How to Transcribe Audio to Text with AI (Free)

Turn a voice memo, lecture, or interview recording into a real transcript — no manual typing. Here's how AI audio transcription works.

Try it now: Speech to Text →

Typing out a recording by hand — replaying a few seconds at a time, pausing, rewinding — is one of the slowest ways to turn spoken audio into text. An AI transcription tool listens to the whole file and gives you a written transcript in the time it takes to upload it.

When audio transcription saves time

Turning a recorded lecture or meeting into notes you can search and skim
Getting an interview or podcast episode into text for quotes or show notes
Transcribing a voice memo instead of replaying it to type it out
Creating a text record of a call or conversation for reference

How to transcribe audio to text, step by step

Open the Speech to Text tool and sign in.
Upload an MP3, WAV, M4A, AAC, OGG, or FLAC file — up to 12 MB.
The AI listens to the audio and returns a transcript, split into natural paragraphs.
Edit the transcript directly to fix anything that needs a correction.
Copy it, or download it as .txt, .pdf, or .png.

Tips for the most accurate transcript

Clear audio transcribes best. Background noise, overlapping speakers, or heavy accents can reduce accuracy — a clean recording gives the AI the most to work with.
Keep files under the size limit. If a recording is longer than fits in 12 MB, trim it down first with the MP3 Cutter or compress it with the Audio Compressor.
Review names, numbers, and jargon. These are the most common spots where any transcription — human or AI — can slip, so give them a quick check.

Common questions

Does it label who's speaking? It generally transcribes as continuous text, starting a new paragraph when the speaker or topic changes, rather than adding speaker labels — since reliably identifying who's speaking isn't guaranteed from audio alone.

What if my recording has background noise? The AI does its best with imperfect audio, but heavy noise or overlapping speech will reduce accuracy — a cleaner recording always transcribes better.

Can I transcribe a video's audio instead of a standalone audio file? Pull the audio out first with Extract Audio from Video or Video to MP3, then upload the result here.

How many transcriptions can I run for free? 5 per day on the free plan, shared across all AI tools; 100 per day on Pro.

Have a recording you'd rather read than replay? Transcribe your audio for free →