Transcribe lecture recordings to text you can study from.
To transcribe a lecture recording, upload the audio or video file from your phone or lecture capture, pick the language it was taught in, and Braindump turns it into the full lecture in text, split into paragraphs, with a title and a short summary to study from. 3 free transcriptions a day, no credit card.
How to transcribe a lecture in 3 steps
Get the recording
Record the lecture on your phone, or use the file from your course's lecture capture, Zoom or Teams if you're allowed to download it. Audio or video both work: m4a, mp3, wav, mp4, mov and more.
Upload and pick the language
Upload up to 3 files at once and choose the language the lecture was taught in, from 59 options. Braindump doesn't guess the language, so this step matters most for courses taught in a second language.
Get the text and the summary
Within minutes the whole lecture is in your dashboard as paragraphs, with a title and a short summary. You can close the tab while it runs: we email you when it's ready.
What a transcribed lecture looks like
An example written for this page, not a real student's note: the end of a 52-minute economics lecture, with questions from the room.
Title
Price elasticity of demand and total revenue
Summary
The lecture defines price elasticity of demand as the percentage change in quantity demanded divided by the percentage change in price, and explains why demand for necessities like fuel is inelastic in the short run. It works through two numeric examples, links elasticity to total revenue, and ends with student questions about cross-price elasticity and the midterm.
Transcript, excerpt
Speaker 144:58
So if you remember one thing from today: when demand is elastic, cutting the price raises total revenue, and when it's inelastic, cutting the price lowers it. That's the link you'll need for problem set three. OK, questions.
Speaker 246:12
Is cross-price elasticity going to be on the midterm, or just own-price?
Speaker 146:20
Both. Cross-price is the one people mix up, so look at the sign. A positive number means substitutes, a negative number means complements. We'll do more on that on Thursday.
If only the lecturer is heard, the transcript is plain paragraphs. When questions from the room are picked up as other voices, the whole transcript shows as speaker turns with the time each one starts, like above, and you can rename Speaker 1 to your professor's name.
From lecture recording to text to revision
A transcript turns a recording you can only replay into text you can skim, search and study from.
Study from the summary
Before an exam, read the summary of each lecture in a minute or two and see what it covered, instead of rewatching an hour of video at 1.5x.
Search the whole lecture
The full text is searchable. The definition your professor gave near the end is a search away, not a scrub through the recording.
Export to PDF, Word or TXT
Download the transcript as PDF, DOCX or TXT, or copy it into Notion, OneNote or Google Docs. Print it, highlight it, or send it to your study group with a share link.
Turn it into study notes
A transcript is raw material, not notes. Our guide on how to turn a recorded lecture into study notes shows a ten-minute method: headings from the summary, definitions from search, then questions you have to answer. Still need the recording? See how to record lectures.
Record lectures that transcribe well
The transcript can only be as clear as the audio. A few seconds of setup make the biggest difference.
Ask before you record
Rules differ by university and sometimes by lecturer. Many allow recording for personal study, and recording is often an approved accommodation through disability services. Sharing a recording publicly is a separate question, and usually not allowed.
Put the phone near the voice
Sit near the front and point the microphone at the lecturer, not at you. A phone in a bag or under a notebook turns a clear lecture into muffled audio.
Use the room's microphone if you can
If the lecturer wears a microphone, the lecture capture recording usually sounds cleaner than a phone at the back of the hall. Download it if your course allows that and upload the file.
Turn on Do Not Disturb
An incoming call can interrupt the recording on some phones. Check your battery and free storage before a two-hour lecture, too.
One file per lecture
Record each session as its own file and name it with the course and week while you still remember. A semester of clearly named transcripts is easy to search at exam time.
Help the questions come through
Questions from the back of the room are often faint on a phone recording. Lecturers who repeat the question make the transcript better, so check those lines against the audio.
What's free, and when it's not a good fit
Free plan and Pro
- 3 transcriptions a day on the free plan, renewed daily, no credit card. You sign in with Google or Apple.
- Free files can be up to 2 hours and 250 MB.
- Recordings over 30 minutes show a free preview: the first part is readable, and the rest, plus copy, share and export, needs Pro. Most full lectures run past 30 minutes, so expect the preview on the free plan.
- Pro opens the full transcript and summary, takes files up to 5 hours and 600 MB, and goes well beyond 3 a day, with fair use.
Prices and the full comparison: Braindump pricing.
Not a good fit if you need
- Subtitles (SRT or VTT) for a lecture video.
- Word-by-word timestamps. Speaker turns show only the time each turn starts.
- Live transcription during the lecture. Braindump works on the recording afterwards.
- Translation. The transcript is in the language that was spoken.
- A YouTube, Panopto or Zoom link. Download the file and upload it instead.
- Flashcards, quizzes or finished study notes. You get a summary and the full text.
Questions about transcribing lectures
How do I transcribe a lecture for free?
Sign in with Google or Apple, upload the recording and pick the language the lecture was taught in. You get 3 free transcriptions a day, no credit card needed. Free files can be up to 2 hours long, but recordings over 30 minutes show a preview of the transcript, and the full text needs Pro.
How long can a lecture recording be?
On the free plan, files can be up to 2 hours and 250 MB, with a preview for anything over 30 minutes. With Pro, files can be up to 5 hours and 600 MB each, and you get the full transcript and summary.
Can I upload a lecture video or a Zoom recording?
Yes. Upload the video file as you downloaded it (mp4, mov, webm and more) and Braindump transcribes the audio track. It can't take a YouTube, Panopto or Zoom link, so download the file first.
Does it label the lecturer and the students?
Speaker labels are on for every web upload, free and Pro. If only the lecturer is heard, you get plain paragraphs. If questions from the room are picked up as other voices, the transcript shows turns like Speaker 1 and Speaker 2 with the time each turn starts, and you can rename Speaker 1 to your professor's name. It works best with 2 or 3 clear voices, so check turns from a phone at the back of a big hall. The iOS and Android apps don't have speaker labels yet.
Does the transcript have timestamps?
There are no word-by-word timestamps and no subtitle files. When a lecture has speaker turns, each turn shows the time it starts. A lecture with only one voice comes back as paragraphs without times.
What if my lecture mixes languages or uses a lot of technical terms?
Pick the language most of the lecture is in. Braindump doesn't detect the language on its own. Names, formulas and specialist terms are where mistakes are most likely, so check them against the audio before you quote them in an essay.
Can it make notes or flashcards from my lecture?
Braindump gives you a title, a short summary and the full transcript. It doesn't make flashcards, quizzes or structured study notes. Our guide on turning a recorded lecture into study notes shows how to do that yourself in about ten minutes.
Which languages does it support?
59 languages, including English, Spanish, French, German, Arabic, Hindi, Chinese and Japanese. Choose the language before you upload.
How long does it take to transcribe an hour-long lecture?
Usually a few minutes. You don't have to keep the page open: we email you when the transcript is ready.
Are my lecture recordings private?
Your recording is used to create your transcript, and your notes are tied to your account. Nobody else sees them unless you share a link.
Record the next lecture, read it tonight
3 free transcriptions a day, no credit card needed.
Transcribe your first lectureRecording research interviews too? Here is how to transcribe an interview. For meetings and voice memos, use the same audio to text tool. Longer lectures and a full semester: see Braindump pricing.