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Textify

Video to Text: Transcribe Video Free in Your Browser

Model

Drop a file here — paste, drop, or click to browse

.mp4,.mov,.webm,.mkv,.m4v

Processed on your device — nothing is uploaded. Verify in your network tab.

Drop in a video and get a clean, readable transcript back. This tool turns the spoken words in an MP4, WebM, MOV, or MKV into text you can copy, edit, or save as subtitles - no account, no watermark, and no payment.

What makes it different is where the work happens. Your browser extracts the audio track from the video and runs speech recognition on your own machine. The video file itself is never sent to a server, so nothing you transcribe leaves your device. If you want to confirm it, open your browser's network tab while you convert - you will see the model download once, and then no further uploads.

The first transcription downloads a small speech model that is cached for next time. After that, transcribing a video is a local operation: as fast as your hardware allows, works offline once the model is loaded, and free to run as many times as you like.

How it works

  1. 01

    Add your video

    Drag an MP4, WebM, MOV, or MKV file onto the page, or click to browse for it. The file is opened directly in your browser and stays on your device - nothing is uploaded.

  2. 02

    Let your browser transcribe it

    The tool pulls the audio track out of the video and runs speech recognition locally in a background worker. A progress bar shows the model loading on first use, then the transcription as it moves through the audio.

  3. 03

    Copy or download the text

    Read the finished transcript, make any edits, then copy it or export it as a plain-text TXT file or as timed SRT or VTT subtitles. Everything is generated on your device.

How in-browser video transcription works

Transcribing a video is really two jobs: separating the audio from the picture, then converting that audio into words. Both happen inside your browser.

First, the tool reads the video container and decodes only the audio track - the video frames are ignored, which keeps things fast. That audio is downsampled to the 16 kHz mono format speech models expect. Then an on-device speech recognition model listens to the audio in short chunks and writes out the text, with timestamps for each segment.

Because the model runs on your own CPU or GPU, there is no queue and no per-minute charge. It uses your machine's WebGPU acceleration when available and falls back to a WebAssembly engine when it is not, so it works across modern browsers without any setup.

Supported video formats

The converter accepts the containers most cameras, phones, and editing apps produce:

  • MP4 - the default for phones, screen recorders, and most exports
  • WebM - common for web recordings and browser-based capture
  • MOV - Apple's QuickTime format, used by iPhones and Macs
  • MKV - a flexible container often used for longer recordings

You do not need to know which audio codec is inside. The tool detects the audio stream and decodes it automatically, so a file with AAC, Opus, or another common codec just works. If a container holds something genuinely unsupported, you get a clear message rather than a silent failure.

Large and long videos

Long recordings are handled by streaming rather than loading the whole file into memory at once. The tool reads the audio in pieces and transcribes each piece in turn, so a multi-gigabyte lecture or webinar will not freeze the tab or crash it the way a naive "load it all" approach would.

Transcription time scales with the length of the audio and the speed of your device. A short clip finishes in seconds; a long recording takes longer but keeps a steady progress readout so you always know where it is. Because the work is local, you can start a long video and let it run without worrying about upload limits or bandwidth caps.

Timestamps, subtitles, and export

Every transcript comes with timing information, so you can export more than just a wall of text:

  • TXT - clean plain text for notes, articles, or search
  • SRT - timed subtitles for video players and editors
  • VTT - web-native captions for HTML5 video

The timestamps make it easy to jump back to a specific moment in the source video or to caption the video for accessibility. All three formats are generated in your browser and download straight to your device - there is no export paywall and no sign-in wall in front of the file.

Why your files stay private

Most online video transcribers upload your file to their servers, process it there, and ask you to trust their retention policy. This one is built the opposite way: the conversion engine ships to your browser and the video never moves.

That matters for anything you would not want on a stranger's server - internal meetings, unreleased footage, medical or legal recordings, coursework, or personal videos. There is nothing to leak because nothing is transmitted. The only network activity is the one-time download of the speech model itself, which you can watch happen in the network tab and which is cached for future visits.

Frequently asked questions

Is this video to text converter really free?
Yes. Transcribing video to text in your browser is free with no sign-up, no watermark, and no export lock. Because the work runs on your own device rather than on our servers, there is no per-minute cost to pass on to you. You can transcribe as many videos as you like and download the plain text or subtitle files at no charge.
Do my videos get uploaded to a server?
No. Your browser opens the video locally, extracts its audio, and runs speech recognition on your own machine. The video file is never sent anywhere. The only thing downloaded is the speech model on first use, which is then cached. You can verify this by watching your browser's network tab while a transcription runs - you will see no upload of your file.
What video formats can I transcribe?
The tool accepts MP4, WebM, MOV, and MKV files, which covers phone recordings, screen captures, camera footage, and most exports from editing software. You do not need to know the internal audio codec; the tool detects and decodes the audio stream automatically. If a file contains an unsupported format, you will get a clear error rather than a broken result.
How accurate is the transcription?
Accuracy depends on audio quality, accents, and background noise, but clear speech in a well-recorded video transcribes reliably. The tool uses a modern speech recognition model and lets you edit the result before exporting, so you can quickly fix any names or terms it did not catch. Cleaner audio and less crosstalk always produce a better transcript.
Can I transcribe long or large video files?
Yes. The tool streams the audio in chunks instead of loading the entire file into memory, so long lectures, webinars, and multi-gigabyte recordings can be transcribed without crashing the tab. Transcription time scales with the length of the audio and the speed of your device, and a progress bar keeps you updated the whole way through.
What languages are supported?
The underlying speech model recognizes speech in around 100 languages and can detect the spoken language automatically. That means you can transcribe videos in many languages beyond English without changing any settings. Accuracy is strongest for widely spoken languages and clear audio, and you can always edit the transcript afterward to refine the output.
Can I get subtitles with timestamps?
Yes. Every transcript includes timing information, so you can export it as SRT or VTT subtitle files in addition to plain TXT. SRT works in most video players and editors, while VTT is the native caption format for web video. Both are generated in your browser and download directly, ready to load into your player or editing tool.
Does it work on my phone?
It runs in modern mobile browsers, though phones have less memory than laptops, so very long or very large videos are better transcribed on a desktop. On a phone the tool uses a lighter model to stay within memory limits. For short clips a phone is fine; for hour-long recordings a computer will be faster and more reliable.

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