How to get YouTube transcripts in 2026 (any video, channel or playlist)

To get a YouTube transcript as data, paste the video (or channel or playlist) URL into YouTube Transcript Scraper on Apify and click Start. You get the full transcript text, timestamped segments and the video details in a second or two per video, for $1.50 per 1,000 transcripts; videos without captions are free.

Open YouTube Transcript Scraper on Apify $1.50 per 1,000 transcripts ($1.20 on Gold and above)

Step by step

1. Create a free Apify account. Sign up at apify.com. The free plan includes $5 of monthly credit, about 3,300 transcripts with this Actor, and needs no credit card.
2. Open YouTube Transcript Scraper. Go to apify.com/automationnation/youtube-transcript-scraper and click Try for free.
3. Paste videos. Add video, Shorts, channel (@handle) or playlist URLs. Channels and playlists add their latest 15 videos.
4. Pick a language. Set the transcript language; manual captions are used first, then auto-generated ones.
5. Use it with AI. Load the dataset into LangChain or LlamaIndex, or connect the Actor to Claude or ChatGPT through Apify's MCP server.

Do it from code

Python

# pip install apify-client
from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN")
run = client.actor("automationnation/youtube-transcript-scraper").call(run_input={
  "videos": [
    "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc"
  ],
  "language": "en"
})
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item.get("title"), item.get("channel"), item.get("wordCount"), item.get("transcriptLanguage"))

REST API (cURL)

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/automationnation~youtube-transcript-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=$APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"videos": ["https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc"], "language": "en"}'

From an AI assistant (MCP)

Add this MCP server URL to Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor and ask in plain English:

https://mcp.apify.com?tools=automationnation/youtube-transcript-scraper

Alternatives

Other options: the open-source youtube-transcript-api library works locally but is often blocked on cloud servers; this Actor retries on residential IPs. See the side-by-side comparison.

FAQ

Written by AutomationNation, the developer of YouTube Transcript Scraper. Prices checked October 2026.