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Online Voice Recorder

Record from your microphone in the browser, listen back, and download the take as MP3 or WAV; nothing is uploaded unless you choose to transcribe it. Press Start, allow the microphone, and record voice online for up to 60 minutes with a live level meter, pause and resume.

Time

0:00

Level: –

Press Start and allow the microphone when the browser asks.

Up to 60 minutes or 100 MB per take.

The recording stays in your browser; it is not uploaded unless you press Transcribe and then Start transcription. The page runs ordinary analytics tags, as every page on this site does.

How to record your voice online

Three steps in the browser. Nothing to install, no account.

  1. 1

    Press Start and allow the microphone

    The browser asks once per site. If you have more than one microphone, a picker appears after the first take; a headset or a USB mic beats the laptop's built-in one for a voice that is close and clear.

  2. 2

    Record, pause, resume, stop

    Watch the level bar: it should move with your voice and stay out of the top. Pause when the phone rings and resume where you left off; the clock counts recorded time only. Stop ends the take.

  3. 3

    Listen back, then download MP3 or WAV

    Play the take before you decide. Choose MP3 (small, plays anywhere; 128 kbps is plenty for speech) or WAV (uncompressed, for editing), and download. Record again clears everything.

Need to cut the start or the end? Trim the take with the Audio Trimmer.

What you get

  • MP3 or WAV, your choice

    Whatever container your browser records in, the take is decoded on the page and written out as the file you pick, so the download plays in any app, player or CRM attachment.

  • Playback before download

    A player with a position bar, built from the decoded audio, so you can check the first seconds and the end of the take before you keep it.

  • Pause and resume, up to 60 minutes

    Pause for an interruption and carry on in the same file. The recorder stops on its own at 60 minutes or 100 MB and keeps what it has.

  • The take stays in the browser

    Recording, playback and the MP3 or WAV encoding all run on your device. The only way audio leaves the page is the transcription you start yourself.

Voice recorder with transcription

A plain recorder gives you a file; most people then want the words. Press Transcribe this recording and the take is handed, as an MP3, to the Audio to Text converter on the same page: pick the language, sign in if you have not, pass the quick human check, and press Start transcription. The converter's limits apply (it states them: up to 10 minutes and 100 MB per file, a monthly allowance per account) and it tells you before anything is sent if the take is too long.

If you want text while you speak rather than a recording, the Dictation Tool turns speech into text live and keeps no audio at all. If you already have a file from your phone, the Audio to Text page takes it directly.

Record as MP3 or WAV, whatever the browser records in

Browsers do not record to MP3. Each one writes its own container and codec: Safari, for example, records MP4 with AAC audio, as WebKit's documentation states; other browsers write their own, and the page shows which one yours used. That is why a download from a plain online audio recorder is often a .webm file that a CRM, an email client or an older player refuses. This page shows which container your browser used and decodes it on the page, so the download is the MP3 or WAV you asked for.

MP3 at 128 kbps keeps speech clear at about 1 MB a minute. WAV is the uncompressed original at the recorded sample rate: about 5 MB a minute for a mono take at 44.1 kHz, more for stereo or 48 kHz. The size estimate under the format switch updates as you change it.

When a browser recorder is enough, and when it is not

  • A voice note to send

    A quick answer for a colleague, a note for yourself, an audio reply to a customer: record, download the MP3, attach it. Done in a minute.

  • An interview answer or a quote

    A source on speakerphone, a short interview over the desk: record the answer and transcribe it on the same page, then quote it word for word.

  • A rehearsal

    A pitch, a demo script, a pronunciation: record the run-through, listen back, cut the filler with the trimmer and try again.

  • A meeting or a visit: use the app

    A browser tab records while it stays open and in front; a phone call or a locked screen interrupts it. For a customer visit or a meeting in the room, the ParrotNotes app records on the phone and gives you the transcript and summary.

Before you record

  • Test ten seconds first

    Record a short take, play it back, and check the level and the room. The level bar should move with your voice and not sit at the top.

  • Get the microphone close

    A hand's width from your mouth, slightly off to the side. Twice the distance is roughly half the voice and the same room noise.

  • Measure the room

    Air conditioning and fans sit under every word of a take. A quick reading with the Decibel Meter shows whether the quiet room next door is worth the walk.

  • Keep the tab in front on a phone

    Switching apps or locking the screen can pause or end the recording in a mobile browser. Keep the page on screen for the whole take.

How loud is the room? Check it with the Decibel Meter.

Related guides: Best AI voice recorders, How to record a meeting on iPhone, How to transcribe an interview, Reporter notebook vs voice notes, Voice memo to text.

One take in a tab, or every conversation on your phone

You recorded one take in a browser tab. The ParrotNotes app records on the phone, in the room, and gives you the transcript, a summary and the action items for every recording, free for 100 minutes a month.

Get ParrotNotes free

Related tools

Online Voice Recorder FAQ

Sources