Generate YouTube Chapters from a Video
This tool reads a YouTube video, or a video you upload, and turns it into a list of chapter titles with timestamps you can paste into the description. It watches the video and listens to the audio to find where the topic changes, rather than guessing from the title or a transcript alone.
What you get:
- chapters with timestamps, in YouTube’s required format (0:00 Chapter Title)
- speaker identification, useful for spotting where a new speaker or segment starts
- A full transcript alongside the chapters, search across recordings by name or transcript
- AI chat with any recording about the video if you want to ask what happens at a certain point
- Free plan: 2 transcriptions of recordings up to 45 minutes each, with AI chat
How to Generate YouTube Chapters
- Paste the link or upload the file: Drop in a YouTube URL from YouTube, Vimeo, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and most other public video links (Twitch, Loom, Dropbox, Google Drive, Pinterest, X, Threads, Douyin, Kuaishou, Bilibili) through a generic importer, or upload MP4, M4V, MOV, AVI, WEBM, MKV, FLV, TS, MTS, M2TS, 3GP, 3GPP, 3G2, WMV, ASF, VOB, OGV, RM, RMVB, MPG, MPEG, M2V, F4V, MXF directly. Private videos work if you have the link.
- Let the AI watch it: The tool reviews the video and audio in a few minutes and proposes chapter titles at the points where the topic or scene changes.
- Edit and copy: Rename a chapter, move a timestamp, or merge two that are too close together, then copy the list in YouTube’s format and paste it into your video description.
Chapters work best on videos with clear topic shifts or visual cuts; a single continuous shot with no scene changes gives the AI less to detect. See how we measure accuracy.
YouTube Chapter Generator vs Other Tools
| Feature | ScreenApp | Thumblytics | TubePilot | LenosTube |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free access | 2 transcriptions, up to 45 min each | Unlimited use, 100% free | 100% free | 10 generations/month free, then unlimited after login |
| Video length limit (free) | 45 min | 45 min | Not stated | Not stated |
| Languages | 100+ | Not stated | 25+ | 30+ |
| Paid plan | $19/month annual | Free (no paid chapter tier) | Free (no paid chapter tier) | Free (no paid chapter tier) |
Sources, checked 2026-09-23: ScreenApp pricing, thumblytics.com/youtube-chapter-generator, tubepilot.ai/tools/youtube-video-chapters/, lenostube.com/en/youtube-chapters/, screenapp.io/help/how-many-minutes-can-i-record, screenapp.io/accuracy#languages
- vs Thumblytics: Thumblytics offers its chapter generator Unlimited use, 100% free, but caps videos at around 45 minutes. ScreenApp’s free plan covers 2 transcriptions of recordings up to 45 minutes each and adds a full transcript with AI chat on the same recording.
- vs TubePilot: TubePilot’s chapter tool is 100% free and supports 25+ languages, but only works from a pasted link. ScreenApp also accepts an uploaded video file and transcribes in 100+ languages.
- vs LenosTube: LenosTube gives free accounts 10 chapter generations a month in 30+ languages before login is required. ScreenApp’s free plan is 2 transcriptions of recordings up to 45 minutes each, with the transcript and AI chat included, not a per-generation credit.
Who Uses a YouTube Chapter Generator
Content creators add chapters so viewers can jump to the part they want instead of scrubbing through the whole video, which helps retention on longer uploads.
Educators and course creators break a long lecture or tutorial video into topic sections so students can find the part they need to review.
Podcasters who post video versions turn a single long recording into a chapter list that mirrors the conversation’s segments, the same way a podcast app shows episode markers.
Business channels use chapters to separate a product demo into feature sections, so a viewer looking for one feature does not have to watch the whole demo.
Live streamers generate chapters from the archived recording once a stream ends, turning a multi-hour VOD into a navigable list of segments.
