How to transcribe an interview
How to transcribe an interview: the steps that take the recording of the interview and turn it into text. Free $0, 3 files a day.
An account inside Phone recorder is not needed: the file of the recording of the interview is enough, and our engine reads it. The names of the speakers can be fixed afterwards. The free plan is $0 with 3 files a day, and one file may be 30 minutes.
How to transcribe an interview, step by step
- 1
Agree the recording
A recorded call is announced to both sides, so the recording of an interview is agreed out loud.
- 2
Record it
The Voice Memos app of a phone records with the built-in or with an external microphone.
- 3
Keep the audio
A meeting comes as an MP4 video or as an M4A audio, and the audio is the smaller of the two files.
- 4
Keep the export next to the recording
The text of the recording of the interview lands in a file of its own. Keep it next to the recording and the two stay together.
- 5
Take the audio track, not the video
When Phone recorder gives a video and an audio track, the audio is the smaller file and the one the engine reads.
What comes back from the engine
- TXT
One segment per line, the way a person wrote it down. It is the format to paste into a ticket, a chat or a document.
- TXT, CSV
The start and the end time of every segment, and the speakers named separately when you ask for it.
- SRT, VTT
SRT and VTT with the time of every line, so the recording can carry its own subtitles.
- Markdown, DOCX
The transcript is edited through the API and exported as Markdown for a wiki, or as DOCX for a review.
How Phone recorder stores the file, and what it says about it
- Where the file is
The Voice Memos app of a phone records with the built-in microphone or with an external one.
- Where the file is kept
A recorded phone call is kept in Call Recordings inside the Notes app, and both people hear a notice about it.
- Length of one file
up to 30 minutes on the free plan, no minute limit on Pro
- Free plan
$0: 3 files a day, up to 30 minutes per file, no card
What the recording does not give you
The recording of the interview is worth a text, and every text is worth the time of every line. The hard part of the recording is over once the file is on the disk; the text is a minute of waiting. Our own engine reads the recording of the interview and keeps every timestamp, which is what makes the text quotable later.
Tips
Name the file of the recording of the interview after the meeting, not after the day.
Phone recorder gives the file, but the name of the file is yours to choose.
Check the length of the recording of the interview before the upload: 30 minutes is the limit of one file.
Over 30 minutes on the free plan a file has to be cut before sending; Pro has no minute limit.
Set the language of the recording of the interview yourself when you know it, or leave it on automatic detection.
Questions about how to transcribe an interview
What are the steps to transcribe an interview?
The file of the recording of the interview is the input, and the engine reads it as it is: no conversion, no link, and no account.
What do I need before I transcribe an interview?
Bring the recording of the interview to your disk and upload it here; our own engine returns the text with the time of every line.
Do I need an account to transcribe an interview?
Our own engine reads the recording of the interview and keeps the time of every segment, so the work ends with a document.
What is in the file after I transcribe an interview?
Send the recording of the interview to the widget and the text comes back as a document, with the speakers on request.
Is there a faster way to transcribe an interview?
There is one step before the engine: the file of the recording of the interview has to be on your own disk.
Related pages
- Interview recording to textInterview recording to text: where Phone recorder keeps the file, and what the engine does with it.
- Best interview transcription appBest interview transcription app: the steps of the platform, and what comes back from the engine.
- How to transcribe a podcastHow to transcribe a podcast: the file of Podcasts, the limits of it and the price of the service.
- Transcribe an interviewTwo microphones, two speakers and the questions that were asked.
Sources
- SiPhone user guide: make a recording (read 2026-10-24)support.apple.com · checked
- SiPhone user guide: record and transcribe a call (read 2026-10-24)support.apple.com · checked
- TTranscription service page (read 2026-10-25)transcrib.si · checked
- TPricing page (read 2026-10-25)transcrib.si · checked
Reading: 4 minutesUpdated Transcribsi editorial team
Drop a recording — the text arrives in a minute
Speakers by name, a time on every line, export to TXT, SRT, VTT, CSV and Markdown.