Audio to text converter: The easiest way for each kind of source
Author: Mert S. Kaplan · Last updated: November 3, 2026
Which audio to text converter suits you depends on where the sound is: a file on your computer, someone talking right now, a YouTube video and a running stream all call for different routes. Start by finding your source in the table below. LiveType handles all four in the browser with nothing to install, and where a free built-in tool does the job, we say so.
Four ways to turn audio into text
| What you have | What to do | How long it takes | More |
|---|---|---|---|
| An audio or video file | Choose the file and let it run in the background | At your device’s speed; with a graphics card, much shorter than the recording | MP3 to text |
| People talking, a meeting, a lecture | Turn on the microphone | As they speak | Real time transcription |
| A YouTube video | Check its own transcript first, otherwise paste the link | As long as the video | YouTube to text |
| A running stream | Paste the link | Along with the stream | Live stream transcription |
| A TV channel | Pick from the list or enter an m3u8 link | Along with the broadcast | Live TV transcription |
If you only want to dictate a short note, you may not need a transcription tool at all. A phone keyboard’s voice typing and Google Docs voice typing are free, though they are built for what you dictate to them, not for working through a recorded conversation.
For a video file see the video to text converter, for a Word document audio to Word transcription, for meetings meeting transcription software. To work through a recording from start to finish, begin with how to transcribe a recording.
Try it on your own recording
No card needed. 30 minutes of transcription on the free plan.
No install, in your browser
LiveType needs no installation. The Whisper model that turns speech into text downloads to your browser on first use and opens from there afterwards, so you need neither admin rights nor a separate program.
In exchange, your device does the work. A computer with a graphics card runs the most accurate models. Without one, smaller models or cloud transcription take over. Phones can use the microphone and files, with small models only. Browsers and devices lists what works where.
Where the recording goes
Many converters upload your file to their own servers. In LiveType the default option, This device, keeps the audio in your browser, and the server holds only the text and your account details. If you choose cloud transcription, the audio goes to the provider you picked. Private transcription explains the difference and how to check it yourself.
How accurate is it?
Accuracy depends first on the recording, then on the model. On clean Turkish FLEURS clips (October 2026, 42 short recordings) the smallest model wrote about 62% of words correctly and the largest about 91%. Noise, or several people talking at once, brings that down. The method and the English results are in our Whisper test.
Read through anything you will publish or quote. No automatic transcript is good enough to skip that, least of all on names and numbers.
Fix the text as it is written
With most converters, correcting starts when the job ends. In LiveType, finished sentences land in the editor straight away and you correct them during the run. Fix a misspelled organisation in minute five of a fifty-minute recording without waiting for the other forty-five.
What is free
After signing up, the free plan gives you 30 minutes of transcription in total. They do not renew and no card is asked for. Your transcripts stay readable and exportable when the time runs out. For longer work, see the plans.
What this tool leaves out
- It does not translate the text or write summaries.
- It does not burn subtitles into a video; it gives you an SRT or VTT file.
- It needs an account.
- It is not meant for song lyrics, because the model listens for speech.
To weigh it against other tools, see how TurboScribe differs on its comparison page. You can download your text as Word, plain text or subtitles.
Works in news, software and design; founder of LiveType. Worked as a reporter for many years. Has done SEO consulting, content editing and reporting for several online news sites, and has developed many pieces of software. Currently works in the press office of the Turkish Medical Association and provides SEO support to Elips Haber.
Related pages
Try it on your own recording
No card needed. 30 minutes of transcription on the free plan.