Tactiq alternative
Tactiq YouTube transcript alternative: text, export and AI on one page
The Tactiq YouTube transcript tool is a side page of a meeting note-taker, and MediaScribe is an alternative built around that one job: the full transcript of a captioned YouTube video with timestamps, word search, TXT, Markdown, SRT and VTT export, plus AI summaries with no credits, all free and without sign-in. Below: the table, where Tactiq wins, credits and the two extensions.
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Short answer
Use Tactiq for meetings; use MediaScribe for the words of a published recording.
The meeting tool transcribes Google Meet, Zoom and Teams calls live, which MediaScribe does not do at all. For a lecture, talk or tutorial already online, MediaScribe returns more formats and AI results, and none of them draw on a monthly allowance.
Tactiq vs MediaScribe for YouTube, side by side
Both return a captioned clip’s text at no cost; they differ in what comes after it.
| MediaScribe | Tactiq | |
|---|---|---|
| Main purpose | Text from YouTube videos, audio and video files | AI notes for Google Meet, Zoom and Microsoft Teams |
| YouTube transcript | No charge, no sign-in, no daily cap | Free web tool, no email needed |
| Export | Copy, TXT, Markdown, SRT, VTT | Copy, .txt download |
| Search and read-along | Yes, search by word, text follows the player | Not stated on the tool page |
| AI on a YouTube video | No credits, no charge when captions exist | Via the app: 5 AI credits a month on the free plan |
| Clip without captions | Speech recognition from $0.033 per minute | Tool page: not every clip has one |
| Live meetings | No | Yes, live transcripts in Meet, Zoom, Teams |
| Paid plans | One-time packs of minutes, no subscription | Pro €6.67, Team €13.33, Business €25.50 per user a month, billed yearly |
| Chrome extension | Transcript panel on YouTube watch pages | Meeting note taker, 1,000,000 users |
Checked on 7 October 2026 on tactiq.io and in the Chrome Web Store. Tactiq prices are in euros. Sources are at the end.
Which one to open for which task
The source of the speech decides the tool: a call happening now goes to Tactiq, a recording already published goes here.
- Live calls: a weekly stand-up on Zoom, a client call in Google Meet, a sales demo in Teams. Captions appear while people talk, which is Tactiq’s job.
- Published recordings: a 90-minute conference keynote, an MIT OpenCourseWare lecture, a podcast episode posted as a video. Word search, structured notes and SRT for clips are the point here.
- A finished call saved as MP4: either works; here you upload the file and pay by the minute, with no plan to keep.
Where Tactiq is the better choice
It wins for anything that happens in a video call.
- Live meeting transcripts in Google Meet, Zoom and Microsoft Teams.
- AI notes from those calls, drawn from the monthly AI credits.
- Plans for teams: Team at €13.33 and Business at €25.50 per user a month, billed yearly.
- A large extension: 1,000,000 users in the Chrome Web Store on 7 October 2026.
Where MediaScribe is the better choice
MediaScribe is the better choice when the source is a recording and you want more than a plain .txt.
- Subtitle formats. SRT and VTT keep the timing for Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve or a web player; Markdown drops into Obsidian or Notion.
- Reading a long video. Search finds a word in a three-hour lecture, and read-along highlights the line being spoken.
- No captions. Speech recognition writes out what is said in a clip that has none, from $0.033 per minute, with the first recording free.
- Translation. The Chrome extension translates captions into 19 languages for free; on the site, AI translation uses minutes.
The guide to YouTube transcripts with timestamps shows what the output looks like line by line.
AI credits against free AI
The free Tactiq plan includes 5 AI credits a month, and paid plans raise that number; on MediaScribe, AI on a captioned video has no monthly allowance.
- Summary in 5–7 points, detailed notes, an article, a social post, a cleaned-up copy of the text.
- Your own prompt, such as “list every tool mentioned”, and a chat that answers from the transcript only.
- Results arrive in the language of the transcript; switch the language menu first for another one.
The one condition: on a day of very high demand, free AI may pause until the next day. Every action is described in the AI video summarizer guide.
Two Chrome extensions with different jobs
One extension works inside meeting tabs, the other on YouTube watch pages, so they do not replace each other.
Ours puts a transcript panel next to the player on every watch page, with copy, export, search and translation at no cost. It runs only on youtube.com, has no analytics and needs no account. Installation and permissions are covered in the guide to our Chrome transcript extension; other tools in this field are lined up in the table of YouTube transcript tools.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Tactiq YouTube transcript tool free?
Yes. On 7 October 2026 its page described it as a free YouTube transcript generator that needs no email, with copy and .txt download.
Is MediaScribe free?
Yes for videos with captions: the transcript, search, every export format and AI summaries are free, with no sign-in. Only speech recognition for uncaptioned videos and files is paid, from $0.033 per minute.
Do I need an account?
No. Captioned clips and the first uncaptioned recording work without one.
Is there a subscription?
No. Minutes come in one-time packs that do not expire, with refunds within 14 days.
Can MediaScribe transcribe my Zoom or Google Meet call live?
No. There is no meeting bot and no live transcription; upload the recording after the call and it is transcribed for minutes.
What can’t MediaScribe do?
No live meetings, no speaker labels, no Shorts in the extension, and the extension needs Chrome on a computer.
Sources
Every page below was opened on 7 October 2026.
- Tactiq free YouTube transcript tool
- Tactiq pricing
- Tactiq in the Chrome Web Store
- Tactiq reviews on Trustpilot
- MediaScribe pricing in plain text
Tactiq is a trademark of its owner. MediaScribe is not affiliated with or endorsed by Tactiq. Facts as of 7 October 2026; if something has changed, write to help@mediascribe.app and we will correct the page within 48 hours.