WatchToText.
Your file, then the words

mp4 to transcript

Upload an MP4, MOV, WebM, MP3, M4A or WAV file and get the spoken words as text you can copy or download. TXT is the reading copy. SRT and VTT keep a clock on each line.

Choose an MP4, MOV, WebM, MP3, M4A or WAV file.

Up to 20 minutes and 200 MB. No account.

The good parts, on paper.
FROM SCREEN TO PAGEHOW IT LOOKS

The art of paying attention

STATIC ILLUSTRATION · FICTIONAL TEXT

00:00Some of our best ideas arrive when we finally slow down enough to notice them.

00:12Try keeping a small notebook. Not for everything. Just for the things you want to return to.

00:26A sentence. A question. A different way of seeing something familiar.

An illustration of the reading experience.
Watch once. Come back to the words.
01 — CHOOSE THE FILE

How to convert an MP4 to a transcript

1.

Choose the file.

Use the button at the top. MP4, MOV, WebM, MP3, M4A and WAV are the formats this page names. You do not extract the audio first.

2.

Wait for the words.

This browser reads the file, splits the audio into short pieces, and speech recognition returns the spoken words.

3.

Copy or download.

Copy the words, or save TXT, SRT or VTT. The download is built in this browser.

02 — LIMITS NEXT TO THE FILE

What you can upload

The file control accepts an audio or video file. The formats named on the control are MP3, M4A, WAV, MP4, MOV and WebM. A file this browser cannot read comes back with a message to try an MP3, M4A or WAV. The limit is 20 minutes and 200 MB.

TXT, SRT and VTT

TXT is the words. SRT puts a number and a clock on each cue. VTT carries those cues for a web player. If a result has no timings, SRT and VTT stay off and the text can still be copied.

English page, spoken language unchanged

This page is in English. It does not edit the words, move the timings, or burn captions into the video. The speech request does not set a language, so the recording is transcribed in the language that is spoken.

Where the file goes

Your browser turns the audio into short pieces and sends each piece to this site. The server passes that audio to speech recognition and returns the text. It does not save the audio or the text. A download file is created on your device. The privacy page says the same thing. Hosting logs can still record the time of a request and the address it came from.

A YouTube link belongs on the YouTube transcript page. This page does not read a link. It reads a file you already have. Convert mp4 to text here means that file, not a caption track pulled from a website.

03 — BEFORE YOU UPLOAD

Questions before you upload a file

How do I convert MP4 to text for free?

Choose the file at the top of this page. No account and no charge. The limit is 20 minutes and 200 MB.

How do I convert an MP4 to a transcript?

Choose the MP4, wait for the spoken words, then copy them or download TXT, SRT or VTT.

Do I need to extract the audio or convert the MP4 first?

No. Choose the MP4 as it is. This browser reads the audio inside the file.

Can I export my MP4 transcript as SRT for subtitles?

Yes, when the result has timings. SRT and VTT are both available, along with TXT. This page does not burn those captions into the video.

Is converting MP4 to text free?

Yes. There is no account and no charge. A file longer than 20 minutes, or larger than 200 MB, is refused.

how to transcribe video/audio to text for free?

Choose the file on this page. MP4 transcription here is the spoken words from that file. It is not a new script, and it is not a YouTube caption download.