Where Does Each Meeting Platform Save Your Transcript?

Name: Meeting platform transcript availability, 2026
Creator: MeetWave
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

By Ivan Demchenko · September 25, 2026 · Updated October 10, 2026 · 6 min read

Of 12 ways to get a transcript on 9 meeting and video platforms, checked in each vendor's help pages between 25 September and 10 October 2026, 5 keep a saved transcript only on a paid plan: Zoom cloud recordings, Google Meet, Slack huddles, Riverside and Vimeo. Loom lets every plan view and copy the text but keeps the .srt download for paid plans. Microsoft and Webex do not name a plan on their transcript pages. Discord and a Zoom local recording save no transcript at all.

Key numbers

Of 12 transcript sources on 9 platforms, 5 keep a saved transcript only on a paid plan, checked between 25 September and 10 October 2026 (how we counted).
Zoom saves a .vtt transcript only for Pro, Business, Education or Enterprise accounts with cloud recording and the audio transcript turned on (2026, Zoom Support).
Google Meet transcripts need one of 8 Workspace editions, from Business Standard to Workspace Individual, and are saved in the organizer's Drive in a "Google Meet" folder (2026, Google Meet Help).
Teams meeting recordings and transcripts expire after 120 days by default under the admin's expiration policy (2026, Microsoft Learn).
Webex transcribes recordings in English only, usually within twice the meeting's length and in rare cases up to 24 hours (2025, Webex Help).
Discord Clips save 30-second, 60-second or 2-minute video clips, and Discord has no transcript feature (2026, Discord Support).

Where each platform keeps the transcript

The table below has one row per way to get a transcript: Zoom has three, because a cloud recording, a local recording and the saved chat each leave a different file in a different place. Each cell was read on the vendor's own help page; the Checked column links to it (Sources).

Where 12 meeting and video platforms save a transcript, from each vendor's own help pages
Platform	Plan for a saved transcript	File you get	Where it's saved	Who can open it	Kept for	Turn it into text	Checked
Zoom meeting transcripts	Pro, Business, Education or Enterprise, with cloud recording and audio transcript turned on	.vtt	Web portal → Recordings & Transcripts → Cloud recordings, as a separate VTT file next to the recording	You, in your own recordings list; people you share the recording with, if you let viewers see the transcript	No default limit stated; after a downgrade to a free account, cloud recordings are deleted after 30 days	Zoom transcript to text	25 Sep 2026docs 1 docs 2
Transcribe a Zoom recording	Any plan, Basic (free) included, can record to the computer — but computer recordings have no audio transcription	No transcript: an .mp4 video and an .m4a audio file	Documents/Zoom on the recording computer	Not documented by Zoom	Not documented by Zoom	Zoom recording to text	25 Sep 2026docs 1 docs 2
Zoom chat transcript	No plan listed for saving chat to the computer; the cloud Chat file needs a licensed user with cloud recording	.txt of the chat messages, not of what was said	Documents/Zoom, in a folder named after the meeting, date and time; or a Chat file next to a cloud recording	Participants the host allows to save chat; auto-save works for the host only	Not documented by Zoom	Zoom chat converter	25 Sep 2026docs 1 docs 2
Google Meet transcript	Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Starter, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Teaching and Learning Upgrade, Education Plus or Workspace Individual	Not documented by Google (it says "a separate transcript file")	The organizer's Google Drive, "Google Meet" folder; from July 2026 the old "Meet Recordings" folder is renamed "Legacy Meet Recordings"	Emailed to the host, co-hosts and whoever turned it on; attached to the Calendar event, which invitees in the host's organization can open	Not documented by Google	—	25 Sep 2026docs
Microsoft Teams transcript	Not documented by Microsoft on its transcript help pages	.docx or .vtt	The organizer's OneDrive; for channel meetings, the team's SharePoint site	Organizers and co-organizers can download; others only with their permission	120 days by default under the admin's expiration policy (at most 30 days by default for A1 users)	Teams transcript converter	25 Sep 2026docs 1 docs 2 docs 3
SharePoint and Stream video transcript	Not documented by Microsoft on its video transcript page; uploaded videos are transcribed automatically unless an admin turns it off	.vtt (WebVTT) only	The video's player page in SharePoint or OneDrive: Video settings → Transcript and captions → … → Download	Anyone who can open the video can read the transcript; only people with edit permission on the video can download it	Kept with the video: deleted with it, moved with it, and under the same retention policy; a Teams meeting transcript deleted here stays in Teams	VTT to text converter	10 Oct 2026docs 1 docs 2
Webex meeting transcript	Not documented by Webex; the meeting must be recorded to the cloud	Not documented by Webex	User Hub, beside the cloud recording	The host, who can download, edit and share it	Not documented by Webex	—	25 Sep 2026docs 1 docs 2
Slack huddle transcript	Paid plans; members only, not guests	No file: the transcript is embedded in the AI notes canvas	A canvas in the huddle thread	Anyone in the channel or DM; AI notes do not work in huddles with external people or guests	Not documented by Slack	—	25 Sep 2026docs
Discord call transcript	None: Discord does not provide a recording or transcript feature	No transcript; Clips saves 30-second, 60-second or 2-minute video clips	Clips are stored only on your computer	No transcript to open	No transcript to keep	Transcribe the audio file	25 Sep 2026docs 1 docs 2
Loom video transcript	Every plan can view and copy it; the .srt download needs Business, Business + AI or Enterprise	Copy to clipboard, or an .srt caption file	Transcript in the video's side panel; .srt from … → Download captions	.srt: creators and admins on Business or Business + AI, members and admins on Enterprise	Not documented by Loom	SRT to text converter	25 Sep 2026docs
Riverside transcript	Pro, Grow, Webinar or Business	.txt or .srt	Project → Recordings → Tracks → Transcript → Download	Account owner, admins, directors and editors	Not stated for transcripts; recordings move to archive storage 2 years after recording and can be restored	SRT to text converter	25 Sep 2026docs 1 docs 2
Vimeo transcript	A paid plan	.srt, .vtt or .ttml	Library → the video → Languages → ⋮ → Download	People with edit access to the video	Not documented by Vimeo	SRT to text converter	25 Sep 2026docs

Source: each vendor's help pages, linked in the Checked column and under Sources; “Not documented” means the page was read and does not say. Download this table as CSV (CC BY 4.0: free to reuse with a link to this page).

Which platforms need a paid plan

A saved transcript is a paid feature on most platforms. Zoom asks for Pro or higher (Zoom Support), Google Meet for Business Standard or one of 7 other editions (Google Meet Help), Slack for a paid plan (Slack Help), Riverside for Pro, Grow, Webinar or Business (Riverside Help Center) and Vimeo for a paid plan (Vimeo Help Center). Figure 1 shows all 12 rows.

Dot matrix: 5 of 12 transcript sources need a paid plan, 1 is partly free, 1 lists no plan, 3 do not document one and 2 save no transcript Figure 1. What a saved transcript requires, per source. Source: vendor help pages, checked 25 September and 10 October 2026.

Loom is the one split case: every plan can view and copy the transcript, but the .srt caption download needs Business, Business + AI or Enterprise (Atlassian Support). Microsoft's and Webex's transcript pages describe who downloads the file and where it lands, but not which licence you need (Microsoft Support, Microsoft Support on video transcripts, Webex Help). The table says "Not documented" there rather than guessing.

What file you get, and how to turn it into text

No two platforms hand you the same thing. Zoom gives a .vtt, Teams a .docx or .vtt, a video stored in SharePoint or Stream a .vtt to people who can edit it (Microsoft Support), Riverside a .txt or .srt, Vimeo a .srt, .vtt or .ttml, and Slack no file at all, only a canvas (Slack Help). Figure 2 lines them up.

Chart listing, for 12 transcript sources, the file each one gives and the converter that turns it into plain text Figure 2. What each source gives you after the meeting. Source: vendor help pages, checked 25 September and 10 October 2026.

Caption files carry a timestamp line for every few seconds of speech. To read one as a document, run a Zoom or SharePoint .vtt through the VTT to text converter, a Teams .docx or .vtt through the Teams transcript converter, a Riverside, Loom or Vimeo .srt through the SRT to text converter, and a saved Zoom chat through the Zoom chat converter. All four run in the browser.

When the platform saves nothing

Discord has no transcript feature (Discord Support), and a Zoom recording saved to the computer has no audio transcription (Zoom Support). What you have is audio, and the way to text is to transcribe the audio file.

For calls you have not had yet, MeetWave records them itself. No bot joins your calls: the Chrome extension records web calls on macOS, Windows, Linux and ChromeOS, and the Windows desktop app also captures system audio from any app.

How we calculated

"Checked" means a person opened every page listed under Sources on 25 September 2026 (the Microsoft Stream / SharePoint row on 10 October 2026) and read the fact on it; search snippets and third-party guides were not used. Each row is one way to get a transcript, so Zoom's cloud recording, local recording and saved chat are three rows, and Microsoft's Teams meetings and Stream / SharePoint videos are two; the 12 rows cover 9 companies.

A row counts as "paid plan only" when the vendor's page names paid plans as the requirement for a saved transcript (5 rows). Loom counts as partly free. The Zoom chat file counts as "no plan listed", because the requirements list only the desktop app. "Not documented" means the page was read and does not say; those cells are counted neither as yes nor as no (Teams, Stream / SharePoint and Webex plans, 3 rows). The same rows are published as a CSV file under CC BY 4.0.

FAQ

Where did my Zoom transcript go?

It is next to the cloud recording in the Zoom web portal, under Recordings & Transcripts, as a separate .vtt file — and only if the meeting was recorded to the cloud on a paid plan with the audio transcript on (Zoom Support). A recording saved to your computer has none (Zoom Support).

Does Google Meet save transcripts on a free Gmail account?

No. Google lists 8 Workspace editions that have transcripts, from Business Standard to Workspace Individual, and a personal Gmail account is not one of them (Google Meet Help).

Can I download a Teams transcript if I'm not the organizer?

By default only the organizer and co-organizers can download it as a .docx or .vtt; they can give others permission (Microsoft Support).

Does Discord transcribe calls?

No. Discord's own help center says it "does not currently provide a recording or transcript feature" (Discord Support).

Sources

Zoom Support — Using audio transcription for cloud recordings (2026). Accessed 2026-09-25.
Zoom Support — Enabling cloud recording (2026). Accessed 2026-09-25.
Zoom Support — Starting a computer recording (2026). Accessed 2026-09-25.
Zoom Support — Finding your computer and cloud recordings (2026). Accessed 2026-09-25.
Zoom Support — Saving in-meeting chat (2026). Accessed 2026-09-25.
Zoom Support — Chatting in a Zoom meeting (2026). Accessed 2026-09-25.
Google Meet Help — Use transcripts with Google Meet (2026). Accessed 2026-09-25.
Microsoft Support — Start, stop, and download live transcripts in Microsoft Teams meetings (2026). Accessed 2026-09-25.
Microsoft Learn — Teams meeting recording and transcript storage and permissions in OneDrive and SharePoint (2026). Accessed 2026-09-25.
Microsoft Learn — Manage Teams recording expiration policy (2026). Accessed 2026-09-25.
Webex Help — Get a post-meeting transcript by recording your meeting or webinar (2024). Accessed 2026-09-25.
Webex Help — Turn on recording transcripts in meetings, webinars, and events (2025). Accessed 2026-09-25.
Slack Help — Use AI to take huddle notes in Slack (2026). Accessed 2026-09-25.
Discord Support — Clips (2026). Accessed 2026-09-25.
Discord Support — Stage Channel Guidelines (2026). Accessed 2026-09-25.
Atlassian Support — Loom video transcription and closed captions (2026). Accessed 2026-09-25.
Riverside Help Center — Download transcript of full recording (2026). Accessed 2026-09-25.
Riverside Help Center — Access archived recordings (2026). Accessed 2026-09-25.
Vimeo Help Center — How to view or download my video's transcript (2026). Accessed 2026-09-25.
Microsoft Support — View, edit, and manage video transcripts and captions (2026). Accessed 2026-10-10.

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