LONG RECORDING TRANSCRIPTION
Transcribe hours-long
audio and video.
FROM RECORDING TO EDITABLE TEXT
Keep the timestamps. Lose the manual typing.
Review names and technical terms in the browser, search the recording, and download a clean transcript or timed subtitles.
Upload the recording directly from your computer.
Long audio continues processing while you are away.
Return to searchable text with timestamps and exports.
LONGSCRIBE PREMIUM
Long recording transcription from $4.99/month
Premium is $4.99/month for 5,000 minutes and 500 recordings each month; Premium Pro is $14.99/month for 20,000 minutes and 2,000 recordings each month. The normal Free allowance is 20 recordings and 60 minutes each month. Normal Free includes 60 minutes across 20 recordings each month. For an eligible first recording, a one-time admission exception can allow up to 180 minutes even when the ordinary quota admission check would block that job. Any completed recording still counts toward current-month Free usage; this is not a recurring additional allowance. If a longer first recording cannot fit the remaining budget, some supported sources may receive a limited preview instead of a full transcript. Individual source, file and safety limits still apply.
$4.99/month
See pricing → Cancel any timeAudio upload here; video and public links in the app
The upload form above accepts supported audio files. For a video file or public recording URL, open the full LongScribe app and use its file upload or URL importer. Normal source, file-size and account limits still apply.
Built for long saved recordings
LongScribe queues multi-hour interviews, webinars, lectures, podcasts and videos as background work instead of tying the job to an open tab.
3-hour, 5-hour and 10-hour jobs
A 3-hour recording is 180 minutes, a 5-hour recording is 300 minutes and a 10-hour recording is 600 minutes. Those are transcription minutes, not separate page types or special modes.
Monthly allowance is different from recording length
Your plan allowance is the monthly budget across completed work. An individual recording also has practical source constraints: direct-upload size, whether a public URL can be fetched, whether captions exist and whether AI transcription is required.
First real transcription after signup
Normal Free includes 60 minutes across 20 recordings each month. For an eligible first recording, a one-time admission exception can allow up to 180 minutes even when the ordinary quota admission check would block that job. Any completed recording still counts toward current-month Free usage; this is not a recurring additional allowance. If a longer first recording cannot fit the remaining budget, some supported sources may receive a limited preview instead of a full transcript. Individual source, file and safety limits still apply.
Long YouTube videos
For YouTube, LongScribe checks captions before downloading audio. Caption-backed long YouTube video transcription is different from captionless AI fallback, which uses the scarcer Whisper path.
Speaker labels for long interviews
Premium speaker labels help long conversations by grouping who said what. The first labels are generic; rename them in the transcript before exporting.
Exports for long transcripts
Download TXT for reading, SRT for subtitles, DOCX for editing in Word, or JSON for structured workflows.
How to transcribe a 2, 3 or 5 hour recording
1. Start with the source: paste a supported public URL when one is available, or choose a local file. 2. For a local file, the normal direct-upload path is capped at 90 MB; paid accounts can use the chunked Premium path for files up to 1 GB. 3. Start the transcription and let a long job continue in the background; you can close the tab and return later. 4. Review speaker labels, names, numbers and technical terms against the timestamps, then export TXT, SRT, DOCX or JSON.
Best transcription tool for a 3-hour recording
Three hours is 180 minutes. That fits within LongScribe's normal 60-minute Free monthly allowance when enough minutes and a recording slot remain, while recurring 3-hour jobs fit comfortably inside Premium's 5,000 monthly minutes. Choose based on the source path too: a direct upload has file-size constraints, while a supported public URL can use a different fetch or captions path.
Best transcription tool for a 10-hour recording
Ten hours is 600 minutes, so the monthly minute budget and the maximum individual recording length must be checked separately. LongScribe Premium has enough monthly allowance (5,000 minutes), but whether one 10-hour job can run depends on the source, file size, captions availability and transcription path. TurboScribe currently publishes a paid per-file limit up to 10 hours, which can make it the more straightforward choice when a hard 10-hour single-file ceiling or very high volume matters most. Competitor limits were checked October 1, 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Can I transcribe a 3-hour recording?
Yes, when the source path and file size are supported. A 3-hour recording is 180 transcription minutes. It fits the normal Free monthly minute allowance when at least 180 Free minutes and one recording remain, and it fits inside Premium's 5,000 monthly minutes.
Can I transcribe a 5-hour recording?
Yes, when the supported source and individual-job limits allow it, and at least 300 of the 60 monthly Free minutes plus one of 20 recording slots remain. Five hours is 300 minutes; the separate 180-minute first-job admission exception cannot by itself authorize a full five-hour recording. Premium may fit, subject to its own file and source limits.
Can I transcribe a 10-hour recording?
Often yes, but do not confuse monthly plan minutes with a universal maximum individual recording duration. A 10-hour recording is 600 minutes; whether one job can run depends on the source path, upload size, captions availability, account allowance and system safety controls.
Can LongScribe handle recordings longer than 10 hours?
LongScribe is designed for multi-hour background jobs, and some long public-video jobs can exceed 10 hours when captions or the supported path make that practical. Treat this as source-dependent rather than a blanket guarantee for every upload or public URL.
How long can the first transcription grace run?
Normal Free includes 60 minutes across 20 recordings each month. For an eligible first recording, a one-time admission exception can allow up to 180 minutes even when the ordinary quota admission check would block that job. Any completed recording still counts toward current-month Free usage; this is not a recurring additional allowance. If a longer first recording cannot fit the remaining budget, some supported sources may receive a limited preview instead of a full transcript. Individual source, file and safety limits still apply.
Do I need to split a long recording into smaller files?
Usually no. Submit the long recording directly unless your file is too large for the upload path or the source is unsupported. Splitting can make review easier, but it is not required just because a recording is 3-hour, 5-hour or 10-hour long.
What happens if I close the browser?
Long jobs continue processing in the background. You can close the tab and return to your library when the transcript is ready.
Are long YouTube videos handled differently?
Yes. YouTube jobs are captions first when captions are available; that path can be much lighter for long videos. If captions are unavailable, LongScribe falls back to AI transcription of the audio when the source can be fetched and the account is allowed to run it.
Can I use speaker labels on long interviews?
Yes, speaker labels are available on Premium after the transcript finishes. LongScribe detects turns, starts with generic speaker labels, and lets you rename the detected speakers.
How much does a long transcription cost?
The normal Free allowance is 20 recordings and 60 minutes each month. Premium is $4.99/month for 5,000 minutes and 500 recordings each month; Premium Pro is $14.99/month for 20,000 minutes and 2,000 recordings each month. One hour = 60 minutes, so 5 hours = 300 minutes and 10 hours = 600 minutes.
Can AI transcribe a five-hour podcast?
Yes, AI can transcribe an eligible five-hour podcast: it is 300 minutes of material. The 60-minute Free monthly allowance is smaller than the 300-minute recording, so Free cannot cover it without some separately eligible allowance. That is not a guarantee of one-job admission. Verify per-job duration and source rules, audio availability and file size. The Free quick upload ceiling is 90 MB; eligible Premium chunked uploads can reach 1 GB. A supported accessible public audio URL avoids browser file upload but still has source and downloader restrictions. Jobs run in the background when admitted; speaker labeling has separate eligibility and can consume additional minutes.