How to Download Subtitles from YouTube Videos

Subtitles are a great blessing when you are trying to learn a new language. Thankfully, a lot of content that you see on platforms like YouTube come with English and other subtitles. For instance, if you are someone who is picking up English pronunciation and accent, you need the help of subtitles.

The problem is that you may not always have a good internet connection with you, and you would have to download YouTube videos to be accessed offline. The problem is that not every YouTube downloader allows you to download videos with subtitles. That is, in most cases, you may end up with a video without subtitles.

But, how do you get the YouTube videos with subtitles? Don’t worry, we have found a few options here.

The Thing with YouTube Premium

In case you did not know, YouTube Premium is the official way to download YouTube videos for offline needs. However, you will have to subscribe to this paid service for the best experience. More importantly, the offline download feature works on Android and iOS only. That is, if you want to enjoy these videos on the desktop, you need something else.

Coming to the aspect of subtitles, YouTube Premium automatically downloads the subtitles. You don’t have to do anything extra here. Simply download the video in the quality you like, and the available subtitles would also be downloaded. When playing the offline video, you can choose the right option from the Menu => Captions. Auto-generated English captions may not work in this mode, though.

The problem is that you cannot move these downloaded files or the subtitles as such. If you are comfortable within the YouTube player interface, this could be a potential option. If not, though, you should seek others listed below.

These methods are used to download subtitles from YouTube videos on desktop with ease. You can also try them if you don’t have a YouTube Premium subscription.

Method #1 Dedicated Software like YouTube Subtitle Downloaders

This is probably the most effective way to download subtitles from YouTube videos with ease. This means you can download a standalone program that helps you download subtitles through a dedicated interface in the end. When compared to an Online YouTube Subtitle Downloader, you get some additional features also.

For instance, you will be able to choose the format of the subtitle — .TXT gives you easy-to-copy subtitles without timestamps while .SRT gives you text with subtitles as well. In addition, you may be able to download multiple subtitles in batch, add timing information or download the subtitles for a specific amount of time.

You should also note that you can choose the language of the subtitles before you hit the download button. This comes in handy when you don’t want to hoard all the subtitles files that you actually don’t need. Such an effective program saves you a lot of time as well.

YouTube subtitle downloader software are a great choice when you use downloaded subtitles for a variety of needs. For example, you could opt for .TXT subtitles if you want to copy and paste content with ease. This will help you when you are downloading online learning videos, where the captions help a lot.

But what if you want to get rid of installation and everything?

Method #2 Online YouTube Subtitle Downloaders

If you want the benefit of portability and a go-to interface, you should look for online YouTube downloaders with subtitle options. This means you don’t have to download or install any program to get the downloads for offline access. Instead, just as you would do with a video, you have to paste the YouTube video URL.

Now, there are so many online subtitle downloader websites out there. You can even choose websites that offer a shortened URL for easy access. These come in handy when you want to get a subtitle downloaded — without going through all the fuss. As it turns out, there are extra advantages as well.

One of them is that you can often use the same online platform to download subtitles from other streaming services out there, such as Vimeo, Facebook, TED etc. So, the next time you download a TED talk video from the official website, you can download the subtitle as well.

The downside is that you may miss out some features like bulk features. You will have to paste the URLs one by one if you want to download subtitles for multiple videos out there. However, when compared to the big aspect of compatibility and control, this can be ignored.

Long story short, an online YouTube Subtitle Downloader is your best shot when you are on the run. Also, did we mention that you don’t have to spend a single penny here? There are so many free options. And, we should also consider that there are so many YouTube video downloaders out there. So, you can be relaxed.

The Bottom Line

So, these are your top options when you want to download subtitles of a YouTube video without fuss. As it happens, we have also included a method that you can use to download subtitles from other services such as Facebook and TED. Hope it helps every learner out there.