How to get an Apple Podcasts transcript
Apple writes a transcript for most podcast episodes, but the Podcasts app only lets you read it while the episode plays. Here is where to find it on each device, and how to get the full text out.
On iPhone and iPad
Transcripts arrived with iOS 17.4 and iPadOS 17.4. Update first if you do not see them.
- Open the Podcasts app and start playing the episode.
- Open the full player by tapping the mini player at the bottom of the screen.
- Tap the transcript button, the speech bubble with a quotation mark, in the lower left corner.
- The transcript follows along as the episode plays. Use the search icon to find a word, then tap a line to jump to that moment.
You can also open an episode page, tap the ⋯ menu and choose View Transcript without playing anything.
On a Mac
- Open the Podcasts app on macOS Sonoma 14.4 or later.
- Play the episode, then click the transcript button in the player bar at the top right.
- The transcript opens in the right sidebar. Press Command-F to search it.
On the web, Windows and Android
The podcasts.apple.com player does not show transcripts, and there is no Apple Podcasts app for Android. The episode still has a transcript. You just need something that can read it, which is what PodText does: paste the episode link and the full transcript opens in any browser.
How to copy the whole transcript
The Podcasts app lets you read and search the transcript, but it has no button to copy or export all of it. Selecting text in the app only grabs a few lines at a time. To get the complete text:
- In the Podcasts app, open the episode, tap Share and choose Copy Link. On a Mac, use Share → Copy Link from the ⋯ menu.
- Paste the link into PodText and press Get transcript.
- Use Copy for the clipboard, or Download for plain text, Markdown, PDF, SRT or VTT.
The link of the whole show works too: PodText lists its latest episodes and you pick one.
What the transcript includes
- Timestamps on every paragraph, so a quote still points back to its moment in the episode.
- Speaker turns. Apple marks where the voice changes but not who is talking, so you see Speaker 1, Speaker 2.
- Apple’s wording. It is generated by Apple and is usually very accurate, but check names and technical terms against the audio before you quote them.
Questions
Which languages have transcripts?
English, Spanish, French and German. Episodes in other languages usually have none.
Why does my episode have no transcript?
It may be too new, in an unsupported language, or from a show whose publisher turned transcripts off. Here is the full list of reasons.
Do I need an Apple ID or subscription?
No. Transcripts are free in the Podcasts app, and PodText only needs the public episode link.
Can I get transcripts for subscriber-only episodes?
Not through PodText. It reads the public catalogue, so premium episodes that need a subscription are not available.