How much time does it take to transcribe an hour of audio?
The short answer: The industry standard is four hours of transcription time for one hour of clear audio, or a 4:1 ratio – that is, one hour of transcription time for a 15-minute-long recording.
In my experience as a professional professional transcriptionist, clearly recorded audio with slow, clear speakers can be transcribed at a ratio of 3:1 or 2:1 or even lower – that’s one hour of transcription time for a 20- or 30-minute file.
And, on the other end of the audio quality spectrum, one hour of muffled or garbled audio with many overlapping voices might take 10 hours or more to transcribe.
So, we can say that one hour of audio can take anywhere from two hours to 10 hours or more to transcribe. That’s quite a range!
Because audio quality usually falls somewhere in between the two extremes, I’d guess that the ratio for many professional transcriptionists often comes out closer to 5:1 or 6:1 (five or six hours to transcribe one hour of audio).
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Factors that affect transcription time per audio hour
Aside from level of experience and typing speed in words per minute, there are several factors that affect transcription time per audio hour:
- Audio recording quality
- Number of speakers
- Background noise
- Speaker “coherence” (i.e., do the speakers talk over each other? Do they speak quickly or slowly? Do they finish a thought before beginning the next sentence?)
- Regional accents
- Amount of research required (names, places, specialized terminology, etc.)
- Special transcript requirements, such as timestamps or true verbatim transcription
The more factors that are thrown into the mix, the longer the audio will take to transcribe. (I’ve encountered files that were entirely “un-transcribable,” but that’s a topic for another post!)
Most professional transcription services account for these factors by charging at different per-audio-minute tiers to compensate transcriptionists for the extra time it takes to transcribe a challenging file.
Or, they may charge a different fee depending on the type of audio – a podcast versus a conference call, for example.Podcasts tend to have fewer speakers and are produced with quality recording equipment, so they tend to take less time to transcribe.
Focus groups and conference calls, on the other hand, are more likely to have audio quality issues and many participants talking over each other. Therefore, they can take many more hours to transcribe.
How to decrease your transcription time per audio hour
If you’re doing your transcripts yourself to cut costs, I recommend using pro transcription software to save yourself a lot of time. (Express Scribe is an excellent free program.)
You can also use a foot pedal designed for transcription (I use the Infinity USB pedal) to control audio playback without the use of hotkeys.
If you’re working with especially challenging audio, consider using a pair of headphones “tuned” for transcription.
If you’re outsourcing your interview transcription, you’ll still want to consider the length of time your audio will take to transcribe. A challenging audio file translates into a transcript with more inaudibles, a longer turnaround time, and – if you’re working with a transcription service that compensates transcriptionists for their extra time – a higher cost.
To minimize your transcription costs and maximize your experience, use quality recording equipment and record your audio in a location with minimal noise.
For more tips on speeding up your audio and video production workflow, check out the following posts:
Are you interested in a career in transcription?
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