Top 5 Audio Transcription tools / services
1. Rev.com
According to their website, Rev is the number one speech-to-text service across the globe. From small businesses to Fortune 500 companies, Rev is used by businesses of all sizes across various industries. Their client list includes well-known names like Home Depot and Haas. Trusted by more than 750,000 users, it offers a number of transcription-related services that include English closed captions and global translated subtitles.
It’s not entirely an AI tool in the true sense of the word. Instead, they combine their network of thousands of freelancers with the most accurate speech recognition AI. That’s their secret sauce. This means that if you don’t want to use their automated transcription service, you have the option of letting a professional transcriptionist cover your video or audio into text. While this option is more accurate, its turnaround time is longer (about five hours on average) and it’s six times more expensive. Considering that its AI-generated transcripts boast an accuracy rate of 90% and can be turned around in just five minutes, it’s a pretty sweet deal.
Cost: For human transcription (in other words entrust a professional transcriptionist with the job of converting your audio and video file into text), it will cost you $1.50 per minute. For automated AI-powered transcription, it will cost you $0.25 per minute).
2. Otter
Otter is an award-winning voice-first app for conversations and meetings. It leverages AI-powered note-taking features to help you remember, search, and share voice conversations, making it a great tool for team collaboration.
Basically, you connect your calendar (it integrates with Google Meet, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams) and set up your Otter Assistant to join the meeting automatically. Your Otter Assistant will then take notes of the meeting. Participants can also add comments, assign actions, or highlight notes.
Another useful feature is that it will summarise the keywords. An automated summary will also be included. Its powerful integrated search capabilities also deserve special mention and you can search by, for example, speaker and date range.
Other key features include:
Real-time captions
Meeting analytics
Speaker identification by name
Editable time codes
Various playback speeds
Two-factor authentication
Cost: It offers a free plan and two paid plans. Pricing starts at $17 per month when billed monthly, but if you opt to be billed yearly you can get a massive 50% discount. Bigger companies that need extra security and support can contact their team for more info about their enterprise solution.
3. Sonix
From leading educational institutions like Stanford University to popular multinational retailers such as Sephora, Sonix is used by a wide range of industries. It offers automated transcription in over 35 languages. Their software is powered by state-of-the-art AI and includes a long list of features like:
Word-by-word timestamps
Automatic speaker identification and speaker labelling
Text exports into several formats
Subtitle exports
Not only is it powerful, but features, like the sophisticated in-browser transcript editor, makes it very user-friendly. This way, you can edit a transcript easily or add a comment or note directly into your transcript.
If your audio or video files typically use a lot of jargon, you’ll find the custom dictionary useful. Using this functionality, you can create your own dictionary containing industry-specific words and phrases that Sonix will prioritise. If you’re an agency or working as a freelance transcriptionist, it also lets you create multiple dictionaries allowing you to assign specific custom dictionaries to specific clients.
In addition to transcription, it also offers:
Automated translation
Automated subtitles
A customizable media player (with analytics)
Cost: It includes a pay-as-you-go option for project-based work at $10 per hour. If you’ll need help with transcription on a more regular basis, you can sign up for its Premium subscription which will include a set monthly fee ($22 per user) and an hourly rate ($5 per hour). It also offers an enterprise solution for users with high-volume needs.
4. Scribie
Trusted by names like Netflix, Google, and Airbnb, Scribie has been in business for over a decade during which they’ve had plenty of time to grow their dataset. They’ve used this large dataset to create a deep learning-based speech and language model to power their automated transcription service.
Scribie is a good solution if you’re looking to save more money than time. It’s more than half the price of a tool like Rec, but you’ll need to do some self-corrections as the accuracy ranges anything from 80% to 95%. For example, if it’s a poor-quality audio file and the speakers have a non-American accent, the accuracy will be closer to 80%. Unlike other tools, though, it has a useful accuracy estimate. Using a machine learning algorithm, Scribie analyses the automated transcript to give an accuracy estimate.
However, the more corrections users correct, the better the service gets. Scribie retrains their models using the transcripts that have been corrected manually via the online editor.
Cost: Automated transcription starts at $0.10 per minute. For manual transcription, you’re looking at about $50 per 60-minute file.
5. AudioTranscription.ai
While there are several noteworthy transcription websites mentioned above, AudioTranscription.ai stands out for its dedication to accuracy, efficiency, and delivering the desired output for content creators. This tool aims to streamline the transcription process, allowing users to save time and focus on essential tasks such as creating articles, brainstorming unique topics, and crafting engaging marketing content for multiple channels.
Regarding cost, AudioTranscription.ai offers a generous first 100 minutes for free, along with various pay-as-you-transcribe options. Additionally, users receive additional hours upon their first purchase. For detailed pricing information, you can refer to AudioTranscription.ai's pricing page.
