Finding reliable transcription services can make a big difference when you need to turn audio content into text. Good transcription makes your content easy to find, use, and share.
To help you find the best fit, our own WPBeginner experts tested many services for various uses, such as creating video subtitles, meeting notes, and documentation audio files.
Based on our findings, we will share the best transcription services with you. These services are perfect for bloggers, content creators, and anyone who needs affordable and accurate transcription solutions.
Overview of the Best Transcription Services
Before we jump into our full review, here’s a quick look at our top 5 picks for the best transcription services for your WordPress site:
| Transcription Service | Best For | Price | |
| 🥇 | Rev | Content creators needing accurate transcription, captioning, and translation services | $1.50 per minute |
| 🥈 | Scribie | Budget-conscious bloggers looking to transcript challenging audio files | $0.80 per minute |
| 🥉 | GoTranscript | STEM and academia clients needing highly accurate, multi-language transcriptions | $0.90 per minute |
| 4 | Sonix | Anyone needing quick transcription services with lots of editing tools and integrations | $10 per hour of audio |
| 5 | GMR Transcription | Businesses looking for high-quality, human transcription with a slower turnaround | Freemium |
Why Use a Transcription Service?
Using an online transcription service saves you the time you’d spend trying to transcribe your audio and video files yourself.
An automated transcription service helps you simply transcribe audio and video content into written text with a couple of clicks.
Transcribed audio helps you remember important details from meetings, calls, and webinars. Plus, it also gives you an easy way to transform & repurpose your existing content into multiple formats.
There are all kinds of ways you can use transcribed text with your WordPress site. Here are a few:
- Create podcast show notes to post as blog posts
- Summarize Zoom meeting notes for your remote team
- Add accurate video captions to your videos to improve accessibility
- Quickly create written materials to improve your online courses
- Create content upgrades to grow your email list
- Transcribe customer interviews and testimonials into written case studies
How We Review Transcription Services
Our evaluation process for transcription services is thorough and objective. It focuses on four key factors: ease of use, language support, accuracy, and turnaround time.
We checked the user interface, upload process, and overall user experience to ensure the service is accessible for both beginners and experienced users.
Then, we looked at the range of languages and dialects supported, as well as the quality of transcription for non-English content.
In terms of accuracy, we looked at audio samples, including different accents and background noise levels, to see if the transcription is accurate across different scenarios.
Finally, we reviewed how quickly each service delivers transcriptions, considering both automated and human-powered options.
Why Trust WPBeginner?
Our team of experts at WPBeginner has over 16 years of experience in WordPress and other software, and we thoroughly researched each transcription service option. For more details on our review process, visit our editorial process page.
5 Best Transcription Services of 2024
Now, we’ll share some of the best transcription services on the market today.
Ready? Let’s get started.
1. Rev
Rev is a transcription service provider that offers a range of different transcription-related services.
When reviewing the service, we found support for audio transcriptions, video transcriptions, captions, subtitles, and translations for a wide range of audio and video files.
Rev is by far the best transcription service when it comes to error rate and transcription speed. While we think it’s not the fastest provider, it’s fast enough to provide nearly perfect text.
Now, easy transcriptions can generally be completed in a few hours, with an accuracy rate of 99%.
This is a unique service because they have human transcribers that utilize speech recognition AI. This gives you the best of both worlds.
Plus, all transcriptions done through this service are FCC and ADA-approved and meet section 508 requirements. So, your transcriptions will be fully compliant with accessibility guidelines.
Beyond transcriptions, captioning, and subtitles, we appreciate the unique feature that provides live captions for Zoom meetings and webinars.
This ensures your meetings and online presentations are accessible to all.
Another interesting feature Rev provides is support for foreign subtitles. If you have an international audience, you can create multi-language subtitles for all the videos you edit.
Finally, there’s a mobile app for iPhone and Android. It lets you capture your ideas, meetings, lectures, and more on the go. Then, you can transcribe your audio with a single click from the app.
Price: Rev transcriptions start at $1.50 per minute and $0.25 per minute for a machine-generated transcript with 90%+ accuracy.
Rush transcripts are available for an extra dollar per audio or video minute and will be completed five times faster.
Pros:
- Rev guarantees 99% accuracy
- Fast turnaround times within 24 hours
- Offers transcription, captioning, and translation services
Cons:
- Costs can add up for long-form content
Why We Recommend Using Rev: We like Rev because it offers a wide range of services, such as transcriptions, video captioning, and translations. You can also choose its AI service, which is another affordable option.
2. Scribie
Scribie is a great transcription provider that offers both automated and manual transcription services. With this service, you can get a wide range of features and transcription options for any budget.
We found that the manual transcription service is 99% accurate and has a 36-hour turnaround. Also, adding a subtitle file, time coding, strict verbatim, speaker tracking, and more are easy.
You can track the progress of your transcription and even download versions as they’re completed. This can be very handy when you need a working version of the document to use right away.
The company also stands behind the quality of its transcripts. If you’re not satisfied with the quality, then you can ask for a free re-review that’ll have a quick one-day turnaround.
Our overall impression was that the transcription process with Scribie is super easy. All you have to do is upload your file, choose your plan, make a payment, and you’ll get a Word file back in your selected timeline.
Price: Scribie pricing starts at $0.80 per minute for manual transcription and $0.10 per minute for automated transcription.
There’s an additional fee of $0.50 per minute for files where the speaker has an accent, the audio file is of poor quality, or background noise is present.
Pros:
- Competitive pricing
- Easy-to-use editing software
- Nearly perfect transcriptions
Cons:
- Confusing web interface
Why We Recommend Scribie: Scribie checks each transcript several times to make sure it’s accurate. This method is really helpful for recordings that are hard to hear or have complicated content.
3. GoTranscript
GoTranscript is one of the most accurate transcription services. It provides very accurate transcriptions for audio files with hard-to-understand accents. Plus, it supports 48 different languages and files with multiple accents in a single audio file.
If your audio is hard to decipher, has a lot of background noise, or is otherwise low quality, it’s worth testing out GoTranscript.
It does a great job at handling complex projects, like STEM, academic, and technical papers, too.
During testing, we noticed that there’s a quick turnaround, especially considering its manual transcription for complex and in-depth topics.
However, if you’re not located in Britain, then the timing can be different since time quotes are based on their time zones.
The pricing is pretty affordable, considering the accuracy of the transcription you’ll be getting.
Price: GoTranscript starts at $0.90 per audio minute. You can get discounts on bulk orders, like 2500+ mins audio requiring transcription.
Pricing increases for fast turnaround, low-quality audio, number of speakers, and your language preference.
Pros:
- High accuracy rates of 99%
- Supports multiple languages
- Strong security protocols to protect client data
Cons:
- Mobile app is limited
Why We Recommend GoTranscript: We like GoTranscript as one of the best services for getting human-generated transcription in different languages or specific industries.
4. Sonix
Sonix is a fully automated AI transcription software. Since it’s AI-based, it’s incredibly fast, and you won’t have to wait on human transcribers.
But this also means you won’t get the same level of accuracy as human transcription. Still, the easy-to-use editing tools and low price can balance this out.
Our research revealed that you can use the in-browser editor to polish your transcript. It has features like word-by-word timestamps, commenting and notes for you and your team, speaker labeling, multiple export options, and more.
You’ll also find tools for automated translation, subtitles, and collaboration features. Plus, there are plenty of integrations with tools you already use, like Zoom, Vimeo, YouTube, Dropbox, and more.
Price: Sonix pricing starts at $10 per hour of audio, which is just under $0.17 per audio minute.
Pros:
- Excellent customer service
- Closed captions appear in real time
- Easy to fix any errors
Cons:
- Pricing is a bit confusing to understand
Why We Recommend Sonix: Sonix is great for those looking to get near-instant transcriptions. It uses artificial intelligence to generate transcriptions in just a few minutes.
5. GMR Transcription
GMR Transcription is a versatile audio transcription service. It offers standard transcription services and only works with US-based human transcriptionists.
With GMR Transcription, you can find other related services like video transcriptions and Spanish transcriptions.
Plus, there’s a unique text transcription service that can transcribe physical documents into electronic documents. This is perfect for companies transitioning into a paperless office.
What we like most about this service is that the transcription quality is very high. The downside is that you’ll pay more, and the turnaround is slower than other providers on this list.
However, please note that same-day transcription is offered in some circumstances.
Price: GMR Transcription starts at $1.25 per audio minute, with rates increasing on the number of speakers, audio quality, and selected turnaround time.
Pros:
- Same or next-day turnaround
- Only US-based transcriptionists
- 99% accuracy guarantee
Cons:
- No AI transcriptions
Why We Recommend GMR Transcription: If you want a boutique service, then GMR Transcription is the way to go. It is specifically great for Spanish speakers looking for Spanish-to-English transcriptions.
Bonus: Otter.ai
Otter.ai is arguably the most popular transcription service out there. It’s best known for being able to transcribe meetings in real-time, making it useful to have on during your company Google Meets and Zoom Meetings.
Since the software automatically takes notes for you, you won’t need to assign a team member to do so. This is great for people who may have missed the meeting because they can easily refer back to the notes.
On top of that, each block of transcribed text will have timestamps so you can refer back to what was said and when.
What’s unique about Otter.ai is its ability to learn your custom vocabulary, including jargon, acronyms, and names. Simply note any unique vocabulary your team uses, and you can manage the vocabulary in the settings.
Once the meeting is over, Otter.ai curates a meeting summary in a visual and accessible format. Otter.ai can also help sales teams. It takes notes from demo calls, writes follow-up emails to prospects, and pushes call notes to your CRM app.
Pricing: Otter.ai is free to get started. The free plan gives you up to 30 minutes per conversation and up to 300 monthly transcription minutes. The Pro plan starts at $10 per user per month, billed annually, and gives you 90 minutes per conversion and up to 1,200 monthly transcription minutes, along with other team features.
Pros:
- Offers calendar integrations
- Has quality transcriptions that are on part with most other custom services
- Allows users to be present-minded at meetings
Cons:
- It doesn’t remove filler words like “umm”
Why We Recommend Otter.ai: Otter.ai is the best transcription service for small businesses and working teams. It transcribes meetings in real-time and take notes for you, so you don’t need to assign a team member to do it. Then, the meeting notes automatically go out to those who missed the meeting.
What Is the Best Transcription Service?
After reviewing all the most popular transcription services, we believe that Rev is the best transcription service.
The transcription quality is 99% accurate, and the turnaround is pretty fast with affordable pricing.
You can use it to transcribe your YouTube videos and podcasts, add captions, and there’s even support for foreign language subtitling.
Another great choice is Scribie, which offers fast and accurate transcriptions at an affordable rate.
In addition to the top transcription services on our list, we also looked at other transcription providers, such as Temi, TranscribeMe, Trint, and iScribed.
However, we decided not to list them to help make your choice as easy as possible and avoid decision paralysis.
Best Transcription Services FAQs
While helping our readers find the best transcription services for their needs, we’ve answered a lot of questions.
Below are some of the most frequently asked questions we’ve received about online transcription providers.
1. What is the going rate for transcribing?
In general, the standard rate for transcribing is between $0.10 and $1.50 per audio minute.
The rate you pay will depend on the audio quality, accents present, whether or not it’s human or AI transcription, and more.
Overall, the more you pay per audio minute, the higher the quality of the finished transcription will be.
2. How long does it take to transcribe 1 hour of audio?
Typically, it takes individual transcriptionists 4 hours to transcribe 1 hour of audio. This will differ based on the transcriber’s skill, whether they use AI or the audio file’s quality.
Different transcription services have different turnaround times based on what you pay and if you require rush delivery.
3. What is the best free transcription software?
Some of the best free transcription software include the Google Docs dictation feature and automatic YouTube transcriptions that can be downloaded after a video is uploaded.
However, the big issue with free transcription apps and software is they aren’t going to be that accurate.
If you’re looking for the cheapest option, then Rev has a free trial that allows you to test out 30 minutes of audio for free.
If the quality is up to your standards, then the paid plans start at $1.50 per audio minute.
4. What should you look for in a transcription service?
Not all transcription services are equal. Some use human transcription services (which usually cost more), while others use an AI service. While AI isn’t always as accurate, the quality is certainly improving over time.
Another thing to consider is the turnaround time. Obviously, AI services can easily transcribe an entire clip into a document in a few minutes, while human services may take a few days.
You’ll also need to factor into the time limits on transcriptions, as many popular services have limits on how many files you can transcribe per month and the length of each file. All in all, make sure to consider your needs and use case before you decide on which transcription service is right for you.
We hope this article helped you find the best transcription service to use along with your WordPress site. You may also want to see our list of the best WordPress chat plugins and our guide on how to add text to speech in WordPress.
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