--- title: "Speech to Text Online: Live, Recorded or Uploaded | Speecho" description: "Turn speech into text in 99 languages. Speak live with subtitles on a shared link, upload a recording, or record in the browser. Subtitles, summaries, translation. Pay as you go." canonical: "https://speecho.app/speech-to-text/" language: "en" publisher: "Speecho" --- Speech to text # Turn spoken words into text. Speak now or upload a recording. Speecho listens in 99 languages and writes it down: live subtitles while you talk, or an accurate transcript from a file you already have. Timestamps, subtitles and a summary come with it. [Transcribe a recording →](https://my.speecho.app/transcribe?from=stt-upload) [Speak live instead](https://my.speecho.app/live?from=stt-live) 15 free minutes when you confirm your email · no subscription Updated October 2026 ## What is AI audio transcription? AI audio transcription turns recorded or live speech into written text with a speech recognition model, without a person typing it out. Speecho is an online AI transcriber: upload an audio or video file, or speak into the microphone, and get the text back with timestamps. It costs from $0.83 per hour of audio, billed by the second, with 15 free minutes and no subscription. [Watch the full tutorial on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VUGfwEwmSo) ## The words appear while you are still speaking Interim words show up dim and settle as the sentence finishes. Share a link and the room reads along on their own phones. Spoken language Auto-detect 0:00 Stop Listening… so the first thing i want to So the first thing I want to show you is the dashboard. it pulls the numbers every It pulls the numbers every morning, before anyone is awake. and if something breaks you get And if something breaks, you get a message rather than a surprise. ## Three ways in, one kind of text out Whether the words are being spoken right now or were recorded last week, what comes back is the same transcript. ### [Speak, and read it live](https://my.speecho.app/live?from=stt-live) Start a session and the subtitles appear as you talk. Share a link and your audience reads along on their own phones, or put the subtitles on a projector. Billed by the second, and the session is saved as a transcript when you stop. Two people without a shared language can also talk face to face on one phone, each reading the other in their own language. Microphone anywhere. Browser tab audio needs Chrome or Edge. ### [Upload a recording](https://my.speecho.app/transcribe?from=stt-upload) Audio or video, up to 200 MB and four hours. The audio is extracted in your browser first, so a large video uploads fast. Transcript, subtitles, summary and translation come back in minutes. MP3, M4A, WAV, MP4, MOV, WebM and the rest. ### [Record in the browser](https://speecho.app/tools/voice-recorder/) No file yet and nothing to install: the free voice recorder captures straight from your microphone, then hands the recording to the transcriber in one click. Free, no account, and nothing is sent until you send it. ## Everything that comes with the transcript The text is the start. What makes it usable is what sits around it. ### Who said what Speaker identification splits the transcript by voice, so an interview reads as an interview rather than a wall of text. ### Timestamps and subtitles Every segment carries its time. Export .srt or .vtt for video, or word-level timing for tighter editing. ### A summary you can send Key points, decisions and action items, written from the transcript rather than guessed at. Chapters too, for long recordings. ### Translation into 18 languages The transcript in another language, next to the original, from the same upload and the same balance. ### Punctuation and paragraphs Sentences end, questions get their mark and the text is broken into paragraphs, so it reads without a pass by hand. ### Ask it questions Chat with the recording: what was said about pricing, what was agreed, who owns the next step. ## How accurate, honestly Most of the industry prints 99%. On clean audio the real number is 90 to 97% of words, and we would rather say so than let you find out. ### What pulls it down - Background noise, or a room with an echo - People talking over each other - A microphone across the table, or across the hall - A heavy accent or a strong regional dialect - Switching between two languages mid-sentence ### What pulls it up - A microphone near the speaker, or audio taken from the desk - Setting the language instead of leaving it to detection - Adding names and jargon to your glossary, which live sessions use too - Splitting a very long recording into its real parts, and merging the transcripts back into one Nobody reaches 100%, and neither do we. A transcript is a first draft you edit in the app rather than retype from scratch. ## 99 languages, recognised without being told Upload and the language is detected on its own. Set it yourself when the recording is mixed or the first minute is quiet. ### When to set the language yourself Detection reads the opening of the recording. A bilingual meeting, an interpreter speaking over the original, or a long silence before the first word are the cases where a hint is worth the two seconds it takes. [Read the transcript back in a native voice →](https://speecho.app/text-to-speech/) ## Dictation, or transcription? They sound like the same thing and they are not. If you only want to type by speaking, you may not need us at all. ### Your computer already dictates - Free, and built into Windows, macOS, iOS, Android and Google Docs - Good for writing a message or a note as you speak - One speaker, one language, into the box you are looking at - Nothing to keep afterwards: no file, no timestamps, no subtitles ### Speecho is for recordings and rooms - A meeting, an interview or a lecture that already exists as a file - Several speakers, separated and labelled - Live subtitles other people can read on their own phones - Subtitles, summaries, translation and a transcript that stays searchable If your honest answer is "I just want to talk instead of typing", open your system settings first. We would rather tell you that than take the credits. ## Pay only for what you use Top up once. Credits never expire. No subscription, and the same balance also covers text to speech, scans and captions. Confirm your email and get 15 free minutes of audio - enough to transcribe something real before you decide. $5 2,400 credits --- - 4 hours transcription - or - up to 48 min text to speech - or - up to 1 hour live interpreter * 99 languages * Speakers, subtitles, summary * Translation into 18 languages * Live subtitles · 90-day history [Get $5 of credits](https://my.speecho.app/?buy=500) Recommended $10 6,000 credits --- - 10 hours transcription - or - up to 2 hours text to speech - or - up to 2.5 hours live interpreter * 99 languages * Speakers, subtitles, summary * Translation into 18 languages * Live subtitles · 90-day history [Get $10 of credits](https://my.speecho.app/?buy=1000) $25 15,000 credits +1,800 bonus credits · ≈ 3 hours --- - 28 hours transcription - or - up to 5.5 hours text to speech - or - up to 7 hours live interpreter * 99 languages * Speakers, subtitles, summary * Translation into 18 languages * Live subtitles · 90-day history [Get $25 of credits](https://my.speecho.app/?buy=2500) $50 30,000 credits +6,000 bonus credits · ≈ 10 hours --- - 60 hours transcription - or - up to 12 hours text to speech - or - up to 15 hours live interpreter * 99 languages * Speakers, subtitles, summary * Translation into 18 languages * Live subtitles · 90-day history [Get $50 of credits](https://my.speecho.app/?buy=5000) Estimates assume one credit per 6 seconds of audio, which is what transcription costs. Summaries, translation and text to speech draw on the same balance and are priced separately. The exact cost is shown before each job runs. [Transcribe your first recording](https://my.speecho.app/transcribe) ## Frequently asked questions Not covered here? [Ask us](https://speecho.app/contact/), we usually reply within a business day. **Is there a free version?** A free account comes with 15 free minutes of audio once you confirm your email. After that you top up a balance: no monthly fee, and credits never expire. **How accurate is it?** 90 to 97% of words on clean audio. Noise, crosstalk and a distant microphone lower it; setting the language and adding names and terms to the glossary raise it. Every transcript is editable in the app, so fixing a name takes seconds. **Which languages does it understand?** 99 languages for uploaded recordings, detected automatically. Live sessions recognise 60 and can translate into another language while you speak. **Live, or after the recording?** Both, from the same account. Live subtitles appear while you talk and can be shared as a link that needs no app; uploaded files come back in minutes. **Does it add punctuation and paragraphs?** Yes. Sentences are punctuated, questions get their mark, and the text is broken into paragraphs and timed segments, so it reads without a pass by hand. **Can it tell speakers apart?** Yes. Speaker identification labels each turn, which is what makes an interview or a meeting readable. It works best when people are not talking over each other. **What happens to my audio?** It is streamed to the AI provider for inference and is not stored on our servers unless you turn on Keep audio. Transcripts auto-delete after 90 days, and you can delete one sooner at any time. **Do I need to install anything?** No. It runs in the browser on desktop and mobile, and there is no meeting bot joining your calls: you record or share your own audio. **How much does audio transcription cost?** From $0.83 per hour of audio, billed by the second. You buy credits once and they never expire; there is no subscription. The first 15 minutes are free after you confirm your email. **Can I transcribe a meeting recording?** Yes. Upload the file that Zoom, Teams or Google Meet saved, turn on speaker identification, and you get a labelled transcript plus a summary with decisions and next steps. No bot joins the call. **Can I transcribe a video file?** Yes. MP4, MOV and WebM work the same way as audio files: the audio track is extracted in your browser, so even a long video uploads quickly, and you can export the result as SRT or VTT subtitles. The other direction ## Text to speech, too The same account and the same credits also turn text into speech: 512 voices, native speakers of 31 languages, MP3 download. Read a transcript back aloud, or voice a script you just wrote. [Explore text to speech →](https://speecho.app/text-to-speech/) 512 voices, 31 native languages Three quality tiers Free preview of every voice MP3 download, no subscription ## More ways to get text out of audio ## This page, in your language ## Say it, record it or upload it. The text comes back the same way. The first 15 minutes are free. [Start transcribing →](https://my.speecho.app/transcribe?from=stt-upload)