The host of the meeting downloads the cloud recording in the web portal: the Recordings tab, the thumbnail of the meeting, Download, and the confirmation.
Zoom recording
Zoom call to text
Zoom call to text: upload the Zoom recording and get the text of it with a timecode on every segment, the speakers on request, and TXT, SRT, VTT, CSV or DOCX out. Free $0, 3 files a day.
3 files a day up to 30 minutes, free99+ languagesSpeaker separation and timestamps
In short
Send the Zoom recording to the engine and read it as text. A file may be up to 30 minutes, the export comes in six formats, and DOCX is part of the Pro plan. Three files a day are free.
How to get the file and turn it into text
- 1
Open the Recordings tab
The host signs in to the web portal of Zoom, opens the Recordings tab and finds the meeting in the list.
- 2
Download the file
The thumbnail of the meeting is opened, Download is pressed and the choice is confirmed.
- 3
Take the audio, not the video
A long meeting is easier to send as the M4A audio than as the MP4 video of the same call.
- 4
Send the file to the engine
Drop the file on the widget above, or pick it from the device. Set the language, switch the speaker split on when more than one person talks, and send.
- 5
Read it, fix a name, export
The text comes back one segment per line, with the start and the end time of every piece. Fix a name in the editor and export TXT, Markdown, SRT, VTT, CSV or DOCX.
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.
What Zoom keeps, and what it gives
A recording made on a computer is saved in the Zoom folder of the Documents folder; a cloud recording is in the Recordings tab of the web portal.
The files of a Zoom meeting are an MP4 video, an M4A audio, a chat text file and CC.VTT subtitles.
Only the host of the meeting can download the cloud recording of a meeting.
The cloud recording of a meeting belongs to the paid plans.
up to 30 minutes on the free plan, no minute limit on Pro
$0: 3 files a day, up to 30 minutes per file, no card
$10 a month when you pay yearly ($120 a year), or $20 a month
The case
What the recording does not give you
Say one word of a decision three weeks later and see whether you can find it. In a Zoom recording that word lives in a sound file that nobody can skim. Send the file through our own transcription engine and it comes back as text, one segment per line, with the start and the end time of every piece. A search then turns into a quotation with a timestamp.
Tips
Rename the file before you send it: the name of the meeting travels with it.
Do not guess the language: a wrong setting shows up in the names.
Turn on the split by speaker when more than two people talk.
Take CSV when the text of the Zoom file has to go into a spreadsheet.
Questions about Zoom files
Could the service fetch the file from Zoom itself?
Not today. The upload widget accepts files only, and no account of ours sits inside Zoom. The table above says where the file waits.
How long does the Zoom file stay where it is?
That is the rule of Zoom and not ours. Take the file as soon as you have it, because a cloud recording can be removed by the platform or by the owner of the account.
Which file should I take when Zoom offers several?
The audio is the smaller one, and the engine reads audio. If the platform gives you both a video and an audio track, the audio is the one to send here.
Can I transcribe a Zoom recording that is not mine?
Only if you have the right to listen to it and the right to keep a copy of it. The engine reads what you send, but the right to record comes from the owner of the account.
Related pages
- Google Meet recording to textGoogle Meet recording to text: where Google Meet keeps it, and what the engine does with it.
- Microsoft Teams recording to textMicrosoft Teams recording to text: where Microsoft Teams keeps it, and what the engine does with it.
- Webinar recording to textWebinar recording to text: where Zoom keeps it, and what the engine does with it.
- Transcribe a Zoom recordingThe file of a Zoom meeting, the formats it comes in and what the engine does with it.
Sources
- SZoom help: download a cloud recording (read 2026-10-24)support.zoom.com · checked
- SZoom help: where to find your recording (read 2026-10-24)support.zoom.com · checked
- SZoom help: the files of a meeting (MP4, M4A, chat, CC.VTT) (read 2026-10-24)support.zoom.com · 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.
3 files a day up to 30 minutes, free99+ languagesSpeaker separation and timestamps