Free audio to text online, and what it gives
Free audio to text online: $0, 3 files a day, up to 30 minutes per file and no card. How the free plans of seven services count the work, read 21 October 2026.
Free audio to text costs nothing here: 3 files a day, up to 30 minutes each, no card. The market counts the same work differently — TurboScribe allows 3 files a day, Sonix 30 minutes, Otter 300 minutes a month, and Fireflies publishes unlimited transcription.
Why the unit of a free plan matters more than the number
A free plan is not the absence of decisions, it is a decision about what the service wants to be paid for later. Two things have to be read before the first file is uploaded: the unit the plan counts in, and the ceiling it puts on one recording. We read the pricing pages of seven services on 21 October 2026 and wrote down what each of them gives away.
What a free plan of each service gives
- The unit of a free plan
files, minutes or an unlimited promise — read the unit, not the headline
- Market free allowances
TurboScribe 3 files a day up to 30 minutes; Sonix 30 minutes; Notta 120 minutes a month with a 3-minute session limit; Otter 300 minutes a month
- The unlimited promises
Fireflies and tl;dv publish unlimited transcription; tl;dv adds 5 hours of storage a month and 10 AI notes
- Our paid step
Pro is $10 a month paid yearly ($120 a year), with no minute limit of audio a month
How to get the most out of a free allowance
- 1
Count in the unit of the service
Files, minutes and seats are three currencies. Three files a day can be three hours of speech or three minutes, depending on what is inside them.
- 2
Check the ceiling of one recording
One file here is up to 30 minutes, on every plan. A longer recording is refused with a clear error instead of being cut in half.
- 3
Try the recording you trust least
A free plan proves itself on the noisy take with three voices in it, not on the clean studio version. Ours asks for no card, so that test costs nothing.
Tips
Read the unit of the allowance before the number.
Test with the recording you doubt most.
Add the date to the name of the file.
A card is not needed to find out how it behaves.
Questions this page answers
How many files can I transcribe for free?
Three a day, up to 30 minutes each, at no charge and with no card. The allowance is counted in files and minutes, and the paid plan carries no minute limit of audio a month.
Which free plan in the market has no time limit?
Fireflies and tl;dv publish unlimited transcription on their pricing pages, read on 21 October 2026. Ours is counted in files and minutes, and the same two limits apply to every plan.
Is a card needed to start?
Not here. The free plan asks for no card and has no trial clock: $0 and 3 files a day. A card appears only when a paid plan is chosen.
What happens when the daily limit is reached?
The upload is refused and the file stays on your own computer. Nothing is deleted, nothing is charged, and the allowance is back the next day.
Sources
- TTurboScribe — pricingturboscribe.ai · checked 21 October 2026
- SSonix — pricingsonix.ai · checked 21 October 2026
- NNotta — pricingnotta.ai · checked 21 October 2026
- OOtter — pricingotter.ai · checked 21 October 2026
- FFireflies — pricingfireflies.ai · checked 21 October 2026
Reading: 6 minutesUpdated Transcribsi editorial team
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