Cost calculator
Transcription cost calculator
How much will your recordings cost to transcribe? Pick the length and the number of recordings to see human and AI prices side by side.
- Free, no sign-up
- Prices checked Oct 31, 2026
- Sources linked
1 × 2 hours (2 h of audio) on TranscribTxt: US$2. Our cheapest option: US$2 a recording, paid once.
| Service | Type | How it charges | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| TranscribTxt | AI | US$2 a recording, paid once | US$2 |
| TranscribeBee | AI | $2 an hour, $2 minimum per order | $4 |
| transcribe.free | AI | $5 for a pack of 600 minutes | $5 |
| BrassTranscripts | Per file | $6 a file of 16 minutes or more (files up to 450 MB) | $6 |
| Sonix | AI | $10 an hour, pay as you go | $20 |
| TranscribeMe | Human | from $0.79 a minute | from $94.80 |
| GoTranscript | Human | from $1.20 a minute (5-day turnaround) | from $144 |
| Rev | Human | $1.99 a minute | $239 |
| Happy Scribe | Human-made | from $2.00 a minute | from $240 |
Other services: list prices in US dollars, checked on Oct 31, 2026, from each service's pricing page (linked). Prices change; check the page before you buy. We aren't affiliated with these companies.
In short
Pick how long each recording is and how many you have. The table shows what each service charges for that job, cheapest first, from list prices checked on Oct 31, 2026. On TranscribTxt, the whole transcript of one recording up to 3 hours is US$2, paid once. For a longer recording, or several in a week, TranscribTxt's 7-day Week Pass is US$5 once and covers up to 25 hours of audio.
Common questions
How much does it cost to transcribe one hour of audio?
At list prices checked on Oct 31, 2026: about $47 to $120 for human transcription (starting rates of $0.79 to $2 a minute; faster turnaround can cost more), and $2 to $10 for one hour at the AI services in our table, or about $0.50 an hour with a $5 pack of 600 minutes. On TranscribTxt, one recording up to 3 hours is US$2 in total, paid once, and the first 30 minutes are free while you have a free file left.
Is human transcription worth the price?
Sometimes. Human services suit legal, medical or publication work where every word must be checked by a person. For notes, study, research interviews and captions, AI gets most clear recordings right for a fraction of the cost, and you can correct the few errors yourself.
How is the cost worked out?
For services that charge by the minute or hour, it's the length × the listed rate. Per-file services charge a flat price for each recording. On TranscribTxt the calculator picks our cheapest option: free for recordings up to 30 min with a free account, US$2 a recording up to 3 h, the 7-day Week Pass at US$5 for up to 25 hours of audio, or Pro at US$10/mo. Taxes, rush fees and add-ons such as translation aren't included.
Why isn't TranscribTxt always the cheapest?
Because the table shows every service as it is: for several short files, a pay-as-you-go service can cost the same as us or less, and over 100 hours a credit pack is cheaper. Our price is per recording, so it's cheapest for one or a few long files: a 3-hour lecture costs the same as a 1-hour one.
How current are these prices?
We checked each service's pricing page on Oct 31, 2026, and we recheck them every month. Prices and plans change, so open the linked page before you buy.
Not in the table
Subscription tools such as Otter.ai charge by the month and limit the length of each conversation, and developer APIs need your own code, so they don't fit a per-recording comparison. Both are in our transcription cost guide.