Free tool
AAC translator
This AAC translator decodes a raw .aac file in your browser, transcribes the speech and translates it, so a call, a recorder file or a saved radio programme in one language comes back as a timed transcript in another.
- Free
- Raw .aac files
- Nothing is stored
Drop your AAC file here, or Choose your AAC file
MP3, M4A, WAV, AAC, FLAC, OGG or WebM. Up to 30 minutes of each file, 3 free files a day.
Recording calls or interviews in AAC? NoteOwl imports .aac files and transcribes them on your Mac with unlimited transcription and speaker labels.
How it works
How do you translate an AAC file?
Drop the .aac file on the page and choose the language to read. The browser reads its AAC frames, decodes them to plain sound and cuts that at pauses; each piece is transcribed, and the transcript is then translated with all its times.
- 1
Add the .aac file
From a recorder or call-recording app, a captured radio stream, or a tool that saved a clip’s sound as it was.
- 2
Pick the language
Detect automatically suits most files; set Spoken in when you know it. The first 30 minutes of each recording are translated.
- 3
Download
TXT or Word for reading, SRT or VTT for timed text, or the transcript in the language spoken.
Where do .aac recordings come from?
Mostly from apps that record straight to AAC, such as some call and voice recorders, from captured internet radio, and from video tools that save a clip’s sound untouched. Inside an M4A, MP4 or MOV, the same sound is wrapped in a larger file.
A call in another language
A recorded call with a supplier, a landlord or relatives abroad, read in your language with the time of each paragraph.
A radio programme
A news bulletin or an interview captured from an internet stream, translated so you can follow it at your own pace.
Sound taken from a video
The audio of a talk or clip, kept as .aac, when you want the words on paper rather than subtitles.
Are the times right when an .aac file has no index?
Yes. A raw .aac carries no index stating its length, so some players guess. The page counts the file’s frames before it starts, 60.07 seconds for a one-minute test file, and every translated paragraph carries a time measured from the sound itself.
Can low-bitrate radio recordings be translated?
Yes. HE-AAC, the variant streams use at low bitrates, decoded from .aac files in Chrome, Edge and Safari in our tests, and so did ordinary AAC. A 64 kbps mono recording takes about half a megabyte a minute, so even a long one opens fast.
Broadcast speech is usually clear, which helps both the transcription and the translation. Names of people and places are still the likeliest slips: check them against the original transcript before you quote.
Should you translate a video’s sound or the video itself?
It depends on what you need. For a transcript to read, the .aac on this page is enough. For subtitles timed to the picture, drop the video itself on the video translator, which takes the sound out on its own and keeps the picture on your device.
Transcribing AAC recordings every week?
NoteOwl imports .aac files, as well as M4A and MP4, and transcribes them on your Mac with unlimited transcription, labelling every speaker. For an AAC file’s transcript in the language spoken, use AAC to text.
FAQ
Questions about translating AAC files
Is the AAC translator free?
Yes: 3 files a day without an account, each translated up to its first 30 minutes, with copying and every download included.
What leaves my computer when I translate an AAC file?
Short pieces of the sound, sent to a cloud AI transcription service, and then the transcript’s text, sent to a cloud AI translation service. Each service discards what it receives. The .aac file itself stays with you, and NoteOwl stores nothing.
Can I drop an M4A here instead?
Yes. An M4A holds the same AAC sound inside an MPEG-4 file, and this translator reads it too. There’s also a page set up for M4A recordings and iPhone voice memos.
What about a call recorded in stereo?
It works. The two channels are mixed into one before transcription, so both sides of the call end up in the translation. The text doesn’t label who said what.
Which languages can the translation be in?
English, which is picked to start with, or any language in the Translate into list. The language spoken in the recording is detected, or you can set it under Spoken in.
What if the recording is longer than 30 minutes?
The page translates its first 30 minutes and notes where it stopped. Split the file to translate the rest a part at a time.
Keep exploring
More audio translator tools
- Audio translatorA free audio translator: drop in a recording and get what was said in another language, as a translated transcript with times, Word, SRT or VTT, with the original beside it; nothing is stored
- MP3 translatorTranslate the speech in an MP3 file free in your browser: a translated transcript with times, Word, SRT or VTT, and the original; nothing is stored
- M4A translatorTranslate a voice memo or other M4A recording free in your browser: a translated transcript with times, Word or SRT; nothing is stored
- WAV translatorTranslate the speech in a WAV recording free in your browser: a translated transcript with times, Word, SRT or VTT; nothing is stored
- OGG translatorTranslate an OGG or Opus voice message free in your browser, from WhatsApp, Telegram or Signal: a translated transcript; nothing is stored
Calls and recordings, transcribed 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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