The Best Audio Transcription Software in 2026
We researched audio transcription software from official websites, including pricing pages, plan tables and product documentation. Products are ranked on their core job—turning speech into searchable, editable text—along with value for money and verified features across supported languages, workflows and export options.
Our top picks
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Top ranked
Otter.ai#1 of 359.2/10A mature meeting capture workflow with free entry and broad transcription features.
Free plan
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Runner-up
Amazon Transcribe#2 of 359.0/10Production transcription with streaming, diarization, redaction, and deep AWS access.
-
Top-ranked free plan
Rev#4 of 358.8/10A flexible transcription workspace combining AI speed with human-verified services.
Free plan
Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.
The full ranking 35 tools, best first
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Best forMeeting users wanting a mature capture workflow
A mature meeting capture workflow with free entry and broad transcription features.
9.2/10★★★★★Visit Otter.ai -
Best forAWS users needing production transcription
Production transcription with streaming, diarization, redaction, and deep AWS access.
- API access
- Speaker identification
9.0/10★★★★☆Visit site -
Best forDevelopers needing scalable transcription APIs
A flexible transcription API with streaming, diarization, timestamps, and low-cost batch recognition.
- API access
- Speaker identification
8.9/10★★★★☆Visit Google Cloud -
Best forTeams wanting AI and human-verified transcripts
A flexible transcription workspace combining AI speed with human-verified services.
- Speaker identification
8.8/10★★★★☆Visit Rev -
Best forMeeting-heavy teams needing collaboration
A flexible transcription workspace for teams that need meeting capture, summaries, and collaboration.
- Speaker identification
Free plan · 7-day trial Our Notta verdict → Visit NottaFor vendors Sponsor this spot · #5 · $59/mo →8.7/10★★★★☆Visit Notta -
Best forMedia teams needing editing and subtitles
A broad transcription and subtitle workspace for media teams and collaborative workflows.
- API access
- Speaker identification
8.6/10★★★★☆Visit Happy Scribe -
Best forSales teams focused on meeting intelligence
A broad meeting intelligence tool with generous transcription and integration coverage.
8.5/10★★★★☆Visit Fireflies.ai -
Best forIndividuals needing affordable all-purpose transcription
An affordable all-purpose transcription tool with broad language and workflow support.
- API access
- Speaker identification
8.4/10★★★★☆Visit Transkriptor -
Best forTeams needing broad transcription and AI analysis
A broad transcription and AI analysis platform with usage-based Pro pricing.
- API access
- Speaker identification
8.3/10★★★★☆Visit Speechmatics -
Best forAPI builders needing 99-language coverage
A developer-focused transcription API with 99 languages, realtime audio, and usage pricing.
- API access
- Speaker identification
8.2/10★★★★☆Visit AssemblyAI -
Best forAPI users needing flexible transcript outputs
Flexible transcription API with timestamps, speaker labels, analysis tools, and Docker deployment.
- API access
- Speaker identification
8.1/10★★★★☆Visit Rev AI -
Best forMedia professionals needing post-production workflows
A flexible transcription workspace with editing, subtitles, translations, and post-production integrations.
- API access
- Speaker identification
8.0/10★★★★☆Visit Sonix -
Best forDevelopers needing realtime transcription pipelines
A developer-focused API for realtime and asynchronous multilingual transcription.
- API access
- Speaker identification
7.9/10★★★★☆Visit Gladia -
Best forUsers needing human review and subtitle exports
A paid transcription platform combining automation, human review, speaker labels, and subtitle exports.
- API access
- Speaker identification
7.8/10★★★★☆Visit Amberscript -
Best forTranscription users who also need mobile recording
A versatile choice for transcription, translation, and mobile recording.
- API access
- Speaker identification
7.7/10★★★★☆Visit Soniox -
Best forTeams wanting bot and bot-free meeting capture
A flexible meeting capture workspace with a useful free plan and paid team features.
7.6/10★★★★☆Visit Grain -
Best forTeams wanting free meeting capture and CRM sync
A capable meeting transcription tool with a generous free plan and CRM-ready paid tiers.
7.5/10★★★★☆Visit Fathom -
Best forRevenue teams needing meeting-to-CRM workflows
A revenue-focused meeting assistant with strong capture, CRM, and follow-up coverage.
7.4/10★★★★☆Visit Avoma -
Best forBrowser-based meeting transcription users
A browser-based meeting assistant with live transcripts, AI insights, and workflow integrations.
7.3/10★★★★☆Visit Tactiq -
Best forCRM-focused teams needing structured meeting outputs
A CRM-focused meeting assistant that turns calls into searchable, assigned workflows.
7.2/10★★★★☆Visit Sembly AI -
Best forTeams needing meeting insights and CRM updates
A strong fit for teams turning meeting conversations into searchable notes and CRM updates.
7.1/10★★★★☆Visit tl;dv -
Best forLarge events needing human-reviewed transcription
A professional transcription platform combining live capture, AI insights, and optional human review.
- API access
- Speaker identification
7.0/10★★★★☆Visit Verbit -
Best forMedia teams needing extensive export formats
A broad transcription workspace for media teams that need editing, captions, exports, and APIs.
- API access
- Speaker identification
6.9/10★★★☆☆Visit Trint -
Best forAutomated or human-edited transcripts
A flexible transcription service with automated, human-edited, and enterprise workflows.
- API access
- Speaker identification
6.8/10★★★☆☆Visit TranscribeMe -
Best forResearchers needing offline multilingual transcription
A multilingual local transcription tool for researchers handling sensitive recordings.
- Speaker identification
6.7/10★★★☆☆Visit aTrain -
Best forPrivacy-focused users wanting free offline transcription
A free offline transcription tool with speaker detection, editing, exports, and batch processing.
- Speaker identification
6.5/10★★★☆☆Visit noScribe -
Best forMac users prioritizing private offline transcription
A Mac-focused transcription app with offline models, automation, and a €64 lifetime Pro option.
- Speaker identification
6.4/10★★★☆☆Visit MacWhisper -
Best forIBM users needing customizable speech recognition
A strong fit for IBM users who need API transcription and model customization.
- API access
- Speaker identification
6.3/10★★★☆☆Visit IBM -
Best forResearchers training and customizing open ASR systems
A research-focused, self-hosted toolkit for customizing speech and transcription systems.
- Real-time transcription
- API access
- Speaker identification
6.2/10★★★☆☆Visit ESPnet -
Best forTechnical users needing local transcription APIs
A privacy-focused local transcription tool for desktop, CLI, and API workflows.
6.1/10★★★☆☆Visit OpenASR -
Best forUsers manually transcribing for free
A focused, free manual transcription tool with playback controls and timestamped notes.
5.9/10★★★☆☆Visit oTranscribe -
Best forVoice creators needing synthesis and cloning
A strong voice-generation platform with transcription included, but not its central focus.
- API access
4.0/10★★☆☆☆Visit ElevenLabs -
Best forDevelopers building speech synthesis applications
A developer-focused text-to-speech service with APIs, neural voices, and audio export.
- API access
3.9/10★★☆☆☆Visit Azure Speech -
Best forDevelopers needing deployable speech synthesis
A deployable speech synthesis API with streaming output and flexible hosting.
- API access
3.8/10★★☆☆☆Visit Deepgram -
Best forBasic open-source video editing
A capable free video editor, but not a suitable audio transcription tool.
2.0/10★☆☆☆☆Visit Avidemux
No tools match those filters.
Compare at a glance
| # | Tool | Free plan | Paid from | Languages supported | Speaker identification | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Otter.ai | Yes | 6 languages | 9.2 | ||
| 2 | Amazon Transcribe | No | $0.006/unit usage-based | 113 languages | Yes | 9.0 |
| 3 | Google Cloud Speech-to-Text | No | $0.003/unit usage-based | Yes | 8.9 | |
| 4 | Rev | Yes | $25.49/seat/mo | 2 languages | Yes | 8.8 |
| 5 | Notta | Yes | $8.17/user/mo | 58 languages | Yes | 8.7 |
| 6 | Happy Scribe | Yes | 150 languages | Yes | 8.6 | |
| 7 | Fireflies.ai | Yes | $10/seat/mo | 115 languages | 8.5 | |
| 8 | Transkriptor | Yes | $8.33/mo | Yes | 8.4 | |
| 9 | Speechmatics | Yes | $0.13 usage-based | Yes | 8.3 | |
| 10 | AssemblyAI | No | $0.15/unit usage-based | 99 languages | Yes | 8.2 |
| 11 | Rev AI | No | $0.002/unit usage-based | 1 languages | Yes | 8.1 |
| 12 | Sonix | No | $25/mo | 54 languages | Yes | 8.0 |
| 13 | Gladia | No | $0.20/unit usage-based | 100 languages | Yes | 7.9 |
| 14 | Amberscript | No | €190/yr | Yes | 7.8 | |
| 15 | Soniox | Yes | $120/yr | 60 languages | Yes | 7.7 |
| 16 | Grain | Yes | $15/user/mo | 130 languages | 7.6 | |
| 17 | Fathom | Yes | $15/user/mo | 38 languages | 7.5 | |
| 18 | Avoma | Yes | $19/seat/mo | 62 languages | 7.4 | |
| 19 | Tactiq | Yes | $8/user/mo | 7.3 | ||
| 20 | Sembly AI | No | $10/mo | 48 languages | 7.2 | |
| 21 | tl;dv | Yes | $29/seat/mo | 7.1 | ||
| 22 | Verbit | No | 4 languages | Yes | 7.0 | |
| 23 | Trint | No | Yes | 6.9 | ||
| 24 | TranscribeMe | 10 languages | Yes | 6.8 | ||
| 25 | aTrain | Free | 99 languages | Yes | 6.7 | |
| 26 | noScribe | Yes | Free | Yes | 6.5 | |
| 27 | MacWhisper | Yes | €64 one-time | 100 languages | Yes | 6.4 |
| 28 | IBM Watson Speech to Text | Yes | 14 languages | Yes | 6.3 | |
| 29 | ESPnet | Yes | Free | Yes | 6.2 | |
| 30 | OpenASR | Free | 6.1 | |||
| 31 | oTranscribe | Yes | Free | 5.9 | ||
| 32 | ElevenLabs | Yes | $6/mo | 74 languages | 4.0 | |
| 33 | Azure AI Speech | Yes | 3.9 | |||
| 34 | Deepgram Aura | No | $0.01/unit usage-based | 1 languages | 3.8 | |
| 35 | Avidemux | Yes | Free | 2.0 |
Head-to-head All 20 comparisons →
- Otter.ai vs Amazon Transcribe
- Otter.ai vs Google Cloud Speech-to-Text
- Otter.ai vs Rev
- Otter.ai vs Notta
- Otter.ai vs Happy Scribe
- Otter.ai vs Transkriptor
- Amazon Transcribe vs Rev
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How we rank audio transcription software
Every tool on this page was researched by iTechGuides Editors from its official website — pricing pages, plan tables and product documentation. We rank on how well each one does this category's core job, what the free or entry plan includes, and where it falls short. Where we have enough verified facts, the score out of 10 is a rubric — job fit, value and how much we could verify — shown with its breakdown on every tool's page; a tool we have not verified enough to score yet shows its rank without a number. Scores are re-checked when a product changes its plans. Read the full editorial policy, or submit a tool we missed.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
Last updated · How we research and update