How to Download a Transcript (TXT, SRT, VTT, CSV)

To download a transcription, open the finished transcript and export it in the format you need: TXT for plain text, SRT or VTT for subtitles, or CSV for timestamped rows. In PlainScribe you upload a file (up to 1GB), get an AI transcript with high accuracy on clear audio, and download any of those four formats for $0.067/min ($4 per audio hour).

TL;DR

• Four export formats: TXT, CSV, SRT, and VTT, covering documents, spreadsheets, and subtitles from one transcript.
• Steps: upload, wait for the email, open the transcript, click download. No editor required.
• Cost: $0.067/min, or $4 per audio hour; your first transcript is free (up to 2 hours) with no card.
• 47 languages auto-detected with high accuracy on clear audio.
• Private: transcripts and source files auto-delete after 30 days, so download what you need before then.

What You Can Download and When to Use Each

| Format | What it is | Use it for | |---|---|---| | TXT | Plain text | Articles, notes, copy-paste into docs | | CSV | Timestamped rows | Spreadsheets, analysis, data pipelines | | SRT | Timed subtitle blocks | YouTube, Vimeo, video editors | | VTT | Web-native captions | Website video players, HTML5 |

One transcript gives you all four, so you can grab a clean TXT for your blog and an SRT for the video version without re-processing.

How to Download a Transcription in PlainScribe

1. Open PlainScribe and sign up. Your first transcript is free (up to 2 hours), no credit card.
2. Upload your audio or video (up to 1GB; MP3, MP4, WAV, M4A, MOV, WebM and more).
3. Let it process. Language is auto-detected across 47 languages and you get an email when the transcript is ready.
4. Open the transcript from your transcriptions list.
5. Click download and pick TXT, CSV, SRT, or VTT. The file saves straight to your device.

That is the whole flow: upload, wait, download.

How to Convert TXT to SRT

A TXT transcript is plain text with no timecodes, and an SRT file is text plus a start and end time for every line. So converting TXT to SRT is really about adding timing, and the timing can only come from the audio. There are two ways to do it:

1. Re-transcribe the source audio (fastest). Upload the original audio or video to PlainScribe and download SRT instead of TXT. The timing comes straight from the audio, so every subtitle block lines up with the speech. Your first transcript is free (up to 2 hours).
2. Time it by hand. Open the TXT in a subtitle editor such as Subtitle Edit or Aegisub, load the video, and set a start and end time for each line. This works if you no longer have usable audio, but expect it to take several times the video's length.

An online "TXT to SRT converter" that only has your text can't know when each line is spoken. It either spreads lines evenly or asks you to time them, and either way the subtitles drift. Once you have an SRT, use the subtitle converter to turn it into VTT, or the subtitle shifter to fix an offset. See subtitle file formats for the differences between SRT, VTT, SSA and ASS.

A Note on Retention

PlainScribe auto-deletes uploaded files and transcripts after 30 days for privacy. Download the formats you need before the window closes; re-uploading later means re-processing. For recurring sensitive work, the offline desktop app keeps everything local with no expiry.

What It Costs to Generate the Transcript

| Length | PlainScribe ($0.067/min) | Rev human ($1.99/min) | |---|---|---| | 30 min | $2.01 | $59.70 | | 60 min | $4.02 | $119.40 | | 120 min | $8.04 | $238.80 |

Downloading is free; you only pay $0.067/min to produce the transcript, with no subscription. Rev no longer sells AI transcription by the minute: its AI minutes come with plans (45 free minutes a month, or Essentials at $29.99/month for up to ~83 hours). That plan bills per seat every month and covers only English and Spanish, so for occasional files pay-as-you-go costs less: $29.99 buys about 7.5 hours of PlainScribe, in any of 47 languages, with credit that lasts a year. Rev's plan only wins per minute if you transcribe more than that every month. See the pricing page.

FAQs

How do I download a transcript as an SRT file? Open the finished transcript in PlainScribe and choose SRT from the download options. SRT is the timed subtitle format that works on YouTube, Vimeo, and most editors. See subtitle file formats.

Can I convert a TXT transcript to SRT? Not accurately from the text alone, because TXT has no timecodes. Re-upload the source audio or video and export SRT, which takes timing from the audio, or set the timing by hand in a subtitle editor.

What formats can I download a transcription in? PlainScribe exports TXT, CSV, SRT, and VTT from a single transcript. TXT is plain text, CSV adds timestamps in rows, and SRT/VTT are subtitle formats.

Can I download the transcript in another language? Yes. Translate the transcript to any of 47 supported languages first, then download it in the format you need. See subtitle translation.

How long are my transcripts available to download? Thirty days. PlainScribe auto-deletes source files and transcripts after 30 days for privacy, so export what you need before then. The desktop app stores files locally without expiry.

Does downloading cost extra? No. You pay only $0.067 per minute ($4 per audio hour) to generate the transcript. Exporting any format is included, with a $10 minimum that buys about 150 minutes.

Get your first transcript and export it free. Start with a free first transcript, no credit card. See also how to create subtitles from a video.