Free MP3 to text converter
MP3 is the format most recordings end up in, and none of them are searchable until the words come out. Upload an MP3 and Hilite returns a transcript with speaker labels and timestamps, in 99+ languages, that you can read, correct, and export as text, Word, or subtitles.
Upload a file and download the transcript.
How to convert an MP3 to text
- 1
Upload your MP3
Drag in the file or pick it from your device. Long interviews and full episodes are fine; you do not need to split them up first.
- 2
Pick the language
Choose the spoken language, or let Hilite detect it. Recordings that move between languages go through the same engine.
- 3
Read and correct
The transcript stays linked to the audio, so you can click a line to hear it. Names, jargon, and acronyms are where machine transcripts usually slip, and this is where you fix them.
- 4
Export or keep going
Download the transcript, or stay in Hilite to cut the recording by editing the text, pull show notes out of it, or publish.
Keep working inside the Hilite editor
Your uploaded files open directly in a focused editor view. Arrange your clips, preview the timeline, adjust transitions, and export when the track sounds perfectly right.
- Review the transcript in context
- Keep timestamps with the words
- Copy, export, or keep editing
Input formats
Output formats
Built for every kind of audio
Whatever you are making, this tool helps you get to a cleaner, more useful result, then hand off to Hilite to enhance and polish.
- The words, not just a fileAn MP3 is unsearchable until it is text. A transcript turns a two-hour recording into something you can scan in a minute.
- Corrections tied to the audioEvery line stays linked to the moment it was spoken, so checking a doubtful word takes one click rather than a hunt through the waveform.
- The transcript is the editIn Hilite, deleting a sentence in the transcript deletes it in the audio. The transcript is not a dead end.
Made for podcasters and their teams
Trim the dead air off the top and tail, and every recording is ready to edit, enhance, and publish.
FAQ
Common questions
If you do not see your question here, the support team replies within one business day.
- Yes, it is free to start. Longer files, saved projects, and some export formats may need a free Hilite account.
- Accuracy depends on the recording. Clear speech on a decent microphone transcribes very well; heavy background noise, crosstalk, and strong accents are harder. Because every line is linked to the audio, correcting the few words that slip takes seconds.
- Yes. You do not need to split long interviews or full episodes before uploading.
- Plain text, Word, and SRT subtitle files. Timestamps and speaker labels are included where the recording supports them.
- Yes. M4A, WAV, and MP4 work the same way, and each has its own page if you want the specifics for that format.
Turn an MP3 into text
Upload the file, read the transcript, and carry on in Hilite when the recording needs editing, enhancement, or publishing.