To convert an MP4 to text, drop the video into the box above. Your browser pulls out the audio track, Whisper large-v3-turbo transcribes the speech, and a free preview of the first 3 minutes appears in about a minute. Unlock the file (from $1.49, priced by length) to get the complete timestamped transcript as TXT, DOCX, SRT or VTT.
How to convert MP4 to text
- Drop the MP4. Drag the video onto the box above or tap it to pick a file from your phone or computer. MP4 and MOV videos up to 120 minutes and 500 MB work.
- Wait for the preview. Only the audio is uploaded, in short parts. The first 3 minutes are transcribed for free on your first file, with timestamps; later files show a short sample.
- Unlock and download. If the preview looks right, unlock the whole file (from $1.49, by length) and download the transcript as plain text (TXT), a Word document (DOCX) or subtitles (SRT or VTT).
Why the video isn't uploaded
Video files are large, but speech only needs the audio. DropTranscribe decodes the MP4 inside your browser and sends just the mono audio, which is usually much smaller than the video. That makes uploads fast on slow connections, and your picture never leaves your device. The audio we receive is deleted within 24 hours.
What you get
- The full transcript on screen, one timestamped line per sentence
- A TXT or DOCX file for notes, quotes, blog posts or search
- An SRT file to use as captions (see the SRT subtitle generator)
Working with meetings, lectures or screen recordings? See video transcription for more video formats and tips.
Upload a file to start See pricing
Questions
How do I convert an MP4 video to text?
Upload the MP4 to a speech-to-text tool that reads video files, then download the transcript. In DropTranscribe, drop the MP4 onto the page: your browser extracts the audio track, so the full video is not uploaded, and Whisper transcribes the speech. For your first file, a free preview of the first 3 minutes appears, usually in under a minute. Unlock the file (from $1.49, priced by length) to get the full text with timestamps as TXT, DOCX, or SRT and VTT subtitle files.
Do I need to convert a video to MP3 before transcribing it?
Not with tools that accept video directly. DropTranscribe takes MP4 and MOV files and extracts the audio track inside your browser before uploading, so there is no separate conversion step and a large video never has to be uploaded in full. If your browser cannot decode a file's codec, the page cannot open it; in that case, try Chrome on a computer, or convert the file to MP3 and drop it again.
Last updated 2026-10-16.