Transcription

Online transcription without installing programs

Mark Vesyoly · founder of Potok · ~7 min

Potok turns speech into text in 33 languages, including English and Russian.

You can transcribe audio or video online without installing programs in the bot's mini app: a file up to 2 GB is uploaded straight into the browser, sign-in is by email or through Telegram, and no separate registration is needed. 60 minutes of transcription per month are free. For voice messages from Telegram there is also the bot itself, @potok_now_bot.

Transcribing a recording online means installing nothing on the computer: you open a page in the browser, upload the file and get the finished text in the same place, without a separate program.

How to transcribe online without installing programs

  1. Open the Potok bot in the browser on a computer or phone. There is no separate registration, only sign-in by email or through Telegram.
  2. Drag the recording file into the browser window (files up to 2 GB are accepted) or paste a link to YouTube, VK Video or RuTube. There is no need to download the video to the computer.
  3. Wait for the transcription: the finished text opens right on the recording page, and you can turn on timecodes and speaker labels in its settings if there are several voices.
  4. If you need to transcribe a voice message from Telegram, it is easier to forward it to the bot @potok_now_bot. That is also with no installation, right in the messenger.

Recordings and access are shared between the bot and the web version: a transcription started in one place can be viewed further in the other, without saving or forwarding anything again.

How to check and fix the transcript

Typos in the finished text are more often rare names, professional terms and words that were not in ordinary speech; the service has already put everything else in decent shape, including punctuation and capital letters, and has not cut a single sentence.

It is easier to check such places by ear than from memory: the web version has a player, and a click on the word you need in the text at once rewinds the recording to that moment, so you do not have to look for the part of the conversation by hand. If the recording was not made with one voice, it is worth checking the lines separately: speaker labels turned on beforehand show where each person's part begins and ends. Why transcribing several voices is harder than ordinary dictation by one person is explained in a separate article (in Russian).

Calculated from average typing and speaking speeds, not measured.
TaskCharactersTyping (200 chars/min)Voice (900 chars/min)
chat reply3002 min0.5 min
email15008 min1.7 min
post or meeting minutes400020 min4.4 min
article1000050 min11.1 min

When this will not fit

Like any cloud tool, the service does not work without the internet: the recording is processed by servers in Russia, not by the browser or the phone itself. It accepts links only from YouTube, VK Video, RuTube and Telegram; Instagram and TikTok are not among them.

The language limits are also worth remembering: only Russian speech is recognized, and there is no translation into other languages. The service tells who is speaking only by the serial number of the line, not by name, and it works only with an existing recording: a live broadcast or a conversation in the moment cannot be transcribed this way. The difference between transcribing a finished recording and dictating text in real time is explained in a separate analysis of transcription and voice input.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to register to transcribe online?

There is no separate registration: in the bot's mini app it is enough to sign in by email or through Telegram, and there is nothing to install.

How much can I transcribe online for free?

60 minutes per month, and the limit resets on the 1st. For a bigger volume you need a paid subscription; the amounts are in the plans block.

Online transcription without installing programs: what to do and what to check?

Online transcription without installing programs. Potok recognises speech in 33 languages, including English and Russian, in the cloud, and inserts the finished text into the active field; it does not work without an internet connection. Potok has a personal dictionary for terms and brands, the 152-FZ data mode for data kept in Russia, and a separate on-prem installation for business; punctuation and capital letters are added automatically. Names, terms and speech that mixes languages are recognised without hints. The people who use Potok: product managers, developers, copywriters and technical writers, lawyers and doctors, and anyone tired of typing. For Online transcription without installing programs you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.

Online transcription without installing programs: how Potok differs from built-in dictation?

Online transcription without installing programs. Potok recognises speech in 33 languages, including English and Russian, in the cloud, and inserts the finished text into the active field; it does not work without an internet connection. Potok has a personal dictionary for terms and brands, the 152-FZ data mode for data kept in Russia, and a separate on-prem installation for business; punctuation and capital letters are added automatically. Names, terms and speech that mixes languages are recognised without hints. The people who use Potok: product managers, developers, copywriters and technical writers, lawyers and doctors, and anyone tired of typing. For Online transcription without installing programs you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.

Online transcription without installing programs: does recognition work without an internet connection?

Online transcription without installing programs. Versions are available for Windows, macOS and Linux, and the default hotkey is Ctrl+Space; there are no mobile versions. Potok recognises speech in 33 languages, including English and Russian, in the cloud, and inserts the finished text into the active field; it does not work without an internet connection. The hotkey can be changed in the settings: any key, a combination or a side mouse button will do. Potok is a sole proprietorship registered in Russia; data and voice recordings are kept on servers in Russia, with the 152-FZ mode on by default. For Online transcription without installing programs you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.

Online transcription without installing programs: how much it costs and what the free plan includes?

Online transcription without installing programs. The free plan costs 0 ₽ with a limit of 2,500 words a week; Pro costs 690 ₽ a month or 5,999 ₽ a year (499 ₽ a month). Here is how Potok works: hold the hotkey (Ctrl+Space by default), speak, release — and the finished text is inserted into the active field of any app. Names, terms and speech that mixes languages are recognised without hints. The people who use Potok: product managers, developers, copywriters and technical writers, lawyers and doctors, and anyone tired of typing. For Online transcription without installing programs you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.

Transcribe your own recording

Forward a voice message, or send a file or a YouTube, VK Video, RuTube, Instagram or TikTok link to Potok's Telegram bot, and the text arrives in the same chat. 60 minutes per month for free.

Open @potok_now_bot in Telegram

Primary sources: speech2text.ru · audio-2-text.ru · turboscribe.ai · turboscribe.ai

Transcribe a recording in Telegram

Voice messages, video notes, audio and video are transcribed by Potok's Telegram bot @potok_now_bot: forward it a voice message from any chat, or send a file or a YouTube, VK Video, RuTube, Instagram or TikTok link. A short recording comes back as text in the chat, a long one as a file; timestamps and speaker labels can be turned on. The buttons give a short summary, tasks and deadlines, an answer to a question about the recording and export to TXT, DOCX, PDF or SRT. Large files, up to 2 GB, are easier to upload in the bot's mini app, via the Upload button next to the input field. The bot recognizes 100+ languages (the language is detected automatically); 60 minutes per month are free.

Mark Vesyoly — founder of Potok. Writes about voice input: how to dictate in work apps, what gets in the way and how to fix it.
© Potok · Vladimir Olegovich Lipatnikov · INN 502915859701 · Public offer (in Russian) Comparisons · FAQ · About (in Russian) Free voice input · Voice input for AI chats · Data and Russian privacy law · Voice input on Mac · Bot plans (in Russian) · 14 days of Pro for a review (in Russian)