Audio to Text Converter

How to Convert Audio to Text

1. Choose your WAV or M4A audio

   Use the file picker above to select a recording, then choose the language being spoken. Sign in before uploading. If you leave this page to sign in, select the file again when you return. Choosing it locally does not send the recording anywhere.

2. Upload and review the AI Credit cost

   Choose Upload and review cost. The service checks the private upload’s format, encoding and duration, then shows a prepared quote alongside your available Credits. Read that quote before proceeding; uploading for inspection does not start cloud AI transcription.

3. Transcribe the spoken audio

   Confirm the quoted cost when you are ready. The service reserves the required Credits and submits the recording for AI processing. Follow the task status here. You do not need to move to a separate converter after reading this guide.

4. Download the TXT transcript

   When processing finishes, review the text preview and choose Download TXT. Save the file locally, then compare important passages with the recording. The download contains the full result even when a long transcript exceeds the on-page preview.

Convert WAV or M4A Audio to Text

A saved recording can contain useful information that is difficult to find by listening alone. This audio to text converter turns recognized speech from a supported file into a readable TXT transcript. You can then open that file in a text editor, search for a phrase or keep it beside the original recording for reference.

WAV and M4A are two supported containers, with different encoding requirements and limits. Use the version of the recording you actually want transcribed. If you have several takes or exports, check the selected filename before uploading. The tool processes one chosen file at a time; it does not combine recordings or trim out sections.

Changing a filename extension does not make incompatible audio readable. The upload is inspected before the Credit quote is prepared, so an unsupported file can stop at that check without being submitted for transcription. The format table below describes the current supported profiles.

What Is Audio Transcription?

Audio transcription means turning speech in a recording into written words. On this page, it starts with an existing audio file that you upload. AI recognizes the speech, and the result is prepared as a plain-text document. It is a way to work with recorded material after it has been captured.

The audio transcript is a record of recognized wording, not an explanation of what the speaker meant. It does not decide which ideas matter most or turn a discussion into notes. Keep the original audio available when checking quotations or passages whose meaning depends on tone and context.

What You Get in the TXT Transcript

You receive a UTF-8 text file containing the recognized words in their original order. Punctuation and supported Unicode text are preserved through the transcript output. Line breaks separate the prepared text segments; they are not a promise of polished paragraphs or a publication-ready article.

The preview lets you inspect part of the result before downloading. For longer recordings, the preview can stop before the transcript ends. The full TXT download is a separate complete artifact, so use that file when you need the final passage or want to search the entire result.

Open the downloaded file in your own text editor to review names, specialized terms and punctuation. The page does not include editing or rewriting controls. Plain text is intentionally portable: the download does not add document styling, speaker attribution, chapters or a generated summary.

Audio to Text vs Audio to SRT

Choose TXT when you want to read, search or reuse the words from a recording. If you need words synchronized with media, use the Audio to SRT Converter for numbered subtitle cues with start and end times. This page’s TXT output does not include that generated timing structure.

When Should You Convert Audio to Text?

An interview transcript can help you locate a passage before returning to the audio to check it. A lecture or course recording can become easier to revisit when you can search the downloaded text for a topic. A saved voice recording can provide a written reference for words you would otherwise need to replay.

Podcasts, research recordings and recorded discussions can also be useful sources, provided the file meets the supported format and length limits. The output remains the recognized text. You decide what to quote, how to organize it and whether to write a separate summary afterwards.

For any use where exact wording matters, listen again to the relevant section. Background noise, overlapping voices, names and unfamiliar vocabulary can introduce errors. AI output needs review; it should not be treated as a verified quotation simply because it is easy to copy from a text file.

Supported Audio Formats and Limits

WAV · PCM audio

Up to 15 minutes · 50 MiB maximum

M4A · AAC-LC audio

Up to 60 minutes · 100 MiB maximum

Input

An existing audio file from your device

Output

A downloadable UTF-8 TXT transcript

The WAV profile accepts standard PCM at 8–48 kHz, mono or stereo. M4A requires supported AAC-LC audio in an audio-only ISO-BMFF container. Both size and duration must fit the relevant profile; a small file can still be too long, and a short file can still be too large.

These are separate limits, not a single allowance for every audio format. Available Credits do not bypass them. Keep your source recording until the task has finished and you have checked the download, especially if it is the only copy of material you need.

Supported Languages

Choose from English, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese (Brazil), Arabic. The selector uses the current validated launch set. Select the language actually spoken in the file; it does not ask the service to translate the recording into another language.

For clearer source material, prefer a recording where speech is audible and background music does not dominate it. This page does not clean or enhance audio before transcription. Recognition quality varies, so check names and passages where voices overlap even when the selected language is supported.

AI Credits and Processing

Transcription uses 1 AI Credit per overall media minute, rounded up. Silence is included in that duration. WAV and M4A use the same rate for equivalent duration; choosing text output does not introduce a separate per-format price. Your actual quote comes from the inspected recording and appears before you confirm.

Eligible new Free accounts receive 5 Welcome AI Credits automatically after registration and email verification. They expire seven days after issuance. Uploading or starting another task does not extend that expiry. Transcription Credits are reserved only after you confirm the quote.

If your balance is insufficient, review the available options on Pricing before confirming a task. The page shows the cost and balance together. Processing time depends on the recording and service availability; no fixed completion time is promised.

Private Upload and Temporary Processing

The recording leaves your device for private upload and ElevenLabs cloud AI transcription. Application input storage is bounded to 4 hours, with earlier deletion when processing finishes. Results remain available for 24 hours after completion, and downloads require ownership checks.

Provider retention follows ElevenLabs’ own rules and is separate from this application’s cleanup. We do not promise zero provider retention or permanent transcript storage. Download the result while it is available and keep a copy in the location you normally use for your recordings and documents.

This private-media page excludes advertising, analytics, affiliate and support scripts. Closing the page during upload can interrupt it. Once a task is accepted, returning in the same browser tab can restore its status; visiting another tool does not create a second transcription or change that task’s output type.

Related Tools

Choose the tool that matches your starting file and intended output. Video to Text handles supported MP4 video. If you already have a subtitle file and only need its readable words, SRT to TXT avoids transcribing the original recording again.