Transcribe audio to text – free, private, and right in your browser
Really Easy Tools' Audio Transcriber turns your recordings into accurate, editable text using OpenAI's Whisper speech recognition model. Unlike most online transcription services, nothing is uploaded: the AI runs on your own device, so your interviews, meetings, lectures and voice notes stay completely private.
There's no account to create, no per-minute fees and no usage caps. Just drop in an audio file and copy the transcript when it's done.
- 100% free
- No uploads
- No sign-up
- No length limits
- Powered by Whisper
How to transcribe an audio file
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Choose your audio file
Drag and drop an MP3, WAV, M4A or OGG file onto the drop zone above, or click Browse Files.
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Let the AI model load
On your first visit, the Whisper model downloads once and is cached by your browser, so future sessions start faster.
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Wait for transcription
Your audio is processed locally in 30-second chunks while the progress bar shows how far along it is.
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Copy your transcript
Click Copy to grab the full text and paste it into a document, email, CMS or subtitle editor.
Why use a private, in-browser transcriber?
Your audio never leaves your device
Cloud transcription services upload your files to remote servers. Here, decoding and speech recognition happen entirely inside your browser tab – perfect for confidential interviews, legal notes, medical dictation and business meetings.
Genuinely free, without limits
Because your computer does the work, there are no server costs to pass on. No trial minutes, no monthly quota, no watermark and no paywall on exports.
World-class accuracy
Whisper was trained on hundreds of thousands of hours of speech and handles punctuation, casing and everyday vocabulary far better than older speech-to-text engines.
Nothing to install
No app, plugin or account required. It works in modern versions of Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari on Mac, Windows, Linux and ChromeOS.
What can you transcribe?
- Podcasts – create show notes, blog posts and searchable episode transcripts.
- Interviews – journalists, researchers and recruiters can quote accurately without re-listening.
- Lectures & classes – students can turn recorded lectures into study notes.
- Meetings & calls – capture decisions and action items from recorded Zoom, Teams or Meet audio.
- Voice memos – convert iPhone or Android voice recordings into text you can edit and share.
- Video content – draft captions and descriptions for YouTube, TikTok and Reels from an exported audio track.
- Dictation – speak drafts of emails, articles or book chapters and transcribe them later.
- Accessibility – provide text alternatives for audio content for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Supported audio formats
The transcriber accepts any audio format your browser can decode. That includes:
- MP3
- WAV
- M4A / AAC
- OGG / Opus
- FLAC
- WebM
Have a video file? Export its audio track as MP3, M4A or WAV first, then drop that file in.
In-browser vs. cloud transcription services
| Really Easy Tools | Typical cloud service | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Per-minute or monthly fee |
| Audio uploaded? | Never | Yes, to remote servers |
| Account required | No | Usually |
| Usage limits | None | Minute quotas |
| Speed | Depends on your device | Depends on queue & upload |
Tips for the most accurate transcripts
- Record close to the mic. A clear voice signal matters more than file quality.
- Reduce background noise. Music, fans and traffic make words harder to recognise.
- Avoid cross-talk. Overlapping speakers are the most common source of errors.
- Cut out long silences. Shorter files process faster and are much easier to review.
- Proofread names and jargon. Proper nouns and technical terms may need a quick edit.
How it works under the hood
When you choose a file, your browser decodes it with the Web Audio API and resamples it to 16 kHz mono – the format Whisper expects. A background Web Worker then runs the Whisper base (English) model through Transformers.js and ONNX Runtime using WebAssembly. The audio is transcribed in overlapping 30-second windows and stitched together into a single transcript, keeping the page responsive the whole time.
Frequently asked questions
Is this audio transcriber really free?
Yes. There is no subscription, no per-minute pricing, no watermark and no sign-up. Because the transcription runs on your own device, there are no server costs to pass on to you.
Are my audio files uploaded to a server?
No. Your audio is decoded and transcribed locally in your browser. The only thing downloaded is the AI model itself; your recording and transcript never leave your computer.
What audio formats are supported?
Any audio format your browser can decode, including MP3, WAV, M4A (AAC), OGG, FLAC and WebM. Support for less common formats varies slightly between browsers.
How accurate is the transcription?
The tool uses OpenAI's Whisper speech recognition model, which delivers strong accuracy on clear English speech. Accuracy drops with heavy background noise, overlapping speakers, or strong accents, so always proofread important transcripts.
Which languages can it transcribe?
The current model is optimized for English. Recordings in other languages may produce poor or translated results.
Is there a file size or length limit?
There are no artificial limits. Very long recordings simply take longer and use more memory, so speed depends on your device.
Why does the first transcription take longer?
The first time you use the tool, your browser downloads the Whisper model. It is cached afterward, so later visits start much faster.
Can I transcribe a video file?
The tool accepts audio files. To transcribe a video, first export or extract its audio track as an MP3, M4A or WAV file, then drop that file in.
Does it work on phones and tablets?
Yes, on modern mobile browsers. Transcription is faster on laptops and desktops because AI models benefit from more processing power and memory.