Voice to text
Dictate into your microphone and watch the text appear. Pick a language, edit it, download it.
Modern browsers ship with a built-in speech recognition engine, the same one the system assistants use. This page hands it to you with nothing to install: pick the language, grant microphone access and the text appears as you speak.
It is good for dictating notes, drafting a long email without typing, or getting a first transcript of something you are listening to. The result is editable before you export it, because no recogniser gets punctuation right first time.
Two limits worth knowing up front: it only works in Chrome, Edge and Safari (Firefox has not implemented this API yet) and it only transcribes what comes through the microphone, not the audio playing on your machine. Capturing system audio and translating it at the same time takes a desktop app.
How to use it
- 01 Pick the language you are going to speak. Getting this right is what most affects accuracy.
- 02 Press Start dictating and accept the microphone prompt from your browser.
- 03 Speak normally. Interim text shows in grey and is confirmed when you pause.
- 04 Edit whatever needs editing and download it as .txt, or as .srt to use as subtitles.
Frequently asked questions
Is it really free?
Yes, and with no signup. It uses the recognition engine your browser already ships, so there is no paid service behind it.
Is my voice sent anywhere?
Recognition is done by the browser, not by us: we never receive the audio or the text. But it is worth knowing that in Chrome that engine processes audio on Google servers. It is the only tool on this site that is not fully local, and we would rather be clear about it.
Why does it not work in Firefox?
Because Firefox does not implement the web speech recognition API. It works in Chrome, Edge and Safari, on desktop and mobile.
Can it transcribe a video I am watching?
Only if the sound reaches the microphone, which gives poor results. To capture system audio directly, and translate it as it plays, you need Eco.
Are the .srt timings accurate?
They are approximate: they come from when the engine confirms each chunk. Good as a starting point, but fine subtitling will need adjusting.
Related tools
This is what Eco does live.
These utilities work on files you already have. Eco transcribes and translates while the audio is still playing: meetings, classes, videos in another language.
Download Eco free10 free minutes per month · No card required