Distill

Distill is an iOS app for turning captioned YouTube videos into readable, navigable study material. It suits people who regularly work through interviews, podcasts, and educational videos. Its appeal is the combination of summaries, chapters, and transcripts; its reach is limited to captioned YouTube videos and capped by plan.

Overview

Distill builds summaries from captions and says when a video lacks subtitles rather than inferring its content from a title or description. That makes it a sensible choice when accuracy to the spoken material matters, but a poor fit for unc captioned videos. Summaries are flowing prose arranged in sections, not just a terse digest.

A player above the summary lets readers jump to a chapter or moment, while separate tabs expose chapters and the full transcript. This makes the app useful for locating or checking details as well as getting the gist. A short quiz after a summary adds a review prompt, particularly useful for educational material.

Key features

Coverage and navigation

Users can paste a YouTube URL or open a link shared from YouTube or Safari. Distill supports public YouTube videos with captions and focuses on videos roughly four minutes or longer; Shorts and very short clips are out. It does not accept video uploads, so it cannot process a local recording or another source through a file upload. Chapters, transcripts, and the player make longer supported videos easier to browse than a summary alone.

Processing and privacy

Captions and video metadata go to Distill servers hosted on Railway, then to Google Gemini for longer videos or Groq for eligible shorter videos. Distill requests in-app consent before the first AI summary and says captions are not sent to AI providers until consent is given. It also says it does not use content to train third-party foundation models without consent. Data is encrypted in transit with HTTPS/TLS, and access to production systems is restricted.

Distill collects account information, usage data, and basic device and app diagnostics; it does not receive full payment card numbers. Signed-in users can remove saved items in the app, and can request account and associated-data deletion by emailing support from their registered address. Support typically replies within one business day.

Pricing

The free Guest option costs nothing and allows one summary per day for YouTube links, with captions required and videos limited to 30 minutes. It has no saved library or sync, making it best for trying an occasional summary rather than building a reference collection.

A Free account also costs nothing. Email verification raises the allowance to three summaries per day and the video cap to 60 minutes; it adds a saved library, history sync, continue watching, and offline reading for saved summaries. That is the stronger no-cost choice for regular but limited use, though daily quotas and the length cap remain.

Pro monthly costs $3.99 a month, billed per month, and includes unlimited summaries, videos up to two hours, 40+ languages, chapters, transcripts, and outline, plus a 7-day free trial. It fits frequent users and people working with longer videos; the trade-off is a recurring charge. Pro annual is billed per year and includes the same stated features and trial, with custom pricing. Both Pro tiers extend the video ceiling and remove the daily summary limit found in free options.

Platforms

Distill runs on iOS. Its inputs are YouTube URLs and shared YouTube links, not uploaded video files.

Who it's for

Distill is best for iPhone and iPad users who routinely consume captioned long-form YouTube and want to move between an overview, source transcript, and specific chapters. Students and researchers may value the quiz and offline reading for saved summaries. It is less suitable for viewers who need Shorts, very short clips, unc captioned material, local-file processing, or use outside iOS.

Pros and cons

Pros: Summary, chapter, transcript, and player views work together to support both quick review and targeted navigation.

Pros: The free account includes sync and offline reading, not just a daily summary allowance.

Pros: The app reports missing captions rather than attempting a summary from a title or description.

Cons: Caption dependence excludes videos without subtitles, while Shorts and very short clips are also unsupported.

Cons: Guest and Free account users face daily quotas and 30- or 60-minute video caps; Pro is needed for videos up to two hours and unlimited summaries.

Cons: iOS-only availability and no video uploads rule out users seeking a cross-platform or local-file workflow.

Alternatives

For a broader comparison, browse AI Video Summarizers.

Choose sipsip.ai if a web-based tool with subscription slots, transcription credits, and AI summaries and translation better suits your workflow; its free plan has three subscription slots and 20 transcription credits, with a fixed delivery time.

SonicScribe is a web alternative for users who want to upload files: its free plan allows three 30-minute transcripts per day, one file at a time, and includes AI chat and exports.

Consider Summarize Video to Text if Android, browser extension, or web access matters alongside iOS; its free plan allows two videos a day without an account, or ten monthly credits with a free Google sign-in.

VideoHighlighter is the alternative to consider for offline analysis on Windows, macOS, or Linux; its free edition is AGPL-3.0.

Scribiz is another alternative.

Mindgrasp may suit readers looking for AI-generated study materials and question answering about uploaded material; its platform coverage includes web, iOS, and a browser extension.

YouTubeSummarizer.com is worth considering if a higher free daily allowance and no video-length cap are priorities: its free plan offers five summaries per day and includes chapters, notes, Markdown export, and share links.

YouTubeTLDR is another option.

Verdict

Choose Distill if you want an iOS companion for captioned YouTube that combines readable summaries with chapters, transcripts, and source-video navigation. Its strongest case is that connected review workflow, with a free account that adds saved history and offline reading. Look elsewhere if your videos lack captions, exceed two hours, are Shorts, come from local files, or you need a platform beyond iOS.