Potok transcribes Russian speech; this site has been translated into English for convenience.
When the free 60 minutes of transcription per month run out, the Telegram bot @potok_now_bot does not download a new file and shows a limit screen with payment buttons. The limit resets on the 1st of the month, Moscow time. The bot of the Potok service (potok.now) removes the limit with a subscription shared with the dictation app.
The free limit of the bot @potok_now_bot is 60 minutes of recording per calendar month. What happens when they run out depends on only one thing: whether you have reached the end of the limit.
What happens when the free transcription limit is used up
When the limit is used up, the bot does not download the file you sent. Instead of a transcript it shows a limit screen with payment buttons. You can buy a subscription right from this screen, or you can wait: the limit resets on the 1st of the month, Moscow time, and 60 free minutes are available again.
The subscription removes the limit in the bot, and it is shared with the dictation app. See the blocks below for how much it costs: we do not write prices in the text. Transcripts you already received do not go anywhere: they stay in “My recordings”, and you can open them again.
Do not confuse this limit with the limit on transcribing voice messages inside the messenger itself: there is a separate page about the limit of free transcriptions in Telegram.
How to tell that the limit has run out
- Open the chat with @potok_now_bot in Telegram.
- Send the bot a voice message, a file or a link, as usual.
- If the bot shows a limit screen with payment buttons instead of a transcript, the free 60 minutes of this month are used up.
- Choose: take a subscription with the payment buttons or wait until the 1st of the month, Moscow time, when the limit resets.
- Open earlier transcripts in “My recordings”: they stay there while you wait.
If you are interested in how voice input works in general, look at the section with answers to common questions.
Where Potok is not the answer to this question
The limit on this page applies to the bot. The Potok dictation app has its own limit: 14 days of full access for free; for free, 2500 words per week on one device. Potok is a cloud service: recognition runs on servers in Russia, and it does not work without the internet. The app does not transcribe finished recordings: for those there is the Telegram bot @potok_now_bot, and they share one subscription.
Frequently asked questions
The limit resets on the 1st of the month, Moscow time, and from that day 60 minutes of free transcription per month are available again.
Yes. The subscription removes the limit both in the bot and in the dictation app: it is one for both products. The amounts are shown in the blocks on the site.
Yes, a number of platforms have built-in meeting transcription: in Zoom for cloud recordings, in Microsoft Teams during the meeting, in Google Meet on Google Workspace plans. The alternative is to record the sound and process it with a separate transcription service after the call. The Potok app does not do this kind of transcription, it is for live dictation; you can send a call recording as a file to the Potok Telegram bot @potok_now_bot.
Voice input is real-time dictation: you speak and immediately get text in the active field. Transcription is turning an already finished audio or video recording (for example, a meeting recording) into text after the fact. The Potok app does the first job, live dictation; finished recordings in Russian are transcribed by its Telegram bot @potok_now_bot.
With Potok you can dictate the minutes live, saying them during or right after the meeting. Transcribing an already recorded meeting audio file (a finished Zoom or Telemost recording) is a separate transcription task: you can send such a file to the Potok Telegram bot @potok_now_bot.
Voice input is real-time dictation into the active text field. Transcription is turning an already finished audio or video recording (a lecture, a call, a podcast) into text after the fact, often with diarization (splitting by speaker).
Transcribe your own recording
Forward a voice message, or send a file or a YouTube, VK Video or RuTube link to Potok's Telegram bot, and the text arrives in the same chat. 60 minutes per month for free.
Open @potok_now_bot in TelegramPrimary sources: support.microsoft.com · support.apple.com
Transcribe a recording in Telegram
Voice messages, video notes, audio and video are transcribed by Potok's Telegram bot @potok_now_bot: forward it a voice message from any chat, or send a file or a YouTube, VK Video or RuTube link. A short recording comes back as text in the chat, a long one as a file; timestamps and speaker labels can be turned on. The buttons give a short summary, tasks and deadlines, an answer to a question about the recording and export to TXT, DOCX, PDF or SRT. Large files, up to 2 GB, are easier to upload in the bot's mini app, via the Upload button next to the input field. The bot recognizes Russian speech; 60 minutes per month are free.