Step-by-step

How to download YouTube subtitles

Here’s how to download YouTube subtitles in seconds: paste the link below, choose SRT or VTT, and save the file. Want another language? Translate first. Free, no sign-in.

Works on any video with captions · or add the Chrome extension for one-click transcripts on every video.

The fastest way: paste the link

The quickest route needs no install. Copy the video’s URL from the address bar (or the Share button), paste it into the box above, pick a format, and save. The file lands on your computer in seconds. There’s no account to create and no cap on how many videos you run.

This is the whole flow:

1. Paste the YouTube link into the tool.
2. Choose SRT or VTT — and a language, if you want it translated.
3. Save the file — with or without the timecodes.

That’s it. For the bigger picture on what these files are and how they’re made, see the download YouTube subtitles overview.

SRT vs VTT: which to choose

Both formats hold the same lines and the same timecodes — they just suit different tools.

• SRT is the most widely supported caption format. It’s the safe pick for video editors like Premiere, DaVinci Resolve or CapCut, and for upload tools that ask for a file. If you’re unsure, take SRT.
• VTT (WebVTT) is the web standard. Choose it for HTML5 video, web players, or anywhere captions are served on a page.

You can save either one from the same link, so if you might need both, grab both. They’re plain text inside, so you can open either in a text editor to check or tidy a line.

Save it inside YouTube with the extension

If you do this often, copying links gets old fast. The Chrome extension opens the panel right next to the player on the watch page — one click on any video, no leaving YouTube. From there you pick the format and save, the same free file, in context while you watch. It’s the quickest route when you’re saving captions from a lot of videos in a row.

What if there are no subtitles?

A file is built from captions, so a video needs a caption track to produce one. Most spoken-word videos have at least auto-generated captions, but a few come up empty:

Translate, then save

Need the captions in a language the video doesn’t offer? Translate before you save. Pick a language and the whole track switches in one click, then export the SRT or VTT in that language. The timecodes stay aligned, so the translated file drops into an editor just like the original would.

That’s the simple way to caption a foreign-language clip for your own audience, or to keep a copy in a language you read more comfortably. It runs on the captions YouTube already serves, so translating costs nothing. If you only want the readable words rather than a timed file, see YouTube captions to text.

Doing it on a phone

You don’t need a desktop. The tool runs in any browser, so you can paste a link and save the file on a phone or tablet the same way you would on a laptop. Handy when you spot a video you want to keep captions from and you’re away from your computer — grab the file now, edit it later.

With or without timecodes

A caption file normally carries timecodes — the start and end time of each line, so a player knows when to show it. For most uses you want them: an editor or an upload tool needs the timing to sync the lines to the picture. Keep them on and the file works as captions straight away.

Sometimes, though, you only want the words — say you’re saving the file to read, or to hand to another tool that doesn’t need timing. In that case you can drop the timecodes and keep just the lines. It’s the same content, lighter: useful when the file is a source of text rather than working captions. If reading is all you’re after, you may want the prose version instead — see YouTube captions to text.

Long videos and saving in batches

Length doesn’t slow this down. A caption file from a two-hour podcast saves as quickly as one from a short clip — the whole timed track is written at once, with no length limit and no queue. So a full lecture, a conference talk or a long interview is a single quick save, not a wait.

Saving several? There’s no daily cap, so you can run through a playlist one link at a time and collect a folder of files. The extension makes that faster still: open each video, click once, save. It’s the simplest way to gather captions from a batch of videos without copying a link for every one.

Using the file you saved

Once the file is on your device, it slots into the usual tools. Load the SRT or VTT into a video editor to add captions to your own footage. Hand it to YouTube, Vimeo or a course host that asks for a caption file, instead of typing the lines out. Point an HTML5 player at the VTT to serve captions on a web page. Or open it in a text editor to fix a name or tidy a rough auto-caption before you use it.

For the difference between a caption file and a readable transcript — and when you’d want one over the other — the YouTube transcript overview lays it out.

Frequently asked questions

How do I download YouTube subtitles for free?

Paste the link into the tool above, choose SRT or VTT, and save the file. It is free, with no sign-in and no limit on how many videos you run.

Should I pick SRT or VTT?

SRT works almost everywhere, so it is the safe default for editors and players. VTT is the web standard — pick it for HTML5 video or anywhere captions are served on a page.

What if the video has no subtitles?

There is nothing to save. A file is built from captions the video already carries, so if there are none, it cannot be made.

Can I download subtitles on my phone?

Yes. The tool runs in any browser, so you can paste a link and save the file on a phone or tablet.