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Online · nothing to install · AI, not humanAn online transcription service that works in any browser
Paste a link or upload an audio or video file, on a laptop or a phone, and read the transcript on a web page about 2 minutes later for each hour of audio. The summary is free to read; a pack from $4 for 500 minutes opens the full transcript, and credits never expire.
- About 2 min per audio hour
- From $4 for 500 minutes
- 99+ languages
- TXT, DOCX, SRT, VTT, JSON
- Up to 10 hours or 5 GB a file
What "online" means here
An online transcription service does the work on a server and hands you the text in a browser tab. You do not download a program, you do not need a fast computer, and it does not matter whether you are on Windows, a Mac, a Chromebook, an iPhone or an Android phone. The same page that takes your recording shows you the transcript, lets you search it, click any line to hear that moment, and download it.
That is the whole difference from desktop transcription apps. Those run a speech model on your own machine, which has real advantages (it is free or cheap, and nothing leaves your computer) and real costs (installation, disk space, a computer powerful enough for the bigger models, and no help when you are away from that computer). If you landed here after searching for Whisper, MacWhisper or Buzz, the comparison further down is written for you.
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Send the recording
Drop a file into the box above, or paste a YouTube, podcast, RSS, Google Drive, Twitch or Kick link. Files over 500 MB continue on the upload page.
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Wait a minute or two
Processing takes about 2 minutes per hour of audio, and most files finish in under a minute. The work happens on our servers, not on your device.
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Read, search, download
The transcript opens with word-level timestamps. Download TXT, DOCX, SRT, VTT or JSON, all included.
Transcribing on a phone
Most people who search for an online transcription service are holding the recording on their phone: a voice memo from a meeting, a lecture recorded from the back row, an interview captured on a recorder app. You do not need to move the file to a computer first.
- iPhone: open this page in Safari, tap the box and choose the recording from Files or Voice Memos (share the memo to Files first if it is not listed). There is a step-by-step guide for Voice Memos to text.
- Android: open the page in Chrome, tap the box and pick the file from your recorder app's folder or Downloads. Guide: Android recorder to text.
- A link instead of a file: copy the share link from YouTube or your podcast app and paste it. Nothing is downloaded to your phone, which saves data on long videos.
The finished transcript reads comfortably on a small screen, and the downloads land in your phone's Files or Downloads like any other document.
What it costs
You pay for minutes of audio, bought once. There is no subscription to cancel and no minimum job size. The summary of any recording is free to read before you buy; a pack opens the full transcript and every export.
| Pack | Audio it covers | Cost per audio hour |
|---|---|---|
| $4 | 500 minutes (8.3 h) | $0.48 |
| $8 | 1,000 minutes (16.7 h) | $0.48 |
| $12 | 2,000 minutes (33.3 h) | $0.36 |
| $24 | 5,000 minutes (83.3 h) | $0.29 |
Credits never expire. No per-seat fee. For teams that transcribe every day, Workspace is $19 a month. Full details on the pricing page.
To put the per-hour figure in context: a one-hour interview uses $0.48 of a $4 pack, and a 40-hour semester of lectures fits inside the $12 pack with room to spare. If price is your main concern, our cheap transcription services page works the maths against other providers.
Turnaround
About 2 minutes of processing per hour of audio; most files finish in under a minute. At that rate even the longest accepted file, 10 hours, needs about 20 minutes of processing. There are no rush fees because there is no queue of people: turnaround is the same for a $4 pack and a $24 one.
What you get
- A transcript in the browser with a timestamp on every word; click a line to play that moment.
- Exports: TXT for reading, DOCX for editing in Word or Google Docs, SRT and VTT for subtitles, JSON for developers.
- A brief with the main points and takeaways, chapters with timestamps, the names, numbers and dates that were said, and a chat over the transcript.
- The original language kept as spoken: 99+ languages are detected automatically, so Spanish audio gives a Spanish transcript.
Read a sample before you send anything
These are real transcripts of public recordings, opened exactly as you would see your own.
Online service or desktop app? An honest comparison
Several of the tools people compare against an online service are built on OpenAI's Whisper, an open speech recognition model released under the MIT licence. Running it yourself is a perfectly good choice for many people. Here is how the options line up, using each provider's own public pages as checked on 3 October 2026.
| Option | Where it runs | What you need | On a phone | Price (published) | Where it wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WhipScribe | Our servers; you use a browser | Any browser | Yes, in the browser | $4 for 500 min; $0.29–$0.48 per audio hour; credits never expire | Nothing to install, any device, links as well as files, files up to 10 h |
| Whisper (command line) | Your computer | Python 3.8–3.11, ffmpeg; the large model needs about 10 GB of GPU memory | No | Free, MIT licence | Free, offline, fully private, scriptable |
| Buzz | Your computer, offline | macOS (Apple Silicon), Windows or Linux install | No | Free, MIT licence | Free point-and-click Whisper with no audio leaving your machine |
| MacWhisper (Whisper Transcription, Good Snooze) | Your Apple device | macOS 15 or later on a Mac | App Store listing also covers iPhone (iOS 18+) | Free with in-app purchases; Pro from $6.99 | Polished Apple app with on-device models for private files |
| Otter | Online | Browser or app | Yes | Free: 300 min/month, 30 min per conversation, 3 lifetime file imports. Pro $16.99/month, or $8.33/month billed annually | Meetings: its plans are built around meetings and in-app recordings |
| Rev | Online | Browser or app | Yes, App Store and Google Play | Free: 45 AI min/month, English only. Essentials from $25.49 per seat/month billed annually. Human transcription $1.99/min | Human-verified transcripts with a stated 12-hour delivery |
| Descript | Online (web app) | Browser | Not stated on its pricing page | Free: 60 min/month. Hobbyist $24/month, or $16/month billed annually, for 10 media hours | Editing audio and video, with export up to 4K on higher plans |
Sources, checked 3 Oct 2026: github.com/openai/whisper (licence, Python versions, ffmpeg, model memory table); github.com/chidiwilliams/buzz (platforms, offline, licence); apps.apple.com/us/app/whisper-transcription/id1668083311 (developer, prices, requirements); otter.ai/pricing; rev.com/pricing; descript.com/pricing. Prices change; check the provider's page before buying.
When a desktop app is the better choice
Pick Whisper, Buzz or MacWhisper if your recordings must never leave your computer, if you transcribe offline (on a plane, in the field), or if you have a recent Mac or a graphics card and like tinkering. You will spend some time installing and choosing a model, and long files take as long as your hardware takes, but the per-hour cost is zero. Our Whisper, Buzz and MacWhisper guides cover setup.
When an online service is the better choice
Pick an online service if you are on a phone or a work laptop where you cannot install software, if your computer is old or slow, if the recording is a YouTube or podcast link rather than a file, or if you just want the text without thinking about models. Among online services, Otter fits people who live in meetings, Descript fits people editing video, and Rev fits people who need a person to check the words. WhipScribe fits people who want the transcript of a file or link, on any device, at a low price per hour, without a monthly plan.
When to choose a human service instead
WhipScribe is machine transcription. No one listens to your audio and no editor reads the text before you do. On clear speech that is usually all you need, and it is why an hour costs cents rather than dollars.
Hire a person when a single wrong word has consequences: court and deposition records, medical dictation, material that will be published verbatim, or audio so noisy that you struggle to hear it yourself. Human services cost more (Rev lists $1.99 per minute) and take longer, but someone is accountable for the result. Our comparison of human transcription services lists providers, prices and turnaround.
Privacy and limits
Your recordings
Recordings are transcribed on our own servers and are never used for training. Audio is never sent to a third-party AI service. Delete any recording and its transcript at any time.
File limits
Up to 10 hours or 5 GB per file: MP3, MP4, M4A, WAV, FLAC, OGG, WEBM, MOV and more. For very long material see transcribing long audio.
What it does not do
It does not transcribe a stream while it is still happening, and it does not translate: the text comes back in the language spoken. It is not a human service.
Developers
The same service is available as an API with any pack or Workspace; see the documentation.
Questions about online transcription
Is there really nothing to install?
Nothing. WhipScribe runs in your web browser on a laptop, a tablet or a phone. You paste a link or pick a file, and the transcript opens on a web page. There is no app to download, no Python, no ffmpeg and no model files.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes. Open this page in Safari or Chrome on your phone, tap the box and choose a recording from your files, or paste a link you copied from YouTube or a podcast app. The transcript opens on the same phone, and you can download TXT, DOCX, SRT, VTT or JSON from there.
How long does an online transcription take?
About 2 minutes of processing per hour of audio, and most files finish in under a minute. Uploading is the part that depends on you: a large video over a slow connection takes longer to send than it takes us to transcribe.
How much does it cost?
The summary of any recording is free to read. A pack from $4 (500 minutes) opens the full transcript. Larger packs are $8 for 1,000 minutes, $12 for 2,000 minutes and $24 for 5,000 minutes. Credits never expire and there is no subscription. Teams that transcribe every day can use Workspace at $19 a month.
Is it better than running Whisper on my own computer?
Not always. Whisper, Buzz and MacWhisper are free or cheap, they work offline and your audio never leaves your machine. They suit people with a capable computer who are happy to install software. WhipScribe suits people who want the result on any device without setting anything up, or whose computer is too slow for the larger models.
Is this human transcription?
No. Every transcript is made by automatic speech recognition, and nobody listens to your recording or checks the text. If a mistake would cost you something real, such as a court record or a medical note, hire a human service instead.
Which languages and files does it accept?
More than 99 languages, detected automatically. Any common audio or video file (MP3, MP4, M4A, WAV, FLAC, OGG, WEBM, MOV and more) up to 10 hours or 5 GB, or a YouTube, podcast, RSS, Google Drive, Twitch or Kick link.
What happens to my audio?
Recordings are transcribed on our own servers and are never used for training. You can delete a recording and its transcript at any time, and deleting your account removes every record tied to your email.
More on choosing a transcription service
Try it on your own recording
Paste a link or drop a file. The summary is free to read; a pack from $4 opens the full transcript.
See pricing