5 transcription programs that save me time and my sanity

Summary

Utilize AI-powered transcription tools like Otter.ai, Rev, and TurboScribe for accurate and efficient transcriptions.
Save time by recording audio and letting transcription programs provide summaries and action items.
Consider free options like Alice or YouTube to transcribe and share audio content easily.

Trying to replay a conversation from memory is tough — you might remember the gist, but not the exact words. And when you’re a media professional or using audio for content, accuracy really matters. Luckily,

recording audio
is easy. Almost every phone these days has an audio recording app in the software.

You can get a raw audio file, which is super easy to share. But do you want to sit there, listen to it, and type it all out? No, you need a transcription. Luckily, there are programs that can do it all for you.

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Transcription programs aren’t just for pre-recorded audio files anymore. You can actually turn on a transcription platform during a live meeting, and it’ll give you a real-time

transcript
— plus, many of them can even generate an

AI-powered
summary of the whole conversation. Here are some of the best transcription platforms out there.

1

Otter.ai

A preferred option for meetings

Otter AI / Pocket-lint

Otter.ai is an AI meeting companion that’s ideal for transcribing meetings. It works with Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet and joins the call as a silent participant. It won’t say a word, but it’ll capture everything said and get to work the moment the meeting wraps up.

Otter uses AI to break the meeting into sections and summarize each part. This is great if you want to quickly get the gist without scrubbing through the full recording. If you prefer the full transcript, it’ll give you that too — complete with timestamps and speaker labels. Otter.ai can also identify action items, which makes follow-ups easier. My favorite feature is that it can automatically share updates to Slack, so your team stays in the loop even if someone missed the meeting.

Otter.ai

Otter.ai is an AI-driven transcription program that works with Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, and Zoom. It works to give summaries of meetings.

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2

Rev

This program is made to analyze speech

Rev / Pocket-lint

Rev is a flexible platform and app that makes it easy to transcribe and translate audio from just about anywhere. If you’re walking down the street and have an idea, you can open the Rev app, talk about it, and the transcription will be available within seconds. This will pick up a mic from pretty much anywhere in a meeting or room and let you get an accurate representation of what was said.

It can transcribe both human and AI-generated audio, too.

If you’re using Rev with a team, there is a monthly fee, but it comes with useful collaboration features. Sharing audio files and their transcripts is simple, and Rev can turn hours of interviews into actionable insights. There’s also added security built into the software that protects what you have recorded or transcribed.

Rev

Rev is a translation program and app that can capture audio anywhere, whether you’re on a computer or on the go. You’re able to make edits to your transcriptions and share them with colleagues.

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3

TurboScribe

Get translations for your transcriptions

TurboScribe / Pocket-lint

TurboScribe is a fully web-based transcription service that offers three free transcriptions a day to anyone — no strings attached. It’s powered by OpenAI’s Whisper translation tool and supports over 134 languages (with a paid subscription). You’ll also unlock unlimited transcriptions and the ability to upload files up to 10 hours long.

You can choose whether you want an AI transcription back quickly or with more accuracy. This is vital for when you have to meet a deadline and just want something fast or when you’re dealing with something important (like a legal transcription) and want to make sure you’re getting the most accurate read.

You can export your transcriptions to .docx, .pdf, .txt, and more formats.

TurboScribe

TurboScribe is a web-based translation program powered by OpenAI’s Whisper. This offers translations in over 134 languages and can offer you three free transcriptions daily.

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4

Alice

Pay as you go and record from anywhere

Alice / Pocket-lint

Alice is a transcription app designed with journalists and field reporters in mind. It works on a pay-as-you-use basis, so there’s no monthly subscription — just credits. You get 60 free minutes to start, which you can split between the iOS app and the web version. It can give you accurate transcriptions in seconds, as speed is its best feature. It offers one-tap instant recording, making it ideal for anyone out covering an event.

The synced playback feature allows you to easily gather your notes and your transcription to make sure they match up. This can easily send transcription to a number of apps, including but not limited to:

Gmail
Apple Mail
Microsoft Outlook
Google Drive
Dropbox
One Drive
Slack
Discord
Trello
Calendar
Microsoft Teams
Scrivener

About 4,800 words cost $10 per hour and the pricing goes down per hour the longer the piece is. Something over 20,000 words can be about $7 per hour and so on.

Alice

Alice is a transcription service made with journalists in mind. It is a pay-as-you-go type of service with different word counts costing different amounts.

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5

YouTube

This seems like a silly way but it works

If you’ve got an audio or video file you need transcribed, YouTube can actually help — and it’s free. Just upload the file to your account (you can upload up to 15 videos at once), and YouTube will automatically generate a transcription. You can do this from your phone or your computer, and the file doesn’t even have to be made public for the transcript to appear.

There is a limit to how many videos or audio files you can upload in 24 hours.

Once the upload is processed, you’ll see a “Show transcript” button, which opens up the auto-generated text. The transcription might not be perfect, but it’s fast, simple, and easy to copy or share. You don’t actually have to publish the video or audio file either for the transcription to populate. It may not deliver the most accurate transcription, but it’s quick and easy.