You spoke into a recording app. You want the text. Voice-to-text is the simplest case of the transcription pipeline: single speaker, usually short, usually a recorded note or memo rather than a long-form conversation. Upload your voice recording, get the transcribed text back. Works on voice memo files from phones, voice notes from messaging apps (WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord), and any other single-speaker audio.
Voice memo workflow
iPhone Voice Memos exports as M4A. Android voice recorder apps default to MP3 or M4A. WhatsApp voice notes export as OGG (file extension may show as .opus). All work in mdisbetter — paste the file in, get the text back. Useful for: capturing brainstorms while driving, dictating drafts of emails or documents, recording quick reminders, capturing meeting notes when typing isn't practical, journaling by voice.
Single-speaker accuracy
Voice memos are the easiest case for speech recognition: single speaker, usually close to the mic, usually consistent audio quality throughout the recording. Expect 95-98% accuracy on a typical voice memo recorded in a normal indoor environment. The output is flat text with paragraph breaks — copy-paste-ready into Notion, email, anywhere you want the words.
From voice memo to action
Common pattern: record a voice brainstorm while walking, transcribe via mdisbetter, paste the text into ChatGPT/Claude with "structure these notes into a coherent outline" or "extract action items from this brain dump". The voice-to-text step is the bottleneck removal — without it, the brainstorm dies in the voice memo app; with it, the brainstorm becomes structured work product within minutes of getting back to your laptop.
Frequently asked questions
Does it work on iPhone voice memos?
Yes — iPhone Voice Memos exports M4A files which mdisbetter handles directly. Workflow: record the memo, share/export the file (the share sheet in Voice Memos lets you save to Files or send via email/AirDrop), upload to /convert/voice-to-text, get the text back. No conversion step needed between the iPhone export and our upload.
Does it work on WhatsApp / Telegram voice notes?
Yes — WhatsApp voice notes export as OGG (sometimes shown as .opus extension), Telegram voice notes export similarly. Both formats work in mdisbetter. Workflow on a phone: tap and hold the voice note → Save / Share → email it to yourself or save to Files → upload to mdisbetter from your computer. On desktop WhatsApp / Telegram apps, right-click the voice note to save the file directly.
How accurate is voice-to-text on dictation?
95-98% on typical voice memos recorded in normal indoor environments with a phone or laptop mic. Single-speaker dictation is the easiest case for speech recognition — consistent voice, consistent mic distance, usually quiet background. For dictation with technical jargon (medical terms, legal terms, code variables), expect a few cleanup edits per page; the model handles common vocabulary much better than rare specialised terms.
Is there a length limit?
Free tier handles voice recordings up to ~60 minutes per file (which is far longer than typical voice memos). Pro handles longer recordings. For most voice-memo workflows (which are usually 30 seconds to 5 minutes), you'll never hit the limit.
Can I dictate emails or documents this way?
Yes — record voice, transcribe via mdisbetter, paste the text into your email/document, edit for any cleanup. For frequent dictation workflows (more than once a day), a dedicated dictation tool with real-time transcription (Apple Dictation built into macOS/iOS, Windows Speech Recognition, Dragon NaturallySpeaking) gives you instant text without the upload step. mdisbetter is for occasional voice-to-text where setting up dedicated dictation isn't worth it.