Online voice recorder
Press record, speak, and download the file. The audio is captured, encoded and saved entirely inside this tab — it is never sent to a server, because there is no server in the path.
Ready. Press Record and allow microphone access when your browser asks.
Where your audio actually goes
Most online recorders upload your take to a server, encode it there, and hand you back a link. That means a copy of your voice sits on someone else's machine, under someone else's retention policy. This one works differently.
Your browser's MediaRecorder and Web Audio APIs do the capture and encoding locally. The finished file is handed to the download button as an blob: URL that points at your own memory. You can verify this yourself: open DevTools, switch to the Network tab, and record. Nothing outbound appears.
How to record
- Press Record. Your browser will ask for microphone permission the first time — choose Allow.
- Speak. The waveform scrolls as you talk and the meter on the right shows your input level. Aim to keep it in the blue, touching amber on your loudest words.
- Press Pause if you need a break. Resuming continues the same take rather than starting a new one.
- Press Stop when you are finished. The take appears below the controls with a player.
- Press Download. The file lands in your normal downloads folder.
Download before you close the tab. Because nothing is stored anywhere, closing or reloading the page discards the take permanently. There is no recovery, by design.
Choosing a format
| Format | Size for 10 min | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| WAV | ~53 MB | Editing later, archiving, anything you will process further |
| MP3 | ~9.6 MB | Emailing, uploading, sharing — opens on everything |
| WebM / M4A | ~5 MB | Smallest file, best quality per byte, fewer places accept it |
Recording for something specific — a podcast, a lecture, a slide deck? The use-case section covers format, level and what to do with the file afterwards for twelve common jobs.
If you are not sure, pick MP3. If the recording is going into an editor afterwards, pick WAV — starting from uncompressed audio means you are not stacking one lossy encode on top of another. There is a fuller comparison in MP3 vs WAV.
Technical detail
- Capture
- MediaDevices.getUserMedia, mono
- Sample rate
- Follows your device, typically 44.1 or 48 kHz
- WAV output
- 16-bit PCM, mono, uncompressed
- MP3 output
- 128 kbps CBR, mono, encoded in-page
- Native output
- Opus in WebM (Chrome, Firefox, Edge) or AAC in MP4 (Safari)
- Length limit
- None imposed by us — limited only by your available memory
- Requires
- HTTPS and a browser released in roughly the last five years
Long takes are held in memory, so a very long WAV recording on a low-memory phone can eventually run out of room. For anything over about an hour on mobile, record in MP3 or split it into several takes.
If the recorder will not start
- Nothing happens when you press Record. The permission prompt may have been dismissed. Click the padlock in the address bar, set Microphone to Allow, and reload.
- The waveform stays flat. A different input is selected. Change the Input dropdown, or run the microphone test to see which device is live.
- The microphone is busy. Video call apps hold the microphone exclusively on some systems. Quit them and try again.
- Nothing works on an old browser. Check the browser support table for the minimum versions.
The step-by-step version is in microphone not working, and the full set is in the guides section.
Find what fits your situation
Fifty-plus pages sit behind three sections. If something is not working, or you want the exact menu path for your setup, start with the section rather than hunting.
- By browser and deviceChrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge, iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, iPad and Chromebook.
- By what you are recordingPodcasts, singing, interviews, lectures, voiceover, meetings and six more.
- GuidesFixing a microphone, permissions, formats, noise and where files save.
Other recorders on this site
- MP3 recorderRecords straight to MP3 at 128 kbps, encoded in your browser.
- WAV recorderUncompressed 16-bit PCM for editing and archiving.
- Microphone testCheck that your mic works before you record anything important.
- Voice memoShort takes, quick download, tuned for speech.
- DictaphoneLong-form dictation with pause and resume.
- Audio trimmerCut the dead air off the start and end of a take.
Questions
Is my recording uploaded anywhere?
No. Capture, encoding and download all happen inside your browser tab. You can confirm it by opening your browser's developer tools, switching to the Network tab, and recording — no outbound request is made. Full detail is on the how it works page.
Do I need to create an account?
No. There is no account, no email required, and no sign-up wall. The recorder is on the page and it works immediately.
Is there a time limit on recordings?
We do not impose one. The practical limit is your device's memory, because the take is held in RAM until you download it. On a desktop you can comfortably record an hour or more; on an older phone, prefer MP3 for long sessions since it uses far less memory than WAV.
What happens if I close the tab before downloading?
The recording is gone permanently. Nothing is stored on a server or in your browser's storage, so there is no draft to recover. Always download before closing.
Can I record system audio or a video call?
Not from this page — it records microphone input only. To capture what is playing in another browser tab, use the tab audio recorder, which uses screen sharing to pick up tab audio. Recording other people always requires their consent, and in some places it is a legal requirement.
Does it work on a phone?
Why is the file bigger than I expected?
WAV is uncompressed — roughly 5.3 MB per minute of mono audio at 44.1 kHz. Switching the Format dropdown to MP3 reduces the same recording to about a sixth of the size with no audible difference for speech.
Can I record in stereo?
The recorder captures mono, which is the right choice for voice and produces half the file size. Stereo only helps when you are capturing a genuinely stereo source such as a spaced pair of microphones, which is unusual for the browser-based use cases this tool is built for.