What is TurboScribe AI?
TurboScribe AI is a free web tool for video to text and audio to text conversion. You give it a recording, it listens with a speech-recognition model, and it returns a transcript split into timed segments that you can edit and export.
The difference from most online transcription sites is where the work happens. Instead of sending your file to a remote server, TurboScribe AI downloads a small Whisper model to your browser once and runs it locally. That is why it needs no account, has no per-minute fee and never receives a copy of your recording.
Audio to text
MP3, WAV, M4A and other audio files become a transcript with a timestamp on every line.
Video to text
MP4, MOV, WEBM and MKV files have their audio track extracted automatically, then transcribed.
Subtitles
The same timed segments export directly as SRT or VTT caption files.
How to convert video to text or audio to text
- Add your fileDrag a recording onto the converter above or click it to browse. Both audio and video files are accepted.
- Choose the spoken languageEnglish is selected by default. Switch to another language, or use Auto-detect if you are unsure.
- Press Transcribe with AIThe first run downloads the speech model (about 39 MB) and caches it. After that, the file is processed in 30-second pieces and the text appears as it is produced.
- Edit the transcriptClick into the Transcript view to correct names, numbers or punctuation before you export.
- Copy or downloadCopy the text, or download it as TXT, SRT or VTT.
On-device transcription vs upload-based tools
Many online converters upload your recording to their servers. TurboScribe AI takes the opposite approach. This is what that changes in practice.
| Topic | TurboScribe AI | Typical upload-based site |
|---|---|---|
| Where the file goes | Stays on your device | Sent to a remote server |
| Account | Not needed | Often required |
| Cost | Free | Free tier with limits, then paid |
| File length | Limited by your device | Limited by plan or quota |
| Speed | Depends on your hardware | Depends on server queue |
| Model size | Compact, built for browsers | Often larger server-side models |
The trade-off is honest: a compact browser model is not as strong as a large server model on difficult audio. For clear speech it is quick, private and free.
Supported audio and video formats
| Format | Type | Typical source |
|---|---|---|
| MP3 | Audio | Podcasts, voice recordings, downloads |
| WAV | Audio | Studio and field recorders |
| M4A / AAC | Audio | Phone voice memos, Apple devices |
| FLAC / OGG / OPUS | Audio | Lossless and open-format audio |
| MP4 | Video | Cameras, screen recordings, social video |
| MOV | Video | iPhone and Mac recordings |
| WEBM / MKV / AVI | Video | Browser recordings, OBS, older files |
TXT, SRT and VTT exports
Pick the format that matches what you plan to do with the transcript.
- TXT is clean text for notes, articles, emails and search.
- SRT is the standard subtitle file for YouTube, Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve and most video editors.
- VTT is the WebVTT caption format used by HTML5 video players.
Here is a short sample of what an SRT export looks like:
1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,200
Welcome back to the weekly planning call.
2
00:00:03,200 --> 00:00:07,800
Let's start with what shipped last week.On-device processing: your recording never leaves your device
When you press Transcribe, the browser decodes the audio and a WebAssembly build of the Whisper model converts speech to text on your CPU or GPU. The only thing downloaded from the network is the model and the helper libraries, and they are cached after the first use.
This makes TurboScribe AI a practical choice for recordings you would rather not hand to a third party, such as client calls, internal meetings, legal interviews or unreleased media.
Good to know: because everything runs locally, closing or reloading the tab during a transcription stops it. Keep the tab open until the progress bar reaches 100%.
Getting accurate results
Transcript quality depends mostly on the recording. These habits make the biggest difference:
- Reduce background noise. Music, traffic and room echo are the most common causes of errors.
- Prefer one speaker at a time. Overlapping voices are hard for any speech model.
- Set the language. Choosing the spoken language is more reliable than Auto-detect on short or noisy clips.
- Check names and numbers. Proper nouns, brands and figures are where edits are most often needed.
- Use a desktop for long files. More memory means steadier processing for recordings over an hour.
Languages
Select the spoken language in the converter. English gives the most dependable output; the other languages work, with accuracy that varies by language and audio quality.
- English
- Simplified Chinese
- Traditional Chinese
- Spanish
- French
- German
- Italian
- Portuguese
- Dutch
- Polish
- Russian
- Turkish
- Japanese
- Korean
- Arabic
- Hindi
- Indonesian
Who uses video to text and audio to text
Meetings and calls
Turn recorded calls into notes you can scan for decisions and action items.
Journalists and researchers
Find an exact quote by timestamp instead of replaying the whole interview.
Podcasters
Start show notes, blog posts and newsletters from a single transcript.
Students
Read lectures as text, search them, and keep captions for revision.
Video creators
Export SRT or VTT captions for editors and platforms in one step.
Voice-memo users
Make spoken ideas searchable, editable and easy to share.
Frequently asked questions
Is TurboScribe AI really free, and do I need to sign up?
Yes. TurboScribe AI is free and needs no account, email address or credit card. The speech model runs on your own device, so there is no per-minute cost to pass on.
Are my audio and video files uploaded anywhere?
No. Your file is decoded and transcribed inside your browser with WebAssembly. Only the speech model itself is downloaded the first time you transcribe; your recording never leaves your device.
Which audio and video formats are supported?
Audio: MP3, WAV, M4A, FLAC, OGG, AAC and OPUS. Video: MP4, MOV, WEBM, MKV and AVI. For video, the audio track is extracted automatically before transcription.
Can I get subtitles from a video?
Yes. Every transcript is split into timed segments, which you can export as SRT or VTT subtitle files, as a plain TXT file, or copy to the clipboard.
How accurate is the transcript?
TurboScribe AI uses a compact Whisper-based model chosen for fast in-browser use. It works best on clear, single-speaker speech. Background noise, overlapping voices and strong accents lower accuracy, so review the text and fix lines in the editor before exporting.
Is there a file length limit?
There is no server-side limit because nothing is uploaded. Large files are read from disk in ten-minute segments and transcribed in 30-second pieces, so memory use stays modest. Very long recordings simply take longer, and speed depends on your device.
Does it work on phones and tablets?
It runs in current mobile browsers, but long recordings are faster and more reliable on a desktop or laptop with more memory.
Which languages can it transcribe?
You can pick the spoken language from 15 options, including English, Chinese, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Arabic and Hindi, or leave it on Auto-detect. English gives the most reliable results.
Convert your first recording
Free, private and ready in your browser. Choose a video or audio file and get a timestamped transcript.
Open the converter