Transcribe a podcast to text
From the YouTube or SoundCloud link, or from the mp3. Spotify does not let you download the audio, and here we tell you what to do instead.
Updated: October 2026 · 6 min read
To transcribe a podcast to text for free: if the episode is on YouTube or SoundCloud, paste the link into AppGrabbit › Download › Transcribe with AI; if you have it as an mp3, drop it in. Click Transcribe and the AI engine runs on your PC: out comes a .txt with a summary prompt on top and an .srt with the minute of every sentence. Spotify is not possible: it does not let you download the audio. Below we tell you how to get the same episode another way. 1 credit · 5 free a month
The Spotify part, upfront
Almost everyone searches “transcribe Spotify podcast to text”. The honest answer: Spotify does not let you download a podcast's audio, and Spotify-exclusive episodes exist nowhere else. The websites that promise to do it from a Spotify link either fail or rely on tricks that break. What does work: most podcasts are published through RSS with an open mp3, and Spotify and Apple merely play it. On the podcast's website, or in its RSS feed, the mp3 is there to download; and a great many episodes are also on YouTube. With either one, the app transcribes.
How AppGrabbit does it
With a YouTube or SoundCloud link, the app downloads only the audio; with a file, it reads it where it is. Then it transcribes it with Whisper (whisper.cpp) on your PC, skips the intro music and the silences, and leaves the .txt with the prompt you chose on top (paste it into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini and you have the summary, the quotes or the questions) and the .srt with timing to find the minute of a sentence and cut a clip.
What it is for, with examples
- Episode notes — “Summarize” gives you the points and topics for the episode description.
- Clips for social — “Key ideas” pulls the strong lines; the .srt gives the minute to cut them, and the audio-to-video guide turns them into a subtitled video.
- Studying a podcast — “Study questions” for a history or science episode.
- Your own podcast — transcribe the episode before publishing: the text helps accessibility and lets Google find it.
AppGrabbit against the other ways
| AppGrabbit | “Spotify to text” websites | Spotify or Apple transcripts | Transcription websites | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Episode on YouTube or SoundCloud | ✓ Paste the link | ~ Sometimes | ✗ No | ✗ You download and upload it |
| Spotify-exclusive episode | ✗ Not possible | ✗ Not possible (whatever they say) | ~ Read-only in the app | ✗ Not possible |
| Your mp3 file | ✓ Drop it in | ~ Some | ✗ No | ✓ By uploading it |
| Text to take with you, with a prompt | ✓ .txt and .srt | ~ Copy and paste | ✗ No export | ~ Paid |
| Cost | 1 credit per transcript (5 free a month) · Pro $8.99/mo · 7-day pass $3.99 | Free minutes, then a subscription | Included, no export | Free minutes, then a subscription |
Step by step
- 1Install AppGrabbit for Windows — Download the free installer (everything included). Windows will say it protected your PC because the installer is not code-signed: click More info, then Run anyway.
- 2Get the episode — If it is on YouTube or SoundCloud, copy the link. If you have it as a file (mp3, m4a), you are set. If it is only on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, look for the episode on the podcast's website or in its RSS feed: almost all have a download link for the mp3.
- 3Open Download › Transcribe with AI — Paste the link or drop the file. With a link, the app downloads only the audio; with a file, it reads it where it is.
- 4Pick the prompt — “Summarize” to keep what matters; “Key ideas” to pull quotes; no prompt for the clean text. The first time, the app gets the AI engine ready on your PC (a one-time download) and carries on by itself.
- 5Open the .txt and the .srt — They land in the Transcripts folder inside your downloads folder, and in the Library. The .txt pastes into Word or into your AI; the .srt carries the minute of every sentence.
Frequently asked questions
Not from Spotify: Spotify does not let you download the audio, and Spotify-exclusive podcasts do not exist anywhere else. What does work: almost every regular podcast is also on YouTube, on SoundCloud or has a public RSS feed with the mp3 (you will find it on the podcast's website). With that, the app transcribes just the same.
Same as Spotify: the episode comes from the podcast's RSS feed. The podcast's website usually has a download button for the mp3; that is the file you drop in.
No problem: there is no cap. With an NVIDIA card it takes about 6 minutes; CPU only, about 25 with the Fast model.
No. The text is running; the .srt puts the minute of every sentence, which is what you need to cut a clip or quote.
The engine detects the spoken language. If languages mix, pin one (Spanish, English, Portuguese and more) before transcribing. It comes out in the language of the audio, not translated.
1 credit per transcript. Free comes with 5 credits a month and, at 0, you can claim 1 more every 48 hours. The 7-day pass (USD 3.99, no renewal) removes credits for a week; Pro removes them for good at USD 8.99 a month. No minute cap and no file-length cap.
Nothing. The audio is transcribed by Whisper (whisper.cpp) running on your computer, on your NVIDIA card if you have one or on the CPU if not. You can unplug the internet and it keeps working. Only the first time does it download the engine and the model.
Related guides
Transcribe the episode, on your PC
Windows 10/11 · 1 credit per transcript, 5 free a month · YouTube or SoundCloud link, or your mp3