Harku

Introduction to Harku

Harku is an AI-powered speech-to-text and video-to-text transcription service designed to convert audio and video content into accurate, editable text. It leverages OpenAI's Whisper V3 model to deliver high-fidelity transcriptions with minimal manual correction required. The platform supports a wide range of input sources including uploaded files (audio and video), YouTube URLs, and other major video platforms such as Vimeo.

Harku serves creators, podcasters, researchers, educators, and professionals who require reliable, scalable transcription without subscription lock-in or hidden costs. Its architecture prioritizes accessibility, security, and ease of use—requiring no software installation and functioning entirely in-browser across devices.

Key Takeaways

• Achieves 98.5% transcription accuracy for clear English audio; maintains 90–98% accuracy across 100+ supported languages
• Pricing at $0.10 per minute—15x less expensive than Rev ($1.50/min) and competitively priced against Otter.ai ($0.20/min) and Descript ($0.30/min)
• Supports direct YouTube URL pasting, batch file uploads, and 25+ input formats including MP4, MOV, AVI, MKV, MP3, WAV, FLAC, and OPUS
• Offers speaker diarization (speaker identification), auto punctuation, timestamp synchronization, and AI-generated chapter markers
• Provides export options in TXT, SRT, VTT, Markdown, JSON, DOCX, and PDF formats
• Free tier includes 30 minutes per month with no credit card required; all plans support encrypted file transfers and automatic 24-hour data deletion
• Compliant with GDPR and SOC 2 Type 2 standards; infrastructure hosted in secure US and EU data centers

How Harku Works

Harku operates through a three-step workflow: upload, process, and export. Users begin by uploading audio or video files (up to 500 MB on the free plan) or pasting a YouTube, Vimeo, or similar platform URL. For restricted videos, local download and upload is recommended. Once submitted, the system extracts audio, applies noise reduction and format optimization, then processes speech using Whisper V3 with language detection and speaker diarization where enabled.

Processing occurs on GPU-accelerated servers, enabling rapid turnaround: a 1-hour recording typically completes in under 2 minutes. Real-time progress tracking is provided during processing. Upon completion, users access a synchronized web editor to review, correct, and refine transcripts before exporting in their preferred format.

Core Benefits and Applications

Harku enables practical applications across multiple domains. Educators transcribe lectures and YouTube tutorials for study notes and accessibility. Researchers convert interviews and focus group recordings into structured, searchable text with speaker labels. Podcasters generate SEO-optimized blog drafts and subtitle files (SRT/VTT) from video episodes. Business teams transcribe meetings for documentation and action item extraction. Content creators repurpose long-form video into written formats like Markdown or DOCX for publishing.

The service eliminates dependency on human transcription services (which cost $600+ for equivalent volume) while avoiding the limitations of platform-native captions (e.g., YouTube’s lower accuracy). Its multilingual support—including code-switching and regional accent adaptation—makes it suitable for international collaboration and language learning resources. Security features such as end-to-end encryption, zero-data-retention policies, and optional on-premises deployment further support regulated environments.