What is a good tool to get a YouTube transcript and search through it?

Last updated: October 16, 2026

Short answerYouTube shows a basic transcript under each video. A tool like ClipQuery goes further: it gives the full transcript with timestamps, lets you ask questions about it instead of reading it, and exports it to PDF.

What is ClipQuery?

ClipQuery is a web app (clipquery.com) that lets you ask questions about YouTube videos: it answers from what is actually said, shows the exact moment, and can compare what several videos say in one table. The Basic plan is free forever with no card.

The simple way, with no tool

Without any tool: open the description or the three dots under the video, choose Show transcript, and use Ctrl+F to search it. You can copy the text from there.

With ClipQuery, step by step

Paste the video link into ClipQuery.
Open the Transcript view to read or search it, every line with its time.
Ask a question instead of reading it all, and tap the time chip to hear that part.
Export the transcript or the answer to PDF.

Example

For example, for a video in another language, the Pro and Beast plans can translate the transcript to English, so you can read and search it.

Good to know

Transcripts are only as good as the captions or the audio they come from. Auto-generated captions can contain mistakes, especially in noisy audio. You sign in with Google; ClipQuery keeps only your email address.

Try ClipQuery free Open the app

Questions

Is the transcript free?

The Basic plan is free forever with no card. Basic includes a limited number of videos each month.

Can I download it?

Yes. You can export a transcript, a summary or an answer to PDF on every plan.

Does it work in other languages?

It works with videos in any language, and Pro and Beast can translate a transcript to English.

What does it cost?

Pro is $9 a month and Beast is $45 a month, each billed once for the period with no automatic renewal.