1. Choose your file
Drop it on the orange card or press Choose a file. MP3, M4A, WAV, OGG, WebM, MP4 and FLAC all work, up to 60 minutes and 100 MB.
Free audio to text converter
Upload an MP3, M4A, WAV or voice memo and get the transcript in seconds, with timestamps and subtitle files. No account needed.
Drop an audio file herePick an audio file
MP3, M4A, WAV, OGG, WebM, MP4 or FLAC
Up to 60 minutes and 100 MB
Your file is deleted as soon as the transcript is ready. Nothing is saved to an AudioPen account.
The AudioPen app
Talk on the go. Get clean notes back.
Record a thought on a walk or in the car. AudioPen turns it into a clear note, email or summary in your style. Free to start on iPhone and Android.
Download AudioPen
Scan with your phone
How to use it
Transcribe audio to text in three steps.
2. Wait a moment
The file uploads, then turns into text. Transcribing usually takes under a minute, even for a long file. A big file can take longer to upload on a slow connection.
3. Copy or download
Read it here, turn timestamps on or off, and copy it. Download it as a text file, or as SRT or VTT subtitles for a video.
What you get
A transcript with timestamps.
The transcript is written in sentences, with punctuation, and split into paragraphs where the speaker pauses. Turn on timestamps to see when each line was said, which helps you find a moment in a long recording.
Subtitle files. The SRT and VTT downloads carry the same words with their timings, ready to add to a video in YouTube, Premiere Pro, CapCut and most other editors.
What it won't do. It doesn't label who is speaking, so a conversation comes back as one run of text. Names and rare words can come out wrong, and heavy background noise lowers accuracy. The transcript isn't saved anywhere, so copy or download it before you close the tab.
Files it reads
Audio from your phone, your laptop or a video.
MP3
The most common audio file. Podcasts, recorders and the download from our online voice recorder all use it.
M4A
What iPhone Voice Memos saves. Many Android recorders and Zoom's audio-only recordings use it too.
OGG and Opus
Voice messages saved from WhatsApp and Telegram.
WebM
Recordings made in a web browser, including the original file from our online voice recorder.
MP4
Video from your phone or a screen recording. Only the sound is transcribed.
WAV and FLAC
Uncompressed audio from dedicated recorders and audio editors. These files are large, so a long one can pass 100 MB.
Where your file goes
Uploaded, transcribed, deleted.
When you choose a file, the page first checks its length and size in your browser, so a file that is too long is turned away before anything uploads.
The file then uploads to AudioPen's private storage, where only the transcription step can read it, through a link that expires after ten minutes. As soon as the transcript is ready, the file is deleted. If something goes wrong partway, anything left behind is cleared within the hour.
The transcript comes straight back to this page. AudioPen doesn't keep a copy of the file or the text, and nothing is saved to an account. There is a daily limit on free transcriptions, so the converter stays free for everyone.
Tips
For a cleaner transcript.
Pick the language if you know it. Detection works for most files, but choosing helps with short clips and strong accents.
One clear voice works best. A speaker close to the microphone comes out cleanest. Music, wind and people talking over each other lower accuracy.
Over 60 minutes or 100 MB? Split the recording into parts, or save it as an MP3 at a lower quality. Speech doesn't need high quality to transcribe well.
Check names and numbers before you share the transcript. They are the words most likely to come out wrong.
Rewrite level
From a transcript to finished writing.
A transcript gives you every word as it was said. Here is what AudioPen makes of the same words. Pick a style and how much it rewrites.
Rewrite level
Retains structure where possible, rewritten in your chosen style
Output length
Some compression, but not too much.
Writing style
Create your own style
Ask AudioPen to write like your favorite author. Or give it a sample of your own writing, and it will match your voice. If you can describe a style, AudioPen can write in it.
After today's meeting, I think we should push the launch back a week. The landing page still needs pricing copy, and QA found a couple of bugs in onboarding. Maya can draft the copy by Thursday. Let's prioritize the signup-blocking bugs and leave the rest for a post-launch patch. Someone should send the updated timeline to the team.
Try it with your own voice
Free to start, on every device.
Go further
Do more with your recordings.
Upload files to AudioPen
With Prime, AudioPen turns the audio files you upload into clean notes, emails and summaries, and keeps them in one place.
Free online voice recorder
Record in your browser, download an MP3, and copy a live transcript as you talk.
A voice to text app that writes for you
AudioPen records, transcribes and rewrites in one go, on your phone, your computer and the web.
Voice notes on the go
Catch an idea on a walk or in the car, and find it written up when you sit down.
Record a parent's life story
Ask one question per recording and let them talk. Each story comes back as a written page.
First drafts for writers
Talk through the idea and get a draft to edit, instead of a blank page.
Questions
Everything you might want to know
Straight answers to the questions people ask before they start.