YouTube video to text, from a link

Step by step

1. Copy the video link

   In YouTube, tap Share on the video and copy the link.

2. Paste it in the app

   Paste the link in Voicence to import the audio. On Android you can also tap Share in the YouTube app and choose Voicence directly.

3. Pick the language and transcribe

   Select the language spoken in the video and tap transcribe. You need to be online.

4. Read the summary and topics

   Start with the summary, then tap a topic to hear that part. Open the full transcript when you need the exact wording.

What a YouTube transcript is good for

Reading is faster than watching, and text is easier to quote, review, and come back to. Transcribing a YouTube video makes the most sense for content you watch to learn something.

• Video lectures and online courses you need to review before a test
• Conference talks where you want the main arguments without rewatching an hour
• Podcasts and interviews posted as video, when you need to find who said what
• Tutorials where you want the steps written down

How YouTube video to text works in the app

When you paste a link, the app imports the audio of the video and nothing else. It is not a video downloader: you don't get a video file, and nothing is saved to your camera roll.

The transcript separates speakers, which helps with interviews and panels. You can rename each speaker, tap any line to hear it, and change the playback speed from 0.5x to 2x.

The summary comes with a short paragraph, Key points, Action items, and Topics. From there you can generate a Quiz or Flashcards, write your own Notes, and export a PDF.

Free plan limits

On the free plan you can import up to 3 YouTube videos per day, and each audio you transcribe can be up to 60 minutes long. Transcription costs 1 coin per minute of audio, so a 20-minute video uses 20 coins.

Premium removes the daily YouTube limit, allows longer audio per transcription, and removes ads. For a long video on the free plan, check the length before you import so you don't use one of your three daily imports on something you can't transcribe.

Getting a cleaner transcript from a video

The quality of the text depends on the audio in the video. A single speaker with a good microphone transcribes well. Loud background music, crowd noise, and people talking over each other cause errors.

Choose the language the speakers actually use, not the language of the title or the captions. Expect mistakes on names, brand names, and technical terms, and check those against the video before you quote them.

Copyright: use the text for personal study

A transcript of someone else's video is still their content. Use it for your own study and reference, and cite the video and its creator when you quote from it.

Don't republish a full transcript, post it as your own writing, or use it commercially without the creator's permission.

Frequently asked questions