Voice to Text Converter
Convert voice to text by uploading any recording, a phone voice memo, a meeting, an interview, or a dictated draft, and EchoWave transcribes the speech automatically with word-level timestamps. It recognizes dozens of spoken languages and runs in your browser, so there is nothing to install. This is transcription for recordings you already have, not live dictation. If you have not recorded yet, use the built-in voice recorder and transcribe the take straight after.
Voice to Text Converter Features
EchoWave's voice to text converter is used by journalists, students, researchers, and podcasters around the world.
Speech to text
Built for recordings, not live typing
Most voice to text tools fall into two camps: dictation apps that type while you speak, and transcription tools that work from a file. EchoWave is the second kind. Upload a recording and get an editable transcript, or capture one first with the voice recorder. For music, podcasts, and other audio files, the same engine powers our convert audio to text tool.
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Dozens
of spoken languages recognized
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4
transcript formats: TXT, SRT, VTT, JSON
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86
subtitle translation languages
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176
caption presets for on-screen text
What you get
Everything between a raw recording and a clean transcript
EchoWave pairs automatic speech recognition with a real editor, so the transcript is something you can work with rather than a wall of text you copy out.
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Upload voice memos, meetings, and dictation
Drop in M4A voice memos from an iPhone, MP3s from a recorder app, WAV files, or full videos in MP4, MOV, WebM, or AVI (video to text). If you already know your format, the dedicated MP3 to text and MP4 to text pages walk through those exact cases.
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Voice to text with word timestamps
Automatic speech recognition transcribes the recording in dozens of languages and pins every single word to the moment it was spoken. Click any word to jump the playhead there, so checking a quote against the original audio takes seconds instead of minutes of scrubbing.
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Record in the browser first
No file yet? The built-in voice recorder captures your microphone straight into a project, and there are screen, webcam, and presentation recorders with a teleprompter when you need more than audio. Record the take, then transcribe it without leaving the tab.
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Edit the transcript like a document
Fix a misheard name, delete a sentence, or tighten a rambling answer directly in the transcript panel, and the media follows. Filler word removal cuts the ums, uhs, and repeats automatically, and silence removal closes the dead air. Every change is a normal edit you can undo.
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Export TXT, SRT, VTT, or JSON
Take the plain text for notes, articles, and documentation, or keep the timing data with SRT or VTT subtitle files. The JSON export includes word-level timestamps for anything you want to build downstream, and you can import an existing SRT to keep editing it.
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Translate the transcript into 86 languages
Once the speech is recognized, translate the subtitles into any of 86 languages, or show two languages at once with bilingual subtitles. That turns one interview or briefing into something a team across several countries can actually read.
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Made for meetings and interviews
Hour-long recordings with several voices work the same way as a 30-second memo, and the timestamps matter even more at that length. See the dedicated pages on meeting transcription and interview transcription for workflows built around each.
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Private, browser-based, nothing to install
EchoWave runs in Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari on Mac, Windows, Linux, and Chromebooks. Recordings stay in your account, and the heavy processing happens on a secure cloud render farm, so an old laptop handles a two-hour recording fine.
How it works
How to convert voice to text
From recording to finished transcript in four steps, with no installs and no plugins.
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Upload your recording
Drag in a voice memo, MP3, WAV, M4A, or a video file. If nothing is recorded yet, open the voice recorder and capture your microphone directly in the browser.
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Run automatic transcription
Start transcription and EchoWave's speech recognition converts the audio to text with a timestamp on every word. Dozens of spoken languages are supported.
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Review and correct the text
Click any word to hear that exact moment and fix whatever the recognizer missed, usually names and jargon. Run filler word and silence removal if the recording will also be published.
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Export your transcript
Save the result as TXT for documents, SRT or VTT for subtitles, or JSON with full timing data. You can also style the text as burned-in captions and render the video.
Who it's for
What people turn voice into text for
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Voice memos and ideas
Capture thoughts on your phone during a walk, then turn the memo into clean text for a doc or an email. Timestamps make it easy to find the one good idea in a ten-minute ramble.
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Meetings and calls
Upload a recorded call and get a searchable record of the whole conversation. Pull decisions and action items straight from the text instead of scrubbing through audio.
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Interviews and journalism
Transcribe source interviews with word timestamps so every quote can be checked against the exact moment it was said. Export TXT for the draft and keep the timed file as a record.
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Lectures and study notes
Turn recorded lectures into text you can search, highlight, and condense into revision notes. A one-hour class becomes a document you can skim in minutes.
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Podcast show notes
Transcribe an episode to write show notes, pull quotes for promotion, and give search engines text to index. The same transcript drives captions for audiogram clips.
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Dictated first drafts
Writers who talk faster than they type can dictate a chapter into any recorder and upload the file. The transcript lands as editable text with the filler words already cut.
Compare
How EchoWave compares
| Feature | EchoWave | Otter.ai | Rev | Descript |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transcribes uploaded recordings | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Records audio in the browser | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Live dictation while you speak | No | Yes | No | No |
| Word-level timestamps | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Human transcription option | No | No | Yes | yes (White Glove add-on) |
| Speaker labels | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Meeting bot that joins calls | No | Yes | No | No |
| Edit media by editing the transcript | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Automatic filler word removal | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Styled captions for social video | yes (176 presets) | No | No | Yes |
| Subtitle translation | yes (86 languages) | No | yes (add-on) | Yes |
| Full video editor included | Yes | No | No | Yes |
Based on each tool's public pages as of July 2026. Features and plans change, so check current pricing before you decide.
Turn a recording into text now
Upload a voice memo, meeting, or interview, read it back as text, and correct it in the same window. The editor is free in the browser, and free exports render in HD 720p MP4 with a small removable EchoWave watermark badge. Paid plans remove the badge and add 1080p up to 4K.
What people are saying about EchoWave
About the EchoWave team
EchoWave is a browser-based video and audio editor built by Lemon Vault LLC since 2018. The people who build the editor write these guides and test every step in the production app before publishing.
Voice to Text Converter FAQ
How do I convert a voice recording to text?
Upload the file to EchoWave in your browser, run automatic transcription, then read through the result and fix anything the recognizer got wrong. Every word carries a timestamp, so clicking one plays that exact moment of audio. When it reads right, export the transcript as TXT, SRT, VTT, or JSON.
Is there a free voice to text tool that actually works?
EchoWave is free to use in the browser: upload a recording, transcribe it, and edit the transcript without paying or installing anything. You get the full editor, and the free plan exports too: renders come out as HD 720p MP4 with a small removable EchoWave watermark badge and a short branded end card. Paid plans remove the badge and add 1080p up to 4K, 8K on Business, plus more formats.
How accurate is voice to text transcription?
It depends mostly on the recording. A single speaker close to the microphone in a quiet room transcribes very accurately, while background noise, crosstalk, and heavy accents produce more errors. EchoWave's word timestamps make corrections fast, because you can click a doubtful word and hear the original audio instantly instead of hunting for it.
Can I transcribe iPhone voice memos?
Yes. iPhone voice memos are M4A files, which EchoWave accepts directly. Share or AirDrop the memo to your computer, upload it to the editor, and run transcription. Android recorder apps that save MP3, WAV, or M4A work exactly the same way.
What languages does voice recognition support?
Speech recognition works in dozens of spoken languages. After transcription, you can also translate the subtitles into 86 languages or display two languages at once as bilingual subtitles, which helps with interviews recorded in one language and published in another.
Does EchoWave type while I talk, like phone dictation?
No. EchoWave transcribes recordings rather than doing live dictation, which is what your phone keyboard's microphone button or a dictation notepad is for. Working from a recording means you keep the audio, get word timestamps, and can edit before anything is exported. You can record inside EchoWave and transcribe the moment you stop.
What formats can I upload and export?
Upload MP3, WAV, and M4A audio, or MP4, MOV, WebM, and AVI video. Transcripts export as TXT, SRT, VTT, or JSON, and you can import an existing SRT file to edit its cues on the timeline. There is no VTT import, though SRT converts to VTT on the way out.
Can I turn the transcript into captions on a video?
Yes, that is EchoWave's home ground. The same transcription powers 176 caption presets, including word-by-word karaoke styles with active-word fill, plus per-word color and emphasis editing. Captions can be burned into the exported video so they display on every platform.
Are my recordings private?
Recordings upload to your private EchoWave account and are not published anywhere. Processing and rendering happen on a secure cloud render farm operated for the editor, and nothing is shared unless you choose to share it.
Ready to transcribe your first recording?
Upload a voice recording, edit the transcript free in your browser, and export in HD with a small EchoWave watermark badge. Paid plans remove the badge and reach up to 4K.
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