Whisper Transcription Without the Setup

NovaScribe is a web-based transcription app that uses OpenAI Whisper to convert audio and video to text for podcasters, researchers, journalists, and teams. Plans start at $2/month (200 minutes) with a free 30-minute trial. No coding or API setup required.

No credit card requiredNo coding required99 languages supported

Supported formats:

MP3WAVM4AFLACOGGMP4

Upload a file → Get transcript with speaker labels → Export as TXT, DOCX, SRT, VTT, or JSON.

Free: 30 minStarter: $2/mo (200 min)Basic: $5/mo (1000 min)Pro: $10/mo (2500 min)Studio: $20/mo (6000 min)

Limits & Specifications

Max file size2 GB
Max duration10 hours per file
Turnaround time~1 minute per 10 minutes of audio
Speaker detectionUp to 10 distinct speakers
Languages99 (auto-detected or manual selection)
Input formatsMP3, WAV, M4A, FLAC, OGG, MP4, MOV, WEBM
Export formatsTXT, DOCX, SRT, VTT, JSON

What is Whisper?

Whisper is OpenAI's open-source speech recognition model, released in 2022. It's trained on 680,000 hours of multilingual audio data and delivers impressive accuracy across 99 languages.

The model is available for anyone to use, but running it yourself requires technical setup: Python programming, GPU hardware, and ongoing maintenance. For most users, this creates a significant barrier to access.

NovaScribe removes that barrier. We run Whisper on our infrastructure, add speaker detection (which Whisper doesn't include by default), and provide a simple upload-and-download interface.

Learn more about general audio transcription or explore our features.

Sources: OpenAI Whisper GitHub · OpenAI Whisper Research

Whisper API vs NovaScribe

Using Whisper Directly

  • Requires Python programming knowledge
  • Need to set up API keys and billing
  • No speaker detection built-in
  • No user interface—command line only
  • Must handle file size limits yourself
  • Raw output needs formatting

Using NovaScribe

  • Upload files in your browser
  • No API keys or setup needed
  • Speaker detection included
  • Built-in editor and transcript viewer
  • Large files handled automatically
  • Export as TXT, DOCX, SRT, VTT, JSON

Cost Comparison: NovaScribe vs Whisper API

NovaScribe
Whisper API (DIY)
Per-minute cost~$0.005$0.006 + setup
Setup requiredNot IncludedExtra Work
Speaker detectionIncludedNot Included
User interfaceIncludedExtra Work

* NovaScribe cost based on Basic plan ($5/1000 min = $0.005/min). OpenAI API pricing as of January 2026; excludes development time and infrastructure costs. Source

How Speaker Detection Works

NovaScribe adds speaker diarization on top of Whisper transcription, identifying and labeling different voices as Speaker 1, Speaker 2, etc. You can rename speakers in the editor before exporting.

Specifications

  • Supports up to 10 distinct speakers per file
  • Works best with clear turn-taking (minimal crosstalk)
  • Speaker labels included in SRT, VTT, and JSON exports

Best Practices

  • Use quality microphones for clearest results
  • Minimize background noise and overlapping speech
  • For interviews: lapel mics produce best speaker separation

Known Limitations

Speaker detection may merge voices when speakers have similar vocal characteristics or when there's significant crosstalk. You can manually adjust labels in the editor.

View sample transcript output
[00:00:00] Speaker 1: Welcome to the podcast. Today we're discussing...
[00:00:05] Speaker 2: Thanks for having me. I'm excited to share...
[00:00:12] Speaker 1: Let's start with the basics. Can you explain...
[00:00:18] Speaker 2: Absolutely. The key concept here is...

Privacy & Data Handling

  • Encryption: Files encrypted in transit (TLS 1.3) and at rest (AES-256)
  • Retention: Files auto-delete after 30 days; manual deletion available anytime
  • Training: We do not use your audio to train models
  • Processing region: EU (Frankfurt)

See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service for details.

Whisper Transcription App

NovaScribe is essentially a Whisper app with a user-friendly interface. You get the power of Whisper's speech recognition without needing technical skills. Upload your audio, get your transcript, export in your preferred format.

How Whisper Transcription Works

Upload Your Audio

Drag and drop any audio or video file. We handle the conversion and preprocessing automatically.

Whisper + Speaker Detection

Your file is processed using Whisper for transcription, plus our speaker detection layer to identify different voices.

Review & Export

Edit your transcript in our built-in editor. Export as plain text, Word document, or subtitle files.

NovaScribe Whisper Features

Whisper's accuracy with additional features for real-world use

Whisper-Level Accuracy

Whisper achieves word error rates (WER) of approximately 3-5% on clear English audio, based on OpenAI's published benchmarks.

No Coding Required

Skip the Python scripts and API documentation. Just upload your file and get your transcript.

99 Languages

Whisper supports 99 languages including English, Spanish, German, French, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, and Hindi.

Speaker Detection Added

Speaker detection identifies up to 10 distinct speakers and labels them automatically; you can rename speakers before exporting.

Cloud Processing

No need to buy a GPU or run overnight processing jobs. Our servers handle the heavy lifting.

Secure Processing

Files are encrypted in transit and at rest. NovaScribe does not use customer audio to train machine learning models.

Whisper Transcription FAQ

Apa itu Whisper dan bagaimana cara kerjanya untuk transkripsi?

Whisper adalah model pengenalan suara otomatis (ASR) yang dikembangkan oleh OpenAI. Dilatih dengan 680.000 jam data audio multibahasa, yang menghasilkan akurasi tinggi dalam banyak bahasa dan aksen. Whisper mengubah audio menjadi teks melalui jaringan saraf yang telah mempelajari pola dalam ucapan. Ia dapat menangani berbagai kualitas audio, kebisingan latar belakang, dan beberapa pembicara. NovaScribe menggunakan teknologi berbasis Whisper untuk memberikan transkripsi akurat tanpa perlu menginstal atau mengelola model sendiri.

Seberapa akurat transkripsi Whisper?

Whisper dianggap sebagai salah satu model ucapan-ke-teks paling akurat yang tersedia. Untuk audio bahasa Inggris yang jernih, ia memberikan tingkat kesalahan kata yang sangat rendah yang sebanding dengan transkripsi manusia profesional. Akurasi bervariasi menurut bahasa — Inggris, Spanyol, Jerman, dan beberapa bahasa lain menunjukkan performa sangat baik, sementara bahasa yang kurang umum mungkin memiliki tingkat kesalahan lebih tinggi. Kualitas audio secara signifikan memengaruhi akurasi; rekaman bersih dengan kebisingan latar belakang minimal memberikan hasil terbaik.

Bahasa apa saja yang didukung Whisper?

Whisper mendukung transkripsi dalam 99 bahasa. Performanya terbaik dalam bahasa Indonesia, Inggris, Spanyol, Italia, Jerman, Portugis, Prancis, Belanda, Polandia, dan bahasa umum lainnya. Ia juga dapat mentranskripsi Mandarin, Jepang, Korea, Arab, Hindi, dan masih banyak lagi. Model ini dapat secara otomatis mendeteksi bahasa yang diucapkan atau Anda bisa menentukannya secara manual untuk akurasi yang lebih baik.

Apakah saya perlu keahlian teknis untuk menggunakan Whisper untuk transkripsi?

Menggunakan Whisper secara langsung memerlukan pengetahuan teknis — Anda perlu menginstal Python, mengatur dependensi, mengelola sumber daya GPU, dan menulis kode untuk memproses file audio. Ini bisa menantang bagi non-developer. NovaScribe menghilangkan kerumitan ini sepenuhnya. Kami mengelola semua infrastruktur teknis, Anda cukup mengunggah file audio melalui antarmuka web kami dan mendapatkan transkrip. Tanpa coding, tanpa instalasi, tanpa manajemen server.

Bagaimana NovaScribe berbeda dari menggunakan Whisper secara langsung?

Menggunakan Whisper secara langsung berarti menyiapkan infrastruktur Anda sendiri: menginstal model (memerlukan ruang disk dan memori GPU yang signifikan), menulis kode untuk memproses file, mengelola error, dan mengatur sumber daya komputasi. NovaScribe menawarkan solusi lengkap yang dibangun di atas teknologi berbasis Whisper: antarmuka pengunggahan sederhana, pemrosesan otomatis, editor bawaan untuk koreksi, deteksi pembicara, berbagai format ekspor, dan penyimpanan cloud untuk transkrip Anda.

Apakah NovaScribe terhubung dengan OpenAI?

Tidak, NovaScribe adalah perusahaan independen. Kami tidak berafiliasi, didukung, atau bermitra dengan OpenAI. Kami membangun layanan transkripsi kami menggunakan teknologi ucapan-ke-teks yang didasarkan pada atau menyerupai arsitektur Whisper dari OpenAI. Tujuan kami adalah membuat teknologi transkripsi yang powerful dapat diakses oleh semua orang melalui aplikasi web yang sederhana dan terjangkau.

Note: NovaScribe is not affiliated with OpenAI. We use Whisper-based technology for transcription. Results may vary based on audio quality and content type.

NovaScribe makes Whisper transcription accessible to everyone. Explore our related tools for specific use cases.