Your guide to the best AI transcription services

Transform and grow your content creation with the best AI transcription services. Find the perfect fit for your needs in this comprehensive guide.

Contents
    Contents

      Accurate speech-to-text conversion using AI transcription tools gives a significant productivity boost to businesses, content creators, journalists and researchers alike. The best AI transcription services are available in two main forms: automated and manual. Automated transcriptions, also known as machine-generated or AI transcriptions, are cost-effective and fast. However, they often contain errors such as misinterpreted words and punctuation mistakes, necessitating manual correction.

      Human-generated transcriptions, on the other hand, are renowned for their high accuracy, albeit at a higher cost and longer production time. Some providers offer both options, allowing users to select the most suitable transcription method based on their audio file’s characteristics.

      In this post, we’ll explore the leading AI transcription tools that are reshaping the linguistic landscape.

      Five key takeaways from this article

      1. Many of the best AI transcription services support multiple languages, accommodating global transcription needs and promoting inclusivity.
      2. Collaborative tools, such as tagging and commenting, can support teamwork and streamline the editing process.
      3. Several services offer real-time transcription for live events, enhancing productivity and immediate access to transcribed content.
      4. Many services combine AI and human expertise to provide high-speed, high-accuracy transcription.
      5. Some services offer specialised features for tasks like video content enhancement and advanced speech recognition, catering to specific user needs.

      The short answer: Which is the best AI transcription service?

      Verbl

      The impressive Verbl provides extensive transcription, captioning and subtitling services. Here are some of the product’s features that make it our top choice:

      1. Verbl delivers transcripts with 99% accuracy.
      2. A comprehensive editing toolset allows wide-ranging customisation.
      3. Global language support in 170+ languages allows transcription, captioning and subtitling that caters to a diverse audience.
      4. A self-service web-based platform allows users to upload audio or video recordings effortlessly, pay securely and receive their transcripts promptly.
      5. Custom glossary creation lets users build vocabularies specific to their industry and location.
      6. Speaker IDs make it easy to identify individuals throughout multi-participant transcripts.
      7. Timestamping makes content-heavy transcripts easy to manage.
      8. Compatible with all major file formats.

      Contact us today to get 100% accurate transcriptions of your content.

      Which is the best AI transcription service for you?

      Harnessing AI speech-to-text technology in your business could revolutionise your workflow, but finding the perfect fit for your needs can be a challenge. Here are some of the best AI transcription services currently available (listed in no particular order), each with an outline of the service’s practical applications, key features and price plans.

      Whisper AI

      This transcription solution caters to the needs of all users: from businesses documenting Zoom meetings and students transcribing class notes, to video editors adding subtitles and podcasters repurposing their audio content.

      Key features
      • Uses machine learning to build a comprehensive understanding of spoken language, including context and nuances.
      • Accuracy rate claimed to be 95%-98.5% without any manual intervention.
      • Operates in multiple languages across all popular platforms.
      Price plans
      • Free

      Trint

      Trint is typically used by journalists, researchers and content creators, with clients including the BBC and The Washington Post. Users can upload audio or video files for transcription into written transcripts in more than 50 languages, even offering real-time transcription for live broadcasts. Trint fosters collaboration through customisable dictionaries, online editing and exporting to multiple formats.

      Key features
      • High-speed AI transcription promptly converts audio and video files into editable, searchable text documents.
      • User-friendly features such as tags, highlights and comments enable seamless teamwork and story crafting.
      • Transcription and translation capabilities span more than 30 and 50 languages respectively, fostering global audience adaptation and inclusivity.
      Price plans
      • Start: $60/month per user
      • Advanced: $75/month per user
      • Enterprise: Contact for pricing

      Otter.AI

      Otter.AI is an adaptable transcription tool that accurately transcribes audio and video files in real-time. It caters to various needs such as business meetings, lectures, interviews and more, both in-person and virtually. A key advantage is its ability to remove background noise for clearer transcriptions. Additionally, it supports collaborative editing and customisable recognition, enhancing productivity and workflow efficiency. Please note, Otter.AI only transcribes in English.

      Key features
      • Google and Microsoft calendar synchronisation automates meeting transcription, delivering summarised notes via email for efficient documentation.
      • Collaborative features include highlights, notes and customised name/jargon recognition for precise transcription and streamlined teamwork.
      • Integrated image and content support simplify conversation transcription across various media formats.
      Price plans
      • Free: limits users to three audio/video imports per account
      • Pro: $16.99/month per user
      • Business: $40/month per user
      • Enterprise: Contact for pricing

      Beey

      Beey is a multipurpose platform for accurately transcribing audio and video content including podcasts, meetings, interviews and lectures. It generates professional captions and subtitles, improving accessibility and engagement. It can increase audience reach by converting content into multiple languages. Users can manually edit transcriptions for error correction, ensuring high accuracy and clarity in the final text.

      Key features
      • An automatic transcription feature simplifies transcribing a variety of media types into text format.
      • Advanced subtitling facilitates the creation of high-quality captions and subtitles.
      • Content can be converted at speed into more than 20 languages, facilitating global reach through integrated translation support.
      Price plans
      • Standard: €7.50 (+ VAT)/hour
      • Enterprise: Contact for pricing

      Nova AI

      Nova AI is a powerful tool for content creators and video marketers, using AI to enhance video content and expand audience reach. It offers features such as adding depth to videos, controlling audience attention, and improving engagement through visually appealing captions. Whether for social media posts, advertisements, or professional video content, Nova AI empowers users to create engaging and immersive experiences.

      Key features
      • A versatile range of video editing tools, including cutting, trimming and colliding video clips, consolidating comprehensive editing capabilities within a single platform.
      • With support for more than 100 languages and accents, Nova facilitates easy addition and translation of subtitles, expanding accessibility across diverse global audiences.
      • Nova’s fully online platform ensures seamless accessibility and convenience for users to edit videos from any location, at any time.
      Price plans
      • Free: 30-minute trial available
      • Basic: $8/month for 150 minutes
      • Pro: $14/month for 300 minutes
      • Business: $44/month for 900 minutes

      Fireflies

      Fireflies is an AI transcription assistant designed for recording, transcribing and summarising meetings and general discussions, particularly for marketing, sales and product teams. It supports one language per meeting and eliminates manual note-taking, enhancing productivity. It provides meeting analytics for evaluating communication patterns and refining strategies, improving team communication and collaboration.

      Key features
      • Automatically joins calls to streamline the meeting setup process.
      • Provides transcription within the dashboard for the easy management of multiple audio files.
      • Enhances productivity during and after meetings by enabling efficient tracking of speakers, topics and important details through smart search functionality.
      Price plans
      • Free: Basic functionalities available at no cost
      • Pro: $18/month per user
      • Business: $29/month per user
      • Enterprise: Contact for pricing

      MeetGeek

      MeetGeek is a versatile meeting management and collaboration tool. It helps users manage meeting data across various platforms, saving time on note-taking and follow-ups with AI-generated summaries and transcripts. The product also analyses Google Calendar data to optimise schedules, and offers collaboration features like exporting transcripts and notes directly to Google Drive, enhancing team productivity and communication.

      Key features
      • Automated meeting documentation lets users effortlessly record, transcribe and summarise meetings across all major platforms.
      • AI generates detailed meeting summaries with actionable items and more, facilitating efficient post-meeting analysis and further action.
      • Optimises scheduling, punctuality tracking and participation with enhanced calendar management, leveraging Google Calendar data to streamline the entire process.
      Price plans
      • Free: 5 hours/month
      • Pro: $19/month per user
      • Business: $29/month per user
      • Enterprise: From $59/month per user per month

      Speak AI

      Speak AI transforms the collection and analysis of audio and video data with methods including custom embeddable recorders, in-app recording and file uploads. As well as transcribing, it can identify keywords, topics and sentiment. Collaborative features include data sharing, named entity recognition, deep search, APIs, integrations and dashboard reports. Speak AI also empowers informed decision-making by enabling the extraction of actionable insights from its data repositories.

      Key features
      • AI-driven named entity recognition extracts key entities from audio and video data.
      • Powerful search capabilities enable swift and accurate retrieval of information from media content.
      • APIs and other integrations allow the technology to be part of wider workflows.
      Price plans
      • Pay-as-you-go
      • Starter: $23/month
      • Custom: Billed for what you need

      Sonix

      Lightning fast and featuring tools for organising and searching through transcribed content, customisable dictionaries and transcript management tools, Sonix aims to re-imagine how people create, organise and share their work. This makes it a valuable tool for businesses looking to improve transcription efficiency and organisation.

      Key features
      • Converts 30 minutes of audio or video into text in just 3-4 minutes.
      • Provides an online editor for transcript clean-up, including audio playback, word confidence levels and highlighting/strikethrough.
      • Supports 38+ languages, offers speaker labelling, automated diarisation, time codes, and integrates with more than 25 tools for a streamlined workflow.
      Price plans
      • Standard: $10/hour
      • Premium: $5/hour per user
      • Enterprise: Contact for pricing

      Descript

      Descript streamlines video and podcast production by simplifying post-production tasks, such as editing, removing filler words and transcribing audio. It saves creators significant time and effort, allowing them to focus on content creation. This makes it ideal for individuals and teams aiming to enhance workflow efficiency, particularly those producing high volumes of content who need to maintain a consistent output.

      Key features
      • Transcribes audio and video content, providing a text-based interface for straightforward editing and collaboration.
      • Utilises advanced AI for editing that is as easy as document editing.
      • Visual insights enhance data comprehension and optimise the editing process for superior outcomes.
      Price plans
      • Free: 1 hour/month
      • Creator: $12/month
      • Pro: $24/month
      • Enterprise: Contact for pricing

      Transgate

      Transgate is a transcription tool tailored for academics, researchers and healthcare professionals seeking precise transcriptions. It’s cost-effective for small to medium projects and offers a user-friendly interface. Whether transcribing interviews, lectures or medical notes, Transgate ensures accuracy, saving time and delivering high-quality results. It caters to diverse budgets, making it accessible to a wide range of users needing meticulous transcription services.

      Key features
      • The interface is intuitive, facilitating a seamless transcription workflow.
      • Cutting-edge technology ensures precise and accurate transcriptions.
      • Time spent on transcription tasks is drastically reduced from hours to minutes, resulting in significant time savings.
      Price plans
      • Pay as you go: $0.99/hour
      • Premium: $19.99/month
      • Business: $29.99/month

      Zoom Transcription

      Zoom’s transcription feature transcribes the audio from recorded meetings or webinars to the cloud. Once processed, the transcript becomes a separate VTT file within the recorded meetings list. It is segmented with timestamps throughout the recording’s progression. Editing options enable users to enhance accuracy, incorporating proper capitalisation and punctuation, aspects not initially captured by the automated transcript.

      Key features
      • Automatically transcribes audio from meetings and webinars, offering a written record without manual input.
      • Timestamps accompany the transcription, enabling easy navigation and reference to specific sections of the recording.
      • Users can edit the transcribed text, enhancing accuracy and readability by correcting errors and adding punctuation and capitalisation as needed.
      Price plans
      • Free with Zoom

      TranscribeMe

      TranscribeMe provides accurate transcription and translation services for audio files, catering to diverse needs. It also facilitates the creation of custom data sets and annotations, crucial for training AI models effectively. Whether it’s transcribing interviews, translating documents, or preparing data for machine learning, TranscribeMe streamlines the process, saving time and ensuring high-quality results.

      Key features
      • Advanced AI capabilities fused with human proficiency ensure precise transcription and compliance with style guides.
      • File management accommodates more than 15 audio and video formats, including MP3, MP4, WAV and AIFF.
      • Translation services support audio, video and text files in more than 15 languages, facilitating global communication and wider accessibility.
      Price plans
      • Machine transcription: $0.07/minute
      • Human-edited machine transcription: $0.79/minute
      • Translation: $0.11/word

      Temi

      Known for its speed, precision and user-friendly interface, Temi can transcribe audio and video files with minimal fuss. It serves individuals and teams across various fields, such as content creation, research and documentation, providing a reliable solution for transcription needs without compromising quality.

      Key features
      • Fast transcription services, delivering accurate transcripts in 5-10 minutes.
      • The interface features a minimalist dashboard and an intuitive editor, prioritising simplicity for effortless navigation and transcript refinement.
      • Supports a wide range of file formats and offers downloads in various formats.
      Price plans
      • $0.25/minute

      Transkriptor

      Transkriptor is capable of transcribing various content types, including meetings, interviews and lectures. Its adaptability makes it indispensable for professionals across most industries, ensuring precise and clear transcriptions, enhancing productivity and communication for users.

      Key features
      • Achieves up to 99% accuracy, ensuring precision in every transcript.
      • Streamline workflow collaborations by seamlessly uploading files from various platforms and collaborating with team members within the platform’s editor.
      • Supporting more than 100 languages and multiple export formats, it is ideal for international audiences and diverse transcription needs.
      Price plans
      • Lite: $9.99/month
      • Premium: $24.99/month
      • Business: $30/month
      • Enterprise: Contact for pricing

      Scribie

      Scribie is a versatile transcription service trusted by professionals in academia, law, journalism and business. By swiftly converting audio content into accurate text, it streamlines editing, captioning and content repurposing, making it highly beneficial for content creators, podcasters and filmmakers.

      Key features
      • Exceptional accuracy is ensured through an AI-human combination, guaranteeing transcripts with 99% precision.
      • The ability to transcribe more than 25 file formats, including MP3, MP4 and FLAC, allows great flexibility.
      • Rapid delivery is facilitated by weekend and holiday integration, prioritising efficiency for faster turnaround times.
      Price plans
      • $1.25/minute

      Verbit.AI

      Verbit.AI’s advanced AI technology transcribes audio swiftly, providing accurate text output even from noisy sources. Verbit.AI excels at live captioning for virtual events, enhancing accessibility and engagement on platforms like Zoom and Webex. With support for multiple formats and seamless integration with more than 20 applications, it offers efficient and precise transcription solutions.

      Key features
      • Real-time status updates available through the Verbit Cloud portal provide instant data.
      • 99% accuracy rate, by combining human expertise and cutting-edge technology.
      • Streamlined and intuitive interface for easy accessibility and compliance, enhancing productivity across various sectors with minimal learning curves.
      Price plans
      • Personalised: Contact for pricing

      No-cost AI transcription tools

      There are many AI transcription services available that offer impressive features – such as context-aware transcription, meeting analytics and real-time assistance – completely free of charge. One notable example is Otter.AI, which offers users a free transcription plan including:

      • 300 minutes/month (at 30 minutes per session).
      • Accurate transcription of live and recorded audio and video content in real-time.
      • AI meeting assistant, which generates summaries in real-time.
      • Compatibility with Zoom, MS Teams and Google Meet.

      Read more: Free AI transcription services

      AI transcription for video

      Make your video content more accessible, searchable and captivating with automated subtitles and transcription. One of the leading video AI transcription tools is Sonix:

      • Rated as the most accurate video-to-text converter in 2024.
      • Supports various video file formats, including MP4, AVI, MOV and MPEG.
      • Quick turnaround times, with hours of footage converted into an editable text file in minutes.
      • Automated transcription and translation of video files in more than 38 languages.

      Read more: AI video transcription

      AI podcast transcription

      Access the full potential of your podcasts by converting them to editable, searchable and search-engine friendly transcripts. Notta, a popular tool for this task, offers the following features:

      • An accuracy rate of up to 98.86%.
      • Data safeguarding by following strict guidelines (SSL, GDPR, APPI and CCPA) and encryption using AWS’ RDP and S3 services.
      • Transcribe two hours of a typical podcast in just five minutes.
      • Access direct from Google Chrome, Safari, Microsoft Edge and Firefox.

      Read more: AI transcription for podcasts

      Transcribing audio to text with Semantix

      AI solutions aside, in many instances, human transcription is still the best way forward. Semantix blends AI with human post-editing to deliver 100% accurate transcriptions. Our transcribers have extensive experience of converting audio to text in diverse contexts, such as police interviews, legal inquiries, research project interviews, lectures and the like.