Learn how to transcribe audio to text in five steps: upload your file, transcribe it, review with a synced player, edit, then export to TXT, DOCX, or SRT.
Turning a recording into clean, searchable text used to mean either hours of typing or sending the file out and waiting days. It does not have to anymore. If you already have an audio file on your computer or phone, you can have a usable transcript in the time it takes to make a coffee.
This guide walks through exactly how to transcribe audio to text: what to upload, how the transcription runs, how to check it against the original recording, how to fix the few things that need fixing, and how to export it in the format you actually need. You can follow along in the audio-to-text transcription tool, which handles every step below in the browser.
You will need two things: the audio file itself (an interview, a meeting recording, a voice memo, a podcast episode) and a free account. That is it. No software to install.
Drag your recording into the uploader or pick it from your files. Common formats work directly, including MP3, WAV, M4A, AAC, OGG, and FLAC. Video works too (MP4, MOV, and more): the audio is extracted automatically, so you do not need to convert anything first. Files up to 20 hours long are supported.
One thing to know up front: this works on files you upload, not on a YouTube page link. If your audio lives on YouTube, download it first, then upload the file.
Start the transcription and the tool detects the spoken language automatically from over 90 supported languages, so you do not have to set it. Speech is converted to text with speaker labels, per-word timestamps, and a per-word confidence view that flags the words the model was least sure about. That confidence view is your shortcut to the parts most worth double-checking.
This is the step that saves you the most time. The built-in player highlights each word as the audio plays, and you can click any word to jump straight to that moment in the recording. Instead of scrubbing back and forth guessing where a line was said, you read along and land exactly where you need to be. It turns proofreading from a chore into a quick pass.
Rename speakers from generic labels to real names and reassign any lines that were attributed to the wrong person. Run filler-word cleanup to strip the "um" and "uh" out of the text. Fix any words the confidence view flagged. If you want a quick recap, generate an AI summary, which produces a short prose overview of what was discussed.
Once the transcript reads the way you want, export it. Options include:
You can also generate a read-only share link if you just need to send the transcript to someone without exporting a file.
Automatic transcription reaches 95% or higher on clear audio, meaning one speaker at a time, a decent microphone, and little background noise. Accuracy drops in predictable situations, so it helps to know them:
The fix is mostly upstream: record in a quiet room, put the mic close, and ask people not to talk over one another. When the audio is clean, the review pass is quick.
The first 10 minutes of any file are free on a free account, with no credit card required, so you can transcribe a short clip or test a longer one before paying. After that it is $3 per audio hour, billed per started hour, with a $3 minimum, and you pay once per file.
If you transcribe regularly, subscriptions are cheaper per minute: Basic is $10 a month for 600 minutes, Pro is $20 a month for 1,800 minutes, and Business is $50 a month for 6,000 minutes. If a transcript is not accurate, there is a full refund.
Upload the file, run the transcription, review it with the synced player that highlights words as they play, rename speakers and clean up any errors, then export to TXT, DOCX, SRT, or WebVTT. The whole process runs in the browser with a free account.
You can test the quality free on the first 10 minutes of any file, no credit card needed. After that it is $3 per audio hour (billed per started hour, $3 minimum, paid once per file), or a monthly subscription if you transcribe a lot. Not satisfied? Full refund, no questions asked.
Common audio formats including MP3, WAV, M4A, AAC, OGG, and FLAC work directly. Video files such as MP4 and MOV work too, with the audio extracted automatically. You upload a file rather than paste a YouTube link, so download YouTube audio first if that is your source.
It reaches 95% or higher on clear audio with one speaker and low background noise. Accuracy is lower with heavy noise, strong accents, overlapping speakers, or narrow-band phone recordings. A per-word confidence view flags uncertain words so you know where to check.
Yes. Over 90 languages are supported and the spoken language is detected automatically. You can also translate a finished transcript into another language while keeping the speaker labels and timestamps intact.