Transcribe Audio and Video in Many Languages
Upload an audio or video file, or paste a link, and ScreenApp turns the spoken words into a text transcript in whichever of its 100+ supported languages your recording is in. the language is detected automatically per file, and a recording that switches languages partway through is still transcribed.
You get a transcript you can search, edit in the browser, and export, instead of replaying the recording to find a quote.
What you get:
- A transcript in any of 100+ languages
- the language is detected automatically per file, including a recording that switches languages partway through
- Speaker labels and timestamps for the languages marked on the language list; other languages transcribe as text only
- Export as PDF, DOCX, TXT, SRT and VTT
- Translate the transcript or captions: transcript and caption translation
- Ask AI questions about the recording and get answers that point to the moment it happened
- Free plan: 2 transcriptions of recordings up to 45 minutes each, with AI chat on both
How to Transcribe a Multilingual Recording
- Upload or paste a link: Drag in your video or audio file (MP4, M4V, MOV, AVI, WEBM, MKV, FLV, TS, MTS, M2TS, 3GP, 3GPP, 3G2, WMV, ASF, VOB, OGV, RM, RMVB, MPG, MPEG, M2V, F4V, MXF, or MP3, M4A, MP4A, M4B, AAC, WAV, OGG, OPUS, FLAC, AIFF, WMA, WEBMA, MKA, AC3, EAC3, WV, AMR, DSF, DFF) or paste a link from YouTube, Vimeo, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and most other public video links (Twitch, Loom, Dropbox, Google Drive, Pinterest, X, Threads, Douyin, Kuaishou, Bilibili) through a generic importer.
- Let it transcribe: The audio is converted to text, and every sentence gets a timestamp.
- Search, edit, export, translate: Read the transcript in the browser, edit it, export it, or translate it into another language.
Accuracy depends on the audio and the language spoken. Clean, single-speaker audio with no background noise transcribes best; a distant microphone or overlapping speakers will have more gaps. See how we measure accuracy by language.
Multilingual Transcription vs Other Apps
| Feature | ScreenApp | HappyScribe | Otter.ai | transcri.io |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Languages transcribed | 100+ | 60+ | 6 | 100+ |
| Free trial | 2 transcriptions, up to 45 min each | 10 min | 300 min/month | 8 min per file |
| Export formats (entry tier) | PDF, DOCX, TXT, SRT and VTT | TXT, SRT | Not stated | Not stated |
| Translation | transcript and caption translation | 80+ languages | Not stated | Not stated |
| Entry paid plan | $19/month annual | $8.50/month annual | $8.33/month annual | €4/month |
Sources, checked 2026-09-29: screenapp.io/accuracy#languages, ScreenApp pricing, happyscribe.com/pricing, otter.ai/pricing, transcri.io/en/multilingual-transcription
- vs HappyScribe: HappyScribe transcribes 60+ languages and translates into 80+, with a 10-minute free trial. ScreenApp covers 100+ languages for transcription and translation, with 2 transcriptions of recordings up to 45 minutes each free rather than a short trial.
- vs Otter.ai: Otter’s language support is limited to 6 languages (English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, and Chinese). ScreenApp transcribes 100+.
- vs transcri.io: transcri.io lists 100+ languages but caps its free tier at 8 minutes per file. ScreenApp’s free plan covers a full recording of up to 45 minutes.
Who Needs Multilingual Transcription
International businesses transcribe customer calls, interviews, and meetings recorded in the language the participants actually spoke, without translating the audio first.
Academics and researchers transcribe interviews and field recordings collected across different countries and languages, then keep every transcript in one library.
Media producers and subtitlers transcribe footage in whichever language it was shot in, then use the transcript as the base for subtitles and captions.
Language learners and teachers transcribe lessons and native-speaker recordings, then read the transcript alongside the audio to check vocabulary.
Global teams send recordings from offices in different countries and get transcripts back in the language each recording was made in, then translate the ones they need to share more widely.
Podcasters and video creators transcribe episodes recorded in a non-English language to write show notes and captions for viewers who watch without sound.