Switching from YouTube Transcript & Subtitles Scraper API to YouTube Transcript & Subtitles Scraper

YouTube Transcript & Subtitles Scraper (arcadium/youtube-transcripts) reads input written for johnvc/YoutubeTranscripts: 7 of its 12 input fields work as they are. Field list from its public input schema (build 0.5.134, 2026-10-31); prices and run results from the public Apify API, 2026-10-31.

Their fields that work as they are

Their fields this actor does not read

preserve_formatting, list_only, include_metadata, include_extended_metadata, channel_transcripts. Leave them out of the input; the actor’s own options are in the guide.

Side by side: their input, our rows

{
  "youtube_url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UL8iZJD38U",
  "languages": [
    "de"
  ],
  "translate_to": "en",
  "transcript_type": "manual",
  "output_formats": [
    "srt"
  ],
  "max_videos": 20
}

{
  "rowType": "transcript",
  "platform": "youtube",
  "videoId": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
  "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ",
  "title": "Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up (Official Video) (4K Remaster)",
  "channelName": "Rick Astley",
  "channelId": "UCuAXFkgsw1L7xaCfnd5JJOw",
  "channelHandle": "@RickAstleyYT",
  "channelUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuAXFkgsw1L7xaCfnd5JJOw",
  "durationSeconds": 213,
  "publishDate": "2009-10-24T23:57:33-07:00",
  "viewCount": 1829055386,
  "likeCount": 19491653,
  "category": "Music",
  "isLiveContent": false,
  "keywords": [
    "rick astley",
    "Never Gonna Give You Up"
  ],
  "description": "The official video for “Never Gonna Give You Up” by Rick Astley. Never: The Autobiography OUT NOW!...",
  "language": "en",
  "languageName": "English",
  "isAutoGenerated": false,
  "languageMatched": true,
  "translationStatus": "not_requested",
  "translatedFrom": null,
  "availableLanguages": [
    {
      "code": "en",
      "name": "English",
      "isAutoGenerated": false
    },
    {
      "code": "en",
      "name": "English",
      "isAutoGenerated": true
    }
  ],
  "transcript": "[♪♪♪] ♪ We're no strangers to love ♪ ♪ You know the rules and so do I ♪ ...",
  "segmentCount": 61,
  "wordCount": 487,
  "segments": [
    {
      "start": 1.36,
      "duration": 1.68,
      "text": "[♪♪♪]"
    },
    {
      "start": 18.64,
      "duration": 3.24,
      "text": "♪ We're no strangers to love ♪"
    }
  ],
  "source": null,
  "scrapedAt": "2026-10-22T08:00:00.000Z"
}

Output fields: rowType, platform, videoId, url, title, channelName, channelId, channelHandle, channelUrl, durationSeconds, publishDate, viewCount, likeCount, category, isLiveContent, keywords, description, language, languageName, isAutoGenerated, languageMatched, translationStatus, translatedFrom, availableLanguages, transcript, segmentCount, wordCount, segments, srt, vtt, source, scrapedAt, input, code, message. The rows use these names, not the other actor’s.

Price

Live Apify prices on 2026-10-31, in USD, for each actor’s main charged event. Start fees and platform usage are not included. Units differ: compare what one charged row contains. The Store page of each actor is the current source.

Common issues: failed or timed-out runs

• YouTube Transcript & Subtitles Scraper API timed out: 0.1% of 192,123 runs timed out.
• YouTube Transcript & Subtitles Scraper API failed: 0.0% of 192,123 runs ended as failed.

Apify’s public run statistics for each actor, last 30 days to 2026-10-31: FAILED and TIMED-OUT runs as a share of all runs. Shown from 50 runs. A failed run can also come from a bad input. Here an input that cannot be read comes back as a free error row with a code, and the other inputs still arrive.

How to switch

In the Apify Store

1. Open arcadium/youtube-transcripts and sign in to Apify.
2. On the Input tab, switch the editor to JSON and paste the input you used for johnvc/YoutubeTranscripts, without the fields listed above as not read.
3. Start the run. Set a maximum cost per run in the run options if you want a hard cap.

Over the API

Change the actor ID in the URL from johnvc~YoutubeTranscripts to arcadium~youtube-transcripts; the body stays the same apart from the fields this actor does not read.

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/arcadium~youtube-transcripts/run-sync-get-dataset-items" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"youtube_url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UL8iZJD38U","languages":["de"],"translate_to":"en","transcript_type":"manual","output_formats":["srt"],"max_videos":20}'

In n8n

In the Apify node, change the actor to arcadium/youtube-transcripts and keep the input JSON. With an HTTP Request node:

{
  "nodes": [
    {
      "name": "Run arcadium/youtube-transcripts",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.httpRequest",
      "typeVersion": 4,
      "position": [
        0,
        0
      ],
      "parameters": {
        "method": "POST",
        "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/arcadium~youtube-transcripts/run-sync-get-dataset-items",
        "authentication": "genericCredentialType",
        "genericAuthType": "httpHeaderAuth",
        "sendBody": true,
        "specifyBody": "json",
        "jsonBody": "{\"youtube_url\":\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UL8iZJD38U\",\"languages\":[\"de\"],\"translate_to\":\"en\",\"transcript_type\":\"manual\",\"output_formats\":[\"srt\"],\"max_videos\":20}",
        "options": {
          "timeout": 300000
        }
      }
    }
  ],
  "connections": {}
}

From an AI assistant (MCP)

Add the actor as a tool on Apify’s MCP server; an agent can pass the same input fields.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apify": {
      "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=arcadium/youtube-transcripts",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer <APIFY_TOKEN>"
      }
    }
  }
}

All switching guides