Today there are 78 different AI transcription software. We spent 93 hours comparing the top 50 to find the seven best you can use to transcribe and unlock insights from your content.
What is the Best AI Transcription Software?
1. Otter
Our Verdict — Best Of The Best
Price: Starts at $16.99/month
Otter is the best option if you need to turn conversations into smart notes. We think it’s the best because of its real-time transcribing feature, speaker identification capability, and easy-to-use interface.
The Best Part:
Talk it out. Otter’s AI Chat is there to help you during meetings, answering your questions and creating follow-up tasks based on the conversations you’re having.
The Worst Part:
English only. If you're looking to transcribe in any language other than English, you're out of luck.
Get it if you want to generate spot-on transcriptions that can accurately keep tabs on your meetings
I recommend you start with the Basic plan for free, then get the Pro plan for $99.99/year.
(free plan)
Best For
Otter is best for busy professionals who want accurate transcriptions and an interactive assistant to streamline their meetings.
Top Features
- Say goodbye to gibberish. With Otter's top-notch AI technology at your disposal, you'll get spot-on transcripts.
- Auto-join to take notes. Just hook up Otter to your Google or Microsoft calendar, and it'll automatically hop into your Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or Google Meet sessions.
- Never miss a slide again! With Otter's Automated Slide Capture, every time someone shares slides during your virtual meeting, they're automatically snapped up and tucked neatly into your meeting notes.
- Stay in the loop with the Live Video Summarizer. If you zone out or miss a chunk of the meeting, don't sweat it — Otter's got your back! It whips up a video summary as things are happening, so you can catch up on any missed bits during the action.
- Real-time transcription. Otter can transform spoken words into written text instantly, making it perfect for live meetings or interviews where you don't want to miss any detail.
Pricing
Otter offers four pricing plans:
- Basic: Free forever, for individuals who want to give Otter a test run and get a feel of its capabilities.
- Pro: $18/month for small teams and professionals who need more minutes and advanced features to keep things running smoothly.
- Business: $29/month for larger teams who need extensive collaboration tools and admin control.
- Enterprise: Custom pricing, for big organizations that require extra security measures, controls, and support.
Annual subscriptions provide up to a 51% discount.
Try Otter today with the free plan.
2. Fireflies
Our Verdict — Best For Meeting Summarization
Price: Starts at $18/month
Fireflies is an AI-powered software designed to efficiently transcribe, summarize, and analyze meetings. We think it’s the best for meeting summarization because of its seamless integration with video-conferencing apps, robust analysis capabilities, and advanced search features.
The Best Part:
It's the leader of compatibility. Fireflies smoothly integrates with tons of digital meeting tools, calendars, apps, and dialers. So whether you're embedding it into your Microsoft Teams conferences, aligning it with your Outlook Calendar, or even pairing it with Salesforce, it’ll always work like a charm.
The Worst Part:
A bit messy with documents. Without proper tagging and categorization, locating your files in Fireflies can be tough. It's worth organizing your transcriptions or else searching for specific files could turn into a never-ending task!
Get it if you want not just a transcription tool, but also an intelligent analyzer and summarizer that can help you dig deeper into your meeting transcripts and extract valuable insights.
I recommend you get started with the Free plan, then get the Pro plan for $18/month.
(free plan)
Best For
Fireflies is best for teams and entrepreneurs who want to transform their meeting transcripts into actionable insights for improved communication and efficiency.
Top Features
It's super versatile. Fireflies can work seamlessly with the most popular video-conferencing tools, including but not limited to Zoom, RingCentral, Google Meet, Teams Webex, and Aircall.
Transcribe any language. Whether you're speaking English, Spanish, French or any of the 69+ languages Fireflies supports — rest assured your transcriptions will be spot-on!
Clip and share soundbites. Fireflies lets you create short, shareable audio clips from your meetings that can be easily posted on social platforms or sent to your team.
Lightning-fast transcriptions. Fireflies doesn't leave you hanging — it delivers accurate transcripts of your meetings within minutes!
Pinpoint the good stuff. Add comments, pins, and reactions right onto specific parts of transcriptions in your recorded meetings.
Pricing
Fireflies offers four pricing plans:
- Free: Free forever, for those who want to test Fireflies' basic transcription capabilities without investing in a plan.
- Pro: $18/month for small teams or professionals who need unlimited transcription credits and advanced AI features.
- Business: $29/month for fast-growing businesses that require features such as unlimited storage, video recording, and API access.
- Enterprise: Custom pricing, for large teams who want specialized features such as custom speech models, dedicated account management, and priority support.
Annual subscriptions provide a 40% discount.
Try Fireflies today with the free plan.
3. Speak Ai
Our Verdict — Best For Research
Price: Starts at $71/month
Speak Ai is an innovative recording, transcription, and analysis engine for researchers. We think it’s the best for research because of its high transcription accuracy, support for over 70 languages, and robust analysis features.
The Best Part:
Robust data analysis. Speak Ai makes it a breeze to upload audio, video, or text data individually or in bulk, then automatically transcribes and analyzes the content for you to extract key data for you.
The Worst Part:
Low readability on the interface. The color scheme and design of Speak Ai's overview page could use some improvement for better readability.
Get it if you want an all-in-one tool for seamless recording, transcribing, and in-depth analysis of audio, video, and text.
I recommend you start off with their 14-day free trial, then get the Starter plan for $71/month.
(14-day free trial)
Best For
Speak Ai is best for researchers and businesses that want to save valuable time through automatic transcription and analysis.
Top Features
Automate workflows like a pro. Paste YouTube video links or RSS feeds into Speak Ai, and it'll transcribe the videos or analyze the feeds for you.
Supports multiple languages. Conduct research in foreign languages and transcribe all types of content in 70+ different languages.
Get insights quickly. Picture Speak Ai as a detective uncovering crucial keywords, topics, and key phrases from your transcriptions instantly — right after every meeting.
Transcribe effortlessly. Imagine turning a mountain of audio and video files into an easily navigable text document — that's what Speak Ai does for you.
Speak Ai Magic Prompts. Ask questions and get insightful responses from your data using Speak Ai's recommended prompts or by creating your own!
Pricing
Speak Ai offers three pricing plans:
- Pay-As-You-Go: Pay-as-you-go pricing, for individuals or small teams who need basic functionality and are okay with pay-as-you-go transcription.
- Starter: $71/month for researchers who require regular language analysis, offering 15 hours of transcription per month and free access to one premium add-on.
- Custom: Custom pricing, for large organizations or heavy users who need unlimited hours and a custom set of features tailored to their specific needs.
Annual plans provide a 20% discount.
Try Speak Ai today with a free 14-day trial.
Our Top Three Picks
Here’s a quick summary of our top three picks:
Here’s a quick comparison of our top seven picks:
Tool | Entry Offer | Pricing |
|---|---|---|
Otter | Free plan | Starts at $16.99/mo |
Fireflies | Free plan | Starts at $18/mo |
Speak Ai | 14-day free trial | Starts at $71/mo |
AssemblyAI | Free trial | Starts at $0.00025/sec |
Wavel AI | Free trial | Starts at $20/mo |
Descript | Free plan | Starts at $15/mo |
Symbl.ai | Free plan | Starts at $0.00012/word |
Here are the top 50 AI transcription software we considered in this review:
- Otter
- Fireflies
- Speak Ai
- AssemblyAI
- Wavel AI
- Descript
- Symbl.ai
- Whisper
- VoicePen
- Deciphr
- Vocapia
- Shownotes
- Amazon Transcribe
- Murf
- Rev
- 3Play
- Alphy
- Speechelo
- Trint
- Speechmatics
- TTSMaker
- Article
- VoiceBase
- InqScribe
- Revoldiv
- Podsqueeze
- Speechpad
- Transkrip
- SpeechEasy
- Overdub
- Woofer AI
- Amberscript
- Dubb
- Google Cloud Speech-to-Text
- Voicemaker
- AudioNotes
- SpeedScriber
- Deepgram
- ExemplaryAI
- Temi
- Happy Scribe
- VoiceLine
- Altered
- FreeTTS
- Pictory
- Sonix
- Free Text-To-Speech
- Tactiq
- Whisper Memos
- AnthemScore
Frequently Asked Questions About AI Transcription Software
What is the best AI transcription software?
Otter is our top pick overall. You get real-time transcription, speaker identification, and spot-on transcripts, which makes it the one to reach for if you are a busy professional who wants an accurate, interactive assistant.
Is there a free AI transcription tool?
Yes, several. Otter and Fireflies both run a free basic plan, and Descript and Symbl.ai have free plans too. Speak Ai gives you a free trial rather than a permanent free tier.
What should I look for in AI transcription software?
Weigh accuracy, real-time transcription, speaker identification, language support, and fit for your use case, whether that is meetings, video editing, or research. Then match each tool to the job it does best.
Which AI transcription tool is best for meetings?
Fireflies is the pick for meetings. It turns your meeting transcripts into actionable takeaways and delivers accurate transcripts within minutes of wrapping up.
Can AI transcription software handle languages other than English?
It depends on the tool. Otter is English only, so you are stuck if you need another language. Fireflies and Speak Ai both handle many languages if multilingual work is on your plate.
Which AI transcription software is best for developers?
AssemblyAI is the pick for developers. It is built for technical and development work rather than general consumer transcription, so it fits when you are wiring transcription into your own product.
Otter vs Fireflies: which should I choose?
Both run free and paid plans, so it comes down to your use case. Reach for Otter if you are a busy professional who wants accurate transcripts and only work in English, and Fireflies if you run team meetings and need many languages plus summarization.
Which AI transcription tool is best for video editing?
Descript is the pick for video editing, and it comes with a free plan so you can test it on a real project before you pay.
What is the best AI transcription tool for research?
Speak Ai is the pick for research. You get an analysis engine, bulk processing, and a free trial, which makes it a fit for researchers and teams that want to save time.
The Bottom Line
To recap, here are the best AI transcription software to try this year: