YouTube Subtitle Downloader

Save the captions of any YouTube video as an SRT, VTT, or TXT file. Pick the language track you need. Free, no sign-up.

How to download YouTube subtitles

1. Paste the video URL

Any format works: youtube.com/watch, youtu.be, Shorts, or a bare video ID.

2. Pick the caption track

Every language the video has appears in the selector, including auto-generated tracks.

3. Choose a format

SRT for players and editors, VTT for web video, TXT for notes and AI tools.

Honest limitations

This tool downloads the caption tracks a video already has. Videos without captions, or private, removed, region-blocked, and age-restricted videos will fail, and no video or audio is downloaded. When subtitles are missing, see what you can try instead.

Frequently asked questions

How do I download subtitles from a YouTube video?

Paste the video URL above and click Get subtitles. Pick the caption track you want, then download it as an SRT, VTT, or TXT file. No account is needed.

What is the difference between SRT, VTT, and TXT?

SRT is the standard subtitle format with numbered cues, accepted by most video players and editors. VTT is the web-native format used by HTML5 video. TXT is plain text without timestamps, best for notes, documents, and AI tools.

Can I download auto-generated subtitles?

Yes, when YouTube exposes an auto-generated track for the video it appears in the track selector alongside manually uploaded captions.

Can I download subtitles in other languages?

Yes. The track selector lists every caption language the video has. Choose one and the downloads switch to that track.

Why does a video have no subtitles?

Some videos have captions disabled, and private, removed, region-blocked, or age-restricted videos cannot be read. This tool downloads existing caption tracks; it does not generate speech-to-text for videos without captions.

Does this download the video itself?

No. This tool downloads only the subtitle text file. It does not download video or audio.

Is this subtitle downloader free?

Yes, free with no sign-up. The Vidskim extension's transcript, translate, and export features are also free and unlimited.

Is Vidskim affiliated with YouTube?

No. Vidskim is an independent tool and is not affiliated with or endorsed by YouTube or Google.

More free tools

YouTube Transcript Generator

Full transcript of any captioned video: read, copy, export.

YouTube Video Summarizer

Concise AI summary with timestamps back to the source.

SRT to TXT Converter

Turn a subtitle file into clean readable text.

Open SRT File

View any .srt as a readable, searchable transcript.

Keep reading: How to download YouTube subtitles · How to download a transcript · Translate YouTube subtitles