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Convert MP3 to text

Turn an MP3 audio file into text: a word-timed transcript, .srt and .vtt subtitle files and plain text. There's no picture in an audio file; recording length and the number of speakers decide transcript quality.

No card needed30 free min/monthSource files deleted after 30 days
MP3
00:04You leave your neighborhood and set off on an adventure across the whole of Russia.
00:12The trip took eight months and nothing went the way I planned.
16languages
.srt .vtt .txtoutput formats
kelimetiming
3 samax source
özetand chapter titles
With this tool

What you get

How it works

Convert MP3 to text: step by step

Try it free
01

Add the recording

Upload the file or paste the link.

02

Choose the language

Auto-detect is available; setting the language gives more accurate results.

03

Get the text

Transcript, .srt, .vtt and plain text download together.

What to watch out for with MP3 files

MP3 is a lossy format. In files encoded at very low bitrates (32 kbps and below) high frequencies get crushed and sounds like “s”, “sh” and “f” blur together; that's where most transcript errors come from. If you also have a WAV or M4A, use that instead.

Because there's no picture, processing is quick: the file goes straight to transcription with no download or video decoding step.

  • Recommended: 128 kbps or higher
  • One person speaking into one microphone gives the best accuracy
  • Phone recordings taken from a speaker struggle with echo

What you get

  • Word-timed transcript
  • SRT and VTT subtitle files
  • Plain text (.txt)
  • A summary and suggested chapter titles
  • First-class English and Turkish, support for 16 languages

What affects accuracy?

The biggest factor is the microphone. A clean audio recording is transcribed almost perfectly; background music, echoey rooms and people talking over each other raise the error rate. Names and brand names are spelled by ear, so it's worth reviewing the output once.

For long recordings the whole file isn't downloaded; only the audio is fetched first, so even hour-long recordings start quickly.

After the transcript

You can pull clips from the same recording right away: the transcript is already word-timed, so clip boundaries never land mid-sentence. No need to re-upload to burn in captions or translate.

With the text in hand, the recording itself becomes searchable: turning it into a blog post, a newsletter summary or show notes takes far longer without a transcript.

Which file formats are supported?

  • Audio: MP3, M4A, WAV, AAC, OGG, FLAC
  • Video: MP4, MOV, MKV, WebM, AVI
  • Links: YouTube, Vimeo, Twitch and direct file URLs
  • Output: .srt, .vtt, .txt and word-timed JSON

Privacy

The source file is kept only for a while so you can re-process it, then deleted automatically. For meeting and customer recordings that matters: nothing is used to train models. Your outputs stay in your account until you delete them.

FAQ

Can I get subtitles from an audio file?

You get a transcript and an .srt file. Burning captions into a video needs a picture; combine the audio with a video and use the auto captions tool.

How big can the file be?

Typical audio files, long podcast episodes included, upload without trouble; the real limit is your plan's monthly minutes, not file size.

How long can a recording be?

Recordings up to three hours are processed, within your plan's monthly minutes.

Does it separate speakers?

The transcript is word-timed; speaker labeling isn't available yet.

Do you keep my file?

The source file is kept only for a while so you can re-process it, then deleted automatically. Outputs stay in your account until you delete them.

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