# Podcast transcription: turn an episode into text > To transcribe a podcast, paste the episode link and click Transcribe episode. > The tool finds the episode’s audio, transcribes the speech and returns plain > text with timestamps plus an SRT file. Apple Podcasts, RSS and direct audio > links work, and so do Spotify episodes whose show has a public feed. Episodes > can run up to 3 hours. - Page title: Podcast transcription: turn an episode into text | Spytrend - Tool: https://spytrend.com/podcast-transcription - Embeddable version: https://spytrend.com/podcast-transcription/embed - All free tools: https://spytrend.com/tools The limits below are the defaults. The page itself shows the current numbers next to the tool. ## What is podcast transcription? Podcast transcription turns an episode’s speech into written text: the words in order, with the moment each line starts. It is not a summary and not a description. Here the input is a link, not a file. Paste the episode page or the feed link, and the tool works out which episode you mean and where its audio lives. You get an episode you can read in minutes instead of hours, and search with Ctrl+F instead of scrubbing. ## A full episode transcript, as text and SRT One run returns the same words in two formats, ready at the same moment. What comes out: - **Plain text.** The episode as readable text with a timestamp on every segment, ready for a doc, a brief or a prompt. - **An SRT subtitle file.** Numbered cues with start and end timestamps, for players and editors. Useful when you cut clips out of the episode. The transcript is machine-made, so check names and figures before you quote them. ## Podcast transcription tool: three steps 1. **Paste the episode link.** Use an Apple Podcasts episode, an RSS episode link, a direct audio file, or a Spotify episode whose show has a public feed. One episode, not a whole show. 2. **Click Transcribe episode.** The bar shows the real download, then the transcription. You can reload the page; it picks the same run back up. 3. **Copy or download.** Copy the text, or download TXT or SRT. Both are ready at the same moment. The timestamps stay accurate to the end, even on a 3-hour interview. For a YouTube video, use YouTube transcript below. ## Which podcast links work Most podcast links work. Almost every show publishes one open RSS feed, and Apple, Overcast, Pocket Casts and the rest all read it; the tool follows your link back to that feed and takes the audio from there. Spotify links work when the show also has a public feed. Spotify does not hand out audio, so the tool reads the episode page, finds the show and the episode, and takes the audio from the show’s feed instead. A Spotify exclusive cannot be transcribed by any tool: outside Spotify the episode does not exist. The tool tells you so instead of leaving you waiting. There is no fixed list of apps. If the show publishes a public RSS feed, a link from that feed works here. ### What to paste | Link | What happens | | --- | --- | | Apple Podcasts episode | Feed is looked up, episode matched, audio taken from the feed | | RSS or Atom episode link | Read directly — this is the most reliable input | | Direct .mp3 / .m4a / .ogg / .wav file | Downloaded as-is | | Episode page on the show’s site | Feed or audio is found on the page | | Spotify episode, show has a public feed | Matched to that feed by episode title | | Spotify exclusive | Not possible — the audio exists only inside Spotify | | YouTube video | Different tool — use YouTube transcript | | SoundCloud | Not supported | ### Best places to copy a link from | Source | What to paste | | --- | --- | | Apple Podcasts | The episode page on podcasts.apple.com | | Spotify | The episode page — only if the show also has a public feed | | The show’s own site | The episode page, or the show’s RSS / Atom feed | | A direct audio file | An https link ending in .mp3, .m4a, .ogg or .wav | | Buzzsprout | The show’s public RSS feed | | Libsyn | The show’s public RSS feed | | Transistor | The show’s public RSS feed | | Megaphone | The show’s public RSS feed | | Spreaker | The show’s public RSS feed | | Podbean | The show’s public RSS feed, if it still exists | ## Free version limits Your first run is free, no sign-up. Leave your email for one more, then create a free account and pay only for what you use. ## Podcast transcripts for research — search every claim and quote it with a timestamp Founders say things on podcasts they would never put on a landing page: looser positioning, specific numbers, the objection they actually worry about. As audio none of it is searchable; as text it is. Find every mention of a competitor, pull the exact phrasing of a claim, and see which proof points come back across appearances. “They talk about pricing at 00:41:20” is a fact you can check and send on. What a company says on a podcast is half the story. The other half is what it pays to repeat in its ads. ## See the ads behind what a company says on podcasts Spytrend is an ad intelligence platform for Facebook and TikTok advertising: a full five-year archive of ads, AI-classified into 33 business categories, with every advertiser assembled into a single card — all ads, pages, domains and countries in one place. On paid plans, any video ad in Spytrend can be transcribed in one click, so what a company pays to say sits next to what it says on air. ### Who works this way Media buyers, founders and content strategists who research a market before committing budget to it. ### What Spytrend shows you - **The whole run of creatives.** A competitor’s entire set of ads, so a claim you heard on a podcast can be checked against the twenty ads making it. - **How long each has been live.** Launch date and days running. A message paid for since spring is a different signal from one that ran a week. ### From an episode to the ad budget behind it, in three steps 1. **Take the names out of the transcript.** The company, the product, the competitor they kept mentioning. 2. **Look each of them up.** Type the brand or its domain to open all of its ads, and transcribe the video ads worth reading. 3. **Compare the two stories.** The claim made in the interview against the claim they pay to run. Where the two differ, follow the money. ### How to start Transcribe the episode here first, so you have the exact wording. Create a free account: it opens the ad library, and paid plans add fresh ads and every filter. ## FAQ **How do I transcribe a podcast episode?** Paste the episode link at the top of this page and click Transcribe episode. In a few minutes you get the episode as text with timestamps, plus an SRT file. **Is podcast transcription free?** Yes, to start. Your first run is free, no sign-up. Leave your email for one more, then create a free Spytrend account and pay only for what you use. **Does it work with Spotify?** Yes, for most shows. Spotify does not hand out audio, so the tool finds the episode in the show’s public RSS feed instead. A Spotify exclusive has no public feed, and no tool can transcribe it. **Does it work with Apple Podcasts?** Yes. Paste the Apple Podcasts episode link: the tool finds the show’s feed and matches the episode in it. RSS episode links and direct audio files work too. **How long can the episode be?** Up to 3 hours, which covers most long-interview shows. A longer episode is turned away before transcription starts. **Are the timestamps accurate on a long episode?** Yes. Every part of the episode is timed from its own position in the audio, so the timestamps at the end of a long interview do not drift. **Do you keep the audio or the transcript?** We delete the episode’s audio when the run ends, whether it finished, failed or was canceled. Your transcript stays available at its own link for a while. Download what you want to keep. ## See what they pay to say You have the episode in text. Now read the ads the same company pays to run, and see which message survived. - Open Spytrend: https://spytrend.com/register?source=tools&via=tools-app&returnTo=%2Fads%3Fmedia_types%3Dvideo%26from%3Dtools&utm_source=tools&utm_medium=free_tool&utm_campaign=podcast-transcription ## Related tools - [Audio to text](https://spytrend.com/audio-to-text): Upload an MP3, M4A or WAV file, or a voice memo, and get the spoken words back as text or an SRT file. - [YouTube transcript](https://spytrend.com/youtube-transcript): Paste a YouTube link and get the video’s transcript with timestamps. Copy it or download TXT and SRT. - [Translate audio](https://spytrend.com/translate-audio): Upload a recording and read it in another language, as plain text or an SRT subtitle file. - [Video to text converter](https://spytrend.com/video-to-text-converter): Read what a video ad says. Upload an MP4 or paste a YouTube link and get the transcript as text or SRT. - [Voice recording to transcript](https://spytrend.com/voice-recording-to-transcript): Turn a WhatsApp voice note or a phone memo into text. OPUS, AMR, M4A and 3GP files work as they are. - [Subtitle generator](https://spytrend.com/subtitle-generator): Upload a video and download an SRT subtitle file for it, plus the same words as plain text. - All free tools: https://spytrend.com/tools --- Transcripts are generated automatically and may contain errors.