Free tool
MP3 to text converter
Drop an MP3 file here to turn MP3 to text: the converter reads the file in your browser and writes its transcript with a time on every paragraph, ready to copy or save as text, subtitles or a Word document.
- Free
- Any MP3 bitrate
- Nothing is stored
Drop your MP3 file here, or Choose your MP3 file
MP3, M4A, WAV, AAC, FLAC, OGG or WebM. Up to 30 minutes of each file, 3 free files a day. The language is detected automatically.
Got a folder of MP3s? NoteOwl transcribes them on your Mac with unlimited transcription, labels each speaker and keeps every recording searchable.
How it works
How do you transcribe an MP3 to text?
Choose the MP3 or drop it on the converter. Your browser decodes it, cuts the sound into short pieces at pauses, and AI transcription turns each piece into text while you watch. Then copy the transcript or download it.
- 1
Pick the MP3
From your computer, or on a phone from the Files app or your downloads. A podcast episode, a recorder file or an exported voice note all work.
- 2
Watch it transcribe
The text appears paragraph by paragraph, each with the time it starts. The first 30 minutes of each MP3 are transcribed.
- 3
Save the transcript
Copy it, or download a .txt, .srt, .vtt or .docx file named after your MP3.
Does MP3 quality change the transcript?
Hardly, for speech. We transcribed the same clear English recording saved as MP3 at 16, 24, 64 and 128 kbps: between 5.2 and 5.7 words in 100 came out wrong at every bitrate. Background noise and distance from the microphone matter far more.
- 16–32 kbps
- Typical sourcePhone recorders and dictaphones on their smallest setting
- SizeAbout 0.1–0.25 MB a minute
- 64 kbps
- Typical sourceSpoken-word podcasts in mono, audiobooks
- SizeAbout 0.5 MB a minute
- 128 kbps
- Typical sourceMany podcast episodes and voice recorders
- SizeAbout 1 MB a minute
- 192–320 kbps
- Typical sourceMusic downloads and studio exports
- SizeAbout 1.4–2.4 MB a minute
| Bitrate | Typical source | Size |
|---|---|---|
| 16–32 kbps | Phone recorders and dictaphones on their smallest setting | About 0.1–0.25 MB a minute |
| 64 kbps | Spoken-word podcasts in mono, audiobooks | About 0.5 MB a minute |
| 128 kbps | Many podcast episodes and voice recorders | About 1 MB a minute |
| 192–320 kbps | Music downloads and studio exports | About 1.4–2.4 MB a minute |
Why does the converter cut an MP3 into pieces?
Because one long upload loses words. The converter splits the sound at pauses into pieces of 30 seconds or less and transcribes two at a time, so no sentence is cut in half and none goes missing.
Where the cuts fall matters. When we cut the same recordings every 30 seconds, ignoring pauses, almost three times as many words came out wrong (about 14 in 100 against 5), because a word split across two pieces gets lost.
How do you turn an MP3 into subtitles?
Download the transcript as SRT or VTT. Each subtitle keeps its start and end time from the MP3 and holds two short lines at most, so it lines up with any video that uses the same audio, such as a podcast clip or a recorded talk.
To switch a finished SRT file to VTT, or turn either into plain text later, use the SRT to VTT converter.
Can you convert an MP3 to text on a phone?
Yes. Open this page in Safari or Chrome, tap Choose file and pick the MP3 from the Files app or your downloads. Keep the page on screen until the transcript is ready: a phone can pause a page that’s in the background.
- 1
Find the MP3
On an iPhone, in the Files app; on Android, in Downloads or your recorder app’s folder.
- 2
Choose it here
Tap Choose file. The converter starts at once and shows its progress.
- 3
Save or share
Copy the text into a note or message, or download the Word file.
Want unlimited MP3 transcription on your Mac?
NoteOwl imports MP3s of any length on your Mac and transcribes them there, unlimited, with on-device AI models. It labels each speaker and saves subtitles as well. Nothing is uploaded.
FAQ
Questions about converting MP3 to text
Is the MP3 to text converter free?
Yes. Convert 3 MP3 files a day, up to 30 minutes of each, with no account or sign-up. Copying the text and every download are included.
Does a stereo MP3 transcribe differently from a mono one?
No. The converter mixes the two channels into one before transcribing, so speech on either side is kept. That suits interviews recorded with one voice on each channel.
What happens to my MP3 file?
It stays on your device. Your browser decodes the MP3 itself and sends only short pieces of its sound, over a secure connection, to a cloud AI transcription service, which transcribes each piece and discards it. NoteOwl stores neither the audio nor the text.
Can it read a variable-bitrate MP3?
Yes. Variable and constant bitrate MP3s, in mono or stereo, both decode in the browser. Tags such as the title or the cover picture are skipped: only the sound is transcribed.
How long does an MP3 take to transcribe?
Seconds for a short one. In our test, a 3-minute recording went from choosing the file to a finished transcript in under 5 seconds, and the text starts appearing before the end.
What if the MP3 is longer than 30 minutes?
The converter transcribes its first 30 minutes and says so above the transcript. For the rest, cut the MP3 into parts first, or import it into NoteOwl on a Mac, which transcribes recordings of any length.
Which languages can the MP3 be in?
Most widely spoken languages. The converter detects the language from the sound and shows it with the result. For a recording in one known language, a language page such as Spanish audio to text sets the language for you.
Keep exploring
More audio to text tools
- Audio to text converterTranscribe audio to text free: drop in an MP3, M4A, WAV or other recording and get an AI transcript with times, as text, SRT, VTT or Word; nothing is stored
- M4A to textTurn a M4A file into text free in your browser: AI transcription with times, as text, SRT, VTT or Word; nothing is stored
- WAV to textTurn a WAV file into text free in your browser: AI transcription with times, as text, SRT, VTT or Word; nothing is stored
- AAC to textTurn a AAC file into text free in your browser: AI transcription with times, as text, SRT, VTT or Word; nothing is stored
- FLAC to textTurn a FLAC file into text free in your browser: AI transcription with times, as text, SRT, VTT or Word; nothing is stored
The same in other tools
MP3s into notes, privately on your Mac
Free to download. Runs entirely on your Mac.
macOS 26 or later · Apple Silicon (M1 or newer) · 16 GB memory minimum, 24 GB recommended
About NoteOwl
NoteOwl is private AI meeting notes and memory for the Mac. It captures meetings without a bot joining the call, labels every speaker, writes summaries and action items, and builds a memory of every conversation that you can chat with — fully offline, because the speech recognition and the AI run on the Mac itself. Dictation into any app is free; Pro is a one-time purchase.
NoteOwl pricing: what’s free and what Pro adds
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