10 Best Audio to Text Converters Online for 2024 (Free & Paid)

What is an audio-to-text converter?

An audio-to-text converter uses speech recognition technology to convert spoken language into written text. This process is referred to as transcription, while the resulting text is called a transcript. 

Why should you use audio-to-text converters?

Audio-to-text conversion is indispensable across various professions and industries such as journalism and content creation. Here’s why: 

Saving time 

Transcribing by hand can take a lot of time, and we mean a lot. It can take the average person up to 10 hours to transcribe one hour of audio. 

Audio-to-text converters can save you all that time and effort, which allows you to focus on other, more productive tasks.

Improved accessibility and inclusion

Transcripts make audio content more accessible to individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. They can also help people with learning disabilities, such as dyslexia, and those who aren’t native speakers to grasp your content easier. 

Content marketing repurposing

Transcripts can be used to create extra content, such as blog posts, articles, infographics, quotes, or social media posts. This is an easy way to reach out to your audience and make the most of your audio content.

Improved organization and notes

Transcripts are a great way to keep notes from meetings and lectures. You can easily annotate, organize, list, share, and store your annotations to help you keep track of things.

As an added plus, you can also take notes verbally and use an audio-to-text converter if you find it easier to express your thoughts out loud. 

SEO 

Transcripts can increase search traffic for your content because they provide text for search engines to index. This allows users to discover your content faster and more consistently. And with a higher search ranking, you’ll get even more discovery. 

Improving communication 

Sharing transcripts of meetings with employees allows everyone to have access to the same information at all times, even if they miss a meeting or forget some key points. This allows you to improve communication and transparency in your organization.

Language translation

Transcripts can be translated into multiple languages, allowing your content to reach a wider audience. This is useful if you want to expand your reach across different countries and continents. 

Podcast show notes

Podcasters can use audio-to-text converters to make show notes. Many podcasters feature show notes to provide information to listeners and improve the discoverability of their content.

10 Best audio to text converters Online

Best free online audio to text converters

Riverside Free Transcription Tool

Ease of use: Easy

Riverside is a platform where you can record, edit, and transcribe all in one. 

Our free AI-powered transcription tool generates a highly accurate transcript in seconds. And if you record using Riverside (up to 4K quality video), you’ll get transcripts of your recordings right after you finish capturing everything. 

Our transcription tool supports over 100 languages and can decipher all kinds of spoken language, such as accented speech and slang. You also get timestamps for each line, and you have the option to download your transcript as an SRT or TXT file. 

We also have a free audio and video transcription generator that supports multiple file formats, such as .MP3, .MP4, and .WAV. Just upload the file and wait a few seconds, and your transcript’s ready! 

If you’re recording multiple speakers at once (like in a podcast), then the built-in AI Speaker View in our recording suite will automatically detect and label each speaker for you.

Key features:

• Ability to edit and download the transcript as SRT or TXT file
• 4K quality recording
• Transcripts straight after recording a video or podcast
• Support for over 100 languages
• Automatic speaker detection and labeling in transcripts

Pros:

• Highly accurate 
• User-friendly interface 
• Easy to use regardless of technical knowledge
• Automatic speaker detection identifies and labels speakers for you

Cons:

• No translation services are available

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Google Docs Voice Typing

Ease of use: Easy

Google Docs Voice Typing is a free tool that allows you to convert audio to text directly in Google Docs. It’s an easy and quick way to get your thoughts down in text or transcribe small recordings with clear audio. 

With Voice Typing, you can dictate speech and have it transcribed in real-time. And all you need is a working mic and a Google account. Just go to the “Tools” menu in Google Docs and select “Voice typing”. Click the microphone and start talking, and it’ll transcribe your audio to text in real-time. Alternatively, play a recording using any audio player on speaker. 

Keep in mind this isn’t the best option for professional use as it can be quite cumbersome to play recordings on speaker. It’s also not a dedicated converter and just a feature of Google Docs. The accuracy isn’t as consistent as some of the other options on this list, but it can be handy in a pinch. 

Google Docs Voice Typing supports a variety of languages other than English, such as French, Korean, Hindi, and Arabic. You can also use voice commands to format your transcript, speeding up the transcribing and editing process. 

Key features:

• Transcribes as you speak
• Supports multiple languages
• Integrated into Google Docs
• Voice commands to add punctuation and make paragraph breaks

Pros:

• Free 
• Multilingual 
• Decent level of accuracy 
• Hands-free editing voice commands 
• Ideal for live dictation

Cons:

• Requires a microphone 
• Not the most accurate
• Can struggle with certain accents and sound qualities

Otter.ai

Ease of use: Easy

Otter is a transcription tool powered by AI (thankfully, no otters involved) that easily converts audio to text for free. 

It has real-time transcription, which means it writes as you speak. It also has collaboration features that allow you to invite teammates to your project and integrates with popular platforms such as Zoom, Dropbox, and Google Drive. 

If you want the most accurate software out there, though, this isn’t it. It can handle simple audio files but doesn’t do well with complex recordings that have multiple speakers and background noise.

Otter is perfect for you if you need a simple, easy-to-use, and free dedicated audio-to-text converter for simple, short recording. 

Key features:

• Real-time transcription
• Collaborative features allow you to easily share projects with teammates
• Editing functionalities to quickly edit transcripts

Pros:

• Free plan available
• User-friendly layout
• Integration with apps like Zoom and Dropbox

Cons:

• Not the most accurate tool 

Microsoft Azure Speech to Text

Ease of use: Intermediate

Microsoft Azure Speech to Text is a thoroughly accurate voice recognition software that can make sense of nearly any speech, even with audio that sounds like someone recorded it with a toaster. 

It uses a deep learning algorithm to recognize speech in different accents and dialects. This is a good option if you need to work with distinct speaking styles across various audio qualities. 

It’s also harder to use than the average transcription software, as it’s primarily for businesses to transcribe speech in large amounts.

What makes it special is that it features a variety of speech models that you can train. This includes the Conversational model, which is useful for everyday speech, customer service, and call center recordings. The Dictation model is more suited to long speeches. 

Azure Speech to Text supports 140 languages and features 400 neural voices. With the free tier, you can transcribe up to five hours of audio for free and create one customized voice model per month. This isn’t the best option for professional use, however — as you can only make one transcription request at a time. 

Key features: 

• Automatic speech recognition
• Support for multiple languages
• Designed for businesses to transcribe recordings in batches
• Customizable models

Pros: 

• Free 
• Accurate transcription 
• Support for 140 languages
• Integrated with other Microsoft Azure services for easy access
• Speech recognition models 

Cons: 

• Only 5 hours of audio per month for free tier
• Requires subscription to make batch requests

IBM Watson Speech to Text

Ease of use: Intermediate

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IBM Watson Speech to Text uses its advanced speech recognition capabilities to convert audio to text. It uses IBM's Watson technology to provide accurate and high-quality transcriptions. It features an accuracy rate of up to 95%, which is quite amazing. 

The reason for its accuracy is that it uses customizable language and acoustic models for quicker and more accurate transcripts. Customizable AI models increase the accuracy of the transcription and save lots of editing time.

Watson transcribes your files in real-time and supports multiple languages — though not as many as some other software on this list. 

It can also transcribe streams in realtime, making it an excellent tool for streamers who want to use live captions. 

Key features:

• High-quality speech recognition with support for various languages
• Customizable language and acoustic model selection
• Ability to handle large audio files and real-time streaming

Pros:

• Free tier available with a limited number of minutes per month
• Integration with other IBM Watson services and cloud platforms
• Excellent accuracy 

Cons:

• Requires technical knowledge to set up

Best paid online audio to text converters

Rev

Ease of use: Easy

Rev is a transcription service that employs human transcriptionists to produce accurate and fast audio-to-text conversions. Turnaround times vary from 12-24 hours for a 30-minute or less recording. For a faster turnaround, though, you have to pay extra.

Human-powered audio-to-text conversion is perfect for more specific use cases, such as medical and legal transcriptions. This is because human transcriptionists can make better sense of lingo and specific terminology more easily. Difficult accents and dialects are also easier for humans to understand. 

Key features:

• Human transcriptionists for accurate and reliable transcriptions
• Quick turnaround time options available
• Integration with popular platforms and editors

Pros:

• High accuracy with human transcriptionists
• Ability to handle accents and specialized terminology

Cons:

• Pricing is based on per-minute or per-hour rates, which can get expensive quickly
• Longer turnaround times than automated tools 

TranscribeMe

Ease of use: Easy

TranscribeMe is an audio-to-text conversion service that offers high-quality transcriptions with a quick turnaround. It uses a mix of automatic speech recognition and human editing for accurate results.

The pricing is flexible, with the option to choose per-minute or per-word rates. They also do video subtitling for you if you want to add the transcript as captions on your video. 

Specialized terminology may take more time and, therefore, money to transcribe. 

The TranscribeMe team is quite responsive and friendly, and many have had positive experiences working with their transcriptionists. Their rates are also relatively affordable. 

Key features:

• Hybrid transcription method combining AI and human editing
• Speaker identification and timestamps
• Subtitling

Pros:

• Accurate transcriptions 
• Quick turnaround options 

• Flexible pricing of per-minute or per-word rates

Cons:

• Costs can add up quickly for larger projects

Happy Scribe

Ease of use: Easy

Most platforms on this list offer only transcription services, but Happy Scribe can also subtitle videos for you. 

Happy Scribe offers a variety of features to enhance the transcription process, including speaker identification, automated punctuation, and automated time-stamping. 

It uses machine transcription comparable to a human transcriptionist's level.

Keep in mind that subtitling comes at an extra cost in addition to transcription. It’s pretty useful for YouTube and other video applications but can get pricey if you need a lot of work done. 

Key features:

• Automatic transcription 
• Multiple speaker identification and automatic time-stamping
• Subtitling options for videos

Pros:

• Choice of per-minute or subscription plans
• User-friendly interface with built-in editing capabilities
• Multiple language support

Cons:

• Automated transcription may have occasional inaccuracies.
• Additional costs apply for subtitling videos.

Sonix

Ease of use: Easy

Looking for a super fast audio-to-text converter?

Sonix is an online transcription tool that offers accurate and efficient speech-to-text conversion. It allows you to upload audio files and converts them into text with high accuracy using speech recognition technology.

The website features a simple, clean, and easy-to-navigate design where you can upload files up to 4GB in size. You can also link it directly to Google Drive or Dropbox for easier uploads. 

Sonix features an interactive editor with the ability to share and collaborate easily. You can export in various file formats, such as TXT and DOCX. 

It does get pretty pricey, however — but its speed makes it worth it. It gives you an accurate and fast transcript in just about 10 to 20% of the recording’s duration (so if you upload a 10-minute file, it’ll get transcribed in just over 2 minutes.)  

Key features:

• Automatic transcription with high accuracy
• Supports many audio file formats
• Interactive editor with collaborative features

Pros:

• Free trial available
• Very fast transcription
• User-friendly interface
• Ability to export to various file formats
• Easy sharing and collaboration

Cons:

• Requires paid version for more usage 
• Pricey

Transcribe

Ease of use: Easy

Transcribe is an online audio-to-text converter tool specifically for transcribing interviews, podcasts, and lectures. It offers a clean, easy-to-use interface and customizable keyboard shortcuts for quick editing. 

Transcribe, like Rev and TranscribeMe, employs human transcriptionists. They make accurate and mostly error-free transcripts that can you can quickly edit with their built-in transcript editor. You can even customize the keyboard shortcuts for faster editing. 

This platform offers support for multiple audio formats, such as .WAV, .AIFF, and .MP3, so you don’t have to worry about converting any audio files beforehand. 

As they employ human transcriptionists, the support for languages isn’t as strong as the AI tools — so if you want a variety of languages, we suggest something AI-based like IBM Watson Speech to Text or Riverside’s AI transcription service. 

Key features:

• Customizable keyboard shortcuts 
• Automatic timestamps
• Built-in transcript editor 
• Accurate transcription
• Easy-to-use interface

Pros:

• Free trial available
• Accurate transcription 
• Support for multiple audio file types 
• Flexible pricing plans

Cons:

• Advanced features require paid plan
• Limited language support compared to other tools

How to choose the best audio text converter tool

Accuracy

Accuracy is key for an audio-to-text converter. The more accurate the transcription, the less work you have to do. Aim for a transcription service with 95 to 97% accuracy. 100% is not yet possible without human intervention (but maybe someday in the future?)

Turnaround time

Look at how quickly the tool can generate transcripts. Some tools provide real-time transcription, while others may take longer. Choose one that suits you in terms of timing and speed, but also make sure it’s reliable and accurate throughout the process. 

Pricing

Different tools have different pricing structures, including subscription plans, pay-as-you-go, per-word, per-minute, per-hour rates, or one-time purchase options. Other tools are completely free. Consider your budget and the frequency of usage to decide the most cost-effective solution.

Supported languages

Ensure the tool supports the languages you need for your audio content. Some tools may have limited language options or may not be as accurate in different languages.

Ease of use

Choose a tool with an easy-to-use interface, making it easy to upload files, edit transcripts, and quickly download it.

Customization and formatting options

Some tools offer features such as custom speaker identification and timestamps. These features allow you to create more professional and polished transcripts with accurate timing.

Security and privacy

Ensure the tool you choose keeps your data private, especially if you're working with sensitive information. We can’t stress this enough — review their data protection guidelines and privacy policies before using their service. 

AI training and customized models

Some tools, such as Microsoft Azure Speech to Text and IBM Watson Speech to Text, allow you to actually customize their AI models with your specific voice or the terminology you use. This makes for better accuracy and recognition of unique words. 

FAQs on Online Audio-to-Text Converters

How do I convert an audio file to text?

You can use an audio-to-text conversion tool to convert an audio file to text. All you have to do is upload your file to the converter of your choice and wait. When the conversion finishes, you can download the resulting file and edit it if necessary.

How can I convert audio to text for free?

To convert audio to text for free, you can use a variety of free online audio-to-text converters. Google Docs Voice Typing and Microsoft Azure Speech to Text are both free options.

What app do I need to convert audio to text?

To convert audio to text, you can use a variety of mobile apps, such as Riverside, Otter Voice Meeting Notes, and Rev Voice Recorder. 

If you’re looking for a free option, check out either the Google Docs app or Riverside’s AI audio-to-text converter (which differs from the paid option above). 

Which AI converts audio to text free?

Riverside has a free online audio-to-text converter that is highly precise and delivers a transcript in seconds. 

With Riverside, you get transcripts straight after recording. Whether you want to make a podcast or video, our automated audio-to-text converter will use speech recognition to give you an accurate transcript with timestamps that you can download in SRT or TXT file formats.