Transcribe a video without captions
Free, on your PC, nothing uploaded. The text comes out with the prompt already on top for your AI.
Updated: September 2026 · 6 min read
To transcribe a video that has no captions on Windows: install AppGrabbit, open the Transcript tab, paste the link (YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, X, Twitch…) and click Transcribe. The app downloads only the audio, runs it through a speech-recognition engine on your own computer and leaves you a clean .txt that starts with the prompt you pick, plus an .srt with timestamps. The first time it asks to get ready (it downloads the engine once) and carries on by itself. 1 credit · 5 free a month
Why transcription websites don't help here
Almost everything you find when you search "transcribe video without captions" is a website where you upload a file. For a YouTube or TikTok video that means three problems: you have to download it and upload it yourself; the audio ends up on someone else's servers; and the free plan runs out in minutes. YouTube's own transcript panel doesn't help either: no captions, no panel.
How AppGrabbit does it
If the video has captions, the app takes them and the text is ready in seconds. If it doesn't, the app downloads only the audio, converts it to a light WAV with FFmpeg and transcribes it with Whisper (whisper.cpp) running on your PC: on your graphics card if you have an NVIDIA one, on the processor otherwise. A voice detector skips music and silence, and a filter removes what these engines tend to make up where nobody is speaking. You get the same output as always: the .txt with the prompt on top and the .srt with timestamps, in your Transcripts folder and in the Library.
How long it takes and how often it gets a word wrong
- With an NVIDIA card — about 30 seconds per 10 minutes of video, with either model.
- Processor only — about 2 minutes per 10 minutes of video with the Fast model; the Accurate one takes about 6 and makes fewer mistakes.
- Words wrong — Fast about 8 in 100; Accurate about 5. Mostly proper names and heavy accents; the meaning holds. The .txt says so at the top ("Transcribed on this PC").
- Once — the engine and the model are downloaded the first time (Fast 181 MB, Accurate 547 MB; with NVIDIA the engine is a 643 MB download). The app tells you the size and the time before starting, and you can also do it from Settings › Transcription.
AppGrabbit vs the other ways
| AppGrabbit | Transcription websites | YouTube's panel | Whisper on your own | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Videos without captions | ✓ Yes, on your PC | ✓ By uploading the file | ✗ No panel | ✓ Yes |
| Paste the link and go | ✓ Yes | ✗ You download and upload | ~ YouTube only | ✗ You download and convert |
| Your audio never leaves your PC | ✓ Never | ✗ Goes to their servers | ✓ In the browser | ✓ Yes |
| Prompt for your AI included | ✓ Yes | ✗ No | ✗ No | ✗ No |
| Setup | One installer, the engine downloads itself | None | None | Python, models, sometimes CUDA |
| Cost | 1 credit (5 free a month) · Pro $8.99/month · 7-day pass $3.99 | Free minutes, then a subscription | Free | Free, with work |
Where the text comes from, honestly
Speech recognition is very good, not perfect. Videos with background music, several people talking at once or heavy accents come out worse than a calm lecture or interview. That is why the .srt sits next to the text: if something looks off, you jump to the exact minute. The app doesn't write summaries or questions: the .txt carries the prompt on top and you paste it into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini.
Step by step
- 1Install AppGrabbit for Windows — Download the free installer (109 MB, everything included). Windows will say it protected your PC because the installer is not code-signed: click More info and Run anyway.
- 2Open the Transcript tab and paste the link — The app reads the video and tells you whether it has captions or will be transcribed on your PC, and how long it will take.
- 3The first time, let it get ready — Pick the model (Fast or Accurate; the one recommended for your PC is preselected) and click Set up and transcribe. It downloads the engine once and carries on by itself.
- 4Pick the prompt — Summarize, key ideas, study questions, or no prompt. It goes at the top of the file.
- 5Click Transcribe — The .txt and the .srt land in the Transcripts folder inside your downloads folder, and in the Library. Paste the .txt into your AI and you're done.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. With any link the app can download: if the video has no captions, the audio is transcribed on your PC just like a YouTube one.
No. It works the same on the processor, it just takes longer (about 2 minutes per 10 minutes of video with the Fast model). If you have an NVIDIA card, the app uses it on its own and drops to about 30 seconds.
Fast 181 MB or Accurate 547 MB, plus the engine: 8 MB on the processor or 643 MB on an NVIDIA card. It lives in the app folder and can be removed from Settings › Transcription.
The engine detects the spoken language. If the video mixes languages, you can fix it (Spanish, English or Portuguese) before transcribing.
Then the engine isn't needed: the app takes the captions and the text comes out instantly. If the automatic ones are poor, there is a switch to transcribe on your PC anyway.
1 credit per transcript. Free comes with 5 credits a month and, when you hit 0, you can claim 1 more every 48 hours. For many videos, the 7-day pass (USD 3.99, no renewal) removes credits for a week; Pro removes them for good for USD 8.99 a month.
Related guides
Transcribe any video, with or without captions
Windows 10/11 · 1 credit per transcript, 5 free a month · On your PC, nothing uploaded