MP3 to text with who spoke and when.
To turn an MP3 into text, pick the file here, create your free account and upload the same MP3. We transcribe it word by word, separate the speakers and timestamp every line. You download TXT, PDF or SRT. Any bitrate works, and the free trial lasts 3 days or 1 hour of audio, whichever ends first.
Free on the 3-day trial- Any MP3 bitrate, mono or stereo, no converting
- Word-by-word transcript with timestamps
- Speakers separated in podcasts and interviews
- TXT, PDF and SRT downloads
- Cancel anytime in the app, no fee
You create the account and upload this file in the next step. The trial lasts 3 days or 1 hour of media.
How to convert an MP3 to text
- 01
Pick the .mp3
A podcast episode, a voice recorder file, audio pulled from a video or a recorded lecture. We show its name and length before you go on.
- 02
Sign up and upload
Upload the same MP3 as it is. If only part of it matters, set the start and end: only that range counts toward your trial hour.
- 03
Review and download
Click a sentence to hear that moment, fix names and terms, then download TXT, PDF or SRT.
Where the MP3s people transcribe usually come from
MP3 is the audio format that travels the most. Podcast apps download it, many pocket voice recorders save it, and it is what you get when someone pulls the audio out of a video. So it arrives from very different places, with very different lengths.
The reason to turn it into text is nearly always the same: finding a line without listening to everything again. People want to quote a podcast guest, write meeting minutes, summarize a lecture or keep a testimony in writing.
| Where the MP3 comes from | Usual length | Why it becomes text |
|---|---|---|
| Podcast episode | 40 to 90 min | Show notes, quotes, blog post |
| Voice recorder | 5 min to 2 h | Minutes, interviews, research |
| Audio pulled from video | 10 min to 2 h | Summary, captions, handouts |
| Lecture or talk | 50 to 120 min | Study notes |
| Radio show | 30 to 60 min | Archive and show prep |
Does MP3 bitrate affect transcription quality?
Not much. What decides the result is how the voice was recorded: a mic close to the speaker, little echo and no loud music underneath. A 64 kbps mono MP3, common on recorders and call recordings, transcribes well when the voice is clean. A 320 kbps file recorded from the back of a hall is still hard.
The risk sits at the other end. Files squeezed below 32 kbps, or converted again and again, lose consonants, and that shows in the text. Re-encoding at a higher bitrate does not bring back what was lost. If you have the original file from the recorder, upload that one.
| MP3 bitrate | Size per minute | For transcription |
|---|---|---|
| 32 kbps mono | 0.24 MB | Works if the voice is clear |
| 64 kbps mono | 0.48 MB | Good for speech |
| 128 kbps stereo | 0.96 MB | Great |
| 192 to 320 kbps | 1.4 to 2.4 MB | Great, no extra gain |
How much of the free trial your MP3 uses
The trial counts audio length, not file size. A 40-minute MP3 uses 40 minutes of your 1 hour whether it weighs 20 MB or 90 MB. The trial ends after 3 days or when the hour runs out, whichever comes first.
For podcasts, pick the range before processing. The intro jingle, ad reads and the chat after the sign-off can stay out, and only the marked range counts.
- A 60-minute episode uses the whole trial hour.
- A 25-minute interview and a 30-minute meeting fit together.
- Set a start and end to skip the intro and ads.
After the text: what to do with your MP3 transcript
TXT goes straight into Word or Google Docs for show notes, summaries and articles. PDF is for sending the transcript to a guest or a supervisor to check. SRT helps when the episode also goes to YouTube with a still image: the captions already carry the timing of every line.
In the same transcript you can mark the lines that matter and download each one as an MP3, ready to share or use in a promo clip. Chapters split the episode by topic, with timestamps ready for the description.
More than MP3 to text. The whole episode, organized.
See also
Frequently asked questions
How do I convert an MP3 to text?
Pick the MP3 on this page, create a free account and upload the file. We transcribe it word by word, with speakers and a timestamp on every line, and you download TXT, PDF or SRT. On the trial, that covers 3 days or 1 hour of audio.
Do I need to convert the MP3 to another format first?
No. The MP3 goes in as it is, at any bitrate, mono or stereo. Converting to WAV first does not improve the text, because what compression removed does not come back. Upload the file closest to the original that you have.
Can a low-quality MP3 be transcribed?
Yes, but the result follows the sound. Quiet voices, echo, loud music underneath and people talking over each other cause more errors. A low bitrate hurts less than a distant mic. Review by clicking sentences: the player jumps right to that moment.
Can I transcribe only part of the MP3?
Yes. Before processing, set the start and end of the part you want. Only that range is transcribed, and only it counts toward your trial hour or your plan's hours.
Will a podcast with three voices be split by person?
Yes. We separate speakers on every plan, and each line shows the speaker and the time. Giving each voice its real name, based on what is said in the recording, is part of Studio and Agency.
What does it cost after the trial?
If you don't cancel before the trial ends, the plan you picked starts, with 10, 20 or 35 hours of media a month, from R$ 59 (BRL). You cancel from your account, with no fee.
Your MP3 as text, in minutes. With speakers and timestamps.
Upload the MP3 as it is. We transcribe it in 90+ languages and you download TXT, PDF or SRT, plus snippets as MP3.
See the result on your own recording before adding a card.