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The right tool depends on what you are transcribing. For one long recording without a subscription, WhoScribe; for many files every month, TurboScribe; for meetings, Otter.ai or Fireflies.ai; for editing, Sonix or Descript; for a human-checked transcript, Rev; offline on a Mac, MacWhisper. Every price and limit below is taken from the vendor’s own page, with the date we read it.
| Tool | Best for | Longest file | Pay for one file | Price from | Free plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WhoScribe | Best for long recordings, paid once | 10 hours | Yes, $5 per file | $5 per file, or $20 a month for Unlimited | First 5 minutes without an account; first 15 minutes of each file with a free account, 3 files a day |
| TurboScribe | Best for many files at a flat price | 10 hours source · checked Nov 4, 2026 | No, subscription only source · checked Nov 4, 2026 | $10 a month, billed yearly source · checked Nov 4, 2026 | 3 transcriptions a day, each file up to 30 minutes, one file at a time, lower priority source · checked Nov 4, 2026 |
| Sonix | Best for editing and team review | Not stated on their page source · checked Nov 4, 2026 | Yes source · checked Nov 4, 2026 | $10 per audio hour source · checked Nov 4, 2026 | 30 free minutes for every new account, no credit card source · checked Nov 4, 2026 |
| Rev | Best when a person must check the transcript | Not stated on their page source · checked Nov 4, 2026 | Yes source · checked Nov 4, 2026 | $0.25 per minute source · checked Nov 4, 2026 | 45 AI transcription & caption minutes a month, English only, 1 user source · checked Nov 4, 2026 |
| Otter.ai | Best for live meetings | 1.5 hours source · checked Nov 4, 2026 | No, subscription only source · checked Nov 4, 2026 | $8.33 a month, billed yearly source · checked Nov 4, 2026 | Basic: 300 monthly transcription minutes, 30 minutes per conversation, 3 lifetime audio/video file imports source · checked Nov 4, 2026 |
| Fireflies.ai | Best for meeting notes in sales and teams | 4 hours source · checked Nov 4, 2026 | No, subscription only source · checked Nov 4, 2026 | $10 a month, billed yearly source · checked Nov 4, 2026 | Free forever: "Unlimited transcription*", limited AI summaries, 400 minutes of storage per team, 20 AI credits source · checked Nov 4, 2026 |
| Descript | Best for editing audio and video by text | 1 GB on Free, 10 GB on Hobbyist, 20 GB on Creator, 50 GB on Business source · checked Nov 4, 2026 | No, subscription only source · checked Nov 4, 2026 | $16 a month, billed yearly source · checked Nov 4, 2026 | 60 media minutes a month, files up to 1 GB, 100 AI credits (one-time) source · checked Nov 4, 2026 |
| HappyScribe | Best for subtitles and many languages | 45 minutes per recording on Free, 90 on Basic, unlimited on Pro and Business source · checked Nov 4, 2026 | No, subscription only source · checked Nov 4, 2026 | $8.50 a month, billed yearly source · checked Nov 4, 2026 | 10-minute free trial of AI transcription, subtitling and translation; meeting recordings up to 45 minutes source · checked Nov 4, 2026 |
| Notta | Best for meetings plus a mobile app | 5 hours source · checked Nov 4, 2026 | No, subscription only source · checked Nov 4, 2026 | $8.17 a month, billed yearly source · checked Nov 4, 2026 | 120 transcription minutes a month, up to 3 minutes per conversation source · checked Nov 4, 2026 |
| Transkriptor | Best for a meeting assistant in many languages | Not stated on their page source · checked Nov 4, 2026 | No, subscription only source · checked Nov 4, 2026 | $8.33 a month, billed yearly source · checked Nov 4, 2026 | Not stated on their page source · checked Nov 4, 2026 |
| MacWhisper | Best for private, offline transcription on a Mac | Not stated on their page source · checked Nov 4, 2026 | No, one-time app licence source · checked Nov 4, 2026 | €64 one-time source · checked Nov 4, 2026 | Free version (€0), without YouTube links source · checked Nov 4, 2026 |
Rival prices and limits are as published on each vendor’s own page, read on the date next to each number. Page checked Nov 4, 2026.
We compared each tool on the prices, plans and file limits published on its own website, read on the date shown next to every number, and on what each tool says it is built for. We did not run the same recording through every tool, so this is not an accuracy ranking. WhoScribe is our own product; we list it first for the job it was built for, long single recordings paid once, and we say where another tool is the better choice.
Paste a YouTube, TikTok, Instagram or Facebook link, or upload an audio or video file, and WhoScribe transcribes the audio itself, so a video without captions works. One file can run up to 10 hours and costs the same at any length, paid once with no subscription; the first minutes are free, so you read the transcript before you pay. Transcripts come with speaker labels and timestamps and download as TXT, SRT, VTT, DOCX and PDF. If you transcribe many files every week, Unlimited is a flat monthly plan.
TurboScribe sells unlimited transcription on a monthly or yearly plan, with large files and batch uploads, and a small free allowance each day. It suits people who transcribe every week; there is no option to pay for a single file.
Sonix is a browser-based transcription and translation workspace with an editor, collaboration and many languages. It charges per audio hour on its pay-as-you-go plan, with subscriptions for teams.
Rev offers both AI transcription and human transcription. Choose it when accuracy has to be checked by a person, for example for legal or published work, and the higher price per minute is acceptable.
Otter.ai is a meeting assistant: it joins Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams calls, transcribes them live and writes summaries. File imports are possible, with per-plan limits on length.
Fireflies.ai joins calls, records and transcribes them, and makes meetings searchable, with integrations for CRMs and team tools. It is built around meetings rather than long recordings you already have.
Descript transcribes a recording and lets you edit the audio or video by editing the transcript. It is a production tool for podcasters and video creators, sold on monthly plans.
Happy Scribe combines transcription, subtitles and translation with an online editor and many supported languages, with a human service on top of the AI one.
Notta records and transcribes meetings and files, with apps for phone and desktop and AI summaries. Longest file and monthly minutes depend on the plan.
Transkriptor transcribes files and meetings in many languages and adds a meeting assistant, sold on monthly and yearly plans.
MacWhisper runs OpenAI’s open-source Whisper model on your own Mac, so the recording never leaves your computer. Speed depends on your hardware; there is a free version and a one-time paid licence.
FAQ
For one long recording without a subscription, WhoScribe: up to 10 hours per file for $5, paid once. If you transcribe many long files every month, TurboScribe’s unlimited plan is the usual choice.
WhoScribe charges $5 per file at any length up to 10 hours. Sonix and Rev charge per audio hour or minute. TurboScribe, Otter.ai and Descript sell subscriptions.
Otter.ai and Fireflies.ai join your calls and transcribe them live. For a meeting you already recorded, any file transcription tool in this list works.
Most tools have a small free plan. WhoScribe transcribes the first 15 minutes of each file free, 3 files a day; MacWhisper and the open-source Whisper model are free if you run them on your own computer.
Paste the link. The first 5 minutes are free without an account, 15 with a free account. The whole file is $5, a one-time payment.
Paste a YouTube linkFacts about other services come from each vendor's own page, checked on Nov 4, 2026. Prices change, so follow the source link to see their current page.
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