FLAC to text: a transcript from your lossless audio
FLAC keeps every sample of a recording, so it turns up in CD rips, sound archives and studio exports. Drop the .flac in as it is, skip the conversion to MP3, and read it back with each voice labelled and each line timed, then download TXT, Word or PDF.
Transcribe a FLAC
Free: 30 min a month, no card. Your file stays in this browser until you sign up. Compare plans
- About an hour of audio in about two minutes
- TXT, Word and the other downloads come with Free
A FLAC recording, read as text
A short real recording, NASA's Apollo 11 landing, as PrismaScribe transcribed it and as the Word download sets it out: the speaker's name, then their words, with the time every line begins. An interview or a talk saved as FLAC comes back in this form, and the TXT download is the same lines without formatting.
Apollo 11 landing
Neil Armstrong
[0:00] Houston, uh, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.
CAPCOM, Charlie Duke
[0:06] Roger, Twang... Tranquility. We copy you on the ground. You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue. We're breathing again. Thanks a lot. [beeping]
Apollo 11 landing.srt
- 100:00:00,500 to 00:00:05,980Neil Armstrong: Houston, uh, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.
- 200:00:06,640 to 00:00:08,478CAPCOM, Charlie Duke: Roger, Twang...
- 300:00:08,478 to 00:00:12,494Tranquility. We copy you on the ground. You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue.
- 400:00:12,494 to 00:00:14,720We're breathing again. Thanks a lot. [beeping]
Apollo 11 landing.vtt
WEBVTT
- 100:00:00.500 to 00:00:05.980Neil Armstrong: Houston, uh, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.
- 200:00:06.640 to 00:00:11.301CAPCOM, Charlie Duke: Roger, Twang... Tranquility. We copy you on the ground. You got a bunch of guys
- 300:00:11.301 to 00:00:14.720CAPCOM, Charlie Duke: about to turn blue. We're breathing again. Thanks a lot. [beeping]
Where FLAC transcripts get used
People keep FLAC for recordings they care about. The words in them are worth having on the page too.
- Talks and lectures kept in FLAC. Get a recorded lecture, sermon or panel that someone archived losslessly down as text you can read, quote and search.
- Oral history and sound archives. Give a collection of archived FLAC interviews a written record, each speaker marked and each passage timed, so the collection can be searched.
- Readings and spoken-word records. Write out a poetry reading, a radio play or a spoken-word album from its lossless file instead of typing along to it.
- A Word (DOCX) file to work in. Bring the FLAC's transcript into Word (DOCX) to edit and annotate, or hand it on as a PDF.
- Subtitles for a music video or a film. Download SRT or VTT from the same transcript if the FLAC is a film's or a video's soundtrack.
- A WAV of the same session. Recorded the original as WAV? It transcribes in the same way: WAV to text.
How to convert FLAC to text
Three steps from the lossless file to words on a page.
1 Find the FLAC file
Look in your music folder, the download from a store such as Bandcamp, or the export folder of your recording app. The PrismaScribe iPhone app picks FLAC files from Files as well.
2 Upload the FLAC
Drag it, or a batch of them, into your browser on a phone or a computer. Set the language or let it be found, and enter the number of voices if you know it. A long FLAC over your plan's size goes in as an MP3 or M4A copy.
3 Correct it and download
Click any word to play it and put it right, rename the speakers, then save Word (DOCX), TXT, PDF or another format, or copy everything.
30 min of free transcription in a month, and no card.
A FLAC recording in a language you don't speak
Translate
Have the FLAC's transcript translated into any of 99+ languages. Read it in your dashboard or keep it as a TXT, SRT or VTT file.
- Every line of a translated SRT or VTT keeps its timing.
- Free gives you 20,000 characters to translate a month.
More
Copy all
Export
- TXT
- SRT, selected
- VTT
Apollo 11 landing_es.srt
- 100:00:00,500 to 00:00:05,980Houston, eh, aquí Base Tranquilidad. El Águila ha aterrizado.
- 200:00:06,640 to 00:00:14,720Recibido, Tranq... Tranquilidad. Los copiamos en tierra. Tenían a un montón de tipos a punto de ponerse azules. Volvemos a respirar. Muchas gracias. [pitidos]
FLAC in, text out
What lossless means, where FLAC files usually come from, and what you download.
FLAC, the file you upload
FLAC is the Free Lossless Audio Codec, an open, royalty-free format maintained by the Xiph.Org Foundation. Lossless means it decodes to exactly the samples it was made from. A FLAC is smaller than a WAV of the same recording, but much larger than an MP3 of it. A transcript only needs the speech, so a FLAC is transcribed like any other format; a long one over your plan's size can go in as an MP3 or M4A copy. For uncompressed recordings, see WAV to text.
- Compression
- Lossless: decodes to the exact original samples
- Maintained by
- The Xiph.Org Foundation; open and royalty-free
- Usually from
- CD rips, lossless music downloads, sound archives, recording and editing apps
- Longest FLAC
- 5 hr on Starter and Premium, 8 hr 20 min on Pro, 15 min on Free
Xiph.Org's FLAC documentation; the uploader's list of accepted files.
TXT and Word, the files that come back
A TXT download begins with a line or two naming the recording, its language, length and date, followed by the transcript, where speaker names and [m:ss] times are optional. Word (DOCX) gives you that transcript as a document ready for edits and printing.
- Toggle
- Speaker names and timestamps
- Other downloads
- PDF, Markdown, SRT, VTT
- Languages
- 99+, written in their own alphabets
- What you correct
- Stays corrected in every file
These options come from the export window in the web app, for every text format.
What it doesn't do
Things to know about FLAC files here.
- No APE, AIFF or CAF files. Other lossless files such as Monkey's Audio (.ape), AIFF or CAF aren't on our list. Export the recording as FLAC or WAV first.
- No better text for being lossless. Transcription works from the speech, so a FLAC is treated like any other format; a lossless copy isn't needed for a good transcript.
- No automatic downsizing. A FLAC above your plan's size is refused rather than compressed. Export an MP3 or M4A copy and upload that.
- PDF only in Latin, Greek and Cyrillic letters. A FLAC recorded in another script downloads as TXT, Word, Markdown, SRT or VTT.
Good to know
- Removing background noise and adding custom vocabulary are on a paid plan, and use 2× and 1.25× the minutes.
- Free gives 30 min a month and up to 15 min a day, transcribing one FLAC after another.
- A FLAC uploaded on the website that runs longer than 15 min has only its first 15 min transcribed on Free; in the iPhone app it's declined.
- With top-up hours, Free loses its daily and per-file time limits, but not its 500 MB size limit.
Plans
Monthly and yearly prices for each plan below; for the full comparison, go to the pricing page.
30 min a month, files up to 15 min
- Monthly
- $0
- Yearly
- $0
5 hr a month, files up to 5 hr
- Monthly
- $7 a month
- Yearly
- $52 a year, Save 38%$4.33 a month, billed once a year
20 hr a month, files up to 5 hr
- Monthly
- $20 a month
- Yearly
- $150 a year, Save 38%$12.50 a month, billed once a year
40 hr a month, files up to 8 hr 20 min
- Monthly
- $40 a month
- Yearly
- $300 a year, Save 38%$25 a month, billed once a year
Your FLAC files stay yours
- Encrypted in transit and at rest, and visible only to you and the people you choose.
- Your FLAC files are never used to train AI models.
- They stay until you decide to delete them.
FLAC to text FAQ
Still wondering about something? Email hello@prismascribe.ai.
How do I convert a FLAC file to text?
Create a free account, upload the FLAC and set it going, with a language chosen or detection on. When it's done, an email tells you the transcript is in your dashboard; open it, click a word to correct it, and copy or download the text.
What is a FLAC file?
Audio in the Free Lossless Audio Codec, an open, royalty-free format from the Xiph.Org Foundation. Being lossless, it plays back exactly what was recorded; it's smaller than a WAV of the same audio and much larger than an MP3.
Does a lossless FLAC give a better transcript than an MP3?
Don't count on it. The transcript depends on the speech, so a FLAC is transcribed like any other format. Keep the FLAC if that's what you have; there's no need to make one.
Where do FLAC files usually come from?
CD rips, lossless music downloads (Bandcamp is one store that offers FLAC), sound archives, and recording or editing apps that export it.
My FLAC is too big for my plan. What now?
A file over the plan's size is refused, not shrunk. Export an MP3 or M4A copy of the recording, which is far smaller, and upload that. Free takes up to 500 MB, Starter and Premium up to 2 GB, Pro up to 5 GB.
Can I transcribe FLAC for free?
Yes: Free needs no card and gives 30 min a month, at most 15 min a day, for files up to 15 min and 500 MB, one at a time, with all downloads. Longer recordings need a plan (compare them) or top-up hours, which never expire.
Can I download the FLAC's transcript as Word?
Yes. Word (DOCX) is there with TXT, PDF, Markdown, SRT and VTT, and speaker names and timestamps can each be switched on or off. If the language isn't written in Latin, Greek or Cyrillic letters, choose Word or TXT over PDF.
Are the different voices labelled?
Yes, on every plan, for as many as 32 speakers, starting as Speaker 1, Speaker 2 and so on. Give each a name once and the change runs through the transcript. About speaker identification.
What languages can I transcribe from FLAC?
99+, chosen or detected. Want it in another language? Translate the transcript into any of 99+ languages. Translate audio.
Other formats, other pages
Text from different audio and video files, and a page covering every format.
Keep the sound lossless and the words on the page.
30 min of free transcription in a month, and no card.
A FLAC in.
Words you can work with out.