Translate Audio and Video: Transcribe and Translate in One Step

To translate audio and video, an AI tool transcribes the recording, then converts it into your target language. PlainScribe translates both audio and video files across 47 languages with up to 99% accuracy for $0.067 per minute ($4/hour), exporting translated text or SRT/VTT subtitles, with no subscription.

TL;DR

• One tool for both. PlainScribe translates audio (MP3, WAV, M4A, FLAC, OGG) and video (MP4, MOV, WebM, MKV) files alike.
• 47 languages, auto-detected source, with up to 99% accuracy on clean recordings.
• $0.067/min pay-as-you-go ($4/hour), no subscription; 30 free minutes with no credit card.
• Export TXT for scripts or SRT/VTT for synced subtitles, all from one upload.
• Private by default. Files and transcripts auto-delete after 7 days; an offline desktop app handles sensitive recordings.

How Translating Audio and Video Works

Whether the source is a podcast episode or a conference recording, the process is the same two-step pipeline: the AI first transcribes the spoken audio into text in its original language, then translates that text into the language you choose. Audio files yield translated text and timestamped subtitle files; video files yield the same, ready to overlay as subtitles.

Because PlainScribe reads the audio track directly, you do not need to strip audio out of a video first, and you do not need separate tools for podcasts versus screen recordings. Source language is auto-detected from 47 options, so a Spanish podcast and a Japanese webinar are handled the same way.

Note: the output is translated text and subtitles, not a dubbed audio track. You add the subtitle file in your editor or publish the translated text as a script.

The advantage of handling both formats in one tool is consistency. You learn one workflow, keep one set of credits, and get the same 47-language coverage and up to 99% accuracy whether you feed it a voice memo or a 4K screen recording. There is no need to juggle a podcast transcriber and a separate video subtitler, or to reconcile two different billing models.

How to Translate Audio or Video in 5 Steps

1. Upload the file. From the dashboard, drop in any supported audio or video file up to 200MB on web.
2. Source language auto-detects from the 47 supported languages.
3. Pick your target language, also from the 47.
4. Let it process in the background; you get an email when the translation is ready, usually within minutes.
5. Export TXT for a translated transcript or script, or SRT/VTT for synced subtitles.

Audio vs Video: What Changes

| | Audio files | Video files | |--|-------------|-------------| | Examples | Podcasts, interviews, voice memos | YouTube, webinars, screen recordings | | Formats | MP3, WAV, M4A, FLAC, OGG, AAC | MP4, MOV, WebM, MKV | | Best export | TXT script, SRT for audio players | SRT/VTT subtitles | | Process | Identical: transcribe then translate | Identical: transcribe then translate |

Verdict: The workflow is the same for both. The only real difference is the export you choose, plain text for audio scripts, timed subtitles for video. PlainScribe covers both in one place at one flat rate.

What It Costs to Translate Audio and Video

Translation is billed the same as transcription: $0.067 per minute, or $4 per audio hour, whether the file is a podcast or a screen recording. There is no separate translation fee, no per-language charge, and no subscription. A 30-minute episode costs about $2 to translate; a one-hour webinar is $4.

| Length | Translation cost | |--------|------------------| | 10 minutes | ~$0.67 | | 30 minutes | ~$2.00 | | 1 hour | $4.00 |

The $10 minimum buys roughly 150 minutes of credit that lasts a year, so you are never paying for idle months the way a $10–$33 subscription would charge you. Browse the pricing comparison for how this stacks up against subscription tools.

Common Use Cases

• Podcasters translating episodes into a second language for new markets.
• Course creators localizing both audio lessons and video modules.
• Researchers and journalists translating recorded interviews regardless of format.
• Teams turning webinar recordings into multilingual subtitles and scripts.

FAQs

Can one tool translate both audio and video? Yes. PlainScribe accepts audio (MP3, WAV, M4A, FLAC, OGG, AAC) and video (MP4, MOV, WebM, MKV) up to 200MB and runs the same transcribe-then-translate pipeline on both, across 47 languages.

Do I need to extract audio from a video to translate it? No. PlainScribe reads the audio track directly from the video file, so you can upload an MP4 or MOV as-is and get translated text or subtitles back.

How accurate is AI audio and video translation? The underlying transcription reaches up to 99% accuracy on clean audio, and translation quality follows from that. Proofreading the original-language transcript before translating gives the best results.

Can I get translated subtitles for a video? Yes. Export the translation as SRT or VTT and add it to your video in YouTube, Vimeo, or your editor. Both formats include timestamps so the translated lines stay in sync.

Is my recording private? Uploaded audio, video, and transcripts auto-delete after 7 days. For confidential recordings, the offline desktop app transcribes and translates locally so nothing is uploaded.

Start Translating Free

Translate your first audio or video file with 30 free minutes, no credit card. See the flat pricing ($4/hour), and read the translate a video online guide or try the online video translator.