Best Transcription Software in 2026: AI Tools Compared

There is no single best transcription software. The right choice depends on the job: meeting notes, editing audio and video, a human-checked transcript, or files you pay for by the hour. Based on published plan prices as of October 2026, Otter, Fireflies, Notta, Descript, Rev, Sonix and Happy Scribe each fit different needs. Accuracy percentages here are vendor claims.

How this comparison was built

We did not run these tools ourselves. The figures come from each vendor's pricing page as read on 17 October 2026, and list prices change. Accuracy and language counts are vendor claims, so this guide does not rank tools by them. Where a page was unclear, we say so.

Transcription software compared

| Tool | Free tier | Paid plan (monthly list) | Included per month | |---|---|---|---| | Otter.ai | Basic, 300 minutes | Pro, $16.99 per user (monthly billing) | 1,200 minutes | | Fireflies.ai | Free plan, transcripts marked "Limited" | Pro, $10 per seat (annual billing) | 8,000 minutes of storage per seat | | Notta | 120 minutes | Pro, $8.17 (billed annually) | 1,800 minutes | | Descript | 1 media hour | Hobbyist, $16 to $24 per person, depending on billing | 10 media hours | | Rev (AI) | 45 minutes, English only | Essentials, $25.49 per seat (list $29.99) | 5,000 AI minutes | | Sonix | None listed; pay as you go at $10 per hour | Core, $25 a month or $275 a year | 5 hours | | Happy Scribe | 10-minute trial | Basic, $17 a month ($8.50 annual) | 120 minutes |

Fireflies marks its Free plan transcription as "unlimited" with an asterisk, but its own comparison table labels Free transcripts as limited, so this table uses the limited label. The Otter Pro price on its page carried a 50 percent savings promotion, which may be temporary. MacWhisper is not in the table because its page did not show a price.

The prices come from each vendor's pricing page: Otter.ai, Fireflies.ai, Descript, Rev, Sonix and Happy Scribe. Notta's page is at notta.ai.

Best transcription software for meetings

Otter.ai, Fireflies.ai and Notta are built around recorded conversations.

• Otter.ai. Basic exports mp3 and txt files. Pro adds PDF, docx and srt, and raises the limit from 30 minutes to 90 minutes per conversation.
• Fireflies.ai. Lists time-stamped notes and file upload as features, and says it transcribes in "100+ languages."
• Notta. Free allows 3 minutes per conversation, and Pro allows up to 5 hours per recording. Its page lists SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR and HIPAA, so check the vendor's security page before recording confidential meetings.

Best transcription software for editing audio and video

Descript is the option to look at when the transcript is part of an editing job. Its pricing page says transcription covers 25 languages on every plan, including Free. The Free plan includes 1 media hour a month, which is enough to test the workflow on a short project before you pay.

Best transcription software when you need a human-checked transcript

Human-checked services cost much more per minute than AI tools. Rev lists human transcription at $1.99 per minute and describes it as "99%+ accurate, delivered in 12 hours or less." Happy Scribe lists human proofreading from $2.00 per minute, or $1.90 per minute on its Business plan. Both accuracy figures are vendor claims. At $1.99 per minute, a one-hour recording costs $119.40, a figure derived from that rate.

Pay-per-hour file transcription

Sonix charges $10 per hour on a pay-as-you-go basis. Its plans include 5, 20 or 40 hours a month, and extra hours cost $10 each. Sonix lists 54+ languages and a 99 percent accuracy claim, which is a vendor figure. Happy Scribe charges $0.20 per minute for extra AI minutes on top of its plans, and it says its AI covers "150+ languages and dialects."

Developer APIs if you are building your own

If you are adding transcription to an app, the price per audio hour differs widely. Across the services we checked, developer API list prices run from $0.10 to $1.00 per audio hour. Our Whisper alternatives guide lists them side by side.

Human services and developer APIs are different products, so compare them by the job, not by the number alone. A $119.40 human transcript and a $0.15 API hour are not interchangeable.

Common mistakes when comparing prices

• Mixing units. A per-minute API price and a per-hour plan price are not directly comparable. One minute at $0.0043 works out to about $0.26 per hour, so convert before you compare.
• Ignoring monthly caps. A plan with a low monthly allowance can run out quickly if you record every meeting.
• Forgetting per-conversation limits. Otter's Basic plan caps each conversation at 30 minutes, and Notta's Free plan at 3 minutes, so long calls need a paid tier.
• Reading an annual price as a monthly one. Fireflies Pro is $10 per seat billed annually and $18 billed monthly.
• Treating a promotion as the standing price. Otter's savings banner and its Business discount may end before you subscribe.

How to choose transcription software

1. Start with the job. Meetings, media editing, and human-checked files each point to a different tool.
2. Check minutes and limits. Compare monthly minutes and per-conversation caps. Otter's Basic plan allows 30 minutes per conversation, and Notta's Free plan allows 3.
3. Confirm export formats. Otter's Basic plan exports only mp3 and txt, so subtitle files need a higher tier.
4. Test accuracy on your own audio. Vendor percentages are not comparable with each other.
5. Check privacy terms. Read each vendor's security page before you upload confidential recordings.
6. Watch promotions. Introductory discounts can end before you finish a comparison.

Where OndaLabs fits

OndaLabs is an AI voice studio, not a meeting-notes bot or a transcript editor. Its speech to text tool costs 50 credits per minute and is included on the Free plan, which has 2,000 credits a month. That is about 40 minutes if every credit goes to transcription, a figure derived from those numbers. If you already make voiceovers, music or images in OndaLabs, transcription uses the same credit pool. You can start from the speech to text tool, read the pricing page or sign up.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best transcription software in 2026?

There is no single winner. Otter.ai, Fireflies.ai or Notta suit meetings. Descript suits editing audio and video. Rev or Happy Scribe suit human-checked text, and Sonix suits pay-per-hour files. Compare plan limits and export formats before you commit.

Is there free transcription software that is accurate?

Free plans exist, but they come with limits. Notta's Free plan includes 120 minutes a month, Otter's Basic plan includes 300 minutes, and Rev's free tier includes 45 AI minutes in English. Accuracy claims come from vendors, so test any free plan on a few minutes of your own audio first.

What is the difference between AI transcription and human transcription?

AI transcription is automatic and priced per minute or per hour. Human transcription uses people to check the text. Rev lists its human service at $1.99 per minute, and Happy Scribe lists human proofreading from $2.00 per minute. Human services cost much more per hour, so they suit high-stakes files.

Can transcription software label different speakers?

Some tools can. Sonix lists speaker labels as a product feature, and MacWhisper says it includes speaker recognition, according to its vendor. Feature availability often varies by plan, so check the plan you plan to buy before you rely on speaker labels.

Is transcription software safe for confidential recordings?

Notta's pricing page lists SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR and HIPAA. We did not verify compliance claims for the other vendors in this guide. Read each vendor's security page and your own policy before you record confidential material.