What if a YouTube video has no captions?

The API returns an error indicating no transcript is available. Most YouTube videos have auto-generated captions, but some may not. This API only retrieves existing captions.

Can I get transcripts in different languages?

Yes. Pass a language code (e.g., "en", "fr", "es") and the API returns that track if available. Otherwise, it returns the default language.

Does this work for private or unlisted videos?

No. The API only works with publicly accessible YouTube videos that have captions available.

Can I use this for speech-to-text transcription?

No. This API retrieves existing captions from YouTube. For videos without captions, you would need to use alternative transcription methods.

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API Solution

YouTube Transcript API for Captions and Subtitles

Q: How much does it cost at scale?

With credits on the Voyager plan, you can scale up to as low as $0.0016 per YouTube transcript. Enterprise plans offer even lower rates.

Retrieve captions, subtitles, and timestamps from any YouTube video programmatically. Clean JSON output ready for LLMs, RAG pipelines, and search applications.

What is the YouTube Transcript API?

The YouTube Transcript API extracts captions and subtitles from YouTube videos and returns them in a structured JSON format with precise timestamps. This API retrieves existing caption tracks (auto-generated or manually uploaded) from YouTube videos. It does not perform speech-to-text transcription. For videos without captions, the API returns an error indicating no transcript is available.

What data is returned?

Full transcript text with word-level timestamps (start/end times)
Video metadata: title, description, thumbnail URL
Channel information: name, URL, subscriber count
Video statistics: views, likes, duration
Available language tracks and selected language
Structured segments for easy integration
Upload date and video URL

Supported inputs

Standard YouTube video URLs (youtube.com/watch?v=...)
YouTube short URLs (youtu.be/...)
YouTube Shorts URLs (youtube.com/shorts/...)
Optional language parameter to select specific caption track

Example use cases

RAG Pipelines

Build retrieval-augmented generation systems with indexed YouTube transcripts for AI-powered Q&A applications.

Content Analysis

Analyze video content for keyword extraction, sentiment analysis, topic clustering, or competitive research.

Accessibility Tools

Create subtitle displays, transcript viewers, or searchable video archives for accessibility purposes.

API workflow

1.Send POST request with YouTube URL
2.API fetches available caption tracks
3.Captions are normalized to JSON
4.Response returns transcript + metadata

Code examples

Integrate the YouTube Transcript API in minutes with these examples.

Transcript YouTube API docs (playground) →

bash

Response structure

{
  "status": "success",
  "data": {
    "video_info": {
      "title": "Video Title",
      "description": "Video description...",
      "thumbnail": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/VIDEO_ID/maxresdefault.jpg",
      "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID",
      "channel": "Channel Name",
      "channel_url": "https://www.youtube.com/channel/CHANNEL_ID",
      "duration": 212.5,
      "views": 1500000,
      "likes": 45000,
      "published_date": "2024-03-15",
      "available_languages": ["en", "es", "fr", "de"],
      "selected_language": "en"
    },
    "transcript": [
      { "start": 0.0, "end": 3.2, "text": "Hello and welcome to this video." },
      { "start": 3.2, "end": 7.8, "text": "Today we'll be discussing..." },
      { "start": 7.8, "end": 12.4, "text": "Let's get started with the basics." }
    ]
  }
}

Why use VidNavigator for YouTube transcripts?

Cost-effective at scale

Scale up to as low as $0.0016 per YouTube transcript with credits. Even cheaper for Enterprise.

Consistent JSON schema

Every response follows the same structure with timestamps, making integration predictable.

Rich metadata

Get video info, channel data, and statistics alongside the transcript in one request.

Language selection

Request specific language tracks when available, or get the default caption track.

Pricing

Start free with 30 YouTube transcript retrievals per month. Scale with Navigator (3,000/month) or Voyager (15,000/month). With credits, scale up to as low as $0.0016 per transcript. Enterprise plans available at even lower rates.

View pricing Get API key