API SolutionYouTube Transcript API for Captions and Subtitles
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 is an endpoint that fetches captions, subtitles, and timestamps from any YouTube video and returns them as clean JSON. It retrieves existing caption tracks — auto-generated or manually uploaded — so developers can power RAG pipelines, semantic search, and analytics without running speech-to-text themselves.
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
Build retrieval-augmented generation systems with indexed YouTube transcripts for AI-powered Q&A applications.
Analyze video content for keyword extraction, sentiment analysis, topic clustering, or competitive research.
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.
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?
Scale up to as low as $0.00125 per YouTube transcript with credits. Even cheaper for Enterprise.
Every response follows the same structure with timestamps, making integration predictable.
Get video info, channel data, and statistics alongside the transcript in one request.
Request specific language tracks when available, or get the default caption track.
Pricing
One price, two axes: a monthly subscription that gives you a credit allowance, and optional top-up credit packs on Voyager. For the YouTube Transcript API, per-transcript cost can be as little as $0.00125 on the 1,200-credit Premium Pack.
| Plan | What you get | Per YouTube transcript |
|---|---|---|
| Trial | 14 days free · 5 credits to exercise every endpoint · no card required | Free within trial credits |
| Navigator | 15 credits / month · full API + Studio · 50 GB storage · standard support | Included in monthly allowance |
| Voyager Recommended for API | 80 credits / month · optional credit packs (50 / 300 / 1,200 credits) · 500 GB storage · priority support | As little as $0.00125 per transcript on the 1,200-credit ($300) Premium Pack |
| Odyssey (Enterprise) | Unlimited credits · custom integrations · dedicated support · SLA | Custom — contact sales |
How the floor price is reached: credits are $0.25 each on the 1,200-credit Premium Pack ($300 total). One credit covers up to 200 YouTube transcript retrievals, so 1,200 credits = up to 240,000 YouTube transcripts — that is the $0.00125 / transcript floor. Smaller credit packs (50 for $20, 300 for $100) and monthly allowances price credits higher but work the same way.
FAQ
Compare to other transcription APIs
See exactly where VidNavigator fits against Whisper, AssemblyAI, and Deepgram.