M4A to text: transcribe your M4A recording as it is

M4A is the audio file iPhones, Macs and many apps save. Upload it without converting it first and read it back as a transcript: each speaker named, each line timed, ready to correct and download as TXT, Word or PDF.

Transcribe an M4A

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 and Word downloads on Free, like every other

See a real transcript

A musician in headphones listens back to a take on her recorder, ready to turn the recording into text.

From an M4A recording to text

A real recording, NASA's Apollo 11 landing, as PrismaScribe transcribed it, in the layout of the Word download: names over their lines, a time at the start of each. An M4A of a meeting, a lesson or a memo returns the same way, and the TXT version is those lines as plain text.

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

  1. 100:00:00,500 to 00:00:05,980Neil Armstrong: Houston, uh, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.
  2. 200:00:06,640 to 00:00:08,478CAPCOM, Charlie Duke: Roger, Twang...
  3. 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.
  4. 400:00:12,494 to 00:00:14,720We're breathing again. Thanks a lot. [beeping]

Apollo 11 landing.vtt

WEBVTT

  1. 100:00:00.500 to 00:00:05.980Neil Armstrong: Houston, uh, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.
  2. 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
  3. 300:00:11.301 to 00:00:14.720CAPCOM, Charlie Duke: about to turn blue. We're breathing again. Thanks a lot. [beeping]
Real output · 15 seconds of NASA's public-domain Apollo 11 audio. Both speakers renamed from their default labels; names and timestamps on for this export.

Using the transcript

Most M4A files are recordings someone made to come back to. The text makes that quick.

  • Notes from a recorded lesson. Read the lecture or tutorial you recorded on your phone, then make a summary, a quiz or flashcards from it.
  • Minutes from a meeting. Turn the M4A of a meeting into minutes or a to-do list, each point traceable to who said it.
  • An idea or a read-through, written down. Get a spoken draft, a script read-through or a rehearsal down as text you can edit.
  • Word and PDF for sharing. Send the transcript as a Word (DOCX) document or a PDF, or share it in PrismaScribe with chosen people.
  • Subtitles if it goes with a video. The same transcript downloads as SRT or VTT, timed to the recording.
  • An archive you can search. Every recording stays in your library next to its text, sorted into folders if you like.

How to convert M4A to text

No conversion step: the M4A goes in as it is.

  1. 1 Find the M4A

    On an iPhone, share the recording to Files; on a Mac, drag it out of its app or share it as a file. In the PrismaScribe iPhone app you can pick it straight from Files.

  2. 2 Upload it

    Drop the M4A in, or a few at once, in your browser on a computer or a phone. Pick the language or let it detect, and give the speaker count if you know it.

  3. 3 Read and download

    Click any word to hear it and fix it, rename the speakers, then download TXT, Word (DOCX) or PDF, or copy the text.

Transcribe an M4A free

30 min of free transcription a month, no card.

Recorded in one language, needed in another

Translate

Translate the M4A's transcript into any of 99+ languages, then read it in the dashboard or download it as TXT, SRT or VTT.

  • SRT and VTT translations keep the timing of every line.
  • Free translates 20,000 characters a month.

Translate audio 

In a sunny Madrid flat with the balcony door open, two friends on a sofa watch a recorded talk on a laptop, each able to follow it in their own language.
Example

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Export

  • TXT
  • SRT, selected
  • VTT

Apollo 11 landing_es.srt

  1. 100:00:00,500 to 00:00:05,980Houston, eh, aquí Base Tranquilidad. El Águila ha aterrizado.
  2. 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]

M4A in, text out

What's inside an M4A, where they come from, and the files you get.

M4A, the recording you upload

An M4A is audio in an MPEG-4 container, the same family as MP4 but with sound only. Inside is usually AAC, compressed audio, and sometimes ALAC, Apple's lossless format, which makes much larger files. iPhone Voice Memos are usually M4A, and so is a lot of audio from Apple devices and apps.

Inside
Usually AAC audio, sometimes Apple Lossless (ALAC)
Usually from
Voice Memos on iPhone and Mac, and many apps that save audio
Longest file
15 min on Free, 5 hr on Starter and Premium, 8 hr 20 min on Pro
Not the same as
M4V, a video format we don't take

M4A is on the uploader's list of accepted files; M4V isn't. What an app puts inside an M4A depends on the app and its settings.

TXT and Word, the files you get

TXT opens anywhere: a header line or two with the recording's name, language, length and date, then the transcript, names and [m:ss] times optional. Word (DOCX) lays out the same transcript as a document for editing and printing.

Choose
Speaker names and timestamps, in or out
Or download
PDF, Markdown, SRT or VTT
Languages
99+, in their own scripts
Corrections
Kept in every format

The web app's export window gives every text format these options.

What it doesn't do

Good to know about M4A files in particular.

  • No M4V or AIFF. M4V is video and AIFF is uncompressed Apple audio; neither is on our list. Export as MP4, M4A, WAV or MP3.
  • No access to your phone's apps. PrismaScribe can't open Voice Memos or another app for you. Save the recording as a file first.
  • No links to files in iCloud, Drive or Dropbox. Links import only from YouTube, SoundCloud and nine other sites. Download the M4A and upload it.
  • PDF in Latin, Greek and Cyrillic letters only. Recordings in other scripts download as TXT, Word, Markdown, SRT or VTT.

Good to know

Compare plans

  • Background noise removal and custom vocabulary need a paid plan, at 2× and 1.25× the minutes.
  • Free: 30 min a month, 15 min a day at most, one recording at a time.
  • On Free, a website upload longer than 15 min gets its first 15 min transcribed. The iPhone app turns it down.
  • Top-up hours take away Free's daily and per-file time limits; the 500 MB size limit remains.

Plans

Monthly and yearly prices for every plan. The full comparison is on the pricing page.

  • Free on the pricing page

    30 min a month, files up to 15 min

    Monthly
    $0
    Yearly
    $0

  • Starter on the pricing page

    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

  • Premium on the pricing page

    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

  • Pro on the pricing page

    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

Compare every plan 

Your recordings stay yours

Read our privacy policy

  • Encrypted in transit and at rest; only you and the people you share with can open them.
  • Never used to train AI models.
  • Kept until you choose to delete them.

M4A to text FAQ

Anything else? Write to hello@prismascribe.ai.

How do I convert M4A to text?

Make a free account, upload the M4A and start, with the language picked or left on detect. When the transcript is ready in your dashboard (an email tells you, so you needn't wait on the page), read it, click any word to fix it, and copy the text or download it.

Do I need to convert my M4A to MP3 first?

No. M4A uploads as it is, on the website and in the iPhone app, so converting to MP3 would only add a step.

Is M4A transcription free?

Yes, on Free, with no card: 30 min a month, up to 15 min a day, for files up to 15 min and 500 MB, one at a time, every download included. For longer recordings, compare the plans or add top-up hours that never expire.

How long can an M4A be?

Up to 15 min and 500 MB on Free, 5 hr and 2 GB on Starter and Premium, and 8 hr 20 min and 5 GB on Pro. On Free, a longer website upload is transcribed up to its first 15 min.

Is an iPhone voice memo an M4A?

Usually, yes. Share the memo to Files or to your computer, then upload it here. There's more on getting memos and chat voice notes off a phone on our voice memo to text page.

Can I open an M4V the same way?

No. M4V is a video format and isn't one we take. Export the video as MP4 or MOV, or its sound as M4A, and upload that.

Will the transcript name the speakers?

Yes, on every plan, up to 32 speakers, labelled Speaker 1, Speaker 2 and so on. Rename each once and every line changes. How speaker identification works.

Can I save the transcript as a Word document?

Yes. Word (DOCX) is one of the downloads, with TXT, PDF, Markdown, SRT and VTT, and speaker names and timestamps can each be on or off. For scripts other than Latin, Greek and Cyrillic, use Word or TXT rather than PDF.

What languages can I transcribe from M4A?

Any of 99+, detected or chosen. To read a recording in another language, translate its transcript into any of 99+ languages. Translate audio.

Other recordings, other files

Text from other formats, and every format PrismaScribe takes.

Text from other files

Every format

Read your next recording instead of replaying it.

Transcribe an M4A free

30 min of free transcription a month, no card.

One recording in.
Everything you need out.