Skip to content
Scriptorium
Transcribe free

Voicemail to text

Voicemail to text

Save the voicemail as a file, upload it, and read it as text. Voicemails are short, so they fit the no-account limits easily. They are also narrowband phone audio, so check names and phone numbers against the recording instead of trusting the transcript.

Free preview: one file up to 15 minutes and 25 MB, 3 tries a day, no account needed.

Want to keep your transcripts? Create a free account

Getting the voicemail out of the phone

A voicemail only becomes uploadable when it is a file. On a phone with visual voicemail, open the message and use the share option to save it to Files, send it to yourself by email or message, or AirDrop it. Many Android phones and carriers offer a similar share or download option; others keep voicemail on the carrier's system and give you no file at all, in which case you can play it and record it with a second device, with lower quality. Voicemail services that email the audio as an attachment give you the file directly. Menu names change between phones and carriers, so look for share, save or download on the message itself.

What the file is

Voicemail is typically stored in a format made for phone calls. It can be M4A, or an older AMR file (narrowband audio sampled at 8 kHz). Both upload as they are. See AMR to text for what that older format does to detail.

Steps

  1. Save or share the voicemail as an audio file.
  2. Choose it in the box above. Voicemails are short, so the result is quick.
  3. Listen once while you read, and correct names and any phone numbers or addresses.
  4. Copy the text, or keep the transcript in a free account's library.

What to check every time

  • Phone numbers and house numbers: digits spoken quickly are among the easiest things to get wrong.
  • Names, especially unusual ones, and the spelling of company names.
  • Times and dates (“the fifteenth” and “the fiftieth” sound alike on a bad line).
  • Anything legal, medical or financial: keep the original audio, not just the text.

Your phone may already do this

Some phones and carriers transcribe voicemail themselves, in the languages and regions they support. This page is for when yours does not, when the language is not supported, or when you want an editable text file you can keep or send on. Recording rules differ by country and sometimes by state, and in some places everyone on a recording has to agree to it. Check yours before you record, and upload only recordings you have the right to use. A voicemail contains the caller's voice and often private details, and uploading it sends it to our server; the privacy page says how long it is kept.

How it works

  1. Add a recording

    Drop in a video or audio file, choose one from your device, or record from the microphone. Nothing to install.

  2. It transcribes

    Speech becomes timestamped text, with speaker labels when more than one person talks.

  3. Read, fix, export

    Click any line to correct it, then download TXT, subtitles, Markdown, JSON or CSV.

Questions

Will it read out a phone number correctly?
Do not rely on it. Digits are easy to mishear on narrowband audio. Play the number again and check it by ear.
Can I paste a link to the voicemail?
No. Only files can be uploaded.
How long can a voicemail be?
Voicemails are short, so the limits are rarely a problem. Without an account the limits are 15 minutes and 25 MB, up to 3 tries a day.
Is it free?
Yes — one recording up to 15 minutes and 25 MB with no account, up to 3 tries a day. A free account keeps your transcripts in a library and lifts the guest limits; the current limits and paid plans are on the pricing page.
What can I export?
Plain text, timestamped text, SRT, VTT, Markdown, JSON with word timings and CSV, all from the same edited transcript.

Want your transcripts saved and longer files? Create a free account · See pricing · All use cases

Try it with your file

No account needed for a first transcript.

Transcribe free — no sign-up Create free account

More pages like this