How to Extract Audio From Video and Transcribe It to Text (Free, Offline)

Drop your video or audio file into the FreeTools transcriber and it produces text, SRT or VTT subtitles without uploading anything. It runs OpenAI Whisper inside your browser through WebAssembly. If you only want the sound track, the Video to MP3 extractor pulls audio out of MP4, WebM or MOV first. Both work offline once the page has loaded.

Available free in the United Kingdom, United States, Ireland, Canada, Australia and across the EU. Because files are processed in your own browser and never uploaded, no personal data crosses a border, which keeps use consistent with UK GDPR, EU GDPR and CCPA/CPRA expectations.

Frequently asked questions

Is my voice recording sent to a server?

No. Whisper runs inside your browser through WebAssembly. After the model has downloaded once you can disconnect from the internet entirely and transcription still works.

Do I need to extract the audio from a video first?

No. The transcriber reads the audio track from a video directly. Extracting first is useful when the file is large, or when you want to keep the audio for editing.

Which format is best for transcription accuracy?

WAV, because it is lossless. MP3 discards high-frequency detail that helps distinguish consonants. On a clean recording the difference is minor; on a noisy one it is not.

How long does a one-hour recording take?

It depends on your CPU and the model. The tiny model is quickest, small is slowest and most accurate. Processing happens on your own machine, so it takes real time rather than being instant.

Can I get subtitles rather than plain text?

Yes. The same pass exports SRT and VTT with timestamps, alongside plain TXT.