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Turn a Voice Memo Into Text
Talk now, read later. Turn any voice recording into editable text in 99 languages. Free, no sign-up.
No file handy?
How to turn a voice memo into text
- 1. Add your file. Save your voice memo as a file, then drop it on the box above, or click the box to pick it from your device.
- 2. Press Transcribe. The first time, the speech model downloads to your browser and is saved for next time. Then the text shows up in the editor.
- 3. Copy or export. Fix anything that looks off, then copy the text or download it as TXT, PDF, Word, SRT or VTT.
Turn a voice memo into text
Talking is faster than typing, so a lot of ideas, reminders and notes start as a voice memo. TextFromAudio turns the recording into text you can read, search and edit. Get the recording off your phone as a file, drop it in, press Transcribe, and the words appear in the editor.
The free mode has no limits: no cap on file length, number of files or languages. It uses lighter speech models, so it is a little slower and less accurate than Pro.
Getting the memo off your phone
iPhone. Open Voice Memos, share the recording, and save it to Files, or send it to your computer with AirDrop or email. It is an M4A file.
Android. Open your recorder app and share or save the recording to your files, to cloud storage or to an email. The format depends on the app, and common ones such as M4A, MP3 and WAV all work.
Chat voice messages. WhatsApp and Telegram voice messages are OGG or Opus files and work too. See OGG to text for how.
What people do with it
Notes and ideas. Capture a thought while walking, turn it into text later, and paste it where you work.
Lectures and classes. Record the session, read the text, and search for the part you need.
Meetings and interviews. Keep a record of what was said without typing during the conversation.
Journalling and drafts. Talk through a first draft, then edit the text instead of starting from a blank page.
Getting a cleaner transcript
- Hold the phone close to your mouth and keep your hand off the microphone.
- Record somewhere quiet. Wind, traffic and music take over quickly.
- Speak at a normal pace and finish a sentence before you move on.
- Read the text once for names and technical words.
Edit and export
Click any line to fix it, switch timestamps on to see where each line starts, and click a line to play the memo from there. Copy the text, or download TXT, PDF, Word, SRT or VTT.
Know the file type? M4A to text and MP3 to text cover the common ones.
FAQ
How do I turn a voice memo into text?
Get the recording off your phone as a file (share it to Files, AirDrop it, email it or save it to cloud storage), then choose it here. Press Transcribe and the text appears in the editor.
Does it work with iPhone Voice Memos and Android recordings?
Yes. iPhone Voice Memos are M4A files, and Android recorder apps save common audio formats such as M4A, MP3 or WAV. If the file plays on your device, you can usually transcribe it.
Can I transcribe a long voice memo, like a lecture?
Yes. There is no cap on length. A long recording takes longer on a phone, so for an hour-long lecture a computer is faster.
What about WhatsApp or Telegram voice messages?
They are OGG or Opus files and work here. Save the voice message to your device first, then choose it. See OGG to text for details.
Is my voice memo uploaded?
Not in the free mode. The speech model runs in your browser, on your own device, so a private memo stays on it. In Pro, your file is processed on our servers and deleted automatically afterwards.
Audio to text by file type
- Audio to Text. Any audio or video file, in 99 languages.
- MP3 to Text. Podcasts, lectures, interviews and calls saved as MP3.
- M4A to Text. iPhone Voice Memos, Zoom audio and other M4A recordings.
- WAV to Text. Interviews, call recordings and studio audio saved as WAV.
- OGG to Text. OGG and Opus files, including voice notes from chat apps.