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Real output from our tool

Instagram Reels Transcript Example

A real NASA Reel, run through our tool. Every word that was said, with the time it was said.

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The transcript

On 2 October 2026 we pasted NASA's Reel about the launch of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope into our tool. This is the whole result. We have not edited it. NASA videos are public domain, which is why we can show it here.

Roman is on her way — NASA on Instagram. Watch itWords and times come from the Reel's audio, by speech-to-text. The Reel is under a minute, so the free result is complete.
  1. 0:02NASA just launched Nancy Grace Roman, the most powerful telescope the world has
  2. 0:07ever known.
  3. 0:08And when she opens her eyes, nearly a million miles from Earth, in that first
  4. 0:13light, she will see more of the universe than anything we have ever put into space before.
  5. 0:17She will help us understand the mysterious dark matter that holds galaxies together,
  6. 0:22dark energy that is accelerating the expansion of the universe, and discover more than 100,000
  7. 0:28new worlds hidden behind distant stars.
  8. 0:31The photos she takes will be so large that there isn't a screen in existence large enough to display them.
  9. 0:37Alongside her sister telescopes like James Webb and Hubble, Roman will capture images
  10. 0:42that will captivate the world and inspire the next generation to go even further.
  11. 0:47America is taking on the near-impossible missions only NASA is capable of achieving.
  12. 0:52The golden age of discovery has only just begun.
  13. 0:56you

What to notice

  • Lines follow the voice. Each line ends where the narrator pauses, so some are long and some are two words, like “ever known.” at 0:07.
  • Numbers come out as digits. “More than 100,000 new worlds” at 0:22 is written the way you would type it.
  • Punctuation is added for you. Speech has no commas, but the text does. That makes it ready to paste into a caption or a post.
  • The last line is probably not real. The narration ends at 0:55. A lone “you” right after the talking stops is a common speech-to-text slip. Play the end of the video to check, and delete lines like this before you use the text.

The same lines as a subtitle file

Download SRT or VTT and you get the same lines with a start and end time each. Here is the start of the SRT file for this Reel:

1
00:00:02,020 --> 00:00:07,080
NASA just launched Nancy Grace Roman, the most powerful telescope the world has

2
00:00:07,080 --> 00:00:07,760
ever known.

Load it into a video editor to add subtitles to your own cut. Choose TXT when you only want the words.

What a music-only Reel returns

Many Reels have no talking at all: a song plays and the words are written on screen. A transcript comes from the sound, so there is little to write down, and speech-to-text often fills the gap with a stray phrase. Five other NASA Reels we ran that day came back almost empty. One of them came back as this:

0:00  Music Music
0:03  Music Music Music
0:23  Music

The other four gave only short phrases such as “Thank you.”, “Bye.” and “We'll be right back.” Between 3 August and 2 October 2026, about 1 in 60 of the TikTok and Reels links people pasted into our tool came back with nothing but phrases like these.

What the tool does now. Since 2 October 2026, when a result has nothing but phrases like these, the tool tells you it couldn't hear anyone talking instead of showing them, and that try does not count against your limit. If the words you want are written on screen, a screenshot is the better tool.

From a transcript to your next post

  • Caption. Take the strongest line, like “The golden age of discovery has only just begun.”, and use it to open your caption.
  • Quote. Cite the exact words with the time, so readers can find them in the Reel.
  • Repurpose. Turn a talking-head Reel into a short blog post or newsletter section.
  • Accessibility. Add the SRT as subtitles when you post the clip somewhere else.

Get this for your own Reel

  1. On Instagram, tap the share icon on the Reel and copy the link. The Reel must be public.
  2. Paste it into the Instagram Reels transcript tool.
  3. Read it on the page, copy it, or download it.

Frequently asked questions

What does an Instagram Reels transcript look like?

Lines of spoken text, each with the time it starts in the Reel, plus a short summary. You can copy it or download it as TXT, SRT or VTT. The NASA example on this page is real output.

Where do the words come from?

From the Reel's audio. Speech-to-text listens to the video and writes down what is said. Text that only appears on screen is not in the audio, so it is not in the transcript.

What happens with a music-only Reel?

There is no speech to write down. Speech-to-text then writes only stray phrases such as "Music" or "Thank you.", so the tool tells you it couldn't hear anyone talking, and that try does not count against your limit.

Is it free?

Yes, to try. Without an account you get 1 free video every 30 days, and signing in free gives you 1 more. Free results show the first minute; Reels of a minute or less come back in full. Pro ($13.50/month) gives full-length transcripts and up to 10 links at once.

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