YouTube transcriptsvia a simple API

Pass a video URL and get back clean, structured transcript data. Start free with 1,000 requests per day, then upgrade only when your volume needs it.

No credit card to get started
JSON responses with optional timestamps
Works with any language, framework, or automation tool

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Live demo

freetranscriptapi.com

YouTube URL

Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up

0:18We're no strangers to love

0:21You know the rules and so do I

0:24A full commitment's what I'm thinking of

0:28You wouldn't get this from any other guy

1,000

Free requests per day

<50ms

Median response time

100+

Caption languages

REST

JSON API

Everything you need to extract transcripts

Skip scrapers, headless browsers, and brittle HTML parsing. Send a URL, receive JSON, and move on.

Full transcripts

Pull complete caption text from any public YouTube video, with optional per-line timestamps ready for search or playback sync.

Language fallback

Request your preferred language and automatically fall back when manual or auto-generated captions are not available.

Low latency

Built for production workflows like summarization, search indexing, and AI pipelines that need fast, reliable responses.

Works everywhere

One REST endpoint and API key. Integrate from Node, Python, n8n, or any stack that can send HTTP requests.

Up and running in three steps

Authenticate with your API key, pass a video URL, and get structured transcript data in a single request.

01Create a free account and copy your API key.
02Send a GET request with the YouTube video URL.
03Parse the JSON response in your app or workflow.

Request

curl "https://freetranscriptapi.com/api/v1/transcript?video_url=dQw4w9WgXcQ" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

Response

{
  "language": "en",
  "title": "Example Video Title",
  "transcript": [
    {
      "text": "Hello world.",
      "start": 0.0,
      "duration": 2.1
    }
  ]
}

Free until you need more

Stay on the free tier for up to 1,000 requests per day. Upgrade to Pro when traffic grows, or talk to us about enterprise plans.

Free

1,000 requests per day

$0forever

Ideal for prototypes, side projects, and early production traffic without upfront cost.

1,000 requests per day
Full transcript access
Timestamp support
Multi-language captions
Community support

Pro

Start building with transcripts today

Create your account, grab an API key, and ship your first integration in minutes. No credit card required.

Get API Key