5 Best Free YouTube Summarizers in 2026 (Tested & Compared)

How We Tested

To give you an honest comparison, we tested each tool on the same YouTube video — a 45-minute tech conference keynote with auto-generated English captions. We evaluated five key criteria:

Summary quality: How accurately did the tool capture the main points? Were the key takeaways relevant and well-written? Did the summary miss important arguments or include irrelevant details?

Speed: Time from pasting the URL to seeing the complete summary. This includes any loading screens, processing indicators, and signup flows.

Free tier limits: How many summaries can you get per day without paying? Are there feature restrictions on the free tier, or do you get the full experience?

Ease of use: Does the tool require a browser extension, account creation, or email verification? Can you use it on mobile? How many clicks from URL to summary?

Extra features: Does the tool offer chat, key points extraction, timestamps, bookmarking, or export? These extras can make a significant difference in practical usefulness.

Important note: Summarizer.tube is our product. We have tried to be fair and transparent in this comparison, noting where other tools excel and where ours falls short. We believe in honest content — it is better for everyone.

1. Summarizer.tube — Best for Quick, No-Setup Summaries

Summarizer.tube is a web app that works directly in your browser. Paste a YouTube URL, get a structured summary with key points in about 30 seconds. No browser extension, no account creation — it just works.

Free tier: 5 summaries per day, no signup needed. All features available on the free tier.

What stood out: The fastest path from URL to summary — no barriers. The chat feature lets you ask follow-up questions about the video, which none of the other free tools offer. Works on mobile without compromises.

Limitations: YouTube only (no PDFs or articles). No browser extension for in-page summaries. The free tier is generous but still limited to 5 per day.

Summary quality: Accurate, well-structured. The key points were relevant and captured the main arguments from the test video. The summary was written in clear, natural language rather than extracted sentences.

2. Eightify — Best Chrome Extension Experience

Eightify is a Chrome extension that adds summary buttons directly to YouTube pages. Click the button on any video and get key insights without leaving YouTube.

Free tier: 3 summaries per day. Requires creating an account.

What stood out: The seamless YouTube integration is excellent. Summaries appear right on the page, which is convenient if you browse YouTube frequently. The timestamped key insights let you jump to specific moments.

Limitations: Chrome only — does not work on other browsers or mobile. Account required even for the free tier. No chat or follow-up question feature.

Summary quality: Good. The key insights were accurate, though the format is more list-oriented than narrative. Timestamped highlights are useful for long videos.

3. Glasp — Best for Social Learning

Glasp is primarily a social web highlighter that also offers YouTube transcript summaries through its Chrome extension. It combines AI summaries with a community aspect — you can see what others have highlighted.

Free tier: Basic YouTube summary feature is free. Full features require a subscription.

What stood out: The social aspect is unique. You can see how other users have engaged with the same video, which adds context beyond the AI summary. Transcript export is useful for note-taking.

Limitations: Chrome extension required. YouTube summarization is a secondary feature, not the primary focus. Account creation mandatory. The summary quality was slightly below dedicated summarizer tools in our test.

Summary quality: Adequate but less structured. The summary read more like a transcript excerpt than a synthesized overview.

4. Summarize.tech — Best Minimalist Option

Summarize.tech is a simple web app with a clean interface. Paste a URL, get a summary. No frills, no extras — just the basic functionality.

Free tier: Limited daily summaries (exact number varies). No signup required for basic use.

What stood out: The simplicity is refreshing. If you just want a quick summary without any extra features, it delivers. The interface is fast and uncluttered.

Limitations: No key points extraction (just a paragraph summary). No chat feature. No bookmarking or history. Limited language support compared to competitors.

Summary quality: Decent for a paragraph-style summary. It captured the main topic but lacked the structured key points that make other tools more useful for study and reference.

5. ChatGPT (Manual Method) — Best for Custom Prompts

While not a dedicated summarizer, ChatGPT can summarize YouTube videos if you manually copy the transcript. This gives you maximum flexibility in how the summary is formatted and what aspects are emphasized.

Free tier: GPT-4o mini is available on the free tier with daily message limits.

What stood out: Unmatched flexibility. You can ask for any summary format: bullet points, executive briefing, study notes, quiz questions. You can also ask follow-up questions in the same conversation.

Limitations: Requires multiple manual steps (open transcript, copy, paste, prompt). Long transcripts may exceed context limits. Cannot process the video directly — you must copy the text yourself.

Summary quality: Excellent when prompted well. The quality depends heavily on your prompt. With a good prompt, ChatGPT produces the most detailed and customizable summaries of any tool tested.

Comparison Table

Here is a side-by-side comparison of all five tools based on our testing:

Summarizer.tube: 5 free/day, no signup, no extension, has chat, 30-second speed, web app. Best overall for quick, zero-friction summaries. Eightify: 3 free/day, signup required, Chrome extension, no chat, 15-second speed, extension. Best for in-page YouTube integration on desktop Chrome. Glasp: free basic, signup required, Chrome extension, no chat, 20-second speed, extension. Best for social learners who want community highlights. Summarize.tech: limited free, no signup, no extension, no chat, 25-second speed, web app. Best for minimalists who just want a paragraph summary. ChatGPT: limited messages, signup required, no extension, has chat, 2+ minutes (manual), web app. Best for power users who want custom output formats.

For pure speed and zero-friction usage, Summarizer.tube and Summarize.tech lead as web-based tools that require no setup whatsoever. For in-page YouTube integration, Eightify is the clear winner — if you live in Chrome and want summaries without leaving YouTube. For maximum flexibility and custom analysis, ChatGPT with manual transcripts cannot be beat, though it requires significantly more effort per video.

What to Look for in a YouTube Summarizer

When evaluating YouTube summarizer tools, there are several key factors to consider beyond just the summary output quality.

Free tier generosity matters more than you think. Most people do not need 100 summaries per day. What matters is whether the free tier gives you enough for regular use without constant upsell pressure. Five free summaries per day (like Summarizer.tube) is enough for most students and professionals to evaluate 5 videos daily — which is already a significant productivity gain compared to no summarization at all.

Setup friction is a hidden cost. A tool that requires a Chrome extension plus account creation plus email verification has a much higher effective cost than a tool you can use in 30 seconds by pasting a URL. This friction also means you are less likely to use the tool consistently, which reduces its value over time. The best tool is one you will actually use every day.

Mobile support is increasingly important. More than half of YouTube viewing happens on mobile devices. A summarizer that only works as a Chrome desktop extension is inaccessible for mobile-first users. Web-based tools work everywhere — phone, tablet, laptop, any browser — which makes them far more versatile for real-world use.

Chat and follow-up capability separates good tools from great ones. A summary gives you the overview, but the ability to ask questions about specific parts of the video is what makes summarization truly useful for deep work. Not all tools offer this feature, so prioritize it if you regularly work with complex or lengthy content.

Privacy considerations are worth thinking about. Some tools store your viewing history and summary data on their servers. If you prefer more privacy, look for tools that work without creating an account or that explicitly state they do not store your data. This is particularly relevant for professionals summarizing confidential webinars or proprietary content.

Practical Workflows: How to Use Summarizers Effectively

Having a tool is only half the equation — knowing how to integrate it into your workflow is what delivers real time savings. Here are five proven workflows used by real users.

The triage workflow: When you have a list of videos to review (for research, coursework, or content creation), summarize all of them first. Read through the summaries, rank them by relevance, and only watch the top 2-3 in full. This is the single biggest time-saver for heavy YouTube users. One user reported going from watching 8 hours of conference talks to finding the 3 best talks in under 30 minutes.

The deep-dive workflow: Summarize a video first, then watch it at 1.5x speed with the summary as your guide. You already know the structure and key points, so you can focus on understanding the nuances and details that the summary condensed. This is especially effective for educational content where you need true comprehension.

The comparison workflow: When researching a topic with multiple perspectives, summarize 5-10 videos from different creators. Compare their key points side-by-side to identify areas of consensus and disagreement. This gives you a comprehensive understanding of a topic in a fraction of the time that watching all videos would require.

The content creation workflow: For creators, summarize competitor videos to understand what has already been covered. Use the chat feature to explore specific angles, then create content that fills the gaps you identified. This turns hours of competitive research into a 30-minute session.

The meeting catch-up workflow: For professionals, summarize recorded meetings, webinars, and conference talks to quickly get up to speed. Use the key points as your briefing notes, and chat with the AI about any specific topics that were discussed. This is particularly valuable for distributed teams across time zones who cannot attend every meeting live.

Our Recommendation

There is no single best tool for everyone — it depends on your workflow. Here is our honest recommendation:

If you want the fastest, easiest experience with no setup: use Summarizer.tube. Paste a link, get key points, optionally chat about the video. Five free summaries per day is enough for most casual users.

If you browse YouTube heavily on Chrome desktop: Eightify's extension is more convenient since summaries appear right on the page.

If you need maximum control: use ChatGPT with manually copied transcripts. It takes more effort but gives you complete control over the output format.

If you are a researcher or student building a knowledge base: consider NoteGPT (not in our free test but worth mentioning) for its mind maps and multi-format support.

Many power users combine tools: a quick AI summarizer for triage, then ChatGPT for deep dives into the most important videos.