Why choose FLAC over MP3 for recordings I plan to transcribe?

Lossy formats discard audio information permanently, and some of it is speech detail. FLAC keeps everything, so the transcript is made from the most complete version of the recording that exists.

Is there a FLAC file size that is too big?

Browser memory is the only ceiling. Files under 200 MB are comfortable on typical hardware; split longer archival recordings into parts if your device struggles.

FLAC to Text Converter

FLAC is the archivist's format: lossless compression that keeps every bit of the original recording, which is why oral-history projects, music archives and careful interviewers store masters as FLAC. Transcription benefits directly — none of the artefacts lossy compression adds — and TapeToText handles FLAC the same private way it handles everything: decoded in your browser, transcribed on your device, never uploaded.

Free forever
No signup
Files never leave your device

Transcriber.flac mode On-device processing

Drop your file here, or click to browseDrop a .flac file — MP3, MP4, M4A, WAV, OGG, WebM and FLAC also work

ModelRecommended. Good accuracy with a modest one-time download.

LanguageAuto-detect works well for clear, single-language audio.

Your file is processed on your device. Nothing is uploaded — closing this tab removes every trace.

What people transcribe from FLAC

Lossless archives & master recordings — the jobs this format shows up for most.

Oral history & archives

Archival interviews stored as FLAC become indexed, citable text while the master files stay exactly where your archive policy says they should.

Music session documentation

Spoken slate notes, session talkback and lyric-workshop recordings turn into searchable session logs alongside the audio.

Legal & research masters

When the FLAC file is the evidentiary master, transcribing locally keeps the chain of custody clean — no third-party service ever held a copy.

Get a better FLAC transcript

The model is the same one the paid services use. The difference between a rough transcript and a clean one is almost always the recording — and a few format-specific habits.

Same privacy promise as every page on this site: your FLAC file is processed on your device and never uploaded.

FLAC tips from the field

FLAC files run about half the size of WAV for the same audio — still large. For multi-hour archive material, transcribe in chapter-sized pieces for the smoothest browser performance.
Lossless input plus the Accurate model is the best combination this tool offers; archival speech deserves the extra processing time.
Keep your FLAC masters untouched — the transcript exports (TXT/SRT/VTT) are separate small files that sit alongside the archive.

FLAC transcription questions

The things people ask before converting a FLAC file.

The browser decodes FLAC losslessly to raw audio, then resamples to 16 kHz — the sample rate Whisper is designed for. CD-and-above detail beyond that rate does not change speech recognition results.