Potok turns speech into text in 33 languages, including English and Russian.
SaluteSpeech Bot is a free Telegram bot from Sber: it recognizes voice messages, audio and video notes in Russian and English, and its description gives no official limit. Telegram itself also has its own transcription: a few times per week without Premium, unlimited with Premium. An alternative for ready recordings is the Potok bot @potok_now_bot: 60 minutes of transcription free per month, with speaker labeling.
A voice message in Telegram can be transcribed right in the messenger, with the built-in button or with one of the bots, which you do not even need to install as a separate app. SaluteSpeech Bot from Sber is one of such bots; below is what it does and when the Potok bot is more convenient instead.
| Service | Platforms | Free | Price | Payment from Russia | Where speech is recognized |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Potok bot and web version | Telegram (@potok_now_bot, mini app inside the bot) | 60 minutes per month | 7 days: 249 ₽, 30 days: 449 ₽, one year: 2 890 ₽; included in the Potok app subscription | Russian bank cards, rubles | cloud, servers in Russia; internet required |
| KolerskyAI Whisper Bot | Telegram | the first 5 minutes | 69 ₽/15 minutes; 149 ₽/50 minutes; 490 ₽/200 minutes | rubles | not disclosed |
What SaluteSpeech Bot does for transcribing voice messages
SaluteSpeech Bot is a Telegram bot on the SaluteSpeech engine from Sberbank. It transcribes voice messages, ordinary audio files and video notes, recognizes Russian and English speech and works for free: its description gives no official limit on the number or length of recordings. Where the SaluteSpeech servers are physically located is not stated either; all that is known is that recognition is cloud-based.
Telegram itself also has built-in transcription of voice messages and video notes: the button appears right under the message. Without Telegram Premium it can be pressed only a few times per week, with Premium with no limit on the number of transcriptions. For one occasional voice message this may turn out simpler than opening a separate bot.
SaluteSpeech Bot is not the only option among bots for this task; a detailed review of them is in the overview of bots for transcribing voice messages. In Voicy the recognition engine is chosen with the /language command: Wit.ai, Yandex SpeechKit or Google Speech. Voix states 7 languages and accepts voice messages up to 15 minutes for free, and video up to 6 minutes. KolerskyAI Whisper Bot gives only the first 5 minutes free, and after that paid packs of minutes. Transkribator works both in Telegram and in the Max messenger, with 3 transcriptions per month free.
| Service | Free | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Potok bot and web version | 60 minutes per month | 7 days: 249 ₽, 30 days: 449 ₽, one year: 2 890 ₽; included in the Potok app subscription |
| Transkriptor | 10 minutes on sign-up, limited to 2 min/day (according to the localized Russian site transkriptor.ru); the international site transkriptor.com states a free trial (up to 90 minutes according to secondary sources; the official pricing page could not be opened directly because it timed out) | 490 ₽/one-time (Start, 150 minutes (transkriptor.ru)); 790 ₽/one-time (Pro, 700 minutes (transkriptor.ru)); 1900 ₽/one-time (Premium, 2100 minutes (transkriptor.ru)) |
| Kontur.Tolk | not disclosed | — |
| Telegram voice message transcription | without Premium, a few transcriptions per week; with Premium, no limit on their number | — |
| Speech2Text.ru | 3 hours on sign-up | — |
| Notta | 120 minutes per month, up to 3 minutes per recording | $13.99/mo (Pro, monthly, 1800 minutes); $27.99/mo (Business, monthly) |
| Transkribator (@gotranscribeai_bot) | 3 transcriptions per month | — |
When not to trust a recording to the bot
The Potok bot will not fit if the recording is not in Russian: it has no translation and no recognition of other languages. Transcription during a conversation is also beyond it: it accepts only a ready, finished recording. Participants' names will not appear in the text, only the numbers Speaker 1, Speaker 2. The bot accepts links to Instagram (Reels and posts with video) and TikTok, as well as YouTube, VK Video and RuTube. It also will not start without the internet: it is cloud-based, and recognition is computed on Potok's servers in Russia.
Who SaluteSpeech Bot suits
- those who occasionally send voice messages in Telegram and want text without installing separate apps: the bot is free and works right in the chat;
- those who need Russian or English as the recognition language: SaluteSpeech Bot supports both;
- those who send not only voice messages but also ordinary audio files or video notes: the bot accepts all three formats.
If instead of one voice message you need to transcribe a whole meeting with speaker labeling and the buttons Summary and Tasks and deadlines, the Potok bot @potok_now_bot fits better: 60 minutes of transcription free every month. Other options for such a task are collected in the comparison of transcription services.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, it is officially free: SaluteSpeech Bot transcribes voice messages, audio and video notes with no announced fee, but the exact limit on the number or length of recordings is not given in its description.
Russian and English; this follows from the official description by the developer, SaluteSpeech (Sber).
SaluteSpeech Bot. 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 SaluteSpeech Bot you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.
SaluteSpeech Bot. 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 SaluteSpeech Bot you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.
SaluteSpeech Bot. 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 SaluteSpeech Bot you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.
SaluteSpeech Bot. 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 SaluteSpeech Bot you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.
Recording to text
Send a recording to Potok's Telegram bot or upload a file of up to 2 GB in the bot's mini app. The first 60 minutes of every month are free.
Open @potok_now_bot in TelegramPrimary sources: core.telegram.org · www.ixbt.com · developers.sber.ru · t.me
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.