Transcribe a 5 GB file right up to the ceiling.
5 GB is the largest single file you can upload here, and 10 hours is the longest; whichever you reach first is the limit. A file at or just under 5 GB goes up whole and, being over 2 GB, starts once a pack is on the account. If yours is over 5 GB, there are three ways through, and none of them loses audio.
At the ceiling
Two limits, and the first one you hit is the one that counts.
Which limit you will hit
A 5 GB uncompressed WAV is just under eight hours, so it reaches the size limit first. Five gigabytes of 1080p video is about two and a half to five hours. A 5 GB MP3 would be dozens of hours, so for MP3 the 10-hour limit is the real one.
Uploading the full 5 GB
The box on this page is sized for files up to 500 MB, so a multi-gigabyte file goes from the upload page. Above 2 GB the job starts once a pack is on your account.
Over 5 GB: three ways through
Paste a link if the recording is on YouTube, Google Drive, Vimeo, Twitch or Kick, and nothing has to be uploaded. Export an audio-only copy, which turns hours of video into a few hundred megabytes. Or cut it into two files at a natural break and transcribe each one.
How fast the ceiling clears
Processing runs at about 2 minutes per hour of audio. A public run of 9.31 hours finished in 1,033 seconds, a little over 17 minutes, and the transcript is linked on the long-files proof page.
Over the edge
What usually happens to a file this big.
✗ Out of options elsewhere
At five gigabytes most services have long since refused the file, and the remaining choices are cloud folders, converters and support tickets.
- A size error with no next step
- A request to email the file instead
- A sales call for an enterprise tier
- Audio quality traded away to compress
- Hours of video uploaded only to fail
- Several transcripts with no shared clock
✓ A ceiling you can plan around
You know the exact limit before you start and have a path for the file that sits just above it.
- 5 GB and 10 hours, stated plainly
- Links fetched without uploading
- Audio-only copies work just as well
- Two files when it truly exceeds both
- About 17 minutes for nine hours of audio
- One timeline inside each file
Sample output
Seven hours into a WAV field recording.
This excerpt is illustrative, not a real recording. A near-5 GB WAV from a full day of recording returns with the clock still running from the first minute.
Export
One transcript. Five clean formats.
Every pack exports all five — no format is held back for a higher tier.
Plain text
De-ummed paragraphs. Ready to paste.
SRT captions
Timed to the speech. Every video editor reads this.
WebVTT
HTML5 player + YouTube uploads.
Show notes
Formatted with chapters and pull-quotes.
Machine-readable
Timestamped text for your own tools.
Pricing
Honest pricing, no surprises.
A pack from $6 (500 minutes) opens the full transcript. After that, no subscription and no auto-renew — every tier is a one-time minute pack, and credits never expire. Buy once, use the minutes whenever you need them.
Casual pack
$6/500 min
8 hours of audio — $0.72 an hour. One-time — credits never expire.
- 500 minutes of audio
- All export formats
- Unlimited AI chat per transcript
- Executive summary & key quote
Best value
$12/2,000 min
33 hours of audio — $0.36 an hour. Credits never expire.
- 2,000 minutes of audio
- Priority queue
- All export formats
- Unlimited AI chat per transcript
Bulk pack
$24/5,000 min
83 hours of audio — $0.29 an hour. Credits never expire.
- 5,000 minutes of audio
- Priority queue
- API access for batch pipelines
- All export formats
FAQ
5 GB files, answered.
Is 5 GB the absolute maximum?
Yes, for a single uploaded file. The other limit is 10 hours of running time. Whichever of the two the recording reaches first is the one that applies. A file that shows 4.9 GB in your file manager is fine; one that shows 5.2 GB needs one of the routes below.
My file is 6 GB. What should I do?
If the recording is online, paste its link. If it is a video, upload the audio track only; three hours of 128 kbps MP3 is around 175 MB. If it is already audio, cut it into two files of under 5 GB each.
What does a 5 GB file cost to transcribe?
Cost follows minutes. An eight-hour WAV is 480 minutes, which fits inside the $6 pack of 500 minutes with 20 left. A five-hour video is 300 minutes and fits the same pack.
How long does a 5 GB file take?
Plan on about 2 minutes per hour of audio after the upload. Eight hours is usually done in around 16 minutes. The upload of 5 GB on a typical home connection can take longer than that.
Why can't I start a 5 GB file free?
Uploads over 2 GB start once a pack is on the account. The free first 20 minutes apply to uploads of 2 GB or less. If you want to test quality first, upload a short clip from the same recorder, then send the big file once you are happy with it.
What do I get back from a file this size?
A transcript in TXT, DOCX, SRT, VTT or JSON, plus a brief, timestamped chapters and a chat over the text, with the language picked out of 99. Recordings are transcribed on our own servers and are never used for training.
Related
Around the ceiling.
Right up to 5 GB. Bring the whole file.
Upload up to 5 GBOperated by Neugence Technology Pvt. Ltd. · contact@whipscribe.com · Security · Privacy · Terms
Choosing a transcription service?
Before you pay anyone to transcribe: see transcription services from $6, cheap transcription services and the real cost per hour and how the best transcription services compare.