Free tool
Zoom transcription from your recording
Get a free Zoom transcription from any Zoom recording: drop in the MP4 or the audio-only M4A that Zoom saved, and the converter writes what was said with a time on every paragraph, ready for notes or minutes.
- Free
- Computer or cloud recordings
- Nothing is stored
Drop your Zoom recording here, or Choose your Zoom recording
MP4, M4A, MOV, WebM, MKV, MP3 or WAV. Up to 30 minutes of each file, 3 free files a day. The language is detected automatically.
Recording Zoom calls every day? NoteOwl records them on your Mac with no bot joining and transcribes them there with unlimited transcription, every speaker named.
How it works
How do you transcribe a Zoom recording?
Find the recording Zoom saved, on your computer or in Zoom’s cloud, and drop the audio-only M4A or the MP4 on the converter. Its sound is cut at pauses into short pieces and transcribed, and the text appears with its times.
- 1
Open your Zoom recordings
In the Zoom app, Home → Open recordings shows your computer recordings; cloud ones are under Recordings & Transcripts in the web portal.
- 2
Drop the M4A or the MP4
The audio-only M4A is the smaller file and gives the same transcript. Up to 30 minutes of each recording are transcribed.
- 3
Save the transcript
Copy it into your notes, or download a Word document, a text file or SRT and VTT subtitles.
Where does Zoom save recordings?
It depends where you recorded. A computer recording lands in a folder named Zoom inside Documents, on a Mac or a Windows PC. A cloud recording stays in your Zoom account until you download it from the web portal.
- On this computer
- Where it isDocuments → Zoom, one folder per meeting; or Home → Open recordings → Computer recordings
- Filesvideo[number].mp4 and audio[number].m4a
- To the cloud
- Where it isRecordings & Transcripts in the Zoom web portal: open the recording, click Download
- FilesAn MP4, plus an M4A when audio-only files are switched on
- From a phone or tablet
- Where it isCloud only: computer recording isn’t available on iOS, iPadOS or Android
- FilesAs for the cloud
| How it was recorded | Where it is | Files |
|---|---|---|
| On this computer | Documents → Zoom, one folder per meeting; or Home → Open recordings → Computer recordings | video[number].mp4 and audio[number].m4a |
| To the cloud | Recordings & Transcripts in the Zoom web portal: open the recording, click Download | An MP4, plus an M4A when audio-only files are switched on |
| From a phone or tablet | Cloud only: computer recording isn’t available on iOS, iPadOS or Android | As for the cloud |
Should you use Zoom’s M4A or its MP4?
The M4A. Zoom’s audio-only file holds the same sound as the video without the picture, so it’s far smaller to move around and the transcript comes out the same. Use the MP4 only when there is no M4A.
Cloud recordings include an audio-only file only when “Record audio-only files” is switched on in your Zoom recording settings. Turn it on before the meetings you’ll want transcribed.
Why is a Zoom recording missing or broken?
Usually because Zoom’s conversion didn’t finish. Zoom turns a computer recording into its MP4 and M4A after the meeting ends; if the meeting shuts down unexpectedly or the conversion is interrupted, the files can be damaged. Let it finish: the folder then opens by itself.
Wait for the folder
When the conversion is done, Zoom opens the folder with the finished files.
Keep it on a local drive
Zoom advises against recording into a cloud-synced folder; keep its default in Documents.
Check the cloud too
If the meeting was recorded to the cloud, the files are in the web portal instead.
Doesn’t Zoom write a transcript itself?
Only for cloud recordings on Pro, Business, Education and Enterprise accounts with its audio transcript switched on, saved as a VTT file. Computer recordings, and recordings on free accounts, get no transcript from Zoom, which is where this converter helps.
Already have Zoom’s VTT transcript? The SRT to VTT converter turns it into clean text with each speaker’s lines merged.
Want your Zoom calls transcribed on your Mac, with no bot?
NoteOwl records Zoom calls on your Mac with no bot joining, and writes the transcript when the call ends, with each speaker named, unlimited, using on-device AI models. Nothing is uploaded.
FAQ
Questions about transcribing Zoom recordings
Is this Zoom transcription free?
Yes. Transcribe 3 Zoom recordings a day, up to 30 minutes of each, with no account. Copying the text and every download are included.
Does it work with a free Zoom account?
Yes. Free accounts can record a meeting to the computer in the Zoom desktop app, which saves an MP4 and an audio-only M4A in the Zoom folder in Documents. Drop either one here.
Is my Zoom recording uploaded?
No. Your browser reads the file on your device and sends only short pieces of its sound, over a secure connection, to a cloud AI transcription service, which transcribes each one and discards it. NoteOwl keeps no audio and no text.
Does the transcript show who said what in the Zoom call?
No. The converter writes one Zoom transcript with times, without names. Type each person’s initials where they start, using the times to check. NoteOwl on a Mac names each speaker for you.
What if the Zoom meeting ran longer than 30 minutes?
The first 30 minutes are transcribed, and the page says so above the transcript. Cut the M4A into parts to transcribe the rest, or record your calls with NoteOwl on a Mac, which has no length limit.
Can I transcribe a Zoom recording on my phone?
Yes, if the meeting was recorded to the cloud: download the recording from the Zoom web portal, then choose the file here. The Zoom mobile app can’t record to the phone itself; it records to the cloud.
Keep exploring
More meeting recording to text tools
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- Microsoft Teams transcriptionTurn a Microsoft Teams meeting recording into text free in your browser, downloaded from OneDrive or SharePoint; nothing is stored
- Google Meet transcriptionTurn a Google Meet recording saved in Google Drive into text free in your browser; nothing is stored
- Webex transcriptionTurn a Webex cloud or local recording into text free in your browser; nothing is stored
- GoTo Meeting transcriptionTurn a GoTo Meeting recording into text free in your browser; nothing is stored
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- AI meeting notes without a botHow NoteOwl records calls from your Mac with no bot joining, and what you get when the call ends
- Speaker recognitionTranscripts that say who said what: speakers separated automatically, and a voice named once is recognised in later meetings, on your Mac
- MP4 to textTurn an MP4 video into text free in your browser: phone videos, Zoom recordings and screen recordings; text, SRT, VTT or Word; only the sound is sent, 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
Zoom calls 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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