Transcribe an interview to text
Transcribe an interview to text with speaker labels and timecodes, so every quote can be found, checked against the recording, and exported for writing.
Free sign-up, 60 min/month · 99+ languages · Up to 500 MB per file
What is Interview Transcription?
Transcribing an interview to text turns a recorded conversation into a document where each speaker turn is labelled and every line keeps its position in the recording. It is used by journalists, researchers, and hiring teams who need to quote accurately. The audio or video file is uploaded directly, the language is detected, and the transcript can be corrected before it is exported as text, SRT, or VTT.
Why choose Interview Transcription?
An interview is only useful if a quote can be found again. Speaker labels and timecodes make that possible without listening to the whole file, and the text can be searched for a name, a date, or a phrase. The recording is not altered, and the transcript can be kept alongside it as the reading copy.
Hours of Interview Audio for One Usable Quote?
A long interview can produce a handful of lines that matter, but finding them means listening back through the whole conversation. Notes taken during the call are incomplete, and memory is unreliable for exact wording. A transcript with speaker labels and timecodes turns the recording into something closer to a document: search for a phrase, read the surrounding turn, and check the timecode if the audio needs to be cited. The interview does not need to be re-recorded or split into clips first.
What makes Interview Transcription different?
It keeps the conversation intact, labels who spoke, and leaves the original recording untouched so a quote can always be checked against the audio.
Speaker turns stay readable
Timecodes for every quote
Export text or captions
Formats, languages, limits
- Languages
- 99
- Detected automatically. Set it by hand when a recording mixes languages or carries a heavy accent.
- File types
- 13
- MP3, M4A, WAV, AAC, MP4, MOV, WebM and more. Video is processed directly — no separate audio step.
- Per file
- 500 MB
- Large files upload straight to storage with a visible progress bar, up to 500 MB.
- Exports
- TXT · SRT · VTT
- Plain text, SRT and VTT subtitles, ready for a document, an editor, or a caption track.
How to use Interview Transcription in 3 steps
Upload the interview
Add the audio or video file you recorded and own, or have permission to use.
Separate the speakers
Turn on speaker separation so each question and answer keeps its own turn.
Search the quotes
Find the passage by text, check the timecode, then copy it or export the transcript.
Interview Transcription
Start with an interview you already recorded. Sign up free and get 60 minutes a month.
Free sign-up, 60 minutes a month, no credit card. Export when you are done.
Transcribe an interviewFrequently asked questions about Interview Transcription
Can both audio and video interviews be transcribed?
Yes. MP3, M4A, WAV, MP4, MOV, and WebM files are accepted directly, so a phone recording and a camera file follow the same path. The video does not need to be converted to audio first, and the timecodes stay aligned with the original file.
How are the interviewer and guest separated?
Speaker separation labels each turn by voice, then the labels can be renamed to the interviewer and the guest. One microphone per person gives the cleanest result. A single room microphone can merge overlapping speech, so a short review of the first minutes is worthwhile.
Is interview transcription free?
A file can be transcribed and exported without payment, and no card is requested to start. Free sign-up includes 60 minutes a month; paid plans raise limits. The per-file size cap and the two-job limit apply to every plan, so a long interview and a short one follow the same rules.
How accurate is the transcript for quoting?
Clean, close-mic recordings need the least correction; noisy rooms and strong accents need more. Names, numbers, and technical terms should always be checked. The timecode beside each line makes it quick to confirm a quote against the recording before it is published.
Can a long interview be transcribed in one pass?
A file is accepted up to 500MB, which covers most long interviews, and there is no separate duration cap during the demo. Processing time grows with length. For a multi-hour session, splitting by topic makes the transcript easier to search and cite.
Does the transcript include timestamps?
Yes. Every block carries a start and end time, and those times are preserved on export. That is what makes a quote verifiable: the text shows where it came from, and the recording can be opened at that point instead of being scrubbed through.
Is the interview kept after transcription?
The file is stored only so the recognizer can read it and is deleted when the job finishes or fails. The transcript stays in the account until it is deleted. Audio is not used to train models, and the provider processes it only on Dictawave's instructions.
Do I need consent to transcribe an interview?
The uploader needs the right to use the recording. Consent for the interview itself is a separate matter that depends on the jurisdiction and the agreement with the participant. A transcript does not change those obligations; it only makes the recorded words easier to review and quote.