YouTube Subtitle Downloader
Grab the exact caption track a YouTube video already carries — creator-uploaded CC or YouTube's auto-generated captions — and export it as SRT, VTT, or TXT with timestamps intact. Works on long-form videos, Shorts, and youtu.be share links; if captions are disabled, AI transcribes the audio instead. Free, no login, no software.
Download YouTube subtitles right here
Paste a YouTube URL — get SRT or VTT in seconds. The live BibiGPT app loads inline; no redirect, no tab switching.
The short answer
Paste a YouTube link into BibiGPT and export the subtitles as .srt, .vtt, or .txt with timestamps kept — creator-uploaded CC and YouTube auto-captions are extracted verbatim, and videos with no captions at all are transcribed by AI automatically. That last part is the practical difference: classic downloaders like DownSub can only fetch a caption track that already exists, so they return nothing on uncaptioned videos.
Features
A YouTube subtitle downloader that never comes back empty
Most subtitle downloaders fail the moment a YouTube video has no captions or only auto-captions you can't grab. BibiGPT pulls what's there and AI-transcribes the rest, so you always get a clean SRT, VTT, or TXT file.
Captions when they exist, AI transcript when they don't
BibiGPT first grabs the creator-uploaded subtitles or YouTube auto-captions verbatim. If the video has none, it transcribes the spoken audio with AI so you still get the full text.
Export to SRT, VTT, TXT, or Markdown
SRT and VTT keep timestamps so you can re-burn subtitles into an edit. TXT is plain copy-ready text. Markdown drops straight into Obsidian or Notion.
Works on long-form videos, Shorts, and livestream replays
Paste a youtube.com or youtu.be link — both work out of the box. Same one-click flow, same export formats every time.
What you get on top of just the captions
If you only need raw captions, that's one click. If you want more, BibiGPT layers translation, summary, and AI dialog without leaving the page.
One-click translate to 5 languages
Once captions are extracted, translate to Chinese, English, Japanese, Korean, or Traditional Chinese — and download a bilingual SRT.
AI summary and mind map
Skip watching: get a structured summary plus visual mind map of the YouTube content. Great for research and content briefs.
Free for daily use
Free users get 3 caption extractions per day. Plus ($19.8/mo) raises to 50/day, Pro ($34.8/mo) is unlimited with batch API.
3 steps to finish
No signup needed for the free tier. Use the embedded tool above — your URL is processed in seconds.
- 1
Paste YouTube URL
Copy the share URL from YouTube. Regular videos, Shorts, and youtu.be short links all work out of the box.
- 2
Wait a few seconds
If the video has creator CC or YouTube auto-captions, BibiGPT extracts the track verbatim. If captions are disabled, it transcribes the audio via AI — typically 5-15 seconds for a short clip.
- 3
Download or copy
SRT (timestamps for re-burn), VTT (web player standard), TXT (plain text), Markdown (Notion ready), or copy to clipboard.
BibiGPT vs DownSub vs NoteLM vs yt-dlp
The tools people actually compare for YouTube subtitle downloads, on the dimensions that decide the choice. Capabilities below reflect each tool's own documentation.
| Capability | BibiGPT | DownSub | NoteLM.ai | yt-dlp |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Videos with no captions | AI transcribes the audio automatically | Not supported — only downloads existing caption tracks | Not the focus — built around existing YouTube transcripts | Not supported — fetches existing subs/auto-subs only |
| Export formats | SRT / VTT / TXT / Markdown + copy | SRT / VTT / TXT | Transcript with timestamps + one-click SRT | SRT / VTT and more via flags |
| Beyond YouTube | 30+ platforms: Bilibili, Douyin/TikTok, podcasts, local files | YouTube, Viki, Viu and other streaming sites — no Bilibili / Douyin | YouTube only | 1000+ sites, results vary by extractor |
| Subtitle translation | One-click AI translation to Chinese / English / Japanese / Korean, bilingual SRT | YouTube's own auto-translated tracks only | Transcripts in 50+ languages where YouTube provides them | None |
| Setup required | None — paste a link in the browser | None — web tool with ads | None for basic tools; AI features need your own AI key | Command line install (Python / Homebrew) + flag syntax |
| Extras on top of subtitles | AI summary, chapters, mind map, AI Q&A | None | AI summary with chapters | None — download only |
3 typical scenarios
Built around how YouTube's caption ecosystem actually gets used — repurposing, language study, and citation.
Creators — localize and repurpose long-form videos
Pull the caption track from a viral YouTube video or your own back catalog, translate it, and re-cut for Shorts or other platforms. Because YouTube auto-captions are extracted verbatim, you start from the exact spoken script instead of re-transcribing.
Language learners — study with real English captions
Download the English CC from talks, interviews, and lectures, then paste into Anki or Notion. BibiGPT can auto-translate to Chinese / Japanese / Korean for side-by-side bilingual notes with timestamps you can jump back to.
Researchers — citation-grade transcripts of talks
Export full transcripts of keynotes, earnings interviews, and public statements published on YouTube. Timestamped SRT lets you cite the exact moment; uncaptioned uploads still work because AI transcribes them.
References
Format standards and platform documentation this page relies on.
-
YouTube supports creator-uploaded subtitles and closed captions per video, managed from YouTube Studio.
YouTube Help — Add subtitles & captions ↗ -
YouTube generates automatic captions via speech recognition; availability and quality vary by video, and creators can edit or remove them.
YouTube Help — Use automatic captioning ↗ -
WebVTT (.vtt) is the W3C standard for timed text tracks on the web — the caption format used by HTML5 video players.
W3C — WebVTT: The Web Video Text Tracks Format ↗
Loved by creators, students & researchers
Why people use BibiGPT to turn videos into text every day.
Trusted by 50,000+ users worldwide
“I paste a link and get clean captions in seconds — it saves me hours of retyping every single week.”
Maya R.
Content Creator · Repurposes short videos
“Exporting the transcript lets me review new words at my own pace instead of pausing the video constantly.”
Daniel K.
Language Learner · Studies with real videos
“Accurate, timestamped text I can quote directly. It has quietly become part of my daily workflow.”
Priya S.
Researcher · Cites public talks
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Download YouTube subtitles free, right now
Paste a YouTube link — get a clean SRT, VTT, or TXT file in seconds, timestamps included. Free, no login. AI auto-transcribes clips that have no captions.