Zoom Recording to Text
Upload the recording Zoom saved to your computer — the .m4a audio or the .mp4 video from Documents/Zoom — and get a transcript with timestamps and a label for each speaker. The first file is free up to 60 minutes with no account, and it works for recordings made on the free Zoom plan, which gives no transcript of its own. The audio is deleted as soon as the text is ready.
First file free up to 60 min · then 1 credit per 30 min (from $0.06) · New accounts get 14 days of Pro
Any other audio or video file? Use the audio to text converter — same engine, same limits.
Zoom recording to transcript: an example
Input: the audio of a 12-minute Zoom call recorded to the computer on the free plan (audio1693410812.m4a from Documents/Zoom/2026-10-02 15.03.12 Weekly sync).
Output:
| Time | Speaker | Text |
|---|---|---|
| 00:02 | Speaker 1 | Okay, it's recording. First thing — where are we with the onboarding emails? |
| 00:08 | Speaker 2 | Two of three are written. The third waits on the new pricing. |
| 00:15 | Speaker 1 | Pricing is final as of yesterday, so you can finish it this week. |
| 00:21 | Speaker 3 | I'll send you the final numbers after this call. |
| 00:26 | Speaker 2 | Then all three go out on Monday. |
Rename "Speaker 1" to the real name once and every download uses it. The summary and action items of the call are one step further, on the same page.
Where to get this file
Zoom local recording · checked 25 Sep 2026
- Saved transcript
- Any plan, Basic (free) included, can record to the computer — but computer recordings have no audio transcription
- File
- No transcript: an .mp4 video and an .m4a audio file
- Where
- Documents/Zoom on the recording computer
- Who can get it
- Not documented by Zoom
Transcribe a Zoom recording: the full guide →Source: Zoom Support — Starting a computer recording, Zoom Support — Finding your computer and cloud recordings
Which file to upload from the Zoom folder
A meeting recorded to your computer leaves a folder in Documents/Zoom named after the date, time and topic of the meeting. Inside are an .mp4 with the video and an .m4a with the audio. Upload the .m4a: it is the same speech without the picture, a fraction of the size, so it uploads faster and a long call stays under the 350 MB limit. The .mp4 works as well when it is the only file you kept.
The folder can also hold the chat as a text file — that is what people typed, not what they said. The Zoom chat converter reads it.
Cloud recording or local recording
A cloud recording on a paid Zoom plan can come with its own transcript, a .vtt file next to the video in the Zoom web portal. If you have that file, you do not need to transcribe the audio: convert the Zoom transcript to text instead, with the names Zoom found. A recording saved to your computer — the only kind the free plan makes — never has a transcript, and that is what this page is for.
Where each kind of recording ends up, and how to find a lost one, is in where Zoom saves recordings.
From the recording to the notes of the meeting
The first recording is free up to 60 minutes with no account. When the transcript of a meeting is ready, the page shows its overview and first action items; saving the meeting creates your account, which comes with 14 days of Pro and no card — or paste the text into the meeting transcript summarizer.
| What | Where it is kept | How long |
|---|---|---|
| Your audio or video file | Encrypted storage used only for this job | Until the transcript is ready, then deleted — every stored version of it |
| The working copy on the transcription server | The server that runs the speech-to-text engine | Deleted together with the file |
| The transcript | Encrypted storage, under a random job id | Deleted within 48 hours, or at once when you click "Delete now" |
| The file name | Only in your browser, so a reload can show it | Never sent to us |
How to transcribe a Zoom recording
Find the recording
Zoom saves local recordings to Documents/Zoom, in a folder named after the date, time and topic of the meeting.
Upload the .m4a (or the .mp4)
Drop the audio file on this page — the .mp4 works too, it is just bigger. Up to 350 MB. Click Transcribe.
Read and rename
Each line has a timestamp and a speaker label. Click "Speaker 1" to give it a name, search the text, then copy it or download TXT, Word, SRT or VTT.