How to Transcribe a Video to Text: Free and Paid Ways
To transcribe a video, upload the file to a speech to text tool, let it turn the audio track into timed text, then read it through and fix names, numbers and unclear words. In Infinall AI you pick Transcribe on the Audio tab and upload an MP4, MOV or WEBM file up to 50 MB. For free captions, the AI Editor makes subtitles on your own computer at no credit cost.
Checked October 2026. Sources are listed at the end of the page.
Transcribing a video means turning the words spoken in it into written text, usually with a start and end time for each line. You need a transcript to write captions, pull quotes for social posts, turn a webinar into a blog post, or check what a speaker actually said. Every method works the same way underneath: the tool listens to the audio track, not the picture. So the quality of your sound decides the quality of your text more than the tool does. This guide gives the steps that work with any tool, then shows how to do it in Infinall AI, and when a free option is enough.
| Method | Cost | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type it yourself while you play the video | Free | Very short clips or very poor audio | Slow for anything longer than a few minutes |
| YouTube automatic captions | Free | Videos you already publish on YouTube | Captions may not be ready at once, and need review |
| Infinall AI Editor captions | Free in credits | Timed captions on a video you are editing | Needs a laptop or desktop |
| Infinall Transcribe | Credits, charged by audio length | Getting timed text from an audio or video file | Files up to 50 MB |
| Transcript-based editors such as Descript | Free plan and paid plans | Podcasters who edit by editing the transcript | Check its pricing page for plan limits |
How to Transcribe a Video to Text: Free and Paid Ways
Check the sound before you start
Play the video and listen for music under the voice, background noise, long silences and people talking over each other. Speech tools struggle with all of these. YouTube's own help page warns that automatic captions can misrepresent speech because of mispronunciations, accents, dialects or background noise.
Trim the file to the part you need
Cut long intros, silent stretches and sections you do not need. A shorter file is faster to check and, with paid tools that charge by length, cheaper to process. Many online tools also have a file size limit, so trimming can save you a compress step.
Choose a tool that matches the job
For a one-off transcript, an online speech to text tool is enough. If you want captions on the video itself, use a video editor with automatic captions. If the video is already on YouTube, its automatic captions can be reviewed and downloaded from YouTube Studio.
Pick the spoken language
Set the language the speaker uses before you run the tool. A wrong language setting is a common reason for garbled text or no text at all. If the video mixes languages, expect to fix more lines by hand.
Run the transcription
Upload the video or select the clip and start. The tool reads the audio track and returns text, usually split into short lines with timings. Keep the timings if you plan to use the text as captions.
Read it through and correct it
Play the video while you read the text. Fix product names, brand names, people's names, numbers and any line where two people spoke at once. This is the step that makes a transcript usable, so do not skip it.
Export it in the format you need
Copy plain text for a blog post, show notes or a social caption. Use an SRT or VTT subtitle file if you want timed captions on a video player or editor. Keep one clean copy so you can reuse it later.
How to transcribe a video in Infinall AI
Infinall AI has two tools for this.
Transcribe turns an audio or video file into text and keeps the start and end time of each line. On Home, choose the Audio tab, open the mode chip and pick Transcribe. Click Upload audio or video to transcribe, pick your file and send it with the round arrow. A Transcript card appears on the canvas, where you can select the words or press Copy. It accepts MP3, WAV, M4A, OGG and WEBM audio, and MP4, MOV and WEBM video, up to 50 MB. For a video it uses the audio track. It uses credits, charged by the length of the audio, and you see what it cost on the result.
Captions in the AI Editor listen to a clip on your timeline and add timed subtitles. Select a video or sound clip, open the Effects view of the inspector, open Local Auto-Captions, choose the Spoken language and press Make subtitles. Then choose Add subtitles to video. The first time, the editor downloads a speech model of about 40 MB, which your browser keeps.
How to transcribe a video for free
There are three free routes. You can type it yourself, which is fine for a clip under a minute. If the video is on YouTube, sign in to YouTube Studio, select Subtitles from the left menu, pick the video and review its automatic captions. In Infinall AI, the AI Editor captions run on your computer, your audio is not uploaded, and making subtitles is free in credits. Only the Let AI pick the look switch is a paid step, and its price is shown on the switch, so turn it off to stay free. Importing an SRT or VTT file is also free.
The Infinall free plan gives 1,000 credits every month with no card, which you can spend on Transcribe when you want a text transcript rather than captions. Pro costs $10 for the first month, then $30 a month or $299 a year, with 3,000 credits a month. One credit is one US cent.
Transcribing on an iPhone or other phone
Most speech to text happens in the cloud or in a desktop editor, so on a phone the simplest route is a browser or app that lets you upload the video file. Be honest with yourself about editing on a small screen: correcting a long transcript is much easier on a computer. The Infinall AI Editor, where the free captions live, needs a laptop or desktop with a screen at least 1024 pixels wide, and on a phone it shows a message asking you to use a computer. If you film on an iPhone, move the file to your computer first, then run captions there.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Not checking the result. Every automatic tool makes mistakes, and YouTube's help page tells creators to always review automatic captions.
- Leaving a long silence at the start. YouTube lists this, along with overlapping speakers or mixed languages, as reasons captions may not appear.
- Picking the wrong spoken language, which gives nonsense text or nothing.
- Throwing away the timings. Timed lines become captions in seconds, plain text does not.
- Paying for a transcript when you only need captions. In Infinall, captions in the AI Editor are free, while Transcribe uses credits.
Frequently asked questions
How do I transcribe a video to text?
Upload the video to a speech to text tool, choose the spoken language, run it, then read the text while you play the video and fix the mistakes. Keep the timings if you want captions.
Can I transcribe a video for free?
Yes. You can type it yourself, review YouTube's automatic captions in YouTube Studio, or use the captions in the Infinall AI Editor, which run on your computer and are free in credits when the Let AI pick the look switch is off.
How big can the video be in Infinall Transcribe?
Files can be up to 50 MB. If your video is bigger, cut or compress it first, or use the AI Editor captions, which run on your computer and have no upload size limit.
Does Infinall AI transcribe languages other than English?
The AI Editor captions support English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Russian, Turkish, Polish and Vietnamese. You choose the language with Spoken language before you make subtitles.
Can I use a subtitle file I already have?
Yes. In the AI Editor choose Import SRT / VTT as Text. Each caption becomes an editable text clip, and importing is free.
Sources and checks
Every price, rating and number on this page comes from the source pages below, checked October 2026. Prices and plans change often, so confirm on the vendor's own page before you buy.
- Infinall AI docs: Captions and transcription, checked October 2026
- Infinall AI docs: Text, text animations and captions, checked October 2026
- Infinall AI pricing, checked October 2026
- YouTube Help: Use automatic captioning, checked October 2026
- Descript pricing, checked October 2026