The Best Transcription Services for 2023 (2024)

People need audio files transcribed for a variety of reasons. Whether you're a legal professional who relies on having recorded depositions turned into text, or a journalist looking to pull that perfect quote from a long interview, you need accurate audio transcription. Previously, the act of taking recorded speech and turning it into text was tedious and done only manually. Technology is changing things. In the last decade, the transcription services market has exploded with a variety of companies that provide both automated and human-created transcriptions.

Human-generated transcription means a human worker listens to an audio recording and manually types what they hear. Automated transcripts come from a machine doing the job instead. Both have their pros and cons. Here we list the best transcription services we found based on our hands-on testing. Read on after the list to find more information on what to look for in a transcription service, the difference between automated and human transcription, and other details you should know about transcription services.

Deeper Dive: Our Top Tested Picks

Buying Guide: The Best Transcription Services for 2023

Automated vs. Human Transcriptions: What's the Difference?

Automated transcription services use automatic speech recognition to transcribe an audio file into text. Two primary benefits of using automation are it's fast and it's cheap.

Services that offer automated transcription sometimes include extra features that may not be free in a human-generated transcript, such as time stamps and basic speaker identification (for example, Speaker 1, Speaker 2). The downside of automated services is that they are far less accurate than when a human does the job.

Automated transcription services often include access to document editing software which allows you to clean up the text. If you see an error in the document, click on the time-stamped section to listen to the words, and transcribe that portion on your own.

Rev, Otter, Scribie, TranscribeMe, Trint, and Temi (which didn't score high enough to be included in this list of the best transcription services) all offer automated transcription services. Rev, Scribie, and TranscribeMe also offer human-powered services.

Human-generated transcription services, by contrast, use trained transcriptionists, often more than one, to complete the work. Transcriptions made by humans are highly accurate, but they're also pricier and typically require a longer turnaround time, although often you have the option to pay extra for a quicker turnaround time. When you choose human-generated transcripts, you can sometimes pay to get a transcriptionist who's educated in a particular industry's jargon, such as legal or medical terms.

Using human-powered transcription may introduce some privacy concerns. In testing and reviewing transcription services, we asked each company under what conditions it would comply with law enforcement and hand over any user data. You can read the complete details in the review of each service. All services that made this list of the best transcription services operate under strict nondisclosure policies and let you remove your files from their servers at any time.

How Much Do Transcription Services Cost?

Many transcription services charge on a per-minute basis. For example, a 30-minute transcription at $1 per minute would cost $30. Costs can add up quickly, and some services bill extra for a faster turnaround time, verbatim files (meaning they include all the "ums" and "ahs"), or if the audio is of poor quality. If you find yourself transcribing audio and video files often, a subscription-based service, such as those offered by Otter and Trint, might be the best value for you.

As you might guess, the amount of time it takes to turn around a file usually depends on its length. Automated services can typically process a file in a matter of minutes. Human-powered services take quite a bit longer and you may have to pay for faster delivery speeds. Rev is simple in that it promises to return your file (in most cases) in a 12-hour timeframe. GoTranscript's slowest option (five days) is also its cheapest.

How to Get the Most Accurate Transcription

One of the most important things you can do to ensure an accurate transcription is to capture a high-quality recording of a conversation or interview in the first place. It is vital that your subjects are close to the recording device and speak in loud, clear voices. When you have multiple speakers, participants should only speak one at a time to avoid interference. Most services also point out that speakers with heavy accents can pose some issues, though there's not much you can do to avoid it. Audio editing software such as Audacity can clear up some issues, but it's not a miracle worker. In-person recordings also produce better results than recordings of phone calls.

In general, automated services are only useful if the audio recording is on the simple side and you don't need perfectly accurate results. They're fine for personal voice memos and similar applications, but not for a professional setting.

How to Edit a Transcription

Chances are you'll need to correct some parts of your transcript once you receive it. Most services include a built-in editor for making these changes before you export the final document. Typically, these interfaces combine playback controls with a text editor. The setup is much more convenient than switching between a document and an audio player every couple of minutes. In the case of human-powered transcription services, these web editors are often just modified versions of what the transcriptionists use.

Some editing interfaces include tools for highlighting selected parts of a transcript or editing the start time of the recording. Playback speeds and quick rewind buttons (all controllable via keyboard shortcuts) are also fairly standard. GoTranscript is notably the only service that does not offer an online editor. Your only option is to edit the exported transcript after GoTranscript completes a job.

The Best Transcription Apps

Many of the transcription services we reviewed, including GoTranscript, Otter, and Rev also offer mobile apps in addition to their web dashboards. Most offer both Android apps and iPhone apps. For the most part, these apps function as digital voice recorders, though you can also order transcripts of your recordings directly from your mobile device. The drawback is that you can't import audio files or links the way that you can via their respective websites. Many let you view the completed transcript directly on your device. Otter goes one step further than the others by giving you excellent organizational features and the ability to edit transcripts on the go.

Manual vs. Automated Transcription

If you want to avoid transcription services entirely—for privacy reasons or to save on costs—there are alternatives. For doing your own manual transcription, Transcribe is a great option at only $20 per year. It lets you listen to an audio recording while you type, with built-in keyboard shortcuts and useful playback modes that reduce the number of times you need to pause and rewind. Another option is oTranscribe. It works similarly to Transcribe, but it's free.

If you're a Microsoft 365 subscriber (not a free user, but a paying subscriber), you can use Transcribe for Word, which is available in the web version of Microsoft Word. You can record in real time using Word, or upload audio files to the automated transcription service. Transcribe for Word doesn't cost any extra.

For those who don't want to spend any money, Google Docs may be the best solution. With Google Docs, you can use the voice typing feature, which is nothing more than a speech-to-text tool, to put words down on the page. It's often quicker than typing everything out. Some people listen to a prerecorded audio file on headphones and then speak the same lines aloud to a speech-to-text tool, which works better than playing the audio directly into a microphone, but it's still cumbersome and takes time.

Ultimately, any transcription method or service you choose is better than simply letting your recordings go to waste. Yes, transcribing can be a hassle and some services are costly, but the value of accurate and usable transcripts far outweighs these annoyances. At least one of the services named above should suit your needs. Make sure to read our full reviews for help picking the right one.