · [Business Reviews Suite](https://apify.com/vonsensey/business-reviews-aggregator-scraper-api) · [Google Trends Suite](https://apify.com/vonsensey/google-trends-scraper) · [Amazon Product Data Suite](https://apify.com/vonsensey/amazon-product-scraper-api) · [Nordic Marketplaces Suite](https://apify.com/vonsensey/dba-dk-scraper-api) · [Google Sheets Suite](https://apify.com/vonsensey/google-sheets-scraper-api) · [TikTok Suite](https://apify.com/vonsensey/tiktok-scraper-api) · [Snapchat Suite](https://apify.com/vonsensey/snapchat-scraper-api) · [LinkedIn Public Data Suite](https://apify.com/vonsensey/linkedin-scraper-api) · [Instagram Suite](https://apify.com/vonsensey/instagram-posts-scraper-api) · [Contact Validation Suite](https://apify.com/vonsensey/email-verifier-validator-api) · [Google Maps Suite](https://apify.com/vonsensey/google-maps-reviews-scraper-api) · [X / Twitter](https://apify.com/vonsensey/tweet-scraper)
Get the full spoken text of any YouTube video, formatted like something a person would read: real paragraphs, grouped under the video's own chapters, with a timestamp on every line. Works on single videos or an entire channel, and you only pay for the transcripts you receive.
**Pay per delivered transcript. Videos with no captions, private videos and failed videos are
never charged.**
### What it does
Most transcription output is a wall of two-word fragments. This one returns readable paragraphs, broken on pauses and sentence endings and grouped under the video's own chapter markers, so each block already carries its topic and its timestamp. Videos without chapters come back in the same shape, so downstream code only ever handles one format.
This listing is preset to return **TEXT**. Switch `formats` for any of text, SRT or VTT.
### Paste anything YouTube gives you
One `urls` list accepts **video, playlist and channel URLs mixed together** — no separate
actor, no pre-processing. A channel URL expands to its videos, a playlist to its entries, and
`maxVideosPerSource` caps how deep each one goes.
### What you get per video
| Field | What it is |
|---|---|
| `plainText` | the full transcript as clean paragraphs, not caption fragments |
| `segments` | the timed segments behind that text |
| `chapters` | chapter-grouped segments — blocks a model can chunk. Off by default: set `includeChapters` to true, and the video has to have chapters |
| `srt` / `vtt` | real subtitle files, when you ask for those formats |
| `language`, `availableLanguages`, `isAutoGenerated` | which track you got, what else exists, and whether it was machine-made |
| `videoId`, `title`, `channel`, `durationSeconds`, `uploadDate`, `url` | the video's own metadata |
Caption fragments are stitched into sentences and paragraphs before delivery, so the output is
readable — and chunk-ready for a RAG or search pipeline — instead of a wall of 2-second lines.
### Freshness: re-run without re-paying
Set `onlyNewVideos` and a re-run skips every video already delivered under the same
`stateLabel`. Point it at a channel, schedule it weekly, and you pay only for what is new.
### Languages
Ask for specific `languages`, or set `allLanguages` to take every transcript track a video
publishes. Where a video has no captions at all, the row comes back labelled — never guessed,
never silently dropped.
### Pricing
**$3.00 per 1,000 transcripts.** One price, every plan tier, no hidden multiplier.
Free: videos with no captions, private or removed videos, and failed fetches. You are charged
only for a transcript you actually receive. Cap any run with `maxVideosPerSource`, or set a
maximum cost on the run itself.
### Use it from anywhere
```bash
curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/vonsensey~youtube-video-transcription/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=YOUR_TOKEN" \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-d '{"urls":["https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw"]}'
```
```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient
client = ApifyClient("YOUR_TOKEN")
run = client.actor("vonsensey/youtube-video-transcription").call(run_input={
"urls": ["https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw"],
})
for row in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
print(row.get("title"), "-", (row.get("plainText") or "")[:120])
```
Also available through the Apify integrations for **n8n, Make and Zapier**, and via **MCP** for
AI agents.
### Legal
Unofficial tool. **Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by YouTube or Google.**
"YouTube" is a trademark of Google LLC. Reads publicly available caption tracks only — no
login, no DRM circumvention, no private or unlisted content.
### The rest of the family
- [YouTube Transcript Scraper — RAG-Ready](https://apify.com/vonsensey/youtube-transcript-scraper)
- [YouTube Transcript API - Bulk Video Transcripts, Fast](https://apify.com/vonsensey/youtube-transcript-api)
- [YouTube Subtitle Downloader - SRT & VTT Subtitle Files](https://apify.com/vonsensey/youtube-subtitle-downloader)
- [YouTube Shorts Transcript Scraper - Bulk Shorts to Text](https://apify.com/vonsensey/youtube-shorts-transcript-scraper)
- [YouTube Channel Transcript Scraper - Whole Channel to Text](https://apify.com/vonsensey/youtube-channel-transcript-scraper)
- [YouTube Playlist Transcript Scraper - Whole Playlist to Text](https://apify.com/vonsensey/youtube-playlist-transcript-scraper)
- [YouTube Closed Captions Extractor - Every Caption Track](https://apify.com/vonsensey/youtube-closed-captions-extractor)
- [YouTube Transcript RAG Dataset Builder - Chunk-Ready Text](https://apify.com/vonsensey/youtube-transcript-rag-dataset)
Issues and requests go in the **Issues** tab — first response within 24 hours.
### Use it from n8n, MCP, the API or a schedule
Built to be called by a workflow, not only from the Store form. The Actor is `vonsensey/youtube-video-transcription`; every snippet below sends `{}`, which runs the defaults shown on the form — replace it with your own input.
#### n8n
Install the **Apify** community node (`@apify/n8n-nodes-apify` under *Settings → Community Nodes*, or search "Apify" on n8n Cloud). Add **Apify → Run Actor** with Actor `vonsensey/youtube-video-transcription` and your input JSON, then **Apify → Get Dataset Items** on the run's `defaultDatasetId` and pipe the rows anywhere. For scheduled runs, the **On new Apify Event** trigger fires when a run of this Actor finishes.
#### MCP (Claude, Cursor, VS Code, any MCP client)
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"apify": {
"url": "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=vonsensey/youtube-video-transcription",
"headers": {
"Authorization": "Bearer