Translate audio to English
Flip one switch at upload. The recording is transcribed in the language that was spoken, then translated into English segment by segment, with the original timestamps and speaker labels on every line.
Transcribe a recording
Launching November 2026
Getting English text from a foreign-language recording
Upload and switch it on
Add the file, then turn on Transcribe to English under the language picker.
Let detection pick the language
It listens to the first 30 seconds of speech. Pick the language yourself if the recording opens in a different one.
Read both versions
The editor shows the original-language transcript. The English is queued once the transcript is done and appears in the Translate panel.
Download the English
Save it as an SRT that lines up with the audio, for subtitles or a timed reading copy.
What the two versions look like
- Speaker 1: On a ouvert la boutique en 2019, juste avant la fermeture.
- Speaker 1: We opened the shop in 2019, just before the lockdown.
- Speaker 2: Et qu’est-ce qui vous a fait tenir ?
- Speaker 2: And what kept you going?
The English line sits at the same second as the French. Click either in the editor and the player jumps there, so checking a translation against the voice takes one click.
People who need it in English
Journalists and researchers
Interviews in the subject’s own language, with an English copy for editors and co-authors. Details on interview transcription.
Families
Voice messages from grandparents who speak Tagalog, Polish or Gujarati, read in English by grandchildren who don’t.
Small businesses
Supplier calls and customer voicemails in another language, turned into English notes you can search.
Students
A lecture or seminar recorded abroad, studied later in English with the original alongside.
Transcribe to English or Translate transcript?
Both make an English translation from the original transcript. The upload switch just starts it for you, so the English is waiting when you open the file. Translate transcript, in the editor, does the same on request and covers the other 100+ target languages too. Fix words in the original after the English exists, and translate again so the English picks up your corrections.
For a language other than English, start at the translate audio page.
A better English version
- Choose the source language yourself for clips under a minute; thirty seconds of speech is little to go on.
- Correct names in the original before translating, and they stay correct in English.
- Use speaker labels so each translated line shows who said it.
- Keep music low under speech. It muddies the original, and so the English.
- Treat the English as a faithful draft. Before you publish a quote, ask someone fluent to read the original.
Two people talking over each other is hard for any speech model. Labels sort out who said what for up to 4 voices, and the English follows those labels, so a crowded conversation stays readable.
What it costs
Transcribe to English comes with Unlimited, $20 a month or $10 a month billed yearly, with fair use up to 720 hours a month. Free still gives you the original-language transcript, 3 files a day up to 60 minutes each, and shows the English switch locked. Hour packs don’t include it either. The pricing page has the rest.
Translation runs on an open model on our own GPUs, so your audio and transcripts are never sent to any AI company. Our privacy promises are on private transcription.
Questions about translating to English
Which languages can be translated to English?
Any of the 100 languages we transcribe. The languages page lists them.
Does it work on video files?
Yes. Upload the video and switch it on; the translation comes from the soundtrack. Translate video has subtitle tips.
Can I get the English as a Word document?
The Translate panel downloads SRT. Open it in a text editor, or keep it as subtitles. The original-language transcript exports to DOCX, PDF and the other formats.
Is the English version a word-for-word translation?
It’s translated segment by segment, so it follows the speaker closely but reads as normal English, not a word list.
What if the recording is already in English?
Leave the switch off. English recordings are transcribed directly, and on Unlimited, Translate transcript can still turn them into another language.
Related language pages
- Translate audioTranslate a recording’s transcript into 100+ languages, timing kept.
- Spanish transcriptionSpanish transcripts, with an English version for subscribers.
- LanguagesThe 100 transcription languages and how detection works.
- Interview transcriptionFor reporters checking quotes and researchers coding interviews, with every line tied to the audio.
Compare plans on the pricing page, or read our short privacy promises.
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