How much does youtube cost?

youtube uses a free pricing model.

What are the main advantages of youtube?

Deep transcript integration allows agents to 'read' videos with precise timestamp context.. Support for multilingual captions enables cross-language research and translation workflows.. Standardized MCP implementation makes it compatible with multiple AI clients (Claude, Cursor, etc.).. High reliability and performance, with low-latency tool calls for search and metadata retrieval..

What are the drawbacks of youtube?

Complex initial setup requiring a Google Cloud Platform account and API key generation.. Subject to YouTube Data API quota limits which can restrict bulk channel analysis.. Dependent on video owners enabling captions; auto-captions can sometimes contain technical errors..

youtube

Unverified verified 13 jun 2026

Pricing: Free Last verified: 2026-06-13

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Updated May 27, 2026

TL;DR

YouTube-MCP is a Model Context Protocol server that allows AI agents like Claude to interact directly with YouTube content, including searching videos and fetching deep metadata. It is primarily for researchers and developers who need to perform automated video analysis, summarization, and RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) without manual copy-pasting. Its key differentiator is the ability to retrieve timestamped, multilingual transcripts natively within an AI's context window.

What Users Actually Pay

No user-reported pricing yet.

Our Take

YouTube-MCP occupies a critical niche in the emerging Model Context Protocol ecosystem, serving as a robust bridge between the vast knowledge on YouTube and local AI agents. While most AI tools struggle with 'hallucinating' video content or require manual link pasting, this tool empowers an agent to autonomously browse playlists and parse transcripts to find specific quotes or technical details. It transforms YouTube from a passive video site into a queryable database for an LLM. The strength of the product lies in its integration of the YouTube Data API with transcription logic, providing a more 'official' and stable data flow than scrapers. However, it is fundamentally a developer-oriented tool; setting it up requires a Google Cloud project and manual configuration of a JSON file, which may be a barrier for non-technical users. We see it as a must-have tool for any 'Agentic' workflow involving research, education, or content creation. It is best suited for power users of Claude Desktop or Cursor who want to summarize hours of lectures or podcasts in seconds. Its main limitation remains the YouTube API quota system, which can be exhausted quickly during heavy bulk-processing tasks.

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Pros

+ Deep transcript integration allows agents to 'read' videos with precise timestamp context.
+ Support for multilingual captions enables cross-language research and translation workflows.
+ Standardized MCP implementation makes it compatible with multiple AI clients (Claude, Cursor, etc.).
+ High reliability and performance, with low-latency tool calls for search and metadata retrieval.

Cons

- Complex initial setup requiring a Google Cloud Platform account and API key generation.
- Subject to YouTube Data API quota limits which can restrict bulk channel analysis.
- Dependent on video owners enabling captions; auto-captions can sometimes contain technical errors.

Sentiment Analysis

+0.83 — Very PositiveUpdated May 10, 2026

Sentiment has improved since last capture. The sentiment for YouTube-MCP is overwhelmingly positive, especially regarding its utility for research and productivity. Users praise the direct transcript access as a 'game changer' for AI context, though many note that the manual setup process and API key requirement are significant points of friction.

Sentiment Over Time

By Source

Reddit+0.85

45 mentions

Sample quotes (2)

"it's become one of the MCPs i actually use daily somehow... being able to just throw those links in and ask claude to compare what each speaker said about a specific point was really nice."
"The setup was kind of annoying, took me like 20 minutes messing with the json config before it worked. but now i can just paste a youtube link into a conversation and claude pulls the full transcript."

smithery+0.90

62314 mentions

Sample quotes (1)

"97/100 quality score with 100% uptime over the last 30 days. One of the most called tools for Claude Code and Cursor."

github+0.75

120 mentions

Sample quotes (1)

"The multilingual transcription with native language support is a nice touch. Ideal for analyzing video performance side by side."

Agent Readiness

60/100

YouTube-MCP is built natively for AI agents, using the Model Context Protocol to expose YouTube's search and transcription features as executable tools. It is highly ready for autonomous agents, providing structured JSON-RPC responses that include precise metadata and timestamps. While it lacks standard SaaS integrations like Zapier, its role as a 'tool for agents' means it is designed to be the integration layer itself. Developer experience is solid for those comfortable with CLI and JSON configurations, though it requires users to bring their own YouTube API keys.

API Surface85

Public APIMCPJSON-RPCRESTFree Tiernone

Protocol Support55

MCP (43 tools)

SDK Availability70

npm: youtube (official)npm: youtube-player (official)npm: react-youtubenpm: @types/youtubenpm: @googleapis/youtubenpm: youtube-video-element (official)npm: @tiptap/extension-youtubenpm: youtube-transcript (official)npm: lite-youtube-embednpm: @types/youtube-playerpypi: youtube-python (official)

Integration Ecosystem0

Claude DesktopCursorClaude CodeSmitheryMCP.so

Developer Experience65

Docs: goodVersioningChangelog

Last checked May 10, 2026

MCP Integrations

3 servers43 tools6,794 total uses

youtube-mcpsfiorini/youtube-mcp

smitheryRemoteHigh match

Search and browse videos, channels, and playlists to fetch titles, descriptions, stats, and durations. Retrieve multilingual, timestamped transcripts and search within captions for precise context. Surface channel and playlist insights quickly by listing items and details.

3,303 uses

7 tools

videos_getVideoGet detailed information about a YouTube video including URL
videos_searchVideosSearch for videos on YouTube and return results with URLs
transcripts_getTranscriptGet the transcript of a YouTube video
channels_getChannelGet information about a YouTube channel
channels_listVideosGet videos from a specific channel
playlists_getPlaylistGet information about a YouTube playlist
playlists_getPlaylistItemsGet videos in a YouTube playlist

Youtubeyoutube

smitheryVerifiedRemote

YouTube is a video-sharing platform with user-generated content, live streaming, and monetization opportunities, widely used for marketing, education, and entertainment

3,338 uses

16 tools

YOUTUBE_GET_CHANNEL_ACTIVITIESGets recent activities from a YouTube channel including video uploads, playlist additions, likes, and other channel events.
YOUTUBE_GET_CHANNEL_ID_BY_HANDLERetrieves the YouTube Channel ID for a specific YouTube channel handle.
YOUTUBE_GET_CHANNEL_STATISTICSGets detailed statistics for YouTube channels including subscriber counts, view counts, and video counts.
YOUTUBE_GET_VIDEO_DETAILS_BATCHRetrieves multiple YouTube video resource parts in a single batch call. Use when you need cohort-level metrics for many videos to reduce quota usage and latency.
YOUTUBE_LIST_CAPTION_TRACKRetrieves a list of caption tracks for a YouTube video, returning an empty list if no captions exist or failing if the video ID is invalid or not found.
YOUTUBE_LIST_CHANNEL_VIDEOSLists videos from a specified YouTube channel, ensuring results are of `type: 'video'`.
YOUTUBE_LIST_PLAYLIST_ITEMSTool to list videos in a playlist, with pagination support. Use when walking through a channel's uploads playlist to enumerate all videos.
YOUTUBE_LIST_USER_PLAYLISTSRetrieves playlists owned by the authenticated user, implicitly using mine=True.
YOUTUBE_LIST_USER_SUBSCRIPTIONSRetrieves the authenticated user's YouTube channel subscriptions, allowing specification of response parts and pagination.
YOUTUBE_LOAD_CAPTIONSDownloads a specific YouTube caption track, which must be owned by the authenticated user, and returns its content as text. Note: This action requires you to own the video (YouTube Data API v3 restriction). Non-owned videos will return 403 Forbidden errors, including many auto-generated caption tracks.
YOUTUBE_SEARCH_YOU_TUBESearches YouTube for videos, channels, or playlists using a query term, returning the raw API response.
YOUTUBE_SUBSCRIBE_CHANNELSubscribes the authenticated user to a specified YouTube channel, identified by its unique `channelId` which must be valid and existing.
YOUTUBE_UPDATE_THUMBNAILSets the custom thumbnail for a YouTube video using an image from thumbnailUrl; the authenticated user must have permission to edit the video.
YOUTUBE_UPDATE_VIDEOUpdates metadata for a YouTube video identified by videoId, which must exist; an empty list for tags removes all existing tags.
YOUTUBE_UPLOAD_VIDEOUploads a video from a local file path to a YouTube channel; the video file must be in a YouTube-supported format.
YOUTUBE_VIDEO_DETAILSRetrieves specified information parts (e.g., snippet, contentDetails, statistics) for a YouTube video, identified by its ID.

Youtubenode2flow/youtube

smitheryRemote

MCP server for YouTube Data API v3 with OAuth 2.0 authentication. ## Features - Search videos, channels, and playlists with filters (duration, date, region, type) - Get video details — views, likes, comments, duration, tags, thumbnails - Browse channel statistics — subscribers, video count, total views - List and manage playlists — create, update, delete, add/remove videos - Read and post comments — top-level threads, replies, moderation - Rate videos with like/dislike/unrate - Get trending videos by region and category - Automatic access token refresh via OAuth 2.0 ## 20 Tools **Search & Discovery**: search YouTube, get popular/trending videos, list video categories **Videos & Channels**: get video details, get channel info **Playlists**: list pl

153 uses

20 tools

youtube_searchSearch YouTube for videos, channels, or playlists. Costs 100 quota units per request. Use filters to narrow results. Returns up to 50 results per page with pagination support.
youtube_get_videoGet detailed information about one or more videos by ID. Returns snippet (title, description, thumbnails), statistics (views, likes, comments), content details (duration, definition), and status. Costs 1 quota unit.
youtube_get_channelGet channel information by ID or username. Returns snippet (name, description, avatar), statistics (subscribers, views, video count), and branding settings. Costs 1 quota unit.
youtube_list_playlistsList playlists by channel ID or playlist IDs. Returns playlist title, description, item count, and privacy status. Costs 1 quota unit.
youtube_list_playlist_itemsList videos in a playlist. Returns video titles, descriptions, positions, and video IDs. Costs 1 quota unit.
youtube_list_commentsList top-level comment threads on a video or channel. Returns comment text, author, likes, reply count, and optionally the first few replies. Costs 1 quota unit.
youtube_list_comment_repliesList replies to a specific comment. Provide the parent comment ID to get all replies. Costs 1 quota unit.
youtube_list_video_categoriesList available video categories for a region. Returns category ID, title, and whether it is assignable. Costs 1 quota unit.
youtube_list_subscriptionsList subscriptions for a channel. Returns subscribed channel names, descriptions, and item counts. Costs 1 quota unit.
youtube_get_popular_videosGet trending/most popular videos for a region. Optionally filter by video category. Returns video details with statistics. Costs 1 quota unit.
youtube_post_commentPost a new top-level comment on a video. Requires OAuth credentials (CLIENT_ID + CLIENT_SECRET + REFRESH_TOKEN). Costs 50 quota units.
youtube_reply_commentReply to an existing comment. Requires OAuth credentials (CLIENT_ID + CLIENT_SECRET + REFRESH_TOKEN). Costs 50 quota units.
youtube_update_commentEdit an existing comment. Requires OAuth credentials (CLIENT_ID + CLIENT_SECRET + REFRESH_TOKEN). Costs 50 quota units.
youtube_delete_commentDelete a comment. This action is irreversible. Requires OAuth credentials (CLIENT_ID + CLIENT_SECRET + REFRESH_TOKEN). Costs 50 quota units.
youtube_create_playlistCreate a new playlist. Requires OAuth credentials (CLIENT_ID + CLIENT_SECRET + REFRESH_TOKEN). Costs 50 quota units.
youtube_update_playlistUpdate a playlist title, description, or privacy status. Requires OAuth credentials (CLIENT_ID + CLIENT_SECRET + REFRESH_TOKEN). Costs 50 quota units.
youtube_delete_playlistDelete a playlist. This action is irreversible. Requires OAuth credentials (CLIENT_ID + CLIENT_SECRET + REFRESH_TOKEN). Costs 50 quota units.
youtube_add_playlist_itemAdd a video to a playlist. Optionally specify position (0-based). Requires OAuth credentials (CLIENT_ID + CLIENT_SECRET + REFRESH_TOKEN). Costs 50 quota units.
youtube_remove_playlist_itemRemove a video from a playlist by playlist item ID (not video ID). Use youtube_list_playlist_items to find the item ID. Requires OAuth credentials (CLIENT_ID + CLIENT_SECRET + REFRESH_TOKEN). Costs 50 quota units.
youtube_rate_videoLike, dislike, or remove rating from a video. Requires OAuth credentials (CLIENT_ID + CLIENT_SECRET + REFRESH_TOKEN). Costs 50 quota units.