Does this download the YouTube video?

No. Only the audio track is extracted, to transcribe it — the video itself is never saved or made available for download. Use this for videos you own or have the rights to transcribe, such as your own uploads, recorded meetings, or content you have permission to work with.

Do I need to sign in?

No sign-in is needed to submit a link and see a preview of the transcript. Downloading the full transcript — TXT, PDF, SRT or VTT — requires a free sign-in, with no payment needed within the daily free quota. There is no credit card requirement to sign in.

What happens with a private, age-restricted, or members-only video?

It fails, honestly — convert.express can only reach what YouTube's own systems allow through, so a private, age-gated, members-only, or region-blocked video returns an error instead of a transcript. There is no workaround built in, and there won't be one added just to bypass an access restriction.

What happens with a very long video?

Anonymous submissions beyond the free preview length get a 3-minute preview transcript rather than a failure. Sign in and pay per minute (€0.02/min, €0.50 minimum) to unlock the full-length transcript beyond your 10-minutes-a-day free quota.

Can I get the transcript translated, or as subtitles?

Yes. Once the transcript is ready, translate it into any of 103 languages, or download it as SRT or VTT subtitle files with the original timecodes intact — the same subtitle pipeline used across convert.express.

Is this reliable for every YouTube video?

Almost every public video, yes — but the underlying extraction tool (yt-dlp) occasionally breaks for a period whenever YouTube changes something on their end, and a fix usually follows within days. There's no guarantee of 100% uptime for this specific import path the way there is for a direct file upload.

convert.express

Try for free

Paste a YouTube link, get the transcript

No video download, no browser extension. The audio is extracted and transcribed — free preview instantly, sign in free to download the full text.

Drag a file here or browse

MP3, WAV, M4A, FLAC · MP4, MOV, MKV, WebM · up to 2 GB

Set language, translation, or vocabulary hints below before transcribing

YouTube, Dropbox, Google Drive, or any direct MP3/MP4 link

Transcription model

Language

Vocabulary hints (optional)

Names, acronyms, or domain terms that improve accuracy

Generate summaryAI-written paragraph summarising the main topics (full transcription only)Generate action listExtract tasks and decisions as a numbered list (full transcription only)

Works with any public YouTube link · 10 free minutes every day

How it works

Paste the link

Drop a YouTube URL into the box above. No account needed to start.

Audio is extracted and transcribed

Only the audio track is pulled from the video — nothing is downloaded or stored as video. The AI model transcribes it, usually in under a minute for a typical video.

Read the preview, sign in to download

A preview of the transcript appears immediately. Sign in — free, no card required — to download the full TXT, PDF, SRT or VTT.

What you get

A finished transcript downloads as TXT or PDF, and as SRT or VTT subtitle files whenever the model returns timing information — which it does for a normal spoken-word video. The transcript itself is plain text, ready to paste into an editor, a script, or a set of show notes.

From the finished transcript, you can also request an AI-written summary, an action list, or a translation into any of 103 languages — translated subtitles keep the original timecodes, so a translated SRT drops straight back into the same video with no retiming. Summary and action-list downloads are free for everyone, sign-in or not.

When it won't work

This only works for videos YouTube itself will serve without a sign-in on their end. That rules out a few real cases, and it's worth knowing about them before you paste a link:

Private videos — not visible outside the owner's account, so nothing to extract.
Age-restricted videos — YouTube requires a signed-in, age-verified session; this tool doesn't sign in as you.
Members-only / channel-membership content — same reason as private videos.
Region-blocked videos — if YouTube won't serve it from our server's location, it can't be transcribed.
Live streams still in progress — there's no finished file to pull audio from until the stream ends.

In every one of these cases you get a clear failure, not a silent hang or a fake result — and this is a good place to be honest that the underlying extraction tool (yt-dlp) periodically breaks for a few days whenever YouTube changes something on their side. It's usually fixed quickly, but it isn't a guarantee the way a direct file upload is.

Use this for content you own or have the right to transcribe — your own videos, recorded meetings you were part of, or material you have permission to work with. Downloading and repurposing someone else's copyrighted video is a separate matter from transcribing your own content, and it's on you to have the rights to what you submit.

Simple, transparent pricing

€0.02/ minute, beyond the free quota

10 free minutes of transcription every day
€0.50 minimum charge per transaction
No subscription, no monthly commitment
Files automatically deleted within 24 hours

See the full breakdown on the pricing page.

Frequently asked questions

Does this download the YouTube video?: No. Only the audio track is extracted, to transcribe it — the video itself is never saved or made available for download. Use this for videos you own or have the rights to transcribe, such as your own uploads, recorded meetings, or content you have permission to work with.
Do I need to sign in?: No sign-in is needed to submit a link and see a preview of the transcript. Downloading the full transcript — TXT, PDF, SRT or VTT — requires a free sign-in, with no payment needed within the daily free quota. There is no credit card requirement to sign in.
What happens with a private, age-restricted, or members-only video?: It fails, honestly — convert.express can only reach what YouTube's own systems allow through, so a private, age-gated, members-only, or region-blocked video returns an error instead of a transcript. There is no workaround built in, and there won't be one added just to bypass an access restriction.
What happens with a very long video?: Anonymous submissions beyond the free preview length get a 3-minute preview transcript rather than a failure. Sign in and pay per minute (€0.02/min, €0.50 minimum) to unlock the full-length transcript beyond your 10-minutes-a-day free quota.
Can I get the transcript translated, or as subtitles?: Yes. Once the transcript is ready, translate it into any of 103 languages, or download it as SRT or VTT subtitle files with the original timecodes intact — the same subtitle pipeline used across convert.express.
Is this reliable for every YouTube video?: Almost every public video, yes — but the underlying extraction tool (yt-dlp) occasionally breaks for a period whenever YouTube changes something on their end, and a fix usually follows within days. There's no guarantee of 100% uptime for this specific import path the way there is for a direct file upload.

Already have a caption file from YouTube and just need it converted? The free subtitle tools handle SRT/VTT conversion entirely in your browser — nothing uploaded.