YTScribe is now PickScribe: how it compares with Claras

The main differences, explained

What happened to the name

YTScribe moved to a new name. ytscribe.com now sends you to pickscribe.com, and PickScribe's own notice says: it has migrated from YTScribe, the old domain still redirects, and PickScribe is the new home. Inside the site it often calls itself Scribe. Separately, ytscribe.ai is a live site that still calls itself YTScribe. Neither site mentions the other, so we treat them as two products and won't guess at a link.

What each one is really for

PickScribe is a transcript tool first. Paste a link, click Get Transcript, and it pulls the video's captions in seconds, adds punctuation with AI, and lets you search, copy and, on Pro, download them. On top of that it has AI summaries, chapters, quizzes and a chat with ready-made prompts. It also keeps a public library you can browse by channel, and sells an API and a database of 500K+ transcripts for developers.

ytscribe.ai is aimed at creators. Its "Studio" turns a transcript into cheat sheets, threads, blog posts and clip scripts.

Claras is built for understanding a video rather than extracting its words. You get a summary with key takeaways, chapters that jump the video and Ask AI, and it keeps working when a video has no captions, since AI transcribes the audio. It also takes Instagram and TikTok links and your own files.

The same job in each: a 40-minute YouTube video with automatic captions

In PickScribe, you paste the link on its home page. Its FAQ says you can read the transcript without an account, and a free account saves your history. The summary and chapters are Pro features, and so are downloads in TXT, SRT and VTT. For a quick read of the words, this is hard to beat for free.

In Claras, you sign in with a free account first, then paste the link or click Summarize under the video with the Chrome extension. Claras reads the captions and gives you the transcript, a summary, chapters and Ask AI. It is more than a transcript, but the free plan stops at 3 videos a month.

The same job in each: a video with no captions

In PickScribe, its FAQ is plain about it: when captions aren't enabled, it can't extract a transcript. Its error page adds that live streams and very new uploads may not have one yet.

In Claras, AI listens to the audio and writes the transcript, up to 30 minutes on the free plan and 3 hours on a paid one. This takes longer than reading captions. YouTube Shorts and live links don't work in the app or the extension yet.

What each costs in practice

PickScribe Pro is $4.99 a month, billed yearly at $59.88. We didn't find a separate monthly price on its page, though it shows a monthly and yearly switch. Pro comes with a 7-day money-back guarantee. ytscribe.ai's Unlimited plan is $20 a month, or $120 a year. Claras prices are on our pricing page. If you only read transcripts of captioned videos, PickScribe's free plan may be all you ever need. If you want summaries and answers most days, compare what each paid plan includes, not only the price.

Who should choose which

Choose PickScribe if

• You mostly want the words of captioned YouTube videos, for free.
• You'd rather not make an account just to read a transcript.
• You need SRT or VTT files, or transcripts in bulk through an API.
• You study with quizzes and flashcards.

Choose ytscribe.ai if

• You make content and want a transcript turned into a thread, a blog post or a cheat sheet.

Choose Claras if

• You want to understand videos and ask them questions, not only read them.
• Your videos often have no captions.
• You also watch on Instagram or TikTok, or have your own recordings.
• You want to size up a whole playlist or search page before you watch.

To read a video's captions without an account in Claras, our free subtitle downloader shows the first lines as a preview. Downloading them takes a free account.

What Claras users say

From a review of Claras. This person is not comparing it with YTScribe.

"I use it to skim long videos and go straight to the parts that interest me. The summaries are clear and well organized. It saves me hours every week. Highly recommended."

Etienne Douaze, Chrome Web Store