Remember the days when you would ask, “who would like to volunteer to take today’s notes?”. And everyone ducks behind the person next to them. Or maybe you had to have your administration staff sit in meetings just to take notes.

Thankfully-those days are as over now that AI transcription software is here. And the new age of technology does more than just transcribe your audio.

With speech-to-text transcription software, you can now:

  • Take notes in virtual meetings like Zoom and Google Meets or send an AI bot to transcribe for you.
  • Record in-person meetings and watch it transcribe audio into text- that way, you can revisit your meeting details later.
  • Automatically identify speakers and assign them throughout the script.
  • Summarize key points of the meetings and generate an actionable to-do list for team members.

I’ve spent hours testing the most popular transcription software, so here’s an overview features, pros, and cons of each platform so that you can feel confident when it comes to choosing transcription software that will be the perfect fit for you or your company.

  • Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Please read full disclosure for more information.

All in one

Otter AI

Full Review

  • Live audio transcription.
  • Send AI assistant bot to your meetings.
try it out
ai assistant

Fireflies

Full Review

  • Real-time transcription.
  • Ask Fred, your AI bot, to do a variety of tasks.
try it out
translate

Sonix AI

Full Review

  • Highly accurate transcription.
  • Translate the information into multiple languages.
try it out

What is The Best AI Transcription Software?

Here’s the full list of software that are super popular among businesses right now.

Best AI Transcription Software

  • Great for All-in-One: Otter.ai
  • Awesome AI Assistant: Fireflies.ai
  • Transcribe & Translate: Sonix.ai
  • Make Your Meetings Productive: Airgram
  • Great Budget Option: Tactiq
  • Great for Repurposing Content: Trint
  • Transcription for the Pros: Rev
  • User-Friendly Option: Notta
  • For the Professionals: Verbit.AI
  • Single-File Transcriptions: Scribie
  • Calls & Recruiters: MeetGeek AI

1. Otter.ai

Great All-In-One Transcription

Otter AI is one of the most popular transcription softwares on the market, and after spending quite a while testing it out, it’s pretty easy to see why. You can check out my full Otter in-depth review, where I’ve detailed with photos how everything works.

In a nutshell, its transcription services offer everything you could possibly need when it comes to transcription software. According to their founder and CEO, Sam Liang, they have utilized artificial intelligence to smartly understand conversations by minimizing background noise and understanding different accents.

Otter.ai Features Include:

  • Live Meeting Transcription– Simply enter your Zoom, Google Meets, or Microsoft Teams meeting URL. Their AI assistant bot will transcribe the entire meeting for you.
  • Live Zoom Captions– During Zoom meetings, you can add in live captions, which is great for those members that may not be in an area where they can listen to sounds.
  • Live Audio Transcription- Record and transcribe anytime, like an in-person meeting or just your own thoughts you don’t want to forget.
  • Editing and Viewing– After the meeting has been recorded, you can edit your video and audio files to polish up, assign tasks, and send them to the rest of your team.
  • Mobile App– Transcribe audio files on the go with your phone, which is great when you don’t have your laptop on you.
  • Content Repurposing– Need to repurpose your long video content into smaller pieces for social? Otter does this too.

Otter.ai honestly offers everything you could need, making it one of the best.

Otter AI Pros and Cons

  • A user-friendly dashboard that makes all your transcribing needs super easy.
  • You can export the files into most document types (like Microsoft Word or Google Docs) to help you integrate them with the rest of your tech stack.
  • It has speaker identification to help track who said what during the conversation.
  • Overall, it accurately transcribes the entire conversation, and you can edit any minor errors easily.
  • To make the most out of the software,you need to upgrade the plan.
  • Not available in multiple languages (English Only).

Otter Pricing

The pricing is astonishingly affordable. For everything it does, I think they could have charged higher. Their free version even gives you 300 free minutes per month to make sure you love the product before you buy it.

Verdict

If you’re looking for a professional, all-in-one transcription service to help you with all your meetings and transcribing needs, then Otter AI is a great choice. It’s one of the leaders of the industry for a reason.

Check Out Otter AI Here

2. Fireflies.ai

Awesome For An AI Assistant

Fireflies.ai another company offering more than just automated transcription services. They’re on a mission to integrate artificial intelligence to the fullest– starting with their upcoming AI extensions that have launched this month.

You can ask their AI assistant “Fred” to help you with a ton of tasks during your meeting. No need to make your assistant sit in on the meetings anymore.

And they have been applied to a variety of different use-cases, not just meetings. It can be effective for:

  • Recruiting for candidate screening, great if you’re not already using an AI recruiting software.
  • Students to transcribe lecture notes.
  • Subtitles for videos or podcasts.

Fireflies.ai Features:

  • AI Extensions– AI extensions allow you to ask Fred to perform commands for you.
  • Real-Time Transcription– Fireflies uses artificial intelligence with speech recognition technology to transcribe conversations in real-time, with an accuracy of up to 90%.
  • Automatic Speaker Detection– With automatic speaker detection, your post-meeting minute cleanup is quick and easy.
  • Fireflies integrate their video file formats with seriously everything– plug phone calls or meetings into your CRM, virtual meeting platforms like Zoom or Google Meets, most calendars, and any phone call software you may use.

Pros and Cons of Fireflies.ai:

  • They claim 90% accuracy for their transcription, so you don’t need to worry about it being written down wrong.
  • They let you organize all of your company’s knowledge in one place. You either can use their smart search to find a keyword or discussion topic that you’re trying to recall (instead of scanning through hours of meetings on the day you thought you talked about it). Or they have topic organizers so you can organize any information by topic.
  • SOC2 and GDPR-certified security allow for the utmost privacy- the last thing you want is a third-party capturing all of your business intel.
  • They have a Chrome extension and Zapier integrations to make access effortless.
  • There’s no mobile app for its software.

Pricing

For only $29 a month, you can get unlimited transcription and storage with the business plan.

Verdict

Fireflies are revolutionizing productivity with its advanced AI tech, demolishing barriers, and setting new standards in the business world. If you’re okay with not having a mobile app, Fireflies is a great option.

Check Out Fireflies.ai Here

3. Sonix.ai

Transcribe and Translate

In a global economy, many professionals are looking for a transcription service that can translate and relay their message in multiple languages. That’s where Sonix AI comes in– automated speech recognition meets automated translation.

Used by big names like Uber, Google, Adobe, and IBM, their automatic speech recognition is clearly world-class and a trusted entity when it comes to audio-to-text translations.

Sonix.AI Features:

  • Similar to other automatic transcription tools in that you can transcribe audio, label speakers, upload files (audio or video), and automatically identify speakers.
  • Supports over thirty-five languages (including US, Spanish, Chinese, French, Arabic, and more).
  • Custom dictionary options.
  • Timestamps throughout the entire transcription.
  • Editing and review capabilities within the software, as well as notes/comments section.
  • Multitrack capabilities (add many audio/video files for one transcript).

Sonix.ai Pros and Cons:

  • Highly accurate. They declare on their site that they’re the most accurate transcription service on the market. I can’t confirm that, but their clientele leads me to believe it.
  • Create a custom dictionary for your industry. We all have those buzzwords and shorthand language for our field- add that to the dictionary so that it becomes more accurate with each conversation.
  • Multiple languages– I can’t hammer this enough. Most transcription services can’t accurately transcribe AND translate.
  • It doesn’t feature some of the really cool options like AI assistants and extensions some of its competitors are offering.
  • Also does not come with a mobile app but works with Google Chrome.

Sonix Pricing

You’ll pay for usage starting at $5 dollar an hour. If you’re an enterprise, you would likely get a custom quote through them.

Verdict

This is a transcription software for industries that need a reliable software to transcribe and translate any audio or video file into written text.

Try Out Sonix.AI Here

4. Airgram.io

Make Your Meetings Productive

Airgram is another transcription service that sets itself apart from the rest of the market by focusing on the entire meeting and notes lifecycle: prepping for the meeting, transcribing audio during the meeting, and reviewing the transcript after.

It accomplishes this by starting off with meeting templates that you can customize and share with your team. This allows your upcoming meeting to be as productive as possible.

It then creates automated transcriptions during your meetings, similar to the competition.

Post-meeting, you can then organize and create actionable tasks for your team to meet before the next meeting.

Here’s a Quick Glance of Airgram’s Features:

  • Agenda Timers: I think we all know how off-topic meetings can become. The agenda timer keeps you on track with timers for topics, so you don’t have that “okay, we have five minutes to cover ten topics” speech at the end.
  • Real-time audio and video transcription with good accuracy.
  • AI-assistant to attend meetings for you– If you just need the take-home points of a meeting as you were not a contributor, then let their AI assistant go for you.
  • Prep your meeting with their collaborative agenda feature. You can create key points and allot time to each topic beforehand.

Airgram Pros and Cons:

  • The meeting preparation templates and timing make your meeting so much more productive. I like the timer that shows up so that the entire group is aware. It makes your group talk a bit faster and get to the point instead of dilly dallying.
  • It gives you action items from each meeting so that you can actually remember the key take-homes and actionable items after a meeting.
  • Like others, its accuracy can falter, which leads to some mistakes during the transcription. This is easily remedied by some editing.
  • It doesn’t include a mobile app.

Airgram Pricing

You pay for how much you use. If you’re a large company, 100 recordings per month would cost closer to $80 per month.

Verdict

This is one of the best transcription services for small businesses that are looking to maximize their meeting productivity. It misses some of the bells and whistles of others, but if you don’t need that, then Airgram is a great option.

Try Airgram Out Here

5. Tactiq.io

Great Budget Option

Like the competitors discussed before it, Tactiq is a transcription service that hits all the essential services like real-time transcription during virtual meetings, speaker identification, timestamps, and attendance. It accomplishes all this by utilizing the latest GPT-3 technology to help you get the most accurate transcripts.

It accomplishes this primarily through a Chrome extension that your Team members can easily attach to their browsers.

Tactiq Features:

  • Available in five languages (English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and german)
  • Similar to Airgram, you get a meeting summary with action items to complete after the meeting is over.
  • Integrates with all the major players, such as Google Meets, Zoom, Notion, and Confluence.
  • Security to ensure your intel stays safe.

Tactiq Pros and Cons:

  • It has great AI capability to summarize the meeting and then extract a to-do list for your company so that no one else has to do it later. This is a big time-saver.
  • You can use these for customer meetings to ensure you exceeding expectations for your clientele.
  • It does not store the audio, so if the transcription is off, you can’t go back to figure out what it said.

Tactiq Pricing

There’s a great free option that lets you transcribe up to ten meetings per month. The pro plans are very affordable at $16 per month.

Verdict

If you’re looking for an affordable speech-to-text platform that will transcribe, summarize, and give you an actionable to-do list, then Tactiq is a great option for you.

Test OUt Tactiq for Yourself

6. Trint.com

Great for Repurposing Content

Are you looking to transcribe an audio file such as a podcast, Youtube video, or social media? Many people are looking for this service to help make their product or services searchable in a world of so much video and audio content.

And this is where Trint delivers. This tool has been used by major media outlets, universities, and brands boosting its credibility.

Features of Trint:

  • Not only does it transcribe the video as it plays, but it can add closed captioning to your videos.
  • Available in over 35 languages.
  • Super user-friendly features like drag and drop editing.
  • It can combine common themes or moments from many different audio/video transcripts. So if you want to summarize a topic that was discussed in different videos, Trint can help with this.
  • ISO-security certified so that your information isn’t hacked.

Pricing:

This will be one of the more expensive options, but with the accuracy and closed captioning capabilities, you get what you pay for.

Verdict

If you’re looking for a transcription service to use with multiple languages and closed captioning capabilities for converting social media and videos, then Trint is worth looking into.

try trint here

7. Rev.com

Transcription for the Professionals

Rev is a household name when it comes to automatic transcription- and they pretty much do everything you need. This site is really for the pros- those that need professional services for films, content, or anything else you need.

Rev’s Features:

  • Human transcription: You can pay for a professional typist to transcribe the video or audio file for you and get it back within a few hours. Obviously, this is the most expensive but also the most accurate option.
  • Automated Transcription: Like their competitors, they offer automated transcription back by artificial intelligence.
  • Professional closed captioning services.
  • On-screen subtitles translated from different languages.
  • Zoom live captioning.

Pricing:

The most expensive of the group as you’re getting a professional service with the highest accuracy and be paying per minute.

Verdict

This is one that’s for professional transcription services for things like films that need the highest level of accuracy.

Try Out Rev.com Here

8. Notta.ai

User-Friendly Option

Notta is another automated transcription service that shines thanks to its usability– you can either use the Notta web, download the Chrome extension, or download the app to gain access to its features.

It converts audio to text quickly and then quickly shares/export your meeting minutes in a few clicks. They make it easy to edit the transcriptions.

Features of Notta:

  • Available in many languages (the most compared to competitors)
  • You can actually change the playback of audio, which can be convenient when you want to listen to the meeting sped up.
  • There are no AI bots to help you during meetings you haven’t attended.
  • One of the more expensive tools on the market

Pricing:

Businesses with 99 members will expect to pay a bit more.

Verdict

If you’re looking for transcribing software for your company across many mediums (phone, app) that also will translate in a few languages, this is a good choice.

Try Out Notta.ai Here

9. Verbit

Verbit AI is going to be what I call “the professional’s” AI transcription services. They’ve taken a ton of care and dedication to be compliant to be used within media and the education sectors. This is why they’re boasting their clients like CNN, Google, and Blackboard.

The biggest pro, is that they are all fact-checked by professional transcribers to give them a 99% accuracy. Basically, they use the AI for the initial draft, then everything is checked by a professional to ensure accuracy.

Their platform is a great option if you do a lot of:

  • Live Streaming
  • Businesses looking to be compliant with ADA guidelines.

Verbit AI Features

  • Live transcription during any live-streaming event.
  • Transcribe pre-recorded video and audio files with ease.
  • Translation services offered.
  • Integrate with most major platforms such as YouTube, Blackboard, Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.
  • They don’t offer a lot of the bells and whistles of other transcription software like AI bots or task assignments and summaries. They’re focused on providing the most accurate transcription possible.

Verbit AI Pricing

They don’t offer subscription options and pricing is completely personalized to meet the needs of the client.

Verdict

Verbit is for professional, highly-accurate transcription that needs to be accurate like a news outlet or education system. It’s not necessarily a go-to for business operations like meetings, etc.

Try Verbit AI Here

10. Scribie

Similar to Verbit, Scribie also aims to provide accurate transcription by utilizing AI technology to create a rough draft, and then utilizes professionals to edit for any errors.

Simply upload your audio or video file and pay for each individual file you need transcribed. It’s a much more simpler version if you have just a few files to get transcribed.

Scribie Features

  • Get your files accurately transcribed in record time.
  • This is not a very robust software- no live streaming, not made for meetings. It’s great for freelancers with a one-off need.

Scribie Pricing

Simply send in the audio or video file that you need, and you’ll pay a flat $1.25 per minute.

Verdict

If you just have a few files that you need transcribed with high accuracy, then Scribie is a no-frills transcription option.

Try Scribie AI Here

11. MeetGeek

MeetGeek is the last but not least option on the list. MeetGeek, as the name implies, wants to become your meeting transcription service, similar to Fireflies or Otter.

They offer the usual suspect features like AI meeting notes, summarization of meeting highlights, and easy sharing of information. Let’s check out what sets it apart from the others (both good and bad).

MeetGeek Pros & Cons

  • The AI meeting minutes are really gorgeous. The format looks better than an AI writer, and has a beautiful summary format.
  • The full transcript and AI highlights are automatically emailed and sent to everyone in the meeting.
  • Great focus on customer calls, where you can get highlights on how calls went to share it with your customer team.
  • Also a good option for HR recruiters, as you can use this during the candidate interviewing process and have a full transcription to refer back to.
  • No AI meeting bot to send to meetings without you.

MeetGeek Pricing

Their pricing is pretty straightforward and affordable:

Verdict

While still affordable, MeetGeek is the most expensive option on this list, and I’m not sure where the added benefit is.

Try MeetGeek Here

What Is A Transcription Software or Transcription Services?

Transcription software is an automated digital tool that enables users to convert audio recordings into written text, providing a fast and accurate way to transcribe speech.

It’s said that, on average, the majority of employees spend between four to twelve hours a week on meetings. And we all know how “productive” these meetings end up.

There are also AI note-taking apps that offer note-taking services, but think of this as a more slimmed down transcription services than a full-blown software.

So what if there was a way for a bot to attend and take notes at the meeting for you? That’s just one of the few ways that speech-to-text software is helping with employee productivity.

I think these are one of those AI tools that will be an essential part of every business tech stack.

  • Saves Time and Money-  If your company engages in a lot of meetings, this is a no-brainer. With transcription software, you can get the job done by an artificial intelligence bot which saves you from wasting admin staff time. It’s one of the top AI productivity tools that I highly recommend.
  • More Accurate Transcriptions- Historically, there was always a problem with the transcription writing down a statement wrong. And then you would waste a lot of time trying to figure out what was said. But thanks to natural language processing (NLP) and AI, the tech can handle all of the little details, such as background noise, different speakers, and overlapping dialogue.
  • Easier to Search- By converting your audio and video files to a text document, you can easily search for a specific point in the conversation with ease. No more flipping through pages of notes.
  • Create Subtitles for Videos- Let’s be honest. We’re usually multi-tasking all day long and are half-listening to meetings while working on other things at the same time. Adding subtitles allows you to multi-task easier.
  • Make Podcasts Searchable- Podcasts are becoming increasingly popular, but one downside is that they’re not very searchable. This means that if someone wants to find a particular episode of a podcast, they might have to listen to hours of audio until they find what they’re looking for. However, if the podcast has been transcribed, it will be much easier to search and find specific episodes.
  • Improve Customer Service Calls: You can’t possibly listen to all the phone calls of your employees. But with transcription, you can easily search through their performance and identify areas where your company can do better.
  • Assign Tasks: Many transcription programs allow you to set tasks throughout your meeting. That way, if you’ve delegated a task to someone, you can simply tell the bot to send a reminder or task to a team member to remind them of their role.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Most Accurate Transcription Software?

At this time, there’s no way to say one is more accurate than the other, especially when it comes to more technical niches like medicine. However, Otter AI and Fireflies have worked very accurately.

Is There Automatic Transcription Software?

All of the software today is pretty automatic. Simply give them the URL of the virtual meeting or hit record in a live meeting, and they can get the job done for you.

Is There a Program That Will Transcribe Text To Audio or Video File?

Nearly all of the options listed above with

What’s the Best Free Transcription Software?

It really depends on what you’re looking for, as nearly all of the audio and video transcription programs offer a free option with limits. I would recommend trialing several of them to see which offers the features you’re looking for.

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