M4A to text

M4A is the audio format iPhones, Macs and many recorder apps use. Skeleton Fingers turns M4A files into text as they are, with no converting to MP3 first.

What an M4A file is

M4A is audio stored in an MPEG-4 container, usually encoded as AAC. It is the audio-only cousin of MP4 video. You will run into it constantly if you use Apple devices: iPhone Voice Memos are M4A, and plenty of recorder apps, podcast tools and audio exports use it too. It keeps files small while sounding good, which is why it is so common for spoken recordings.

If another tool only took MP3 or WAV and sent you looking for a converter, you do not need one here. Upload the M4A directly.

How to transcribe an M4A file

1. Open Skeleton Fingers in your browser. Nothing to install.
2. Pick a lane. "In your browser" is free and keeps the file on your device. "Fast" runs on our servers and labels speakers.
3. Drop in the M4A file.
4. Review the transcript, checking names and numbers against the audio before you rely on them.

Free in your browser

The browser lane runs the Whisper speech model on your own device, so the M4A never leaves your computer. It is free, unlimited and needs no account. The tradeoffs: it is slower than the fast lane, the speed depends on your device, the first run downloads the model once, and it does not label speakers. For personal voice memos and anything confidential, it is the natural choice.

Fast when you need it

On the fast lane, your browser converts the file to audio, uploads that audio (about 115 MB per hour), and our servers transcribe it in seconds. The first two steps depend on your device and connection, so the total time varies. It labels speakers, which helps with recorded conversations and interviews, and it detects the spoken language automatically. It needs a free account, and your file is stored with that account until you delete that transcript or your account.

Getting M4A files off an iPhone

• In Voice Memos, tap a recording and use the share option to save it to Files or AirDrop it to a Mac.
• On a Mac with iCloud sync, open Voice Memos and drag a recording out to the desktop.
• From Files, you can also send the M4A to yourself or save it to cloud storage, then upload it from your computer.

What it costs

The browser lane is always free. On the fast lane, a free account transcribes files up to 30 minutes free, 3 a day. Longer files, or more in a day, use pack hours: an hour pack is $5 for 3 fast hours, paid once, and the hours never expire. Or Pro is $9.99 a month for 10 fast hours. Fast minutes are counted by the length of the audio, and on Pro your monthly hours are used before pack hours.