Can Microsoft Word Transcribe Audio? Limits for Long Recordings

Yes, if you pay for Microsoft 365. As of October 2026, Word's Transcribe turns an uploaded MP3, WAV, M4A or MP4 file into text with speaker labels. It works in Word for the web in Edge or Chrome, and in Word for Windows on work or school accounts. It covers 300 minutes of uploaded audio a month.

That's five hours, shared by every file you upload that month. When they run out, or if you don't have Microsoft 365, TranscribTxt transcribes the first 30 minutes of a recording free while you have a free file left. The whole transcript of one recording up to 3 hours (a file up to 500 MB) is $2, paid once.

What Word's Transcribe does (checked Oct 31, 2026)

Transcribe lives in Word under Home > Dictate > Transcribe. You can record in Word, or upload a recording you already have. Per Microsoft's support page:

• Files: .wav, .mp4, .m4a and .mp3.
• Speakers: it separates the voices and labels them "Speaker 1", "Speaker 2" and so on. You can rename a label everywhere at once.
• Playback: each section has a timestamp that plays that part of the audio, at up to 2x speed.
• Into the document: the transcript stays in the Transcribe pane until you add all of it, or one section at a time. A document holds one transcript; starting a new one removes the old one from the pane.
• Storage: the audio is saved in the Transcribed Files folder of your OneDrive, where you can delete it.
• Languages: Microsoft lists "80+ locales", among them Spanish, French, German, Chinese, Hindi and Arabic. Ukrainian, Vietnamese, Indonesian and Hebrew aren't on the list.

How to transcribe an audio file in Word

1. Sign in to Microsoft 365 and open a document in Word for the web, in Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome. On a work or school account, Word for Windows works too.
2. Go to Home > Dictate (the dropdown arrow) > Transcribe.
3. In the Transcribe pane, select Upload audio and choose your file.
4. Keep the pane open. Microsoft says transcription "may take a while depending on your internet speed, up to about the length of the audio file", so a 2-hour recording can take up to about 2 hours. You can work in another tab meanwhile.
5. Fix mistakes: hover over a section, select Edit transcript section, and correct the text or the speaker. Change all Speaker [x] renames that speaker everywhere.
6. Select Add all to document. The transcript lands as ordinary text, with a link to the audio file.

For an interview, rename Speaker 1 and Speaker 2 to the interviewer's and the guest's names before you add the text. Our guide on how to transcribe an interview covers recording tips and which export format to use.

If Transcribe isn't there, check that you're signed in with the account that has your Microsoft 365 subscription. In a browser, use Edge or Chrome.

The limits that matter for a long recording

300 minutes of uploads a month

"Users with a Microsoft 365 subscription can transcribe a maximum of 300 minutes of uploaded audio per month," the support page says. Users with a Microsoft Copilot license get 30,000 minutes; the page doesn't say which plans count. Here's what 300 minutes means in practice:

• One 3-hour recording uses 180 minutes and leaves 120 for the rest of the month.
• Two 2.5-hour lectures use the whole month.
• A weekly 90-minute seminar runs out in the fourth week.

Splitting a long file doesn't get around it: every part counts toward the same 300 minutes.

File length and size

Microsoft's current page doesn't state a cap on one file's length or size. Its 2020 launch post said "each uploaded recording is limited to 200mb", and we couldn't confirm whether that still applies. A 2-hour MP3 at 128 kbps is about 115 MB. Video of the same length is usually far larger, so upload the audio when you have it.

Four formats

Word takes .wav, .mp4, .m4a and .mp3. An iPhone video (.mov), a WebM screen recording, or an MKV, AVI, FLAC or OGG file has to be converted first.

Mac, Windows and browsers

The Word for Mac app isn't on Microsoft's list. The note reads: "This feature is currently only available in Word for Microsoft 365 on Windows in Commercial Tenants." Commercial tenants are work or school accounts, so the note doesn't cover Microsoft 365 Personal or Family in Word for Windows. On a Mac, or with a Personal or Family plan, use Word for the web in Edge or Chrome, the only browsers Microsoft lists. Government tenants get Transcribe only in Word for the web.

A subscription

Microsoft documents Transcribe only for Microsoft 365 subscribers, so don't count on it in free Word for the web. Its Insider post on Transcribe for Windows says: "No entry point into the Transcribe will be available unless you are a Microsoft 365 subscriber." Microsoft's US plan comparison lists Microsoft 365 Personal at $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year. That page doesn't name Transcribe in any plan, so check that it shows up in your account before you buy one for it.

Word's Transcribe vs TranscribTxt for a long recording

Word's facts come from the Microsoft pages linked above, checked on October 31, 2026; Microsoft changes them from time to time. We are TranscribTxt (RESTART AI LLC) and aren't affiliated with Microsoft. Microsoft, Word and Microsoft 365 are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Found an error? Write to support@transcribtxt.com and we'll check and fix it.

When Word's 300 minutes run out

You have four ways out:

• Wait. The minutes come back next month, which doesn't help with a deadline.
• Ask about Copilot. If your organization has Microsoft Copilot licenses, ask IT whether yours raises the cap to 30,000 minutes.
• Pay for that one recording. On TranscribTxt, try the first 30 minutes free while you have a free file left, and check the text before you pay. The whole transcript of one recording up to 3 hours (a file up to 500 MB) is $2, paid once. For a week of interviews or lectures, the $5 Week Pass covers up to 25 hours of audio and never renews. In October 2026, a 145-minute recording took 2 min 45 s once uploaded.
• Pro, if you run out every month. A weekly 90-minute seminar outgrows Word's minutes by the fourth week. TranscribTxt Pro is $10 a month for up to 100 hours of audio.

If a long video is over 2 GB, upload just its audio: our page on transcribing a long recording shows how to get it. Have an MP3, WAV or M4A file? You can transcribe audio to text on our audio page.

To finish in Word, copy the text or download a TXT file and paste it into your document. With the Week Pass or Pro you can also download a Word (.docx) file. TranscribTxt works in 99 languages, so a recording in Ukrainian or Vietnamese can be transcribed too.

When Word is the better choice

• Your recordings fit in 300 minutes a month. If you already pay for Microsoft 365, Transcribe costs nothing extra.
• You need to know who said what. Word labels speakers. TranscribTxt doesn't.
• You want the recording tied to the document. The transcript stays with the document, and each timestamp plays that part of the audio.
• Your organization allows only Microsoft 365 for recordings. Word keeps the audio in your OneDrive and the transcript in the document.

Thinking of other tools too? Our guide to the best transcription software for long recordings lists the per-file limits of Otter, ChatGPT, Gemini and others. If you'd try ChatGPT first, read can ChatGPT transcribe audio. To see what an hour costs across services, see transcription cost per hour.