Free tool · No sign-up

Voice memo to text

All those voice memos you never listened to again — finally readable and searchable.

.m4a from Voice Memos
First 2 minutes free, any lengthLanguage detected automaticallyiPhone, iPad, Mac
Longer than 2 minutes?You get the first 2 minutes here. Kalpa transcribes the rest — free to start on iPhone Get the app ›

How do you transcribe a voice memo on iPhone?

To turn a voice memo to text on iPhone, open Voice Memos, tap the recording, tap ⋯, then Share → Save to Files, and drop the .m4a above. The first 2 minutes of any memo are free here; the rest is in Kalpa. You can also record straight into Kalpa on iPhone or Apple Watch.

Short ones here, long ones in Kalpa

First 2 min · free hereVoice Memo, New Recording 140:52English · detected
0:00
Idea for the garden: move the tomatoes to the south wall.
0:10
They only got sun in the afternoon last summer.
0:24
Buy two more bags of compost, the big ones.
0:38
And ask the neighbour if we can borrow the ladder.
Keep it, search it, ask about it laterSave to Kalpa ›

How to transcribe iPhone Voice Memos

  1. Open Voice Memos

    On iPhone, iPad or Mac.

  2. Share the recording

    ⋯ → Share → Save to Files. On a Mac, drag it out.

  3. Drop the .m4a above

    The first 2 minutes of any memo are free.

  4. Or record in Kalpa

    On iPhone or Apple Watch, transcribed on your iPhone.

Faster in the app

Your voice memos, finally readable

Ideas from walks, drives and late nights pile up in Voice Memos unheard. Turn them into text you can skim in seconds — or record the next one straight into Kalpa on iPhone or Apple Watch.

Good to know

  • Some iOS versions can show transcripts in Voice Memos for some languages; Kalpa detects 25 languages automatically.
  • Kalpa can record from your Apple Watch, too.
  • For longer memos, the first 2 minutes are free here and the rest is in Kalpa.

Why people transcribe voice memos

Ideas on the go

Thoughts from walks and drives, as text.

Journaling

Talk through your day, read it back later.

Reminders

Lists and plans you dictated.

When the free tool is enough — and when you need Kalpa

Free web toolKalpa app
LengthFirst 2 minutes of any recordingThe whole recording, no limit
Summary, quotes and topics—Yes
Search everything you saved—Ask in chat, jump to the moment
Your own recordingsUpload a fileRecord on iPhone or Apple Watch, transcribed on device
Languages25, detected automatically25, detected automatically

Questions and answers

Doesn’t iPhone transcribe Voice Memos already?

Some iOS versions show transcripts in Voice Memos for some languages; Kalpa works with any memo you save as .m4a and detects 25 languages.

Can I record voice memos directly in Kalpa?

Yes, the Kalpa app records on iPhone and Apple Watch and transcribes your recordings on your iPhone.

What file format are iPhone voice memos?

iPhone Voice Memos are saved as .m4a files, which you can drop here without converting.

How much of a voice memo is free to transcribe?

Kalpa transcribes the first 2 minutes of any voice memo for free, with no sign-up; the rest is in the Kalpa app, which is free to start.

What happens to my voice memo after it’s transcribed?

Your voice memo audio is deleted right after the transcript is made; the text is kept for 24 hours so the same recording isn’t processed twice, then deleted, and Kalpa does not use it to train models.

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Everything you hear and say, remembered

Kalpa keeps what you watch, say and think in one place you can talk to. Free to start on iPhone and Apple Watch.

Download on the App Store