You probably already have M4A files
Where do M4A files come from?
M4A is Apple's default audio format. If you own an iPhone, iPad, or Mac, you've been making M4A files without knowing it.
Voice Memos
Every iPhone, iPad, and Mac ships with Voice Memos. It records in M4A by default. That quick thought you captured on your commute? M4A.
GarageBand & Logic Pro
Podcast recordings, music drafts, vocal takes. When you bounce or share audio from GarageBand, the default output is M4A (AAC).
QuickTime & Screen Recording
macOS screen recordings and QuickTime audio captures save as M4A. That meeting you screen-recorded? The audio track is M4A.
WhatsApp & Telegram
Voice messages from WhatsApp, Telegram, and other messaging apps are often stored as M4A files when you save or export them.
Sound familiar?
Other tools make M4A harder than it needs to be.
Typist reads M4A natively. No conversion, no workarounds.
"Unsupported format."
You tried three different transcription tools. Two of them only accept MP3 or WAV. The third one wants you to convert the file first.
You were told to install FFmpeg.
The tutorial said "just run ffmpeg -i input.m4a output.wav" like that is a normal thing to ask of someone who records voice memos on their phone.
The conversion killed the quality.
You converted to MP3 to make another tool happy, and the transcript came back with gaps and garbled words. The re-encoding stripped the detail the AI needed.
You just want the words.
You recorded something important — an idea, a meeting, a lecture — and you need it in text. Not in a different audio format. Not in an app you have to learn. Just text.
How it works
Upload M4A. Get text.
Three steps. No format conversion. No command line.
Drop your M4A file
Drag and drop from Finder, Files, or your browser. Voice Memos, GarageBand exports, QuickTime recordings — all accepted.
Typist transcribes
~30 seconds for a 1-hour file. No format conversion needed. Typist reads M4A natively with 99+ language support.
Export the text
TXT and DOCX on free. PDF, SRT, Markdown, WebVTT, and JSON on Premium. Copy, paste, or download.
See it for yourself
Real M4A files. Real output.
Voice memos, lectures, podcasts, meetings — all M4A. Press play and hover to reveal timestamps.
Okay so I just had this idea in the shower — what if we built a waitlist page for the new feature. Not a real waitlist, just a signal for whether anyone actually cares. Like a 30-second landing page with one input. We ship it on Tuesday. If we get 50 emails by Friday, we build the thing. If not, we kill it. Remind me to write this down before I forget. Actually — this IS writing it down. Never mind.
Why Typist for M4A
Native M4A support. No conversion tax.
30 seconds, not 30 minutes. 200x faster than real-time. A 1-hour M4A file is done before you switch tabs.
M4A in, text out. Plus MP3, WAV, FLAC, OGG, MP4, MOV, WebM. No conversion step needed for any of them.
Drag and drop audio/video file
MP3, WAV, MP4, MOV, M4A and more...
99+ languages. Works with any M4A regardless of language. Accents, jargon, and code-switching handled.
Text goes anywhere. TXT, DOCX, PDF, SRT, Markdown, WebVTT, JSON. Paste into Notion, Premiere, Google Docs, or your clipboard.
People converting M4A to text
Voice memo hoarders. Podcast producers. Students.
Anyone with an M4A file and a reason to read what's in it.
"I record everything on my iPhone — ideas on walks, half-baked features, meeting highlights. Typist turns the M4A files into actual notes I can search. I call it my external brain."
"I record every lecture with Voice Memos and drop the M4A into Typist between classes. Full transcript before the next period starts. My study group thinks I type at 200 WPM."
"I record in GarageBand, bounce to M4A, and have the transcript before the export finishes rendering. Show notes write themselves. Saved me hours every week."
"I file stories from my phone. Voice Memos to M4A to Typist to my editor in 5 minutes flat. The timestamps make quote verification painless."
"My clients send 5-minute WhatsApp voice messages instead of emails. I save them as M4A, upload to Typist, and actually have a record of what was promised."
"My recorder exports M4A. Every other tool made me convert to WAV first. Typist just ate the M4A files directly. 40 hours of interviews transcribed in an afternoon."
How we compare
Typist vs the alternatives.
Native M4A support. No conversion. No per-minute billing.
| Tool | Speed | Max upload | Languages | Free tier | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Typist | 1hr in ~30s | 5 GB | 99+ | 3 free, no card | $20/mo unlimited |
Whisper (local) | Hours on your laptop | Unlimited (local) | 99+ | Free (install hell) | Your CPU, your fan |
TurboScribe | 1hr in ~3 min | 5 GB | 98+ | 3/day (30 min) | $10/mo |
Otter.ai | Real-time | ~3 GB | 3 | 300 min/mo | $16.99/mo (Pro) |
Sonix | 1hr in ~5 min | 500 MB | 53 | 30 min trial | $10/hr or $22/mo |
Online converter + tool | Convert first, then transcribe | Varies | Varies | Usually limited | Time + frustration |
Pricing
Start free. No card. No catch.
3 M4A files free. No credit card, no trial.
3 free transcriptions
No card required
Files up to 100 MB
Perfect for 1-2 hour audio
Turbo model access
Fast and accurate
TXT + DOCX exports
Paste anywhere
7-day file retention
Auto-deletes after a week
Unlimited transcriptions. 5 GB files. Every export format.
Unlimited transcriptions
No daily or monthly caps
Up to 5 GB per file
Long recordings, full sessions
Priority processing
Skip the line, always
All models, all languages
World's fastest + highest accuracy
PDF, DOCX, TXT, SRT + more
Every format you need
Unlimited retention
Your library, forever
Questions
Everything about M4A to text.
Your M4A files have words in them. Let's get them out.
Drop your M4A file and get a timestamped transcript before you finish your coffee. No conversion, no card, no catch.
No credit card · Up to 100 MB free · Ready in ~30 seconds