How to Transcribe a YouTube Video for Free: 6 Simple Methods 

If you want to learn how to convert YouTube videos to text, you’ve come to the right place. Whether you’re a creator who is trying to make the most of their content, a student, or a researcher, video transcriptions can really come in handy in a variety of scenarios. And the best part is that nowadays there are quite a few ways to do that effortlessly and fast.

Here are a few free options that you might want to check out.

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But First… What Exactly Are We Talking About? 

Before we jump into the methods, it's important to grasp what transcription is all about. Transcribing a YouTube video basically means turning the audio from the video into written text. You can do this manually or with the help of automated tools. 

You can then use the transcript for lots of things, like making content accessible to more people, repurposing it for other uses, and making it easier to search for videos.

Allow YouTube to Work It’s Magic!

Learning how to transcribe YouTube videos to text can be as easy as discovering the platform’s built-in transcription feature. Here's how to take advantage of it:

1. Find the Transcript 

To get started, just go to the YouTube video you want to transcribe. You'll see a "..." (more) button below the video player. Click on it, and if there's a transcript for the video, you'll see an option that says "Show transcript." That’s how you get access to the transcript. 

2. Viewing the Transcript and Using It

Once you've opened the transcript, you'll see a version of the video with the dialogue time-stamped. You can scroll through this text, which is in sync with the video playback, and this feature is great for quickly finding parts of the video you're looking for. 

3. Copying the Transcript 

If you want to save the transcript, you'll need to copy and paste it manually into a text document. Unfortunately, YouTube doesn't provide a way to download the transcript directly, but this method is totally free and doesn't require any additional tools.

Google Docs Voice Typing Method 

If you’re looking for other methods on how to transcribe YouTube video for free, you should definitely check out Google Docs' speech to text feature. This voice typing method takes slightly more set-up, but it can be a great choice for shorter videos or when you need a fast transcript. 

1. Setting Up Google Docs 

Just open a new Google Docs document and click on "Tools" in the top menu. Then, in the dropdown, select "Voice typing." You'll see a microphone icon appear on the left side of your document.

2. Using the Right Audio 

Go ahead and play the YouTube video you want to transcribe. And just to make sure everything runs smoothly, check that your computer's audio output is nice and clear and there isn't a lot of background noise (if you say something, your words will get converted to text as well). 

3. Starting the Transcription

Click on the microphone icon in Google Docs to get started with voice typing. As the video plays, Google Docs will transcribe the audio in real-time. You might need to adjust your computer's volume or microphone settings for best results. 

4. Editing the Transcript 

Once you've got the transcription done, take a look at it and make any necessary changes. This method might involve a bit more manual editing than some other options, but it's a free solution for voice to text YouTube transcription that's definitely worth a try. 

Using Third-Party Transcription Tools 

There are a bunch of free third-party tools that can help you transcribe YouTube videos. These tools often have more bells and whistles and are a lot more accurate than doing it by hand. 

Here are a few of the most popular: 

1. Otter.ai 

Otter.ai has great transcription services, and there's a free version too. You can't integrate it directly with YouTube, but you can download YouTube audio and upload it to Otter for transcription. 

2. oTranscribe 

oTranscribe is a free, open-source tool that makes it easy for you to transcribe your audio and video files. It doesn't automatically transcribe the content, but it has a simple interface that offers a user-friendly way to transcribe files manually.

Using Browser Extensions 

By the way, learning how to transcribe a YouTube video for free can also be as easy as downloading the right browser extension. These tools often work hand-in-hand with YouTube, which makes the transcription process a breeze. 

1. YouTube Transcript 

This Chrome extension is a handy little tool that lets you extract and download transcripts from YouTube videos. It's a straightforward, free option that works well for most YouTube content. 

2. Transcribe - Speech to Text 

While it wasn't designed with YouTube in mind, you can use this extension to transcribe any audio in your browser—including YouTube videos.

How to Turn a YouTube Video Into a Transcript: Manual Methods 

While it takes more time, manual transcription is often the best way to get accurate results, especially for videos with complex content or poor audio quality. 

1. The Pause-Play Method 

This technique involves playing the video in short segments, taking a quick break to jot down what you've seen, and then continuing. It takes some time but gets great accuracy. Plus, it's free! 

2. Using Keyboard Shortcuts 

Get to know some of the keyboard shortcuts, like pausing, playing, and rewinding the video. You can really speed up the manual transcription process if you get the hang of them. 

Tips for Becoming a Real Transcription Pro

No matter which method you end up using, here are a few tips to help you make the transcription process more efficient: 

1. Make Sure the Quality of the Audio Is Good 

Make sure you're working with the best possible audio quality. If you can, use headphones to minimize external noise. 

2. Break the Video into Segments 

If you're working on a lengthy video, it might help to divide the transcription task into a few chunks. This can make it easier to stay focused and get the details down.

3. Don’t Forget About Playback Speed Controls 

You can adjust the playback speed on YouTube. If there's a tricky bit you're struggling with, slowing the video down can help. It's also handy if you're doing your own voice to text YouTube transcriptions.

4. Try to Always Review and Edit 

It's a good idea to double-check your transcript to make sure everything's accurate, especially if you're using automated tools! Be sure to listen carefully and fix any mispronunciations or misunderstood words.

A Few Legal Considerations You Need to Be Aware of

When you're transcribing YouTube videos, it's important to know about copyright issues. You can usually transcribe for your own use, but if you publish or share a transcript of something that's copyrighted, you could be infringing on the creator's rights. Always respect copyright laws and get permission when you need it. 

Why Even Bother Transcribing YouTube Videos? 

Knowing the perks of transcribing YouTube videos can help you figure out when it's worth your while to put in the time. 

1. You Want to Make the Content More Accessible 

Transcripts are great for making video content accessible to deaf or hard-of-hearing people, as well as those who like reading more than watching videos. 

2. You’re Trying to Improve Your SEO 

Transcripts can help improve SEO and searchability in a variety of different ways. For example, they can provide valuable keywords that will improve the video’s ranking in the search results. 

Transcripts can also improve engagement, in case the viewers choose to scan through the main points and find the exact part that they’re interested in. 

Finally, transcripts and captions have the power to increase video views by about 80%! That is because plenty of viewers are choosing to watch videos on mute. 

3. You Want to Make the Most Out of Your Content 

One of the reasons why you might be looking for the answer to the question “How to transcribe YouTube videos to text?” is because you’re planning on repurposing the video content into blog posts, articles, or social media content. And that’s most certainly a smart move as repurposing content is one of the simplest ways to increase your audience reach.

4. You Want to Ensure Everyone Understands Your Videos 

Some people find it easier and faster to get the info they need from videos if they can follow along with the text as they watch. 

5. You Are Willing to Assist Some Viewers in Language Learning 

Transcripts can be really useful for language learners. They allow you to follow along with native speakers and improve your comprehension. 

The Things That Make Video Transcription Challenging 

1. Time Consumption

We all know that manual transcription can be really time-consuming, especially when it comes to longer videos.  

2. Accuracy of Automated Tools 

While automated transcription tools are great for getting the job done quickly, they can sometimes have trouble with accents, technical terms, or low-quality audio. 

3. Background Noise 

Videos with a lot of background noise or music can make it tough to accurately transcribe them. 

4. Multiple Speakers 

It can be tough to transcribe videos with a lot of people talking over each other or having overlapping dialogue. 

The Bright Future of Voice to Text YouTube Transcription 

Yep, that’s right. Manual transcription is still one of the best ways to transcribe videos. And though there are plenty of tools you can take advantage of, their accuracy can sometimes be quite questionable. 

But as technology keeps moving forward, we can expect to see new and improved tools for automated transcription. AI and machine learning are likely to be big factors in making the transcription process more accurate and accessible. YouTube itself might also start offering more comprehensive transcription features, providing users and content creators with more robust tools. So, the future of video transcription is definitely bright.

To Sum Up 

There's no need to break the bank or get tangled up in a bunch of complicated steps to learn how to transcribe YouTube videos to text. And we hope that today we managed to show you the ropes on how to easily turn those videos into written words, completely free of charge. 

We've mostly talked about transcribing existing YouTube videos, but it's worth noting that AI is also changing the way videos are made. If you want to produce engaging videos without all the usual headaches, you can check out BigMotion.

The platform has some pretty cool features, like AI-powered voices, automatic caption generation, and the ability to create one-of-a-kind videos using AI-generated images.

If you're aiming to create content on the regular, tools like BigMotion can be a great addition to your content strategy, pairing well with the transcription methods we've talked about in this article. 

Frequently Asked Questions 

1. Can you extract text from YouTube video? 

While transcribing videos from link might not always be possible, you can choose to take advantage of YouTube’s built-in transcription feature for the majority of videos. 

2. How do I save a YouTube video as a text? 

To save a YouTube video as text, you can just use YouTube's built-in transcript feature to copy the text or you can use third-party transcription tools. Once you have the transcript, you can save it as a text file on your device. 

3. Can I transcribe YouTube videos in languages other than English? 

Absolutely! Lots of transcription tools have multi-language support. YouTube's auto-generated captions are available in many languages, and there are plenty of third-party tools with multilingual capabilities.

4. Can you transcribe a YouTube video fast? 

The amount of time it takes to transcribe a YouTube video depends on a few things. The length of the video itself, how you choose to transcribe it, and your experience will all affect how long it takes. Automated methods are quick but you may have to edit the transcript yourself. Manual transcription is more time-consuming, and an experienced transcriber may take 4-5 times the length of the video. 

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