YouTube Summarizers Compared (2026)
Seven tools that turn a YouTube video into something you can read in a minute, compared on the things people actually ask about: what the free tier allows, whether you need an account, which languages the summary comes out in, whether the tool also handles web pages and PDFs, and whether you get the transcript and timestamps or just the summary.
A disclosure first: I build Sumwise, one of the seven. This is not a ranking and there is no "best". Where Sumwise loses a column, the table says so — that is the only way a comparison written by a vendor is worth reading.
Everything below was checked in September 2026 against each tool's own pages. Limits and prices change often; if you find something out of date, email info@sumwise.ai and it gets fixed.
The table
| Tool | Free tier | Works without an account | Summary languages | YouTube | Web pages | Transcript / timestamps | Where it runs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glasp | Yes, 3 YouTube summaries a day | Basic use, per Glasp | Any language you set in the prompt (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Mistral) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Both | Chrome, Safari, Edge extension; web; mobile app |
| Eightify | Limited free use, then paid | No, account needed | 40+ | Yes | No | No | Timestamps | Chrome and Safari extension; iOS and Android apps |
| NoteGPT | Free plan with limits, paid tiers | Some tools without login, per NoteGPT | 50+ | Yes | Partial | Yes | Both | Web app; Chrome extension |
| NotebookLM | Free, with usage limits | No, Google account | Many | Yes, public videos with captions only | Yes | Yes | Cited passages, not a transcript view | Web app |
| Summarize.tech | Free, daily limit | Yes | Mostly English | Yes | No | No | Sectioned by time | Web only |
| Recall | Limited free, then paid | No, account needed | Not stated | Yes, up to ~10 hours with captions | Yes | Yes | Timestamps | Extension; web; mobile |
| Sumwise | 5 summaries a day, 30 a month, no card | The web demo, yes; the extension needs an account | 30, including Arabic | Yes | Yes | Yes | Neither | Chrome extension; web app |
"Both" means the tool shows the full transcript with clickable timestamps next to the summary. "Timestamps" means the summary's points link back into the video, but there is no transcript view.
What each one is for
Glasp is the most flexible of the seven: you pick the model, you can read and highlight the transcript, and it covers articles and PDFs as well as YouTube. The free tier is three YouTube summaries a day. If you take notes from videos, this is the natural pick.
Eightify does one thing, fast: open a YouTube video, click, get the key points with timestamps inside the page. It does not touch articles or PDFs. The free tier is small; if you use it daily you will hit the paid plan.
NoteGPT is built for studying. Beyond the summary you get mind maps, flashcards and quizzes, and it can process several videos in a batch. More features than most people need for a single video.
NotebookLM is not a summarizer so much as a research notebook that accepts YouTube links as sources. Its strength is asking questions across several videos and documents, with answers grounded in the material. It needs a public video with captions.
Summarize.tech is the simplest: paste a URL, no account, get a summary split by time segments. Good for a one-off long lecture; not built for anything beyond YouTube.
Recall is for people building a library. Summaries become cards you can search and connect later, and it handles very long videos. You pay for the library, not the summary.
Sumwise is the one I build. One tool for YouTube, web pages and PDFs, with the summary in the language you choose (30 of them, Arabic included), a structured layout with a TL;DR on top, a link to share any summary, and a weekly digest of the channels you follow. The free tier is 5 summaries a day with no card. The web demo works without signing up.
Where Sumwise falls short
- No transcript view and no timestamps. If you want to jump to the minute where something was said, Glasp, NoteGPT or Eightify do that; Sumwise does not.
- No questions on the content. NotebookLM lets you interrogate a video; Sumwise gives you the summary and stops.
- Chrome only. No Safari or Firefox extension, no mobile app.
- Shorts and live streams are not supported, and a video without a transcript cannot be summarized.
- Five summaries a day on the free tier is enough to try it and not enough to live in it.
How to choose
- You want the key points while you are on YouTube, nothing else: Eightify or Glasp.
- You want the transcript and timestamps too: Glasp or NoteGPT.
- You are studying and want to ask questions across videos and documents: NotebookLM.
- You want to paste one link with no account: Summarize.tech.
- You are building a searchable library of everything you watch: Recall.
- You read in a language other than the one the video was made in, and you want one tool for videos, articles and PDFs: Sumwise.
How this was checked
Each row comes from the tool's own pricing and feature pages in September 2026, not from other comparison articles. Free-tier numbers are the ones published at that time. Nothing here was tested by a third party; it is a feature comparison, not a quality benchmark.
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