Can DaVinci Resolve transcribe audio for free?

Probably not. Blackmagic Design's New Features Guide for version 20 labels its improved transcription and its extra languages as Studio Version Only ¹. The free edition of Resolve can still edit and export video, but its notes do not say that it creates transcripts. Check the feature table for the version you run, because the guide we read is for version 20, and Blackmagic's tech specs page lists DaVinci Resolve Studio 21 ².

Blackmagic marks the new transcription features as Studio

Blackmagic's version 20 notes mark the improved transcription and the extra languages as Studio features ¹.

Because those notes place the improvements under Studio, a free user should not count on the transcription menu items. The notes are official, but they cover one version, and menus can change between releases.

Where to find the feature in Studio, if you have it

Blackmagic's notes give this route for a group of clips:

1. In the Media Pool, select the clips that have audio.
2. Right-click one of them and choose AI Tools, then Audio Transcription, then Transcribe ³.

A transcript is text, not timed subtitles. The difference is explained in the free options below.

Languages depend on the list and on a download

The languages that Audio Transcription accepts depend on your version and on any language package you add. The list that applies to you is the one shown in the Transcription setup, so check it there before you start a long job. You choose the language in the Transcription setup, or leave it on Auto so Resolve identifies the spoken language.

Some languages come through a downloadable package. Blackmagic's notes say that the extended language support is one of the first tools to use the new Extras Download Manager ⁴. Download the package in the manager, then check that your language appears in the Transcription setup before you start a long job.

It depends on your edition, your version and Blackmagic's notes

Three cases change the answer:

• You have Studio. Automatic transcription is available, and the steps above apply.
• You are on the free edition and a guide says otherwise. One vendor's guide says the free edition includes Transcribe Audio. That guide sells a competing product, and we did not confirm its claim in Resolve, so we do not rely on it. The test is simple: import a clip that has speech, select it, and look for AI Tools and Audio Transcription in the right-click menu. If the items are missing, the free edition does not include the feature for you.
• You run a newer release. Blackmagic's tech specs page, read on 2026-10-17, lists DaVinci Resolve Studio 21 ², and the feature list may have changed since the version 20 notes. Check that page for the feature list of your version before you pay for a license.

Free ways to get a transcript if Resolve will not do it

If the free edition lacks transcription, you have three realistic options. None of them needs Resolve.

• Whisper, the free open model. Whisper supports 98 languages, and its accuracy varies by language ⁵. The Python package needs the ffmpeg command-line tool installed first ⁶. The guide to video to text walks through extracting the audio and reviewing the draft.
• Our free browser tool. The free audio to text tool transcribes a file in your browser, which suits a short clip.
• A timed caption file. A transcript is text only. For captions you need timing, which is the difference between a transcript and an SRT file.

Whichever tool you use, read the draft against the audio. Automatic transcripts often get names, numbers and speech over music wrong, and Whisper can also invent text where the audio is silent ⁷. The guide covers the review steps.

What to do

1. Find the version of Resolve you run, and check Blackmagic's tech specs page for that version.
2. If you are on the free edition, run the one-clip test above. If Audio Transcription is missing from the right-click menu, the free edition does not include the feature for you.
3. If you have Studio, select the clips in the Media Pool and choose AI Tools, then Audio Transcription, then Transcribe. Confirm the language first.
4. If you do not have Studio, transcribe the audio with Whisper or the free browser tool, and check the whole draft before you use it.

For how a transcription fits with the rest of the workflow, see transcription. If your footage is in Premiere Pro instead, see how to transcribe audio in Premiere Pro. For a video on YouTube, see how to get a YouTube transcript. For the terms used here, see the entry for automatic speech recognition.