TRANSCRIPT
Free Speech to Text
Turn recordings from files or links into timestamped text. Free within the free quota; beyond it, a paid subscription billed by usage.
What Is Speech to Text?
Speech to text turns spoken words into a written transcript, split into timestamped lines you can read, search, copy, and reuse. It is different from live dictation on a phone or a keyboard: this page works on recordings or links you already have, not on a microphone you are speaking into right now. The hardest case is the material people actually need: long interviews, lectures, and meetings with accents, crosstalk, or no caption track at all. That is where a real converter earns its place: it starts from the audio itself, so nothing depends on captions that were never created. Whether you search for speech to text free, an online converter, or a way to transcribe a recording, the result should be a clean transcript you can actually reuse.
How It Works
One uploaded file or pasted link is all it takes, in three stages.
Convert Speech to Text From a Recording
Upload an audio file, or paste a link from YouTube, TikTok, or Instagram. An existing caption track is checked first and, when there is none, every spoken word is transcribed. Either way you get a complete transcript with timestamps aligned to what was actually said, so two hours of recorded talk no longer means hours of manual typing. The point is a written record when all you have is audio or a URL, with no caption file to hunt down and no software to install.
- Accepts audio files and recordings
- Also accepts YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram links
- Transcribes uncaptioned files too
Read and Search the Transcript
Once the transcript is ready, search it for a quote, jump to a moment by timestamp, or run Summary or MindMap to see how the talk is structured. Instead of replaying the audio and hoping to remember the wording, read the lines and find the one you need. Copying a line takes one click, everything stays searchable in the browser, and a long recording stops being something to replay every time you need a reference. When the talk sits inside a YouTube video, the YouTube transcript page works from the link alone.
- Summary, outline, and mind map views from one upload
- Search and copy the full transcript in the browser
- Timestamps stay aligned to the voice
Download, Translate, or Reuse the Transcript
Download the transcript as a TXT file, or as an SRT or VTT subtitle file, translate it while the timestamps stay in place, or hand it to ChatGPT as a brief for a new article or script. A transcript you can export is one you can reuse: paste it into your notes, turn a talk into a blog post, or produce subtitles for your own edit. Because the output keeps its timestamps, the same lines can become a subtitle file, a summary, a mind map, or a first draft.
- Download a transcript or subtitle file
- Translate and keep the timestamps
- Rewrite into an article, script, or post
Why a Converter Beats Voice Typing
✅ Speech to text here
Upload a recording or paste a public link, and you get a full, timestamped transcript, captioned or not. It stays searchable, copyable, ready to download, and translatable, and summaries run in the same place you read it.
❌ Built-in dictation and voice typing
They only listen to a live microphone, so audio files have to be played back aloud first. The output is a single block with no timestamps, no search across long audio, no export, and no translation, and accuracy drops with accents, crosstalk, or background noise.
Who Needs Speech to Text
Anyone who would rather read, quote, or reuse spoken words than listen back to audio gets more from it.
Recreate content in a new form or language
A transcript is the raw material for your next piece. Pull the full record and reshape it for whichever channel you publish on.
- Reshape the transcription into show notes, a long-form article, a newsletter, or your next episode's script.
- Quote a speaker accurately using the timestamp where it was said.
- Draft captions for an edited cut from the timestamped lines.
- Translate one recording to reach a second audience without recording again.
- Hand the transcript to ChatGPT as a first pass on a new draft.
Capture study and meeting notes
Lectures, tutorials, and meetings are easier to review in writing. A timestamped transcript lets you jump straight to the moment a point was explained.
- Search the transcript for a term instead of pausing the audio to write it down.
- Copy the exact line into your notes with the timestamp to return to it.
- Export as a printable document for revision or sharing.
- Summarise the transcription for a quick recap of the whole session.
- Generate an outline and a mind map to see the structure at a glance.
Produce localized outreach scripts
When a message has to travel across markets, spoken content is the starting point. One transcript seeds localized scripts without re-recording for every region, and every team works from the same transcript.
- Transcribe a webinar, walkthrough, or call as the source for the campaign.
- Translate the transcript into another supported language with its timestamps kept.
- Seed tailored scripts and ad copy for different audiences from one recording.
- Draft email sequences per market so the team is not re-recording the same idea.
- Download TXT, SRT, or VTT and keep one source of truth for every version.
For Journalists and Reporters
A recorded interview or press briefing is a primary source, and the words must be quotable. A transcript turns the recording into a searchable record where every line can be traced back to its moment.
- Search the recording for the line you need to quote.
- Verify a quote against its timestamp before it goes to press.
- Compare statements across recordings by reading them side by side.
- Keep a dated transcription of the source conversation.
- Export the transcript for an editor or a fact-check.
For Call Centers and Support Teams
Recorded support calls hold the language customers actually use, and a written record makes them reviewable. Speech to text lets a QA team check calls and turn recurring questions into a better script.
- Review a call against a checklist by reading rather than listening.
- Spot the questions that keep returning across a day of calls.
- Pull a successful answer into a script for the rest of the team.
- Check what a caller actually said before responding to a complaint.
- Keep the transcription as the record behind a QA decision.
How to Convert Speech to Text
- 1
Upload a File or Paste a Link
Drop an audio file into the upload area, or paste a public link from YouTube, TikTok, or Instagram. The file or link is all the input needed, for an interview, a lecture, or a meeting, with no app to install and no caption file to find.
- 2
Generate the Transcript
Start it: an existing caption track is read when one is available, and everything else is transcribed when it is not. You get a complete transcript with timestamps aligned to what was said, so audio without captions still comes back as readable lines.
- 3
Read, Search, and Copy the Lines
Search for a phrase, jump to a timestamp, and copy a single line or the whole passage. Instead of replaying the audio to find a quote, read the transcript and reuse the exact wording you need.
- 4
Download, Translate, or Reuse
Download a TXT file or a subtitle file, translate it with its timestamps, or hand it to ChatGPT as a brief. The same transcript can become notes, subtitles, a summary, or a first draft for your next piece.
Use the Transcript in the Apps You Already Have
Google NotebookLM
Paste the transcript into a notebook as a source to summarise the recording and ask questions about it. NotebookLM works from written sources, so clean timed lines are exactly what it needs.
ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Kimi, and Manus
Paste the transcript into the assistant you already use and treat it as a brief: draft a summary, rewrite it for a different audience, or pull out the arguments in order.
Video Editors and Subtitle Tools
Export SRT or VTT subtitles and drop them straight into your editor to caption a cut, or start a translation from the same timestamped lines.
Builders Using the API and MCP
An API and an MCP server are also available, so a script or an agent can send a recording, get the transcript back, and pass it into the rest of your pipeline.
Comparing Your Options
Different tools answer different questions. Use this table to pick the one that matches what you actually need.
| Tool | What it does | Use it when |
|---|---|---|
| This page | A full timestamped transcript from uploaded audio or a link, captioned or not, with search, export, translation, and summaries. Free quota included; extra use is paid. | When you need a transcript you can reuse, not just read. |
| Built-in dictation and voice typing | Converts live microphone speech into one block, with no timestamps and no audio upload. | When you are dictating a short note as you speak. |
| Google NotebookLM | Summarises a source and answers questions about it inside a notebook. | When the goal is Q&A over the audio, not the transcript itself. |
| Other free converter sites | Return a transcript for a short, clean clip, usually without translation or AI views. | When a short recording in one language is all you need. |
| Manual transcription and typing | Playing a recording back and typing what you hear, line by line. | For a single short quote. |
Related tools
Speech to Text FAQs
What is speech to text?
Speech to text turns spoken words into a written transcript, broken into timestamped lines. Here it works from recordings, videos, or public links, so you can read, search, copy, and reuse what was said.
How do I convert speech to text from an audio file?
Upload the file and start it. The spoken words are transcribed with AI, and the full transcript comes back with timestamps that line up with the audio, ready to search, copy, or download.
Can speech to text work from a video link?
Yes. Paste a public YouTube, TikTok, or Instagram link and the audio is pulled automatically, so a complete transcript comes back without a download step or a caption file.
Can I transcribe speech that has no existing captions?
Yes. With no caption track, AI transcribes the voice instead, so you still get a complete timestamped transcript without depending on captions that were never created.
Is this speech to text free?
Upload a recording and the timestamped transcript appears in the browser, with nothing to install. Free use covers the free quota; beyond it you need a paid subscription, billed by usage.
Does speech to text run online?
Yes. It runs in the browser: upload or paste, and you can read the result on a phone or a computer, with no setup.
Does it work on recorded speech?
Yes. It works on speech that was already captured, from a file or a link, and keeps a timestamp on every line.
How accurate is speech to text?
Accuracy depends on the source. Clear voices are transcribed reliably, while heavy accents, crosstalk, or background noise can cause a misheard word. A clean, high-quality audio track gives the best result.
What languages can speech to text handle?
The spoken language is detected automatically across supported source languages, and the lines are written in that language. You can translate it afterwards if you need a different one.
Can I translate the speech into another language?
Yes. After transcription, translate the result into any supported language in one click, with its timestamps kept so the translated lines still match the original recording.
How do I download the speech transcript?
Generate it, then download a TXT file, an SRT file, or a VTT file. TXT is best for notes and documents, while the two subtitle formats are ready for a video editor or a web player.
Can I copy the spoken text into my notes or an AI tool?
Yes. Copy the full transcript or a single timestamped line and paste it into notes, a document, or ChatGPT for summarising and rewriting. It is plain writing, so it drops in without cleanup.
Can I use the text with Google NotebookLM?
Yes. Copy or download it and add it to a notebook as a source. NotebookLM then summarises the recording and answers questions about it, which a recording the model cannot hear would not allow.
Why is some speech missing from the transcript?
Accuracy depends on the audio. Names, accented speech, overlapping voices, and background music are the usual causes. Re-running it from a cleaner recording, or checking an existing caption track, usually recovers the missing words.
How is speech to text different from voice typing?
Built-in dictation only listens to a live microphone and returns one block with no timestamps, search, or export. This page works from recordings or links and returns a searchable, timestamped transcript you can reuse.
Try Free Speech to Text
Upload an audio file, then copy, translate, or summarize the timestamped transcript.