How to Export Audio From a Video Before You Transcribe It
To export audio from video for transcription, open the file in a player or editor that is already on your device, save only the audio track as an M4A or MP3, and upload that file to transcribe.so instead of the video. As of October 2026, audio uploads up to 1 GB are accepted, while a video is converted to audio inside your browser tab, so its limit depends on the device: up to 2 GB on a computer with 8 GB of memory or more, 1 GB on a 4 GB machine, and 512 MB on phones and tablets. On a paid plan a larger video does not need exporting: it uploads whole, up to 4 GB on pay as you go and Starter and up to 8 GB on Pro and above.
Why does transcribe.so refuse a large video?
A transcript only needs the audio track, so when you pick a video file, transcribe.so strips the picture inside your browser and uploads the audio alone. That conversion runs in the tab's memory and needs roughly twice the file size while it works. Past a certain size the tab would run out of memory and crash without warning, so the form refuses the file first and tells you the limit it used for your device. Exporting the audio yourself does the same step on your own disk, where size is not a problem.
| Device, as reported by the browser | In-browser video limit | Audio upload limit |
|---|---|---|
| Computer with 8 GB of memory or more | 2 GB | 1 GB |
| Computer with 4 GB of memory | 1 GB | 1 GB |
| Computer with 2 GB or less, phone, tablet | 512 MB | 1 GB |
| Browser that does not report memory (Safari, Firefox on a computer) | 2 GB | 1 GB |
Can I upload a large video without exporting the audio?
Yes, on a paid plan. When a video is over your device's in-browser limit, the form uploads the whole file instead of converting it in the tab, and the audio is pulled out on our servers. The video upload limit depends on your plan:
| Plan | Largest video you can upload whole |
|---|---|
| Free, or pay as you go with no paid top-up yet | Not available: export the audio (up to 1 GB) |
| Pay as you go, after a paid top-up, with credit left | 4 GB |
| Starter | 4 GB |
| Pro, Business, Enterprise | 8 GB |
The signup credit alone does not unlock whole-video uploads; one paid top-up and a positive balance do. Uploading the whole video sends every byte of it, so it takes much longer than uploading the audio. The form shows the time left at your current speed while it runs. Keep the tab open; if the connection drops or the tab closes, pick the same file again from your library to resume where it stopped. Exporting the audio first is still the fastest route on a slow connection.
How do I export the audio on a Mac (QuickTime Player)?
- Open the video in QuickTime Player.
- Choose File, then Export As, then Audio Only.
- Save the file. It is an M4A with the original audio quality.
- Upload the M4A at transcribe.so/transcriptions.
Audio is a small fraction of a video's size, so even a long recording exported as audio usually fits well inside the 1 GB limit.
How do I export the audio on Windows (VLC)?
VLC media player is free and runs on Windows 10 and 11.
- Open VLC and choose Media, then Convert / Save.
- Add the video file and click Convert / Save.
- Under Profile, pick Audio - MP3 or Audio - AAC (MP4). The default settings are fine for speech.
- Choose a destination file name ending in .mp3 or .m4a and click Start. The progress bar at the bottom shows the conversion.
- Upload the result.
The same steps work in VLC on macOS and Linux if you prefer it to QuickTime.
How do I do this on an iPhone or iPad?
The built-in apps do not export audio on their own, so use a free converter app from the App Store, or share the video to a Mac with AirDrop and use QuickTime there. Alternatively, record meetings and lectures with Voice Memos in the first place: those files are audio already and upload directly. On the phone the video limit is 512 MB, so an audio file is the dependable route for anything long.
How do I do this on Android?
Most Android file managers and gallery apps can share a video to a free audio converter app from the Play Store; pick MP3 or M4A as the output. On a Samsung device the built-in Gallery editor also offers an audio-only save in some versions. As on iPhone, the in-browser video limit is 512 MB, so export the audio for a long recording.
Which format should I choose?
Either M4A (AAC) or MP3 works. Choose "copy" or "passthrough" when a tool offers it, which keeps the original track with no quality loss and finishes in seconds. If you are given a bitrate, 128 kbps is plenty for speech. Both upload the same way from the transcribe.so home page or the app.
Frequently asked questions
Will I lose speaker labels or timestamps by uploading audio instead of video?
No. Speaker labels, word timestamps, chapters and the rest of the transcript come from the audio track alone. The video track is never used.
Does the 1 GB audio limit change with my plan?
No. As of October 2026 every plan accepts audio files up to 1 GB, and the per-file length limit of your plan still applies. What a paid plan changes is the video limit: a video over your browser's limit uploads whole, up to 4 GB on pay as you go (after a paid top-up) and Starter, and up to 8 GB on Pro, Business and Enterprise.
Does the API accept larger files on paid plans?
Yes. A resumable (tus) upload through the API accepts files up to the same plan limit: 1 GB free, 4 GB on pay as you go (after a paid top-up) and Starter, 8 GB on Pro and above. GET /api/v1/me reports your limit as limits.max_upload_bytes.
Can I upload the video somewhere else and paste a link instead?
Yes. A public link to the video (a YouTube upload, an Apple Podcasts episode, a Google Drive or Dropbox share link or a direct file URL) is fetched on our servers, up to 2 GB, so the device limit of the browser does not apply. Private recordings are better exported to audio and uploaded as a file.
Why does my friend's laptop accept a bigger video than mine?
The limit follows the device's memory as reported by the browser: 2 GB with 8 GB of RAM or more, 1 GB with 4 GB, and 512 MB with 2 GB or on a phone. Browsers that do not report memory (Safari, Firefox on a computer) keep the 2 GB limit.