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Gridlode
Launching soonSocial media and video1 credit / request

YouTube Transcript API

The captions of one YouTube video in the language you ask for, as timed segments (start, duration, text) plus the full text. Human-made captions are preferred and YouTube's auto-generated ones are the fallback; the response says which you got and lists every caption language on offer. Uses only the caption tracks the public watch page links to. Videos without captions in that language, verification pages, blocks and failures are free.

GEThttps://api.gridlode.com/v1/youtube/transcript
This engine is built but paused: YouTube now requires a browser attestation token for captions, which we will not fake. Join early access through the contact form and we'll email you on launch day.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
video_idrequiredstringYouTube video ID (11 characters) or any youtube.com / youtu.be video, Shorts or live URL.
langstringCaption language, e.g. en, de, pt-BR. 'en' also matches regional tracks such as en-GB.
Default: "en"
kindstringany: human-made captions when they exist, else YouTube's auto-generated ones. manual / auto: only that kind.
Default: "any"
One of: any, manual, auto
hlstringInterface language of the watch page.
Default: "en"
glstringTwo-letter country code to view the video from.
Default: "us"
max_ageintegerAccept a cached answer up to this many seconds old, billed at 50%. Default 0 (always fresh).

Response fields

    Code

    curl "https://api.gridlode.com/v1/youtube/transcript?video_id=aircAruvnKk&lang=en" \
      -H "Authorization: Bearer $GRIDLODE_KEY"
    1 credit per request
    One credit is $0.001 on the smallest pack, from $0.0003 on enterprise plans.
    Half price for cached data
    Cached for up to 168 h. Pass max_age to use it.
    Failed requests are free
    Blocks, timeouts and target errors never cost credits.

    Market reference: SearchAPI YouTube Transcripts $4.00 → $1.00 per 1k; Outscraper transcripts $3 → $1 per 1k.

    Questions

    How much does the YouTube Transcript API cost?

    1 credit per request. One credit costs $0.001 on the smallest pack and as little as $0.0003 on enterprise plans. Cached answers cost half and failed calls are free.

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