Frequently asked
Is this really free?
Yes. The tool is rate-limited (a few requests per hour per IP) to prevent abuse, but downloading transcripts itself is free. We monetize the optional translation step on a separate page.
Does it work for any YouTube video?
Only public videos that have either auto-generated or human-uploaded captions. If a creator disabled captions, no tool can extract them.
What's the difference between SRT, VTT, TXT, and JSON?
SRT is the standard YouTube subtitle format with timecodes. VTT is the web-native version (used in HTML5 video). TXT is plain text — just the words, no timing. JSON is structured data with start/end timestamps in milliseconds, useful for developers.
Is the transcript accurate?
As accurate as YouTube's own caption track. Auto-generated captions are decent for clear speech but degrade with accents, music, or poor audio. Human-uploaded captions (when available) are much better.
Can I translate the transcript directly?
Yes — once you have the transcript, click "Translate this video" to use CaptionJet's AI translator. It produces much higher quality than YouTube's built-in auto-translate because it processes the entire video for context.
Is it legal to download YouTube transcripts?
Public captions are publicly accessible. Downloading them for personal use, research, or accessibility is generally fine. Republishing a creator's content commercially without permission is not — that's on you to handle responsibly.