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How to transcribe a podcast

Guides · Updated July 2026

A transcript makes your podcast searchable, accessible, and easy to turn into show notes, clips, and social posts. The best approach depends on whether you are recording the episode yourself or working from an existing audio file. Here is how to do both, plus why speaker labels matter more for a podcast than almost any other kind of recording.

Transcribe an episode you record

If you are the host or a guest, the cleanest path is to transcribe as you record. With Attesta on iPhone:

Tap record when you start. An audible tone plays, so your guest knows it is on.
Give each speaker their own mic if you can, or keep everyone an equal distance from the phone — even levels make for cleaner diarization.
Tap stop at the end.
Get a speaker-labeled transcript plus a summary, key topics, and quotes — the raw material for your show notes.

Because it labels who said what, you can drop the transcript straight into show notes or pull standout quotes for clips.

Why speaker labels matter more for a podcast

A single-host monologue transcribes fine as a wall of text. A podcast with a host and one or more guests does not — without labels, a reader cannot tell who made which point. Compare a raw transcript of a two-person episode…

so today we are talking about pricing and I think the biggest mistake people make is charging by the seat instead of by usage that matches what I have seen too especially with teams that barely use the tool

…with the same audio, speaker-labeled:

Host: So today we are talking about pricing, and I think the biggest mistake people make is charging by the seat instead of by usage.
Guest: That matches what I have seen too — especially with teams that barely use the tool.

The labeled version is what you actually want for show notes, pull-quotes, and an accessible transcript page — you can attribute a quote to the right person without re-listening to check. It also holds up better with three or four voices on a panel episode, where an unlabeled transcript stops being usable almost immediately.

Transcribe an existing audio file

If the episode is already recorded and exported as a file, Attesta is not the right tool — it is a live recorder, not a file-upload service, so it cannot process an MP3 or WAV you already have. You want a dedicated file-based transcription tool instead. A few things worth checking before you pick one:

Speaker separation. Podcasts almost always have more than one voice; a tool that only returns a flat transcript will cost you hours of manual labeling afterward.
Pricing you can predict. Look for a transparent per-minute or per-file rate rather than a tiered plan that gates export or long files behind an upsell.
Turnaround time. Some file-upload services queue longer files; check this against your publishing deadline, not just the marketing page.
What happens to the audio afterward. If the file has anything sensitive in it (a guest's personal story, unreleased business details), check the provider's retention and training policy before uploading.

If you still have the conversation ahead of you — a future episode, or a re-record — recording it with Attesta skips the export/upload round-trip entirely: you get the speaker-labeled transcript and a structured summary the moment you stop recording.

Turn the transcript into show notes

Lead with the summary — a few lines on what the episode covers.
List the key topics as timestamps so listeners can jump around.
Pull two or three quotes, attributed to the right host or guest, for the episode description and social posts.
Publish the full transcript — Apple Podcasts and Spotify both support episode transcripts, and it helps you get found in search.

Record your episode and get a speaker-labeled transcript plus a summary and quotes — free to start, with an audible tone.

Download on theApp Store

Frequently asked questions

Can ChatGPT transcribe a podcast?

Not from audio on its own — it needs a speech-to-text step first and does not label speakers. A recording app like Attesta does audio-to-text in one pass, labels who said what, and writes a summary.

How do I transcribe my own podcast episode?

Record the conversation with an app and let it transcribe. Attesta gives you a speaker-labeled transcript plus a summary and topics to turn into show notes.

Can I upload an already-recorded episode to Attesta to transcribe it?

No — Attesta records live from your iPhone's microphone and does not accept uploaded audio files. For an episode you have already exported, use a file-based transcription tool instead. If you still have the conversation ahead of you, record it with Attesta and skip the export step.

How do I add a transcript to a podcast?

Generate it, clean up names, then upload to your host (Apple Podcasts and Spotify support transcripts) or paste it into your show notes. Attesta lets you export the transcript.

Is there a free way to transcribe a podcast?

Attesta has a free trial and pay-per-minute credits that never expire. Some web tools also offer limited free file transcription if you already have the audio.