TranscriptFetch vs YouTube Transcripts, Search & Summaries
A side-by-side look at the TranscriptFetch and YouTube Transcripts, Search & Summaries MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose TranscriptFetch for social media work as a local process; choose YouTube Transcripts, Search & Summaries for social media over a hosted endpoint. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
Choose TranscriptFetch when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Social Media domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You have the keys it needs:
TRANSCRIPTFETCH_API_KEY, TRANSCRIPTFETCH_BASE_URL. - You want tools like
get_transcript, search_videos, list_channel_videos.
Choose YouTube Transcripts, Search & Summaries when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Social Media domain.
- You prefer a remote HTTP/SSE transport.
- Its auth model fits you: No auth required.
- You have the keys it needs:
APIFY_TOKEN. - You want tools like
get_transcript, search_videos, get_video_chapters.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Social Media | Social Media |
| Quality signal | 52/100 · Good | 53/100 · Good |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Remote HTTP/SSE |
| Auth | Not declared | No auth required |
| Pricing | Not declared | Free |
| Required env vars | TRANSCRIPTFETCH_API_KEYTRANSCRIPTFETCH_BASE_URL | APIFY_TOKEN |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 1 | 0 |
| Directory activity | 2 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 0 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 5 | 4 |
| Full listing | View TranscriptFetch | View YouTube Transcripts, Search & Summaries |
Tools & capabilities
TranscriptFetch tools 5
get_transcriptTranscript for a video. YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, or a direct media URL. Set `ai_fallback: true` to transcribe the audio when no captions exist (typically ~30 seconds for short videos, longer for long ones)search_videosSearch YouTube by keywordlist_channel_videosList a YouTube channel's videos (handle, ID, or URL)list_playlist_videosList a YouTube playlist's videos (ID or URL)get_creditsRemaining credit balance for the key. Never billed
YouTube Transcripts, Search & Summaries tools 4
get_transcriptReturns the transcript plus metadata: title, channel, duration, views, publish date, category, the **available caption languages** and whether the returned track is **auto-generated**. Output can be plain text, `[m:ss]`-timestamped paragraphs, `{start, duration, text}` segments or SRT. YouTube can…search_videosSearches YouTube through the same InnerTube search API the website uses. Returns id, title, channel, duration, views, relative publish time, description snippet, thumbnail, live flag and badges. Fetches more pages automatically up to `limit`.get_video_chaptersReturns chapters with start and end times and deep links. Uses the creator's chapters from the description or YouTube's chapter markers. If there are none, it derives topic segments from the transcript and titles each one with its distinctive keywords and a representative sentence.summarize_transcriptBuilds a structured **extractive** summary without an LLM: a TL;DR, de-duplicated key points, keywords and keyphrases, bullets per chapter, and notable quotes. Each item has a timestamp and a `…&t=123s` link.
Ready-to-paste client configs
Paste either block (or both) into your client config, e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json. We only show a config when the install command is confirmed.
TranscriptFetch
{
"mcpServers": {
"transcriptfetch-2": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"transcriptfetch-mcp"
],
"env": {
"TRANSCRIPTFETCH_API_KEY": "YOUR_TRANSCRIPTFETCH_API_KEY_HERE",
"TRANSCRIPTFETCH_BASE_URL": "YOUR_TRANSCRIPTFETCH_BASE_URL_HERE"
}
}
}
}
YouTube Transcripts, Search & Summaries
{
"mcpServers": {
"youtube-transcripts-search-summaries": {
"url": "https://parallelstudio--youtube-transcripts-mcp.apify.actor/mcp"
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
TranscriptFetch is categorized under Social Media and uses a local stdio subprocess. YouTube Transcripts, Search & Summaries belongs to Social Media and uses a remote HTTP/SSE transport. Pick TranscriptFetch for social media work and YouTube Transcripts, Search & Summaries for social media.
Copy the mcpServers block from the config section on this page into your client's config (for example claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json), then fully restart the client.
TranscriptFetch has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. YouTube Transcripts, Search & Summaries is listed as free. Auth: no auth required. If a server needs environment variables such as API keys, define them under the env key in your client's MCP config.
Yes. MCP clients support multiple servers: add transcriptfetch-2 and youtube-transcripts-search-summaries as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, TranscriptFetch has a quality signal of 52/100 (Good) with 2 views, 0 installs and 1 GitHub stars. YouTube Transcripts, Search & Summaries has 53/100 (Good) with 0 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars.