How to transcribe a video to text for free
Updated on October 19, 2026
PegaClip turns the speech in a public video into text. You paste the link, tap Transcribe and get the words as plain text, plus SRT and VTT caption files with timestamps. There’s no account to create, and it runs in the browser on a phone or a computer.
What you need
- A link to a public post. Posts from private accounts, stories and highlights don’t work.
- A video up to 3 minutes long. Longer videos are refused.
- Someone talking. The tool transcribes speech. It doesn’t read text shown on the screen.
YouTube links and music services like Spotify or SoundCloud aren’t supported.
How to transcribe a video
- Copy the link. In the app, open the video, tap Share and then Copy link. On a computer, copy the address from the browser bar.
- Paste it. Open PegaClip and tap Paste, or long-press the box and paste. On iPhone, Safari shows a small Paste bubble; tap it. On Android, Chrome may ask to read your clipboard; tap Allow. If you copied the whole caption by mistake, it still works: the tool picks the link out of the text.
- Start the transcript. On the transcript page, tap Transcribe. On the home page, the search starts on its own: in the file list, tap Transcribe this video. A bot check runs in the background, and most of the time you won’t see it. The transcription takes up to about 30 seconds.
- Check the language. The AI detects the spoken language and shows it above the text. If it’s wrong, tap Another language and choose English, Spanish or Portuguese. Your first change for each video is free that day.
- Copy or download the result. You get the full text, Copy text and SRT subtitles, with TXT and VTT under Other formats.
Downloading the video too? You don’t need to paste the link twice. After you tap Download, the file list has a Transcribe this video button.
Which file to download
| File | What’s in it | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| TXT | The words as one block, no timestamps | Notes, quotes, blog posts, show notes |
| SRT | Numbered captions with start and end times | Video editors and YouTube Studio |
| VTT | The same captions in the web format | Video players on websites |
All three come from the same transcript. For captions, see how to make an SRT file and SRT vs VTT.
Free limits
- Up to 3 minutes per video.
- Up to 4 transcriptions every 15 minutes. After that, they’re free again. There’s no daily cap.
The limit counts per internet connection (IP address). On shared Wi-Fi at an office or a dorm, other people’s transcriptions may count toward yours. The result shows how many you’ve used and the time the count resets. A 20-second clip and a 3-minute one count the same.
Attempts that end in an error don’t count. A video over 3 minutes is refused before it uses any of your quota. Transcribing the same video again in the same language brings back the saved transcript and doesn’t count either. Changing the language with Another language makes a new transcript: your first change for each video is free that day, and further changes of the same video count as one each.
Common errors
“That doesn’t look like a link.” What you pasted has no link in it, or the link got cut off. Go back to the app and use Share > Copy link.
“That’s a profile link, not a video.” You copied the account page. Open the video and copy its link.
“Free transcription covers up to 3 min per video.” The free tool stops at 3 minutes. Use a shorter clip.
“We couldn’t find that post.” It may have been deleted, the account may be private, or the post may be blocked in Brazil, where our servers are.
“We couldn’t read that post right now.” The platform may be limiting access for a while. Wait a few minutes and try again. The same goes for a message saying the platform is blocking access.
“We couldn’t confirm you’re not a robot.” Reload the page and try again. If it keeps happening, turn off your VPN or switch browsers.
The text is empty or doesn’t match the video. The video may have only music, or the language was detected wrong. Why is my transcript wrong goes through each case.
What happens to the video
We don’t store videos. To transcribe, the server fetches only the audio and runs speech-to-text on our own machine. Only when it’s full or down does a backup provider get the audio, never your IP address. The temporary audio file is deleted as soon as the job ends.
The transcript of a public video can stay in our cache for up to 7 days, saved under the video’s ID only. No IP address or other data about you is stored with it. That’s why a video someone transcribed recently can come back almost instantly.
FAQ
Is it really free?
Yes. There’s no account and no trial. Ads on the site pay for it.
How accurate is it?
Clear speech with little background noise comes out close to word for word. Music, people talking over each other, slang and names cause most mistakes. Read the text before you publish it.
Does it add punctuation?
Yes. Periods, commas, question marks and capital letters are added automatically. Check them, especially in questions and lists.
Does it show who is speaking?
No. The transcript doesn’t label speakers. For an interview or a conversation, add the names yourself.
Can I transcribe a video file from my computer?
No. PegaClip works from links to public posts.
Which languages work?
Automatic detection handles many languages. The menu lets you set English, Spanish or Portuguese yourself. Accuracy is best in widely spoken languages with clear audio.