How to Download a YouTube Transcript as SRT or VTT
For when you need timestamped subtitles, not just plain text.
A plain-text transcript is fine for reading, but if you are editing video, uploading subtitles to another platform, or building an accessible caption track, you need timestamps attached to each line. That is what the SRT and VTT formats are for.
SRT vs VTT — which one do you need?
SRT (SubRip) is the most widely supported subtitle format — most desktop video editors (Premiere, DaVinci Resolve, Final Cut) and media players accept it directly. VTT (WebVTT) is the format the web uses natively, via the HTML <track> element, and is what most website video players and some upload workflows expect. If you are not sure which one you need, SRT is the safer default for editing software, and VTT is the safer default for embedding subtitles on a webpage.
Steps
- Paste the YouTube video URL into the CaptionFetch transcript tool.
- Choose the caption language if the video has more than one.
- Select SRT or VTT as the export format.
- Download the file — each line already carries its start and end timestamp, pulled directly from YouTube's caption track, so you do not need to re-sync anything manually.
What you get
Because the timestamps come from YouTube's own caption data rather than a fresh transcription pass, the subtitle timing matches what viewers already see on YouTube. That matters if you are re-publishing the same video elsewhere and want the captions to line up without manual adjustment.
A note on auto-generated captions
Auto-generated captions are usually accurate for timing but can contain recognition errors in the text, especially for technical terms, names, or heavy accents. If precision matters — legal, medical, or broadcast use — read through the SRT file before publishing it.