How to transcribe online course videos to text
Lessons behind a login rarely come with captions you can copy, and you can't paste a private course link into a transcript site. Transcribe Video to Text is a Chrome extension that listens to the lesson audio in your tab and writes the transcript while the video plays.
Course platforms it works on
These are the platforms where people transcribe lessons with it:
It doesn't depend on the platform: if the lesson plays in a Chrome tab with sound, the extension can hear it. That's why it also works on custom players and private school sites that no list covers.
How to do it
- Install Transcribe Video to Text from the Chrome Web Store and pin it to your toolbar.
- Log in to your course as usual and open the lesson.
- Click the extension icon, press Transcribe and let the lesson play. The text appears in the side panel as it is spoken.
- Copy it, or export it as a Word document, TXT or SRT subtitles. Your transcripts are saved to your library.
Why it listens to the audio instead of reading captions
Most course players have no captions, or keep them inside the player where you can't copy them. Tools that only read captions stop there. Reading the tab audio works on any player, in 50+ languages, and the transcript is laid out by speaker with timestamps.
When a video does have captions on YouTube or Vimeo, the extension takes those instead: the transcript is ready in seconds and it's free.
What it costs
- YouTube and Vimeo with captions: free and unlimited, no sign-up.
- Lessons without captions: AI transcription. A few are free every month (a free Google sign-in unlocks the rest of the monthly allowance).
- Whole courses: Lite adds 150 minutes a month (about 2.5 hours of lessons), Pro adds 500 minutes (8+ hours). See pricing.
Good to know
- It takes about as long as the lesson: the audio is transcribed while it plays. Keep the lesson playing in its tab.
- One recording can run up to 120 minutes.
- A few platforms protect their streams. Try one lesson first before planning a whole course.
- Use transcripts for your own study and check your course's terms before sharing them.
Questions
Can I transcribe Skool or Hotmart videos?
Yes. Open the lesson while logged in, click the icon and press Transcribe. The extension listens to the tab audio, so it doesn't need captions or a download link.
Does it work on Coursera or Udemy lessons without subtitles?
Yes, the same way: the transcript is built from the audio while the lesson plays.
Does it work with Canvas and university portals?
Yes, if the lecture plays in a Chrome tab. People use it with Canvas and their university's own portals.
Do I need to download the video?
No. Nothing is downloaded or uploaded. The lesson plays as usual and the transcript appears next to it.
Is my audio stored?
No. Audio goes over an encrypted connection to the speech recognition service only to produce your transcript and is not stored on our servers. We never sell your data.
Can I get study notes from a lesson?
Yes. After the transcript is ready, Summary & study notes (beta) turns it into a short summary or study notes.