The Best Automatic Transcription Software

Transcribing the audio and video recordings of interviews and meetings can help you to understand better the data you collected. Even if you are creating video content, a transcription can assist you in increasing its visibility on search engines. Transcribing a recording of any kind can make it easier to organize and archive the information the recording contains, and it enables you to have easy access to this data whenever you need it.

However, transcribing a single video or audio file can be a painstakingly long and time-consuming process. That is why opting for an automatic transcription software is the right choice for you if you are looking for a way to save time on audio and video transcription.

In this article, we are going to take you through some of the best automatic transcription software products and help you choose the one that best fits your needs.

The Best Automatic Transcription Software in 2020

Even though a quick Google search is going to reveal a broad spectrum of different automatic transcription software products that are advertised as free, you will still have to purchase a license or a subscription if you want to use all of their features. Let’s take a look at some of the best automatic transcription software in 2020, including free and paid solutions both.

1. Trint

Price: Free trial available, pricing options start at $44 per month

Compatibility: Web-based, iOS

In case you don’t want to go through the hustle of installing an automatic transcription software on your PC or Mac, then Trint is an excellent choice for you, as it allows you to transcribe audio and video files directly from your web browser. Besides turning video and files into text in minutes, Trint also lets you edit the transcribed text, add captions to videos or even share these files on the Internet.

The software is equipped with advanced text-to-speech algorithms that can transcribe audio and video recordings in a broad range of different languages, including all dialects of the English language.

Once the automatic transcription process is completed, you can use the software’s text editor to improve the quality of the transcription and then embed a searchable transcript to your website. However, the number of available features depends on the pricing plan you choose.

Pros

• All transcriptions are delivered quickly
• Excellent text editing tools
• Support for a large number of different languages
• Allows users to choose the format in which they save their text files

Cons

• More expensive than most automatic transcription software products
• Struggles with long and complex audio and video files

2. Happy Scribe

Price: $14 for one hour of transcription

Compatibility: web-based

Podcasters, video editors, journalists, and researchers can use Happy Scribe with the same level of efficiency, as this web-based application allows them to transcribe audio and video files quickly and accurately. It will take less than 20 minutes to get the first draft of an hour-long recording, while the Speaker Identification feature enables the app to create a new paragraph each time it recognizes a new speaker.

The platform’s algorithms have advanced punctuation capabilities that enable it to use commas, question marks, and full-stops correctly. Furthermore, Happy Scribe’s text editor provides proofreading help so that you can easily identify parts of the text that need to be tightened up. You can also highlight or comment on a section of a text and create a reminder for yourself or your colleagues. Happy Scribe can transcribe texts in 119 languages with excellent accuracy and it lets you export your transcripts in all commonly used text file formats.

Pros

• Quick upload times
• Available in 119 languages and accents
• Results are available within a short period of time
• Equipped with the Speaker Identification feature

Cons

• No monthly or annual subscription available
• Limited file-sharing capabilities

3. Sonix

Price: The first 30 minutes of transcription are free, pricing options start at $10 per hour

Compatibility: Web-based

If you are looking for an affordable automatic transcription software that is stacked with features that enable you to transcribe audio and video files in minutes then Sonix is the right choice for you. This web-based application needs three to four minutes to transcribe a 30-minute audio or video recording.

You can choose if you want to upload files from your computer, Google Drive or Dropbox, and Sonix is going to transcribe them for you automatically. The best part is that you can just click on any part of the generated text and the app is going to play the video or audio recording from that exact spot. Furthermore, you can alter the playback speed of all files you upload to Sonix, use the AudioText Editor that allows you to listen to the audio or video file you transcribed while you are editing it or download the snippets of highlighted text as audio files.

Pros

• Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro X, Avid Media Compose integrations
• Features an integrated media player
• Audio and text are synchronized
• Allows users to export transcripts in a broad range of file formats

Cons

• Available features depend on the pricing model
• Automatic transcriptions aren’t always 100% accurate

4. Vocalmatic

Price: The first 30 minutes of transcription are free, pricing options start at $15 for one hour

Compatibility: Web-based

This is a simple online tool that enables podcasters and journalists to transcribe audio and video files. Vocalmatic allows its users to turn a video or an audio recording into text in just a few simple steps, as you just have to upload an MP3, WAV, MP4, WEBM, or MOV file to the platform, and Vocalmatic’s AI will transcribe it for you.

The platform sends you a link to your email once the transcription is completed so that you can edit the text. The app’s online text editor grants you complete control over the timecoded transcript and it allows you to speed up the playback of the file you are transcribing or quickly jump to a particular part of the recording. However, you won’t have a lot of options at your disposal while exporting from Vocalmatic, as you can only save a file as Raw Text or a Word document.

Pros

• The simple and quick transcription process
• Allows users to upload files in different audio and video formats
• Offers automatic transcription in more than a hundred languages
• Equipped with a powerful Speech-to-Text technology

Cons

• No Speaker Recognition capabilities
• Features only basic text editing tools

5. Temi

Price: The first 45 minutes of transcription are free, $0.25 per minute

Compatibility: Web-based, Android, iOS

Transcribing all types of audio and video files with Temi is a straightforward process that only requires you to upload, edit, and download the completed transcript. The web-based automatic transcription software is equipped with a powerful proprietary algorithm that identifies different speakers effortlessly and allows you to create custom timestamps.

Once the transcript is generated you can use the platform’s text editing tools to polish it, although you should keep in mind that Temi offers only basic text editing options. Besides using Temi from a web browser, you can also install the Temi app on your Android or your iPhone and transcribe all audio or video content you capture with your Smartphone just moments after recording it. However, the accuracy of the transcript largely depends on the quality of the recording, as transcripts of videos or audio recordings that contain heavy background noise are mostly unusable.

Pros

• Affordable, and easy to use
• Allows users to upload all types of audio and video files
• Features Speaker Identification technology
• Quick turnaround

Cons

• Temi can only transcribe audio and video files in the English language
• The accuracy of the transcription depends on the quality of the recording

6. Otter

Price: Free, pricing plans start at $8.33 per month

Compatibility: Web-based, iOS, Android

Otter is a great option for anyone in need of an online app that allows them to make audio recordings and transcribe them in real-time. The platform is equipped with speaker identification technology, and it grants you access to a variety of text editing and file-sharing options. However, you cannot transcribe more than 600 hours of content per month with the free version of Otter.

Furthermore, you will have to opt for either the Premium or the Team subscription model if you want to upload prerecorded audio and video files to Otter. The bulk import and export options, a custom vocabulary, or syncing video and audio directly from Dropbox are just a few among numerous options you will have at your disposal if you get a monthly subscription. However, capturing live notes in Zoom meetings, time codes or shared speaker voiceprints are only available within the Team subscription plan.

Pros

• Offers 600 hours of free transcriptions each month
• Transcribes audio recordings in real-time
• Allows users to sync Zoom cloud recordings
• Excellent collaboration features

Cons

• Importing audio or video files is not possible on the free version of Otter
• Time codes are only available within the Team subscription model

Part 2: 3 Tips for Choosing an Automatic Transcription Software

The features of automatic transcription software products offer vary, which is the reason why checking the software’s list of features is the first thing you need to do while searching for a new automatic transcription software. The accuracy with which a software transcribes audio and video files, the amount of text editing tools it offers, or the number of supported languages are just a few among numerous aspects you have to consider before deciding which automatic transcription software you should get.

You don’t have to worry about the software’s compatibility, as you just need a web browser to use any of the automatic subscription software products we featured in this article. However, if you want to transcribe audio and video files from your Smartphone, you should check if the app is compatible with your device and its operating system.

There are only a handful of automatic transcription software products on the market that can be used free of charge, which is why you need to decide if you want to pay per minute of transcription or get a monthly subscription. So, if you are transcribing hundreds of hours of audio and video content each month, it is more affordable to purchase a monthly subscription while paying per minute of transcription is a better option if you don’t transcribe audio and video files often.

Part 3: Automatic Transcription Software FAQs

What is Automatic Transcription?

Automatic transcription is the process during which AI algorithms listen to an audio or video file and transcribe it into text. All automatic transcription software products are equipped with a Speech-to-Text technology that generates text with varying levels of accuracy. That’s the reason why nearly all automatic transcription software products have text editors that allow you to identify and correct mistakes quickly.

What are the Biggest Benefits of Automatic Transcription?

Transcribing an audio or video file manually can take a lot of time and effort, while automatic transcription allows you to generate a transcript in just a few minutes. Afterward, you can just edit the text and use it to access important information quickly or upload it to your website in order to increase its visibility on search engines.

Conclusion

You don’t have to spend countless hours on audio and video file transcriptions since automatic transcription software products offer a simple solution. What’s more, you won’t even have to go through the software installation process, as each of the automatic transcriptions software products we featured in this article can be used from a web browser. Which automatic transcription software are you going to choose? Leave a comment and let us know.