---
title: "Processing times"
description: "Speak AI processes files far faster than real time. A 30-minute meeting is usually ready in under a minute, a 1-hour file in a minute or two."
---

> Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.speakai.co/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Processing times

Speak AI processes files **far faster than real time**. As a rule, expect roughly **a minute or two
of processing for every hour of recording**:

- A 10-minute recording is ready in well under a minute
- A 30-minute meeting takes under a minute
- A 1-hour file takes a minute or two
- A 2-hour recording takes around three minutes

Around 9 in 10 files finish within five minutes. Processing time scales with length, so a longer
file takes longer, but even a 3-hour recording usually comes back in under 10 minutes.

Very short files have a small fixed startup cost, so a two-minute clip and a ten-minute clip finish
in a similar amount of time. Files longer than 4 hours are split into segments and transcribed in
order, which takes longer than the rate above suggests. See
[Duration limits](/help/uploads/duration/).

## What affects the speed

- **File length:** longer files take proportionally longer, at roughly the rate above.
- **File format:** standard formats such as MP3, MP4 and WAV go straight through. An unusual format
  is converted first, which adds time. See [Supported formats](/help/uploads/formats/).
- **Upload speed:** your file has to reach Speak AI before processing starts, so a slow connection
  adds to the total wait on a large file.
- **Large batches:** when you upload many files at once, Speak AI releases them steadily rather than
  all at once. The last file in a big batch starts later than the first.
- **Server load:** processing can run slightly longer at peak times.

## When a file takes longer than expected

Track progress from your [dashboard](https://app.speakai.co/dashboard), where a spinner means the
file is still working and a green check means it is done. Speak AI also emails you when the file is
ready. See [Status](/help/transcription/status/) for what each state means.

If a file is still processing after **30 minutes**, whatever its length, something has gone wrong:

1. Refresh the page in case the status has already updated.
1. Re-transcribe the file from its options menu.
1. If it fails again, send us the file name and we will investigate. See
   [Transcription troubleshooting](/help/troubleshoot/transcription/).

Evaluating Speak AI for a team? [Book a demo and see your own recordings analyzed](https://calendly.com/speak-ai/demo?utm_source=docs&utm_campaign=book-demo).

---
Related: [Transcription](/help/transcription/) · [Accuracy](/help/transcription/accuracy/)

Source: https://docs.speakai.co/help/transcription/processing-times/index.mdx