Camera, Mic & Media
Voice Recorder - Record Audio Online
Record your voice or microphone audio directly in the browser and download as a WebM or OGG file. No sign-up, no uploads - everything stays on your device.
Audio format support
The recorder uses the MediaRecorder API to produce a WebM file with the Opus codec, which is supported in all modern browsers. In Safari, an OGG fallback is used where available.
Audio format and quality guide
| Format | Codec | Typical bitrate | File size (1 min) | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WAV | PCM (uncompressed) | 1,411 kbps | ~10 MB | Archiving, audio editing, maximum quality |
| MP3 | MPEG Layer 3 | 128–320 kbps | 0.9–2.4 MB | Music, broad compatibility |
| AAC | Advanced Audio Coding | 128–256 kbps | 0.9–1.9 MB | Apple ecosystem, podcasts, streaming |
| OGG / Vorbis | Vorbis | 80–200 kbps | 0.6–1.5 MB | Web, open-source projects |
| WebM / Opus | Opus | 24–128 kbps | 0.2–1 MB | Voice, VoIP, real-time recording in browser |
Opus at 32–64 kbps delivers excellent speech quality at very small file sizes. For music or archival use, WAV (lossless) or AAC at 256 kbps is preferred.
Privacy
Recordings are stored in browser memory only. When you click "Download", the file goes directly to your device. Nothing is uploaded to any server.
MediaRecorder API limitations
The Web MediaRecorder API has several constraints worth knowing:
- No mid-recording seek: you cannot pause and resume at an arbitrary time position in the output file.
- Browser-controlled bitrate: while a target bitrate can be requested, browsers may not honour it exactly.
- Memory limits for long sessions: recording for many hours continuously accumulates data in memory. For long recordings, stop and save periodically.
Post-recording workflow
- Transcription: upload to OpenAI Whisper, Otter.ai, or similar services for automatic speech-to-text.
- Cleanup: use Audacity (free, cross-platform) or Adobe Podcast Enhance (browser-based) to reduce background noise and improve clarity.
- Format conversion: FFmpeg (
ffmpeg -i input.webm -c:a libopus output.ogg) converts to any format. HandBrake provides a GUI alternative. - Distribution: upload to podcast hosts (Buzzsprout, Spotify for Podcasters, Transistor) which generate RSS feeds and distribute automatically.
Sample rate guidance
Human speech is intelligible up to about 8 kHz, so a 44.1 kHz sample rate is overkill for voice recordings. By Nyquist’s theorem, a sample rate of 2× the highest frequency is sufficient - 16 kHz captures everything the human voice produces, and 22.05 kHz provides a comfortable margin. Lower sample rates produce smaller files with no perceptible quality loss for voice content.