AI Lecture Recorder & Transcription
Record any lecture — in-person, Zoom, Google Meet, or a YouTube playback — and get accurate AI transcription, summaries, chapter markers, and flashcards in minutes. Built for students, free to start.
A lecture recorder built for actually studying
Most recording apps just give you audio. Scholarly turns lectures into study material.
Record anywhere, lose nothing
Hit Record from any browser — laptop, Chromebook, iPhone, Android. Audio uploads in small chunks, so a dropped Wi-Fi connection won't lose your lecture. Up to 3 hours per recording.
Accurate AI transcription
Word-level timestamps in 50+ languages. Click any line of the transcript to seek the player to that moment. Search across every lecture you've ever recorded.
Summaries, chapters & flashcards
AI auto-generates a summary, topic outline, and chapter markers — then one click turns the lecture into flashcards or a practice exam. From audio to study-ready in minutes.
How the AI lecture recorder works
Three steps from "professor is talking" to "I have flashcards for tomorrow's quiz."
Step 1
Start recording
Open Scholarly in any browser and tap Record. Works on phones, laptops, and tablets — no install. For Zoom and Google Meet, share tab audio or run alongside.
Step 2
AI transcribes & summarizes
When you stop the recording, Scholarly transcribes the audio, detects topic chapters, and writes a summary highlighting definitions, formulas, and the points the professor emphasized.
Step 3
Review, then make flashcards
Re-listen at 2x with the cleaned transcript, ask AI questions about any section, and one-click convert the lecture into flashcards or a practice exam for active recall.
Whatever lecture, wherever
One recorder for every study scenario.
In-person lectures
Put your phone on the desk, hit Record, and pay attention. The mic captures the professor clearly even from a few rows back.
Zoom & Google Meet
Record remote classes by sharing tab audio in your browser. No bot joins, no awkward "is that the AI?" question from your professor.
YouTube lectures
Paste a YouTube link or record the tab — turn any open course lecture into a transcript, summary, and flashcards.
Voice memos for review
Walk home from class and talk through what you just learned. Upload the memo — AI transcribes and turns it into structured notes.
Everything you need to master your lectures
All the tools to record, transcribe, and study your audio.
Upload audio files
Already recorded with Voice Memos or Otter? Upload MP3, M4A, WAV, WebM, or OGG and run them through the same pipeline.
Chat with your recording
A dedicated AI chat on every lecture. Ask "what did she say about thermodynamics?" and get a sourced answer with timestamps.
Flashcards from audio
Generate a flashcard deck straight from the transcript. AI picks the testable concepts; you study with spaced repetition.
Playback controls
0.5x to 3x speed, seek with keyboard shortcuts, skip 10 seconds, jump between chapter markers. Built for review, not just listening.
Chapter navigation
AI splits each lecture into topic chapters with titles. Jump to "Krebs cycle" instead of scrubbing through 90 minutes of tape.
Share recordings
Send a link to a study buddy. They can listen, read the transcript, view summaries, and leave comments — no account needed.
Scholarly vs. Otter.ai for students
Otter is a great meeting tool. Scholarly is built for studying. Here's the honest comparison.
If your priority is multi-speaker meeting notes for work, Otter is the better fit. If your priority is turning a lecture into something you can actually study, Scholarly is built for that.
Frequently asked questions
Answers to what students ask before they record their first lecture.
Is it legal to record lectures?
In most universities, recording for personal academic use is allowed — but policies vary by school and even by professor. Many institutions require you to ask permission first, especially in jurisdictions with two-party consent laws. As a rule: check your syllabus, ask your professor, and don't redistribute the recording.
Can I record on iPhone or Android?
Yes. Scholarly runs in the browser on iPhone (Safari/Chrome) and Android (Chrome). Open the app, tap Record, and put your phone on the desk. There's no separate app to install — it works on whatever device you brought to class.
How accurate is the AI transcription?
On clear lecture audio, transcription accuracy is typically 95%+ for English and 90%+ for major non-English languages. Accuracy drops with heavy accents, background noise, or distant audio — getting your mic closer to the speaker is the single biggest improvement you can make.
What languages does the lecture recorder support?
50+ languages including English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, Polish, Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, Hindi, and Turkish. The AI auto-detects the language — you don't need to set it manually.
What's the maximum recording length?
Up to 3 hours per recording on free and paid plans, which covers most lectures and seminars. For longer sessions (full-day conferences, marathon study groups), split them into separate recordings and check your plan's daily recording limits.
Does it work offline?
Recording itself needs a connection because audio uploads in small chunks as you go — this is what protects you from losing the lecture if your battery dies mid-class. If you need a true offline option, record with Voice Memos on your phone and upload the file to Scholarly afterward.
Can I record Zoom or Google Meet lectures?
Yes. In your browser, share the meeting tab with audio and Scholarly will capture it. We deliberately don't send an auto-join bot into your professor's Zoom room — most schools dislike that, and it tips off everyone in the call. Tab-share is quieter and works for any video platform.
What happens to the audio file?
Audio is stored privately on your Scholarly account, encrypted in transit and at rest. Only you (and anyone you explicitly share a link with) can access it. You can delete a recording any time, and deletion removes the audio file, the transcript, and any flashcards generated from it.
Ready to record smarter?
Record your next lecture and walk out with a transcript, summary, and flashcards — not pages of frantic notes.
Keep exploring
Related tools & features
Get more out of every lecture you record.
AI Lecture Notes
Turn a lecture recording into clean, structured notes.
Lecture to Flashcards
Convert any lecture audio into a flashcard deck.
Notes
Organize and edit your lecture notes alongside the audio.
Podcasts
Turn your notes or lectures into a podcast for review.
Flashcards
Spaced repetition flashcards from any source.