Transcription software is a digital transcriber that converts audio into text. The transcription industry has seen an increase in its use cases, from creating captions for social media videos and getting transcription for online courses to generating transcripts of legal proceedings or interviews and documenting meeting proceedings in text format.
An audio-to-text converter allows companies to repurpose content, make it accessible in different languages, and reach a global audience.
Geekflare tested and listed the top transcription software based on transcription type, editing features, accuracy, privacy, and pricing.
- GoTranscript – Best for Human Accuracy
- Otter.ai – Best for Real-Time Notes
- MeetGeek – Best for Auto Meetings Transcripts
- Notta AI – Best for AI Transcription and Translation
- Rev – Best for Fast Human Transcription
- Nuance Drago – Best for Specialized Dictation
- Transcribe – Best for Foot Pedal
- Trint – Best for Collaborative Transcription
- oTranscribe – Best for Free In-Browser
- Express Scribe – Best for Pro Transcriptionists
- Temi – Best for Budget Automatic (ASR)
- Descript – Best for Editing + Transcription
- Sonix – Best for Fast, Customizable ASR
- Audext – Best for ASR with Editing Tool
- Amberscript – Best for Accurate Speaker ID
- GoSpeech – Best for Small Business
- Happy Scribe – Best for ASR and Subtitles
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GoTranscript
Best for Human Accuracy
- Human TranscriptionYes
- Accuracy99.2%+
- Customer Support24/7 Phone
About GoTranscript
GoTranscript focuses on human transcription services while also offering AI or automated services. The Scottish company started its journey in 2005 and has over 45,000 transcribers in its workforce.
GoTranscript supports over 60 languages, with professional native transcribers ready to convert your video to text. It claims 99.2% accuracy for transcriptions done by humans.
GoTranscript offers a translation service for audio/text and provides captions and subtitles for videos. Since every order is handled by experienced transcription experts, GoTranscript guarantees exceptional accuracy even for videos with lower quality, heavy accents, and industry-specific terminology.
GoTranscript ensures the highest possible quality by putting every file through a four-step process of transcription, review, proofreading, and quality check. To share the source file, clients can either upload the file from their computers or share the URL from YouTube, Google Drive, Vimeo, and Dropbox. It also offers free editing tools that clients can use to edit the transcripts. The text format transcriptions are shared with clients in MS Word; however, clients can request other file formats.
GoTranscript Pricing
GoTranscript’s human transcription pricing starts at $0.84/minute when ordered for 1000+ minutes. AI transcription with a 5-minute turnaround time costs $0.20/minute.
GoTranscript Pros/Cons
Cloud-native API solutions for continuous transcription
2048-bit SSL encryption and NDA protection for security and confidentiality
Special discount for educational, non-profit, and green organizations
Complex pricing structure
No integration support with virtual meeting apps
No Android app, despite being mentioned on the website
Otter.ai
Best for Real-Time Notes
- Human TranscriptionNo
- Accuracy90%
- Customer SupportEmail, Help Center
About Otter.ai
Otter.ai allows you to record audio from your phone or use a web browser to transcribe it instantly. Companies like Zoom, Dropbox, and IBM use Otter for their transcription needs. Otter.ai automatically generates transcripts from live meetings taking place on virtual platforms. It adds speaker ID, notes, images, and key phrases, so users don’t have to use additional third-party tools for simple enhancements.
During virtual meetings, Otter.ai automatically captures meeting slides and includes them in the notes for complete context. Users can also chat with it to get meeting insights and streamline the projects. It automatically generates an action item summary and allows teammates to edit the transcription.
Otter.ai offers extensive integration support with Google Meet, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Dialers, RingCentral, Slack, Salesforce, HubSpot, Amazon S3, Egnyte, and more. It even has an Android app and Chrome extension. Users can search and jump to the keywords within the transcript.
Otter.ai Pricing
Besides the free plan, Otter.ai has some paid plans starting at $8.33/user/month.
Otter.ai Pros/Cons
7-day free trial
Training Otter to recognize certain voices for future reference
600 minutes of free seamless transcription upon sign-up
Single Sign On and OtterPilot for Sales are only available to Enterprise plan
Live transcription via RTMP costs extra fees
MeetGeek
Best for Auto Meetings Transcripts
- Human TranscriptionNo
- AccuracyNot Disclosed
- Customer SupportSupport Center, Email
About MeetGeek
MeetGeek is a complete AI meeting automation platform that offers a transcription feature for 30+ languages. It automatically transcribes online business meetings, sales calls, interviews, or even offline conversations. From the transcription, users can generate key insights.
MeetGeek starts recording meetings on platforms like Google Meet, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams. It generates transcriptions with timestamps and speaker IDs and offers playback speed for convenient rewatching.
MeetGeek can generate transcripts for conference calls, webinars, and podcasts. The MeetGeek mobile app allows users to get in-person chat transcription. It uses 256-bit AES and 256-bit SSL/TLS encryption to ensure security.
MeetGeek Pricing
MeetGeek offers a free forever plan besides paid subscriptions, which start from $15/user/month.
MeetGeek Pros/Cons
Free forever plan with 5 hours of transcription per month
14-day free trial for paid plans
GDPR and SOC 2 Type II compliant
Does not support file upload for transcription
Human transcription service not available
Notta AI
Best for AI Transcription and Translation
- Human TranscriptionNo
- Accuracy98.86%
- Customer SupportHelp Center, Email
About Notta AI
Notta AI utilizes artificial intelligence to generate an accurate transcript for audio and video files. Over 3 million users rely on it to transcribe podcasts, interviews, lectures, voice memos, and meeting recordings. It has an impressive accuracy rate of 98.86%.
Notta audio to text converter accepts different source file formats, such as MP3, WAV, MP4, and WMV. Users can upload files from their computer or paste URLs from YouTube, Google Drive, and Dropbox.
After the transcription is generated, users can download it in Word, TXT, and PDF formats. Users can also share the transcriptions with others using a shareable link, even with those who do not have a Notta account. It also complies with SSL, GDPR, APPI, and CCPA standards.
Notta AI Pricing
Notta AI offers a free plan. Its paid plans start at $9/month.
Notta AI Pros/Cons
Free forever plan with 120 minutes per month
Mobile apps for live transcription
Supports 58 languages for transcription
Does not offer professional transcription
Self-transcription not supported
Rev
Best for Fast Human Transcription
- Human TranscriptionYes
- Accuracy90%+
- Customer SupportHelp Center, Email, Phone
About Rev
Rev is a solution that offers accurate transcriptions through human transcribers and AI technology. Starting its journey in 2010, Rev has 73,000+ talented freelance transcriptionists as part of its workforce. It converts audio or video files into readable and searchable text with 99% accuracy for human transcription. Its top use cases include marketing, media, and academics.
Rev offers an AI transcript assistant that lets users quickly analyze files and extract key insights. Its free interactive editor supports version control, changing speaker names, and adjusting times. It also integrates with Google Drive, YouTube, Vimeo, and Dropbox for faster workflow.
Rev can create text from formats such as MP3, MP4, WMV, AIF, M4A, MOV, AVI, VOB, AMR, WMA, OGG, AAC, and WAV. Users can also share the links of multimedia files streaming online to create transcripts. It supports transcript download in Microsoft Word, plain text, and PDF formats.
Rev Pros/Cons
API with clear documentation
Free mobile app for audio recording
Collaboration on transcripts with team members
Speaker names may be inconsistent for files 30+ minutes
Does not accept physical media like SD cards and CD
Additional charges for rushed delivery
Nuance Drago
Best for Specialized Dictation
- Human TranscriptionNo
- Accuracy99%
- Customer SupportSupport Center, Phone
About Nuance Drago
Nuance Dragon is speech-to-text software suitable for transcribing. It has many versions that users can choose from depending on their needs. Dragon offers a variety of speech transcription solutions for home users, professionals, legal groups, law enforcement, and medical users.
Nuance Dragon allows users to capture notes and memos and turn them into text quickly, easily, and accurately. They can also transfer their single‑speaker recorded audio files to a PC or Mac to create text from those.
Nuance Dragon offers an Auto‑Transcribe Folder Agent (ATFA) to manage and streamline third-party review and correction. Users can drag and drop any audio files into the ATFA for automatic transcription. Its professional-grade mobile app offers up to 99% accuracy and features like formatting, voice editing, customized words, auto text, etc.
Nuance Drago Pros/Cons
7-day free trial is available
Continuous dictation with no word limits
Android and iOS mobile apps
Available only in the US and Canada
Does not offer manual transcription
Transcribe
Best for Foot Pedal
- Human TranscriptionYes
- Accuracy90%
- Customer SupportEmail
About Transcribe
Transcribe is a secure software that allows users to either use the automatic transcription or perform self-transcription. Users can turn podcasts, speeches, lectures, calls, and interviews into text, and that too in over 80 different languages.
If the source file has minimal background noise, it won’t take very long to transcribe. However, if it’s not clearly audible, users can go for manual transcription mode and still get the job done without much effort.
Transcribe also offers features for trimming media file length, identifying speakers, including timecodes, and using a custom dictionary. Its auto-loop feature enables multimedia files to pause and resume automatically after a stipulated time.
Transcribe Pros/Cons
1-week free trial for self-transcription
Foot pedal integration with popular devices
Support punctuation command for dictation
Professional transcriber service not available
The PDF file is not supported for document export
Trint
Best for Collaborative Transcription
- Human TranscriptionNo
- Accuracy99%
- Customer SupportKnowledge base
About Trint
Trint is an AI audio transcription software ideal for personal and business use. It can turn your audio into 40+ different languages of text. Trusted by top media houses like BBC, Washington Post, AP, and Thomson Reuters, the software is widely used by law firms, financial services, podcasters, content creators, and educational institutes.
Trint uses automated speech recognition (ASR) and natural language processing (NLP) technologies to generate transcripts with up to 99% accuracy. Users can connect its service with existing internal tools using the Trint API. Its highlighted feature is real-time collaboration, where colleagues can highlight text and make comments to facilitate effortless teamwork. It enables sharing with teammates using granular access permissions and creating Workspaces for easy sign-offs.
Trint allows users to add markers, assign speaker names, search for certain words, and even leave reminders via comments on specific sections. Once the final result is processed, users can export it in an MS Word file. Moreover, it also allows sharing with your team members for easy collaboration.
Trint Pros/Cons
Automatic language detection and transcription
Easily deployable cloud technology with Single Sign-On (SSO) integration
Integrates with Google Drive and Dropbox
Expensive service
The free trial lasts for 7 days only
oTranscribe
Best for Free In-Browser
- Human TranscriptionYes
- AccuracyNot Disclosed
- Customer SupportEmail
About oTranscribe
oTranscribe is a completely free and open-source online platform for self-transcription. It does not use any artificial intelligence technology to transcribe the audio or employ human transcribers. Instead, it allows users to listen to any audio content or video file of their choice and make its transcription using the given text editor.
oTranscribe shows interactive timestamps for easy navigation through the transcript. Users can pause, rewind, and forward the video right using a keyboard. It automatically saves each change safely on the user’s computer, so they don’t lose the transcript if the internet connection gets interrupted.
oTranscribe Pros/Cons
Video file support with a built-in player
Customizable keyboard shortcuts
Export to Google Docs, markdown, or plain text
Support only YouTube URL for source video file
Retains only 100 backups
Express Scribe
Best for Pro Transcriptionists
- Human TranscriptionYes
- AccuracyNot Disclosed
- Customer SupportPhone, FAQs
About Express Scribe
Express Scribe is loaded with everything a transcriber needs to transcribe audio files effortlessly. It is available in PRO and free version. Thanks to their keyboard hotkeys and transcribing pedal support, users need to spend less time in the process.
Express Scribe supports several formats, including encrypted dictation files. Users can also load audio from a CD. If users opt for this feature, the software can automatically send the transcription to the client once the transcription is done.
Express Scribe also works with Microsoft Word, Corel Wordperfect, Lotus Wordpro, and other text editors. It supports 45+ audio and video file formats. Users can control playback with hotkeys and apply different playback speeds.
Express Scribe Pros/Cons
Dedicated software for Windows
Plug-and-play install wizard for professional foot pedals
Automatically loads audio files from the FTP server
Does not offer automatic transcription
Old-style software interface
Temi
Best for Budget Automatic (ASR)
- Human TranscriptionNo
- Accuracy90-95%
- Customer SupportPhone, Email
About Temi
Temi is an Advanced speech recognition software that transcribes audio in 5 minutes. Trusted by over 10,000 users, Temi specializes in machine learning and speech recognition. Journalists, reporters, podcasters, bloggers, and authors can use it for transcribing interviews, video content, podcasts, meetings, and dictations.
Temi accepts all audio and video file types. Users can upload the file, and Temi will create transcription within a few minutes. It offers additional features like speaker identification, custom timestamps, and a simple editing tool to polish the transcripts.
Temi offers video playback on its dashboard, where users can control the volume and speed of the video. It also allows users to save transcripts in MS Word, PDF, SRT, VTT, and other formats. Users can also delete their files whenever they want.
Temi Pros/Cons
Android and iOS apps for creating, editing, and sharing recording
TLS 1.2 encryption and secure servers
Free Trial for one transcript under 45 minutes of transcription
Does not support video URLs
Transcription accuracy is reduced for audio with heavy background noise
Descript
Best for Editing + Transcription
- Human TranscriptionNo
- Accuracy95%
- Customer SupportKnowledge base, Email, In-app Live Chat
About Descript
Descript delivers great accuracy along with flexible collaboration options to have perfect transcription every time. It primarily offers a desktop application for Windows and Mac that users can download and use to create transcripts. However, there is also a web application that still has some feature limitations.
Descript can detect 8+ speakers in the audio and label each speaker separately. It syncs files with the cloud storage with version control so that all teammates can collaborate with each other. Besides timestamps and speaker ID, it offers other customization features.
Descipt supports content creators by importing transcription documents for free that they can sync with the media. It keeps all the uploaded content confidential and secure and automatically saves and syncs progress.
Descript Pros/Cons
Free plan to try the basic features
Supports 23 languages for transcription
Custom transcription glossary for commonly used words
The web version has a 5 GB maximum file size limitation
The desktop app does not work on old versions of Windows and Mac
Sonix
Best for Fast, Customizable ASR
- Human TranscriptionNo
- Accuracy99%
- Customer SupportHelp Center, FAQs
About Sonix
Sonix is an automatic transcription software that allows the fast and secure transcription process of audio and video files without any complicated workflows. This super easy-to-use tool delivers accurate results that require little to no editing later on. Its top use cases include business meetings, podcasts, educational content, interviews, research, etc.
Sonix supports all major file formats, so users do not have to convert them. Just upload the files or add them from Google Drive or Dropbox. It quickly generates transcripts and allows users to edit in an in-browser editor.
Users can also add notes and comments within the transcript, which is helpful for collaborative projects. The transcript document can be saved in MS Word, PDF, TXT, and other formats. Additional standout features of this platform include word-by-word timestamps, sharable team folders, importing existing transcripts, and sharing transcripts for editing.
Sonix Pros/Cons
Free trial for 30 minutes
Supports 49+ languages and dialects
Search, edit, and share media files
No mobile apps
The speaker recognition feature is still in beta stage
Audext
Best for ASR with Editing Tool
- Human TranscriptionYes
- Accuracy99%
- Customer SupportEmail
About Audext
Audext is an advanced solution that offers both automatic transcription and professional manual transcription. For automatic transcription, users can expect an 80% accuracy, while manual transcription will offer 99% accuracy. The most common use cases of this software include education, marketing, media, healthcare, agriculture, consulting, and event management.
Audext comes with an in-built editor with features like highlighting the active word, find and replace, and playback speed. These help users edit the track at their own pace. The editor automatically identifies the speakers and includes timestamps beside each block of text.
Audext is easy to work with and makes the process from start to finish quite simple. It supports common multimedia file formats like MP3, MP4, M4A, WAV, etc. This cloud software does not need any installation and allows users to save the output in DOCX and TXT formats.
Audext manual transcription costs $1.20/minute, while its automatic service costs $12/hour.
Audext Pros/Cons
Free trial of 10 minutes
100% native speakers for manual transcription
60+ languages supported for automatic transcription
Offers 6 pricing plans, which could be complex for the users
Does not offer the option to get transcription in PDF format
Amberscript
Best for Accurate Speaker ID
- Human TranscriptionYes
- Accuracy100%
- Customer SupportKnowledge base, Phone, Email
About Amberscript
Amberscript provides audio and video transcriptions with high accuracy. It’s an intelligent tool with AI speech recognition for converting audio and video files into text or subtitles. Users can choose between transcribing automatically via the AI tool or with the help of professional transcribers. Automatic transcription offers up to 85% accuracy, and human transcription offers 100% accuracy.
Amberscript’s automatic transcription service is available in 70+ languages, and its human transcription service is available in 18 languages. Its online text editor allows users to improve the accuracy of machine transcriptions. It automatically adds timestamps and recognizes distinct speakers.
The automatic tool will be ideal if users are looking to complete one-off projects. Manual transcription is great when users want to do long-term work. Amberscript also offers specialized transcription, which can include jargon or specific vocabulary. It supports exporting transcriptions in Word, JSON, and TXT formats.
Amberscript’s machine-made transcription costs $0.13/minute, while for its human-made transcription, you need to contact the sales team.
Amberscript Pros/Cons
10 minutes of free transcription
GDPR-compliant and ISO-certified
Offers verbatim and non-verbatim trancriptions
Standard API does not support language detection
Human transcription is available in a limited number of languages
GoSpeech
Best for Small Business
- Human TranscriptionNo
- AccuracyNot Disclosed
- Customer SupportEmail, Phone
About GoSpeech
GoSpeech is an AI-based SaaS transcription solution for automatically transcribing audio and video files. It runs exclusively on German servers to meet the highest data security standards. It independently recognizes different speakers and dialects, and the intuitive online editor provides numerous features for convenient post-editing of the transcript.
GoSpeech offers a group function that allows users to work on the transcript with the team. Its link sharing enables collaboration with anyone—even with members who do not have a GoSpeech account. Its extensive search feature makes audio transcription searchable. As the source file format, it supports AAC, MP3, MP4, M4A, M4V, OGG, WAV, DSS, etc.
GoSpeech allows exporting transcriptions in DOCX, TXT, PDF, and VTT formats. In addition to a cloud-based web application, it offers an on-premise solution providing organizations with the best possible data integrity. An extensive support and service team is available to answer technical queries.
GoSpeech Pros/Cons
Free plan available
Online editor with vocabulary, version history, and comments
Data protection compliant platform
Does not offer live chat support
Telephone support is only available during business hours
Happy Scribe
Best for ASR and Subtitles
- Human TranscriptionYes
- Accuracy99%
- Customer SupportHelp Center
About Happy Scribe
Happy Scribe supports over 60 different languages in which you can convert your audio to text. Great for transcription and subtitles, it allows you to bring your team members, such as proofreaders and editors, into the platform and experience a seamless collaboration workflow.
Moreover, users can assign speaker names, create vocabulary, and utilize its API to sync third-party tools to make the process smoother. It comes with a dedicated interactive transcription editor that users can leverage to improve the transcription quality.
Happy Scribe allows users to upload files of any size and length. It also lets them provide a starting timecode to determine the transcription starting point and integrates with platforms like YouTube and Zapier.
Happy Scribe has a free forever plan. Its paid plan starts from $10/month.
Happy Scribe Pros/Cons
Free forever plan
Supports 67 languages for automatic transcription
Export transcription in Word, TXT, PDF, JSON, VTT, etc.
Only verbatim transcription for automatic
Does not support batch-sharing of content
Types of Transcription Services
The types of transcription services are Verbatim, Intelligent, Automatic, Manual, and more.
- Verbatim Transcript: This transcription is the written form of spoken language that captures every sound made in the source audio or video file.
- Intelligent Transcript: It omits filler words, rambling, slang, and any other irrelevant sounds.
- Automatic Transcription: Software applications provide this transcription service that offers speed and does not need human intervention.
- Manual Transcription: This type of transcription is done by humans who would create transcriptions of different types (intelligent verbatim, edited) based on client requirements.
- Edited Transcript: It offers better readability and clarity through standardization by removing grammatical mistakes and incomplete sentences.
- Phonetic Transcription: This type of transcription involves writing down all sounds of the audio but using phonemes (a special set of symbols for pronunciation).
There are browser extensions available for both verbatim and non-verbatim transcription. Check out this article on the best transcript browser extensions.
Automatic vs Manual Transcription Services
Automatic transcription services are provided by software; hence, these can quickly convert audio to text and are usually at a lower cost. However, their accuracy is not completely guaranteed, especially in cases of challenging audio.
Manual transcription is done by humans. Thus, users can get high-quality and error-free transcripts. But, the turnaround time and cost are on the higher side.
So, an automatic transcription service is suitable for use cases where speed and budget are more crucial than accuracy. Manual transcription is the perfect choice for accuracy and intricate audio.
AI Transcriptions: Pros and Cons
The pros and cons of AI transcriptions are listed below.
Pros of AI Transcription
- Faster turnaround time
- Cost-effective than human transcription
- Usually available 24/7
- Scalability with a large volume of audio data
Cons of AI Transcription
- Accuracy issues might appear for complex audio
- Security concerns for sensitive audio
- Output might lack proper formatting and punctuation
Conclusion
Whether someone prefers using software or a professional service for transcription, the above solutions cover the best of both worlds. Go through the list and pick the transcription software according to individual needs.
FAQs
GoTranscript, Trint, Descript, and Amberscript are some of the best tools to convert audio to text.
Legal transcriptionists use Nuance Dragon and Trint to transcribe all legal proceedings.
Otter.ai, oTranscribe, Express Scribe, GoSpeech, and Descript are the cheapest AI transcription software applications because they offer free forever plans.
Explore more on Transcription Solutions
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EditorRashmi Sharma is an editor at Geekflare. She is passionate about researching business resources and has an interest in data analysis.