Video Transcription: How to Turn Video Into Text
YouTube's transcript, automatic captions, or a tool that takes your file.
Video transcription turns the speech in a video into text. For a YouTube video, open its transcript. For your own file, upload it to YouTube and use its automatic captions, or upload it to a tool such as Fireflies, Otter or Microsoft Word. Each way has limits, so check the transcript before you use it.
Checked November 2026 on YouTube Help and each tool's own site.
Ways to transcribe a video
| Way | What you need | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| YouTube transcript | A YouTube video that has captions | Only shows if the video has captions |
| YouTube automatic captions | Your own video on your channel | Can take time, and may fail on long videos, poor sound or an unsupported language |
| Fireflies free plan | An account and your video file | 400 minutes of storage per team |
| Otter free plan | An account and your video file | 3 file imports in total, up to 30 minutes per conversation |
| Microsoft Word Transcribe | A Microsoft 365 subscription and an .mp4 file | 300 minutes of uploaded audio a month |
| Sonix trial | An account and your video file | 30 minutes |
Get the transcript of a YouTube video
- Open the video on YouTube in a browser
- Open the description below the video
- Select Show transcript
- Copy the text you need
Get captions for your own video with YouTube
- Upload the video to your channel
- Wait for automatic captions, which can take time
- In YouTube Studio, select Subtitles in the left menu
- Select the video, then Edit next to the language
- Fix the errors, then open Options to download the caption file
YouTube says automatic captions can get words wrong because of accents, dialects or background noise, and that you should always review them.
Transcribe a video file with a tool
- Check the limit in the table, and pick a tool that fits your file
- Upload the video file
- Wait for the transcript, then read it against the video
- Fix names and numbers, then copy or export the text
What is video transcription?
It is turning the speech in a video into written text. You can read it, search it, or use it for captions, notes and articles.
How do I transcribe a video to text for free?
If it is on YouTube, open its transcript. If it is your own file, upload it to a tool with a free plan and check the limit first, or upload it to YouTube and use automatic captions.
How do I get the transcript of a YouTube video?
Open the video in a browser, open the description and select Show transcript. If you do not see it, the video may have no captions yet.
What is the difference between a transcript and captions?
A transcript is the full text to read. Captions are the same words timed to appear on the video. A caption file can give you both, because it holds the text and the timing.
Can I download captions as a file?
Yes, for your own videos. In YouTube Studio, select Subtitles, then the video, then Edit, and download from Options. Otter exports captions as .srt on paid plans.