If you need to convert your content in the form of interview, videos, meetings and more into text, then you need audio to text converter tool.
There is tremendous demand in the industry to utilize audio content to its full potential by converting it into formats like TXT or DOCX.
To take advantage of this demand, various online audio transcription tools have started offering this service.
Basically, audio transcription is the process of converting an audio file into a text file. Audio to text converters can transform the following into text:
- Interviews
- YouTube videos
- A music videos
- Voice memos
- Academic studies
- Conference recordings
- Podcasts
There are many software and online services, both free and paid, that can easily convert audio files as mentioned above into the text format.
In this article, I have covered 9 best audio to text converters that can easily convert your audio recording into text.
Let’s get started.
Note: This article contains affiliate links. When you click an affiliate link and make a purchase, we get a small compensation at no cost to you. See our Privacy Policy and Disclaimer for more info.
What are the Top Audio to Text Converters?
Below I have highlighted 9 of the top tools that can help you transcript your audio recordings in your desired format.
1. Otter.ai
overview
Otter.ai is a very popular artificial intelligence powered transcription service that automatically converts speech to text enabling people to create transcripts of audio recordings, or convert any spoken language into a written form.
Founded by Sam Liang in 2016, Otter.ai has quickly established itself as one of the leading transcription tools in the industry, thanks to its advanced features and user-friendly interface.
Otter is a cloud-based service that can be accessed from anywhere and on any device with internet access. One of the standout features of Otter.ai is its real-time transcription capabilities, which allow users to transcribe conversations, meetings, and interviews in real-time.
If you ever need to transcribe interviews, events, podcasts, meetings and more, Otter.ai can help you do all the conversion with great accuracy. Plus, it easily integrates with applications like Microsoft Team, Zoom and Google Drive.
You can use Otter.ai for the following services:
- Audio to Text Conversion
- Video to Text Conversion
If you want to learn more, check out my in-depth review here - Otter.ai review where I have explain in details all its features & benefits, how to use it, who can use it, pricing plans, its competitors and more.
key features
- Offers real-time transcription service
- Automatically transcribe your audio like recordings of meetings, notes into text
- Also transcribe videos into text
- Offers 600 minutes of free transcription every month
- Supports MP3, M4A, WAV and others popular audio and video formats
- Easily export your transcribed files into PDF, DOCX or SRT format
- Works completely online
pricing plan
Paid plan by Otter.ai starts at $12.99/month. It also offers a free account where user can import three audio/video files, allows 30 mins of transcription per recording, up to 600 minutes per month of transcription, summary of meetings, collaboration feature and more.
It is a great tool for those who have trouble transcribing audio files or don't want to spend too much time converting audio into text. Get started with Otter.ai today and easily convert your audios into text format.
2. Audext
overview
Audext is one of the fastest audio transcription tools to convert audio notes, interviews, lectures, meetings and more into text and other formats.
The Audext interface is quite easy to use. It can transcribe an hour of video in just 21 minutes which is one of the fastest transcription processes in the industry.
key features
- Convert audio to text in minutes automatically with the help of AI
- In-built editor to fast paced your conversion with features like highlight text, find & replace, customize playback speed and others.
- Edit converted text without leaving Audext
- Supports different audio and video formats: MP3, M4A, WAV and others.
- Export transcribed files into different formats - TXT or DOCX
- Audio transcription supports up to 10 languages
- Works online. No need to install any software.
How Audext Audio to Text Converter Works?
- Upload your audio files in the Audext dashboard.
- Click to send the audio stream to the Audext cloud editor.
- The timed transcript immediately starts downloading into your project.
- Clear Audext tools help you efficiently review and edit the results at any convenient time.
- Export the converted file in TXT or DOC format.
pricing plan
Audext has multiple paid plans. One can get 1 hour of transcription at only $12 or get it done at only $5 with the subscription.
Get started with Audext audio to text converter today.
3. Sonix
overview
Sonix is another very popular automated transcription service provider that uses advanced machine-learning speech-to-text engine.
With Sonix, you can transcribe your audio and video files into 40 plus languages. The process is very fast and secure with no human intervention.
Plus, you get a very accurate transcript thanks to the AI technology used by Sonix.
Word-error-rate is the typical metric to assess transcription accuracy. Sonix excels in this areas also as it offers features like Sonix Custom Dictionary that allows its customers to create custom vocabularies that enhances accuracy.
Let's check below out some of its main features:
key features
- Converts transcription in 40+ languages
- Automatically timestamped every word in your transcript
- Easily add your notes or comment directly in your transcript
- Supports speaker labelling that allows to easily label who said what
- Advanced in-browser word processor to edit your transcript
- Export transcript in either Microsoft Word, TXT, PDFs and many other formats
pricing plan
Sonix has the following paid plans - Standard Plan (10/hour), Premium Plan ($5/hour and $22/month) and Enterprise Plan (Contact the Sonix support to get the price).
You can sign up for the free trial to see whether Sonix is the right audio to text converter software for you or not. No credit card is required to get the free trial.
4. Veed.io
overview
Veed.io is another popular transcription service that allows you to quickly and accurately transcribe audio or video into text.
It uses advanced AI technology to convert audio files such as MP3 and WAV into text quickly and accurately. Whether you’re transcribing a lecture, podcast, or meeting, Veed.io makes it easy to convert audio into text in minutes.
Simply upload your audio or video, then click on ‘Subtitles’ then select ‘Auto Transcribe’. Select your preferred language and click ‘Start’. VEED will automatically transcribe the audio.
If required, you can also make minor changes to the transcription. When you're done, you can download the file in TXT, VTT, or SRT format.
Another useful feature of Veed.io is video transcription into text. Similar to audio transcription, you need to select your video file such as MP4 file, MOV, AVI, FLV, and other popular video formats and click on ‘Auto Transcribe’.
Veed will transcribe the video’s original audio just as it would for an audio file and you would get the audio converted into your preferred text format.
key features
pricing plan
Veed offers the following plans - Free ($0/month), Basic ($25/month), Pro ($38/month) and Business ($70/month).
overview
Fifth audio to text conversion software on our list is IBM Watson Speech to Text.
The software can easily convert your audio or voice into written text in 7 languages in real-time.
The IBM Watson Speech to Text service provides APIs that use IBM's speech-recognition capabilities to convert different languages into transcripts of spoken audio.
The service can transcribe speech from various languages and audio formats. English, French, Spanish, Brazilian, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, German, Portuguese, and Mandarin speech can be converted into text using this service.
key features
- Powerful real-time speech recognition
- Highly accurate speech engine
- Built to support various use cases
Real-time speech recognition
The software automatically transcribes audio from 7 languages in near real-time. The software has the capability to identify and transcribe what is being discussed in the audio.
It is able to transcribe even lower quality audio to text. It supports variety of audio formats and programming interfaces (HTTP REST, Websocket, Asynchronous HTTP).
Accurate search engine
It can accurately recognize product names, sensitive subjects or names of individuals and others and convert them into text and other formats.
Built to support various use cases
The software is also able to convert audio into text in various use cases. It includes real-time transcription for audio from a microphone, to analyzing 1000s of audio recordings from a call center.
To try IBM Watson Speech to Text service, you can:
- Record audio with your microphone
- Upload pre-recorded audio (.mp3, .mpeg, .wav, .flac, or .opus only).
- Play one of the sample audio files.*
pricing plan
IBM Watson Speech to Text service, would cost in the range of $0.01- $0.02 per minute depending on the tier level you’re in.
Get started with IBM Watson Speech to Text to convert audio to text today.
6. Podcastle
overview
Podcastle.ai is an all-in-one audio creation platform that also offers affordable speech-to-text services. It’s a web-based platform so you won’t even have to download anything.
With Podcastle’s AI-powered features you can automatically detect filler words and remove them. The tool also creates transcription summaries for further use. Podcastle also offers text to speech conversion using 19 human-like voice skins.
key features
- Podcastle supports 5 languages
- You can also convert video to text
- Built-in text editor to edit your transcript if necessary
- Automatic filler word detection and removal
- All popular audio formats are accepted
How to Transcribe Speech to Text with Podcastle?
- Upload your file by selecting Import File on the Podcastle dashboard.
- Right-click on your track, click Transcribe.
- Once you get the transcription, feel free to make changes in the Text Editor if necessary.
- From the bottom of the Text Editor, choose Export and download your transcription. You can select to export your text as a DOCX or PDF.
pricing plan
On Podcastle you can transcribe up to one hour of audio for absolutely free. You can also upgrade to their Storyteller plan and get 10 hours of transcription services every month and a range of other tools and exclusive features for only $11.99 monthly. Podcastle’s speech-to-text software is worth giving a try and you might as well enjoy the rest of its benefits.
7. Notta
overview
The Notta audio to text converter is designed to be used by everyone, regardless of your technical skills or experience. All you need to do is upload your audio files and let Notta.ai's powerful algorithm based in artificial intelligence do the rest.
Notta can quickly convert audio recordings into text documents with a high degree of accuracy (Notta transcription service claims 98% accuracy). It also offers a variety of output formats, so you can easily convert your audio recordings into text documents in the format of your choice.
These are the formats that are supported by Notta - WAV, MP3, M4A, CAF, AIFF, AVI, RMVB, FLV, MP4, MOV, WMV.
The free plan by Notta allows you to convert audio file of size 1GB and the duration of the audio file could be 5 hours. For more limits, you would need to subscribe to the pro plan.
The conversion from audio to text is very straight forward. To start a conversion, you need to select your audio file and audio language. Now enter your email address (this is where Notta will send you the link of the converted text file) and click on Confirm to continue.
key features
pricing plan
Notta offers the following plans - Basic ($0/month), Pro ($13.99/month) and Notta Business ($60/month for 2 seats).
Basic is a free plan that allows 120 transcription minutes per month while Notta Pro plan allows users 1,800 transcription mins per month. Notta Pro plan also supports real-time transcription, import audio/video files, cloud file transcription and other features.
Business plan offers 5,400 transcription mins per month and support collaboration with team members. You can add up to 99 members in the workspace.
8. Flixier
overview
Flixier is a free online audio to text converter. Using this tool, you can generate transcripts of your audio recordings and conversations.
Like most other transcription tool covered in this article, Flixier is also web-based which means it is accessible from any popular browsers.
To start converting audio into text in Flixier, you need to upload your audio or video file and click on the Generate Subtitle button. Depending on the length of the audio, Flixier will take some time to give you a transcript of the audio with high accuracy.
It also allows you to edit the converted text and save the file to your device. While downloading make sure that .TXT is selected in the drop down list.
Apart from the audio transcription, Flixier is also able to transcribe video into text. It is compatible with all the popular video and audio formats such as WAV to MP3, WMV, MKV, MP3 or AVI.
key features
pricing plan
Flixier allows you to transcribe up to 5 minutes of audio for free every month.
9. Happy Scribe
overview
Happy Scribe was launched in 2017 with the aim of helping people transcribe their audio and video content into text. It has been used by 1 million users and has already transcribed millions of minutes in audio and video content.
By combining state-of-the-art AI with the expertise of world-class language professionals, Happy Scribe offers the following popular services:
- Audio to Text Converter
- Video to Text Converter
- Free Transcription Editor
- Automatic Transcription Software
- Caption Generator
Happy Scribe has both free and paid plans for audio to text converters. Let’s look at some of its key features and pricing plans.
key features
How to transcribe audio to text using Happy Scribe?
Happy Scribes offers the following 3 ways to transcribe audio to text:
- Transcribe the audio manually with its transcription editor (FREE)
- Use its Automatic Transcription Software
- Book its Human Transcription Services
Transcription Editor (Free)
If you want a completely free solution to convert your audio into text, you can use the transcription editor by Happy Scribe.
However, you need to work manually to listen to the audio and transcribe audio to text.
To do this, you can add your media file or link to your YouTube video inside the editor.
Once your media is added, you can listen to the audio and convert it into text. You also have the option to replay the audio as many times as you need.
Automatic Transcription Software (Paid)
This is a paid video and audio to text transcription service by Happy Scribe. It would cost you Euro 0.20 per minute.
You can upload files from different sources - files saved in your computer, URL, videos link from Youtube, Vimeo, Drive, and more.
As soon as your media is uploaded, automatic transcription software will start transcribing your files. Depending on the length of the audio, it will complete the transcription within a few minutes with 85% accuracy that can be downloaded to your computer.
The transcription software can convert the audio to text in 120+ languages and export it in different formats - txt, word, pdf, json, final cut, premiere, avid and more.
Before upgrading to the paid plan, you can use the free trial of 10 minutes to try and test the quality of transcription service.
Human Transcription Services (Paid)
If you prefer conversion of audio to text by a real-person instead of an AI software, Happy Scribe has got you covered.
The service will cost Euro 1.70 per minute and conversion will be matched to 99% accuracy.
All other features of this service are similar to the automatic transcription software covered above.
Get started with Happy Scribe today.
What is a Audio to Text Converter?
Audio to text converters are tools used to automatically transcribe audio recordings into text. This technology is becoming increasingly popular as people look for ways to convert their audio recordings into text quickly and accurately.
These tools work by analyzing the audio sound waves and then converting them into text. The accuracy of the transcription depends on the quality of the audio, the type of audio to text converter used, and the experience of the transcriber.
For accuracy, it's important to choose the right audio to text converter. There are many different types of audio to text converters available, including speech recognition software, manual transcription services, and online audio to text converters.
- Speech recognition software is the most popular type of audio to text converter. This type of software uses algorithms to detect speech patterns and then transcribe them into text. This type of software is best for transcribing long recordings, as it can recognize multiple voices and accurately transcribe the audio without errors.
- Manual transcription services are another popular type of audio to text converter. This type of service uses human transcribers to transcribe audio recordings into text. This is generally more accurate than speech recognition software, but it can also take longer and be more expensive.
- Online audio to text converters are becoming increasingly popular. These tools use algorithms to automatically transcribe audio recordings into text. They can be used for both long and short audio recordings and generally provide accuracy that is on par with manual transcription services.
In this article, I have covered some of the most popular audio to text converter that business of all size can use to convert any type of content in audio or video format.
Benefits of Audio to Text Converters
Audio to text converters have become an invaluable asset to many businesses and organizations.
They allow you to quickly and accurately convert audio recordings into written text. This can be incredibly useful for transcribing meetings, lectures, interviews, and other audio recordings.
Below I have highlighted some important benefits of audio to text converters for your business:
- Improve Efficiency: One of the primary benefits of an audio to text converter is increased efficiency. By automating the transcription process, you can save time and resources spent on manually transcribing audio recordings. This can be especially helpful if you are dealing with large amounts of audio recordings that need to be transcribed.
- Improve Accuracy: In addition to increased efficiency, these tools can also help to improve accuracy. Manual transcription of audio recordings can often be error-prone, leading to inaccurate or incomplete transcripts. By using an automated audio to text converter, you can rest assured that your transcriptions are accurate and complete.
- Save Money: Using an audio to text converter can also help to save money. Manual transcription is often expensive and time-consuming, so automating the process can help to significantly reduce costs. Additionally, audio to text converters may come with features such as speech recognition and keyword identification, which can further streamline the transcription process.
- Improve Accessibility: Finally, it can help to improve accessibility. By providing transcripts of audio recordings, people with hearing impairments can more easily access the content of the recordings. This can help to make educational materials, meetings, and other audio recordings more accessible to those with hearing disabilities.
Thus, audio to text converters can provide a number of benefits to businesses and organizations. They can help to improve efficiency, accuracy, cost-effectiveness, and accessibility.
If you are looking for an efficient and accurate way to transcribe audio recordings, an audio to text converter may be the perfect solution.
Who can use Audio to Text Converters?
- Students - To transcribe lecture speech into readable notes.
- YouTubers - To transcribe videos into text and use them to create subtitles for their videos.
- Podcasters - To convert podcast episodes into text which can be used to create blog articles.
- Journalists - To convert interviews or press conferences into readable text.
- Businesses - To transcribe recordings of conference meetings into text.
- Lawyers - To transcribe court session recordings to text and save them securely.
- Doctors - Voice recording in the form of prescriptions and other medical records can easily be transcribed into text.
Bonus Tips: Convert Audio into eBook
So, far we have discussed about tools to convert audio into text format. But do you know your audio files can also be converted into an eBook.
For example, anyone who has been podcasting for a while and have lots of episodes in their playlist can convert this content in the form of an eBook.
If you turn up creating a super valuable eBook, you can use it as a lead magnet in your email marketing campaigns to generate lots of subscribers.
You can even sell your eBooks online on various publishing platforms to earn extra passive income.
If you're wondering how to create eBook from your podcast, follow along.
Once you have converted your audio into text using any of the tools covered in this article, you can use popular eBook creator software to covert you text into professionally designed eBook.
After you're ready with your eBook content, you just need to create an attractive eBook cover for it.
There is a famous saying that 'don't judge a book by its cover'. But if your target is to sell eBooks or grow your email list by collecting as many leads as possible, eBook cover will play a very vital role.
You can use popular graphic designing tools to create a visually attractive eBook Covers. I would recommend you to use one of the most popular graphics tool - Canva. It is a free tool and has ready-made free templates that you can use for your eBook cover.
It is one of the most used tool and most importantly it is free. There are lots of free resources in Canva editor that can use to create eBook cover - images, icons, shapes, fonts, color styles and more.
Apart from eBook cover, you can use Canva to create YouTube thumbnails, Blog banners, Facebook post, Facebook covers, Instagram stories, Invitation cards, Business cards, Infographics and more. Get started with Canva for free.
Wrapping Up
In this article, we have covered some of the best and popular audio to text converters that can be used by professionals for converting their audio recording into text.
These online audio to text converters can completely eliminate the need to hire a human transcription to do the job.
To do the conversion job faster and with great accuracy, you can use any of the converters highlighted in this article.
I would recommend you to start with Otter.ai as it is cheaper, reliable and very accurate.
Sharing is Caring! If you like the article, please take a moment to share it with your friends on social media networks.