FREEDOM251

Freedom251 › AI transcription tools

XTrans

Free plan LinuxWindows

Visit XTrans Alternatives Pricing

XTrans's own site

What XTrans is

XTrans is a free, multilingual application for manually transcribing and annotating audio on Linux and Windows. It can divide recordings into turns or sentences, identify speakers, create orthographic transcripts, and label transcript structure. Virtual Speaker Channels let several speakers or sound sources share one audio channel. You can open an effectively unlimited number of audio files for simultaneous transcription. The software supports .sph, .wav, .aiff, .flac, and .ogg audio, Unicode text, and bidirectional input for languages such as Arabic, Farsi, Urdu, and Hebrew. Quality-control functions include speaker identification and segment labels. XTrans exports tab-delimited TDF transcripts and imports some XML formats, including Transcriber TRS. Its components use Python, C++, and LDC’s QWave waveform display module. Linux and Windows releases are under GPLv3. LDC describes it for high-quality, high-volume work with real-world recordings and reports using it with partners to create more than 3,500 hours of time-aligned verbatim transcripts.

Who it suits

XTrans suits researchers, language-data teams, and transcription projects handling multilingual, multi-speaker recordings. It is aimed at high-volume work requiring manual segmentation and annotation.

What it does well

  • Free plan for Linux and Windows
  • Supports speaker identification and timestamping
  • Handles bidirectional Unicode text
  • Opens effectively unlimited audio files
  • Exports tab-delimited TDF transcripts

What to know first

  • Manual transcription rather than automatic conversion
  • Transcript export is listed as TDF
  • Runs only on Linux and Windows

Plans

PlanBilled and limitsPrice
XTransFree; Linux and Windows; GPLv3Free

As ldc.upenn.edu lists them, read 11 Oct 2026. The maker's own page has the final word.

Getting started

  1. Open the XTrans page on the Linguistic Data Consortium website.
  2. Choose the Linux or Windows release.
  3. Install the release under its GPLv3 license.
  4. Open audio in .sph, .wav, .aiff, .flac, or .ogg format.
  5. Segment recordings, identify speakers, and label transcript structure.
  6. Export transcripts in tab-delimited TDF format.

Verdict

XTrans combines detailed speaker and segment annotation with broad audio and language support. Its free GPLv3 releases fit teams doing substantial manual transcription on Linux or Windows.

Questions

Is XTrans free?

Yes. The XTrans plan is free.

Which operating systems does it support?

XTrans has Linux and Windows releases, both under GPLv3.

What audio formats can it use?

Supported audio formats include .sph, .wav, .aiff, .flac, and .ogg.

What formats can transcripts use?

XTrans exports tab-delimited TDF transcripts and directly imports some XML formats, including Transcriber TRS.

Does it support multiple speakers and recordings?

Yes. Virtual Speaker Channels can associate many speakers or sound sources with one audio channel, and users can open an effectively unlimited number of audio files simultaneously.

Does it support bidirectional text?

Yes. XTrans is Unicode compliant and supports bidirectional input for languages including Arabic, Farsi, Urdu, and Hebrew.

Facts from XTrans's own pages

Audio formats
Supported audio formats include .sph, .wav, .aiff, .flac, and .ogg. · ldc.upenn.edu, 11 Oct 2026
Audio segmentation
It supports segmenting audio into smaller units such as turns and sentences, speaker identification, orthographic transcription, and transcript structure labeling. · ldc.upenn.edu, 11 Oct 2026
Export formats
Tab-delimited format (TDF) · ldc.upenn.edu, 23 Sept 2026
Free plan
Yes · ldc.upenn.edu, 23 Sept 2026
Intended users
LDC describes XTrans as designed for high-quality, high-volume transcription tasks involving real-world data. · ldc.upenn.edu, 11 Oct 2026
Language support
XTrans supports bidirectional text input for languages including Arabic, Farsi, Urdu, and Hebrew, and is Unicode compliant. · ldc.upenn.edu, 11 Oct 2026
License and availability
XTrans is free, and its Linux and Windows releases are under GPLv3. · ldc.upenn.edu, 11 Oct 2026
Overlapping speakers
Virtual Speaker Channels let users associate many speakers or sound sources with the same audio channel. · ldc.upenn.edu, 11 Oct 2026
Purpose
XTrans is a multi-platform, multilingual, multi-channel tool for manual transcription and annotation of audio recordings. · ldc.upenn.edu, 11 Oct 2026
Quality control
The interface includes quality-control functions, including speaker identification and segment labels. · ldc.upenn.edu, 11 Oct 2026
Simultaneous recordings
Users can open an effectively unlimited number of audio files for simultaneous transcription. · ldc.upenn.edu, 11 Oct 2026
Speaker identification
Yes · ldc.upenn.edu, 23 Sept 2026
Technology
XTrans components are written in Python and C++ and use LDC’s QWave waveform display module. · ldc.upenn.edu, 11 Oct 2026
Timestamp support
Yes · ldc.upenn.edu, 23 Sept 2026
Transcript formats
XTrans outputs tab-delimited TDF transcripts and directly imports some XML formats, including Transcriber TRS. · ldc.upenn.edu, 11 Oct 2026
Use in research
LDC reports that it and its government, academic, and industrial partners used XTrans to create more than 3,500 hours of time-aligned verbatim transcripts. · ldc.upenn.edu, 11 Oct 2026

Where XTrans stands on Freedom251

Look at these too