[6 Ways] How to Download YouTube Subtitles in 2022

YouTube is one of the world’s largest video sharing sites and therefore often has videos in different languages. To make the content more accessible to all audiences, YouTube allows the content creator to add subtitles to the video.

Therefore, if you wanted to download the video to your computer for offline viewing, you will need to make sure that you are downloading the subtitles as well or the content would not be very useful to you.

In this article, we will look at the various way that you can download YouTube subtitles. We have exhausted all the methods so you can choose one that works best for you.

Preparing for Downloading YouTube Subtitles

Not all content creators choose to add subtitles to their videos. So, if you want to download a video in a different language, you may need to make sure that it has subtitles to begin with. To do that, look at the bottom of the video player for the “CC” icon, next to the gear icon.

If the “CC” icon is not there, then the video doesn’t have subtitles and you therefore will not be able to download them. But if it is present, then you can use one of the methods below to download the subtitles along with the video.

Part 1. Best Way to Download YouTube Videos with Subtitles

Fucosoft Video Downloader is perhaps the best way to download YouTube videos with subtitles. The program us useful even for beginners because it is very easy to use. It also doesn’t impose any limits on the downloading process, meaning that you can download any video of any length quickly and easily.

Here’s how you can download YouTube videos with their subtitles using Fucosoft Video Downloader;

Step 1: Download and install Fucosoft YouTube Subtitle Downloader on to your computer. Open the program to get to its main interface.

Step 2: Visit YouTube and locate the video that you want to download. You can use the search function to find the video. Also make sure the video has subtitles.

Step 3: Back to the Video Downloader and click on the “+ Paste URL” icon. From the pop-up, select the video format and resolution that you would like to download.

Check the “Download Subtitle” option and then click on “Download” to begin downloading the video and its subtitles.

When the download is complete, You can then click on the File icon to find the video and subtitles that you have downloaded.

Part 2. Free Web Services to Download Subtitles from YouTube

There are also a few good online tools that you can use to download YouTube videos with subtitles. The following are some of the best ones we could find;

2.1 Using DownSub

This online tool will allow you to download the subtitles in SRT format. It is available online, meaning that you will not need to download or install any software on to your computer and it can download subtitles from a whole host of other websites including Facebook.

Follow these simple steps to download Subtitles from YouTube;

Step 1: Go to YouTube and find the video that you would like to download. Copy its URL link.

Step 2: On any browser, go to https://downsub.com/ and paste the URL link into the field provided. Click on the “Download” button.

Step 3: You should see a number of languages that you can download the videos in. Click on the “Download” link next to your preferred language, DownSub will begin downloading the subtitles that will be saved to your computer in SRT format.

2.2 Using SaveSubs

You can also use SaveSubs to download YouTube subtitles. The subtitles will be saved in TTX and SRT format and you can download subtitles from a variety of sites including Vimeo, Facebook, Dailymotion and more.

Here’s how to use SaveSubs to download YouTube subtitles;

Step 1: Copy the YouTube link of the video whose subtitles you would like to download.

Step 2: Go to https://savesubs.com/ on any browser and then paste the copied link into the field provided. Click on “Extract and Download.”

Step 3: You can then choose if you would like to download the file in SRT or TXX format. Just click on the Download button, next to the preferred format and the subtitles will be downloaded to your computer.

2.3 Using LilSubs

LilSubs is another online solution that you can use to download subtitles from YouTube and other video sharing sites. The subtitles that you download will be saved in SRT format.

Here’s how to download subtitles from YouTube with LilSubs;

Step 1: Go to YouTube and find the video with the subtitles that you want to download.

Step 2: Now, go to http://www.lilsubs.com/ and paste in the link for the video in the field provided. Click on the “Download” button to start the download.

Step 3: In the next screen, you should see all the available options for downloading the video. Click on the preferred language and the subtitles will be saved to your computer in SRT format.

Part 3. Download YouTube Subtitles Manually

You may also be able to download the YouTube subtitles manually using one of the two methods below;

3.1 Using YouTube Feature (Transcript)

You can download subtitles with the YouTube video using the Transcription view on YouTube. Here’s how to do it;

Step 1: Open the YouTube video with the subtitles that you would like to download. Click on the three-dotted menu below the title and then select “Open Transcript.”

Step 2: You should see the subtitle text, but they will have timestamps. To remove the timestamps, click on the three dotted menu again and choose “Toggle Timestamps.”

Step 3: Use the drop-down menu to choose the language that you would like to download, and then just copy and paste the text into your desired app.

3.2 Using Chrome Developer Tools

You might also be able to download the subtitles using Chrome Developer Tool. This process is quick and easy, just open the video on Google Chrome and then follow these simple steps;

Step 1: Once the video is open, press F12 on your keyboard to access the Chrome developer tools.

Step 2: Click on the “Network” tab at the top and then select “CC” to enable the subtitles.

Step 3: Find the name that begins with “timedtext” and tap on it to show the hierarchy of subtitle texts.

Step 4: Now go to the “Events” section and select the “0” subsection. Select “segs” and then click on the “0” subsection. You can then copy the text into a text document.

To get the next lines of the subtitles, use the same steps, but select “1” subsection, then 2,3 and so on.

Part 4. The Common Types of Subtitles

Subtitles commonly appear at the bottom of the screen as the derivative text of commentary or audio in any video, movie, TV show or video game. There are different types of subtitles, including;

1. Hard Subtitles

Also known as Open Subtitles or Hardsubs, this type is permanently merged with the video frame. It is therefore impossible to open them independently since they are a part of the main video file.

2. Pre-rendered Subtitles

These subtitles often come as a separate video frame overlaid on the original file. They are used mostly on DVD and Blue-ray, which supports numerous different languages. Because they are often separate video files, they can be switched on and off at will.

3. Soft Subtitles

Soft Subtitles come as a completely different text video that is independent of the video file and is usually marked with timestamps that can be displayed during playback. These subtitles are the easiest to create, edit and download.

Part 5. YouTube Supported Subtitle Formats

Subtitle files come in a number of formats including .sub, .srt,. rt,. pjs,. psb, .txt,. smi,. stl, .ssf, .ssa and .ass. The following are the subtitle formats that YouTube supports;

Basic Formats: These include .srt, .sbv/.sub, .mpsub, .lrc, .cap. For beginners, .srt is the most ideal format to use because it is simple to edit.

Advanced Formats: These can be useful for changing the styling and positioning of the subtitles and they include .smi/.sami, .rt, .vtt, .ttml, .dfxp.

Broadcast File Formats (for TV shows and movies): As the name suggests, these are using for closed captions displayed on broadcast content like movies and TV shows. They include .scc, .stl, .tds, .cin, .asc, .cap.

Conclusion

Downloading a YouTube video with subtitles can be useful in numerous ways. With the solutions above, you can now easily download any video with subtitles or choose to download the subtitles independently of the video.

If you would like a much simpler way to download a YouTube video and its subtitles without needing to download each independently, we suggest you to use a tool like Fucosoft Video Downloader. Using it, you just need to copy and paste the URL of the video, subtitles will be downloaded along with the video.