9 Best Free Transcription Software of 2026

This list is for students and podcasters who want to transcribe lectures, interviews and episodes for free, and who need to know how far each free plan stretches. We compared documented features and published prices on each vendor's own pages and scored value at 40%, features at 35% and ease of use at 25%. Free plans are measured in different units, so we list the monthly minute pool, the cap per recording and any upload limit side by side. Starting prices are the cheapest paid plan in USD, mostly on annual billing.

1. 01Top value

   

   TurboScribe

   8.9/10

   A Whisper-based file transcription service that gives three free transcripts a day and a flat-rate unlimited plan.

   Price

   $10per month

   Free plan with 3 transcripts a day up to 30 minutes each; Unlimited $10 per month billed yearly ($120), $20 monthly

   “TurboScribe Unlimited $10 / month $120 billed yearly” Quoted from the pricing page, November 9, 2026.

   Free plan

   Yes

   Value (40%)

   9.4

   Features (35%)

   8.0

   Ease of use (25%)

   9.2

   Best forPodcasters and students who upload recorded files and want the largest free allowance with no account card.

   TurboScribe is the simplest answer to the minute cap question. Instead of a monthly pool, the free plan lets you transcribe three files every day, each up to 30 minutes long, one upload at a time. A student who records two lectures a day can stay on the free tier for a whole term if each recording is under half an hour, and a podcaster can split a longer episode into parts. Free jobs sit in a lower priority queue, so expect to wait. The Unlimited plan costs $10 per month on yearly billing ($120) or $20 month to month and removes the cap: files up to 10 hours or 5 GB, 50 uploads at once, bulk exports, translation into 134+ languages and every transcription mode. The service is built on Whisper, supports 98+ languages, labels speakers and exports DOCX, PDF, TXT, SRT and VTT. It does not record meetings or offer live captions, so it suits people who already have audio files.

   • ✓Free allowance resets daily rather than monthly
   • ✓One flat price with no minute meter on Unlimited
   • ✓No credit card needed to start

   • ✕Free files wait in a lower priority queue
   • ✕Free uploads are capped at 30 minutes, too short for many podcast episodes
   • ✕No live recording or meeting bot; it works on uploaded files

   Free plan:

   3 transcripts a day, 30 minutes per file

   Unlimited (yearly):

   $10 per month, $120 billed yearly

   Unlimited (monthly):

   $20 per month

   Max file on Unlimited:

   10 hours or 5 GB

   Languages:

   98+ transcription, 134+ translation

   Bottom line: TurboScribe is our top pick because its free tier resets daily and its paid tier has no minute meter at $10 a month billed yearly. Choose another tool if you need live transcription during class or calls.

   Visit turboscribe.ai ↗

2. 02

   

   Otter.ai

   8.8/10

   A live transcription and meeting notes app with 300 free minutes a month on web, desktop and mobile.

   Price

   $8.33per user per month

   Free Basic plan with 300 minutes a month; Pro $8.33 per user per month billed annually ($16.99 monthly)

   “Pro For individuals and small teams $8 .33 /user/month save 51%” Quoted from the pricing page, November 9, 2026.

   Free plan

   Yes

   Value (40%)

   8.8

   Features (35%)

   8.8

   Ease of use (25%)

   8.8

   Best forStudents who want live transcripts of lectures and study groups on their phone or laptop.

   Otter.ai is the strongest free option for live transcription. The Basic plan includes 300 transcription minutes a month with no rollover, live transcription, speaker identification, audio playback and apps for iOS and Android, so a student can set a phone on the desk and read the transcript as the lecture happens. The limits are the catch: each free conversation stops at 30 minutes, the history keeps only the 25 most recent conversations, and you get just 3 file imports for the life of the account, which rules it out for transcribing a back catalog of podcast episodes. Pro costs $8.33 per user per month billed annually or $16.99 monthly and raises the pool to 1,200 minutes, allows 90 minutes per meeting, 10 imports a month, unlimited storage and custom vocabulary for names and jargon. Transcription is available in English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese and Chinese only.

   • ✓300 free minutes a month is one of the larger monthly free pools
   • ✓Live transcript appears while you record
   • ✓Pro adds unlimited storage and custom vocabulary

   • ✕Free conversations stop at 30 minutes and only the 25 most recent are kept
   • ✕Only 3 lifetime file imports on the free plan
   • ✕Transcription covers six languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese and Chinese

   Free plan:

   300 minutes a month, 30 minutes per conversation

   Free file imports:

   3 lifetime

   Pro (annual):

   $8.33 per user per month

   Pro (monthly):

   $16.99 per user per month

   Pro limits:

   1,200 minutes a month, 90 minutes per meeting

   Bottom line: Otter.ai is the best free pick for live lecture and meeting transcripts with 300 minutes a month. The 30-minute conversation cap and 3 lifetime imports make Pro necessary for long recordings.

   Visit otter.ai ↗

3. 03

   

   Fireflies.ai

   8.6/10

   An AI notetaker for online meetings whose free plan does not meter transcription minutes, only storage.

   Price

   $10per seat per month

   Free plan with unlimited transcription and 400 minutes of storage; Pro $10 per seat per month billed annually ($18 monthly)

   “Pro $10 per seat / month, billed annually” Quoted from the pricing page, November 9, 2026.

   Free plan

   Yes

   Value (40%)

   8.6

   Features (35%)

   8.6

   Ease of use (25%)

   8.5

   Best forStudents and creators who record many online calls and can live with limited storage.

   Fireflies.ai takes a different approach to free limits. The free plan lists unlimited transcription but caps storage at 400 minutes per team, so in practice you can keep roughly seven hours of transcripts at a time before deleting older ones. That works for a student group that exports notes after each call, and less well for anyone building an archive. Free users get real-time notes, meeting search, file uploads, the AskFred assistant with limited summaries and 20 AI credits, plus apps for desktop, Android, iOS and Chrome. Pro costs $10 per seat per month billed annually or $18 monthly and adds unlimited AI summaries, 8,000 minutes of storage per seat, video recording and downloads of transcripts and recordings. Recording is limited to 2 hours on both Free and Pro, which covers most lectures and podcast interviews. Transcription works in 100+ languages, the widest range among the meeting tools here.

   • ✓Free plan does not cap transcription minutes
   • ✓Pro includes 8,000 minutes of storage per seat
   • ✓100+ transcription languages

   • ✕Free storage is 400 minutes per team, so old transcripts must be cleared
   • ✕AI summaries are limited on the free plan
   • ✕Recording limit is 2 hours on Free and Pro

   Free plan:

   Unlimited transcription, 400 minutes of storage per team

   Pro (annual):

   $10 per seat per month

   Pro (monthly):

   $18 per seat per month

   Recording limit:

   2 hours on Free and Pro

   Languages:

   100+

   Bottom line: Fireflies.ai suits heavy meeting users because free transcription is not metered by minutes. Plan to export or delete transcripts to stay under the 400-minute storage cap.

   Visit fireflies.ai ↗

4. 04

   

   MacWhisper

   8.6/10

   A native Mac app that transcribes audio and video on your own device with Whisper models.

   Price

   Free plan

   See vendor pricing (USD check pending)

   US price check pending. Vendor pricing page

   Free plan

   Yes

   Value (40%)

   9.2

   Features (35%)

   8.2

   Ease of use (25%)

   8.0

   Best forMac users who want private, offline transcription without a monthly subscription.

   MacWhisper is the outlier on this list because it has no minute cap to compare: the app runs Whisper models on your Mac, so the limit is your hardware, not a monthly pool. The free version records from the microphone, accepts mp3, wav, m4a, ogg, opus, mov and mp4 files, supports 100 languages and exports TXT plus SRT and VTT subtitles. Pro is a one-time license with lifetime updates and adds automatic speaker recognition, batch transcription, transcription of YouTube and media URLs, a podcast mode with one file per speaker, translation and automatic meeting recording in Zoom, Teams, Webex and Discord. Because nothing leaves the machine, it is a good fit for research interviews that cannot go to a cloud service. It needs macOS 14 or later, and the vendor recommends an M-series Mac for speed. We could only see the Pro price in euros from our location, so the USD price is pending.

   • ✓Free version works on local files with no published minute cap
   • ✓On-device processing suits sensitive interviews
   • ✓Pro is a one-time license with lifetime updates, not a subscription

   • ✕Mac only (macOS 14 and later), with a separate iPhone and iPad app
   • ✕Speed depends on your hardware; M-series Macs are recommended
   • ✕Speaker recognition and some Whisper models need Pro

   Free version:

   Yes, free forever

   Pro:

   One-time license with lifetime updates (price shown in EUR on our check)

   Platform:

   macOS 14 Sonoma and later

   Languages:

   100

   Processing:

   On device

   Bottom line: MacWhisper is the best choice for Mac owners who want unlimited private transcription with no subscription. Windows and Chromebook users need a different tool.

   Visit macwhisper.com ↗

5. 05

   

   Happy Scribe

   8.3/10

   A transcription and subtitle platform with free unlimited recordings and optional human proofreading.

   Price

   $8.50per month

   Free plan with unlimited recordings up to 45 minutes; Basic $8.50 per month billed annually

   “Basic For individuals with small production needs $8.50 / month Billed annually” Quoted from the pricing page, November 9, 2026.

   Free plan

   Yes

   Value (40%)

   8.3

   Features (35%)

   8.3

   Ease of use (25%)

   8.4

   Best forPodcasters and video makers who need subtitles in many languages and occasional human-checked transcripts.

   Happy Scribe splits its limits by how audio arrives. Anything you record with its meeting Notetaker, mobile app or web recorder is unlimited on every plan, with a 45-minute cap per recording and 30 days of history on the free tier. Files you upload draw from a separate pool, and free users get only 10 minutes once, which matters for podcasters who record elsewhere. Basic costs $8.50 per month billed annually and gives 1,440 upload minutes a year, 90-minute recordings, unlimited history, PDF and DOCX exports and watermark-free video. Pro at $19 per month billed annually raises uploads to 7,200 minutes a year with three seats and no length limit. Transcription covers 150+ languages and dialects, translation 80+, and extra minutes cost $0.20 each. A human proofreading service from $2.00 per minute is available when an AI draft is not good enough.

   • ✓Free recordings are not metered, up to 45 minutes each
   • ✓Widest language support on this list
   • ✓Human proofreading available when accuracy matters

   • ✕Only 10 free upload minutes, one time, for existing files
   • ✕Free recordings are kept for 30 days
   • ✕Basic upload allowance is 1,440 minutes a year

   Free plan:

   Unlimited recordings up to 45 minutes, 10 one-time upload minutes

   Basic (annual):

   $8.50 per month, 1,440 upload minutes a year

   Pro (annual):

   $19 per month, 7,200 upload minutes a year, 3 seats

   Extra minutes:

   $0.20 per minute

   Human proofreading:

   From $2.00 per minute

   Bottom line: Happy Scribe is a good pick for multilingual creators who record in its own apps. Upload-heavy podcasters should budget for Basic or Pro.

   Visit happyscribe.com ↗

6. 06

   

   Descript

   8.2/10

   A text-based audio and video editor where you edit a recording by editing its transcript.

   Price

   $16per person per month

   Free plan with 60 media minutes a month; Hobbyist $16 per person per month billed annually ($24 monthly)

   “Hobbyist $ 16 $ 24 per person / month” Quoted from the pricing page, November 9, 2026.

   Free plan

   Yes

   Value (40%)

   7.6

   Features (35%)

   9.0

   Ease of use (25%)

   8.2

   Best forPodcasters who want transcription and editing in the same app.

   Descript is the most capable tool here for podcasters, though not the most generous free one. Its free plan processes 60 media minutes a month, which is roughly one episode, and includes 100 AI credits once. The point of Descript is what happens after transcription: you cut a recording by deleting words from the transcript, remove filler words, clean audio with Studio Sound, add dynamic captions and pull clips, all in one project. Multitrack transcription handles remote interviews recorded on separate tracks and labels speakers precisely. Transcription supports 25 languages and detects 8+ speakers. Hobbyist costs $16 per person per month billed annually or $24 monthly and includes 10 media hours, 400 AI credits a month and watermark-free 1080p export. Creator at $24 annually adds 30 media hours and 4K export. If you only need text, the cheaper tools on this list give far more minutes for the money.

   • ✓Transcript doubles as the editing timeline
   • ✓Multitrack transcription suits remote podcast recordings
   • ✓Hobbyist exports 1080p without a watermark

   • ✕Free plan includes only 60 media minutes a month
   • ✕Paid plans cost more than transcription-only tools
   • ✕AI credits on the free plan are 100, one time

   Free plan:

   60 media minutes a month

   Hobbyist (annual):

   $16 per person per month, 10 media hours

   Hobbyist (monthly):

   $24 per person per month

   Creator (annual):

   $24 per person per month, 30 media hours

   Languages:

   25

   Bottom line: Descript is the pick for podcasters who edit from the transcript. Students who only need text get more free minutes elsewhere.

   Visit descript.com ↗

7. 07

   

   Notta

   8.2/10

   A transcription and meeting notes service with web, mobile, Chrome and bot-free desktop recording.

   Price

   $8.17per month

   Free plan with 120 minutes a month; Pro $8.17 per month billed annually ($97.99 a year)

   “Pro $8.17 per month, billed annually” Quoted from the pricing page, November 9, 2026.

   Free plan

   Yes

   Value (40%)

   7.8

   Features (35%)

   8.5

   Ease of use (25%)

   8.5

   Best forStudents who upgrade to a cheap paid plan for long recordings and translation.

   Notta shows why the per-recording cap matters as much as the monthly pool. The free plan lists 120 transcription minutes and 50 file uploads a month, but each conversation is limited to 3 minutes, so it is only useful for testing accuracy or short voice notes. Exports also need a paid plan. Pro is where Notta becomes competitive: $8.17 per month billed annually ($97.99 a year) buys 1,800 minutes a month, up to 5 hours per recording, 100 file uploads, 100 AI summaries, custom vocabulary and transcript translation. Students can apply the 50% education discount shown on the pricing page. The product records Zoom, Teams, Google Meet and Webex with a bot, or bot-free from the desktop app, and also transcribes YouTube links and uploaded files. Bilingual transcription and real-time translation are included a few times a month, with add-ons for heavier use.

   • ✓Pro gives 1,800 minutes a month and 5 hours per recording
   • ✓50% education discount listed on the pricing page
   • ✓Bot-free recording option

   • ✕Free conversations are capped at 3 minutes, which makes the free plan a trial in practice
   • ✕Free pool is 120 minutes a month
   • ✕Export needs Pro

   Free plan:

   120 minutes a month, 3 minutes per conversation

   Pro (annual):

   $8.17 per month, $97.99 a year

   Pro limits:

   1,800 minutes a month, 5 hours per recording

   Education:

   50% discount

   Business trial:

   7 days

   Bottom line: Notta's free plan is too limited for lectures, but Pro is one of the cheapest ways to get 1,800 minutes a month. Students should check the education discount first.

   Visit notta.ai ↗

8. 08

   

   Tactiq

   8.1/10

   A Chrome extension that transcribes Google Meet, Zoom and Microsoft Teams calls without a bot.

   Price

   $8per user per month

   Free plan with 10 transcripts a month; Pro $8 per user per month billed annually

   “Pro For 1 pro $8 USD Per user/mo. Annual billing.” Quoted from the pricing page, November 9, 2026.

   Free plan

   Yes

   Value (40%)

   8.0

   Features (35%)

   7.6

   Ease of use (25%)

   8.8

   Best forStudents in online classes who want transcripts without a bot joining the call.

   Tactiq counts transcripts rather than minutes. The free plan allows 10 transcripts a month, with 5 AI credits, AI insights, in-meeting AI and the ability to share and export transcripts. Because the limit is per meeting, a long seminar costs the same as a short check-in, which is a good deal for students with a few long online classes a week. The tool runs as a Chrome extension and transcribes Google Meet, Zoom and Microsoft Teams calls without sending a bot into the call, which some teachers and classmates prefer. Pro costs $8 per user per month on annual billing, the lowest paid price on this list, and removes the transcript cap and adds 10 AI credits plus controls to pause transcription. Tactiq also runs an education plan for teachers and students by application. It is built for live calls, so podcasters with recorded files should look at TurboScribe or MacWhisper.

   • ✓No bot joins the call
   • ✓Cheapest paid plan on this list at $8 billed annually
   • ✓Free plan can share and export transcripts

   • ✕Free plan is limited to 10 transcripts a month
   • ✕Focused on live meetings rather than uploaded audio files
   • ✕Free plan includes only 5 AI credits a month

   Free plan:

   10 transcripts a month, 5 AI credits

   Pro (annual):

   $8 per user per month, unlimited transcripts

   Team (annual):

   $16.67 per user per month

   Platforms:

   Google Meet, Zoom, Microsoft Teams

   Education:

   Education plan on application

   Bottom line: Tactiq is a simple bot-free option for online classes, and its $8 Pro plan is the cheapest paid tier here. It does not suit people transcribing recorded files.

   Visit tactiq.io ↗

9. 09

   

   Rev

   7.7/10

   A transcription company offering AI transcription plans and human transcripts at 99%+ accuracy.

   Price

   $25.49per seat per month

   Free plan with 45 AI minutes a month; Essentials $25.49 per seat per month billed annually ($29.99 monthly)

   “$25.49 per seat/month $29.99 per seat/month” Quoted from the pricing page, November 9, 2026.

   Free plan

   Yes

   Value (40%)

   6.8

   Features (35%)

   8.2

   Ease of use (25%)

   8.3

   Best forResearchers and podcasters who occasionally need a human-verified transcript.

   Rev is on this list for one reason: when an AI draft is not good enough, it sells human transcription at 99%+ accuracy, delivered in 12 hours or less, at $1.99 per minute. The free plan gives 45 AI transcription and caption minutes a month in English, plus a document editor and a mobile app for dictation and recording, which is enough for a short interview but not a semester of lectures. The subscription plans are now aimed at legal and investigative teams: Essentials costs $25.49 per seat per month billed annually or $29.99 monthly with 5,000 AI minutes per user a month and English and Spanish transcription, and Pro is $47.99 per seat annually with 37+ languages. That makes Rev poor value for students who only need AI text, but a sensible pay-per-minute option for a thesis interview or a podcast episode that must be transcribed exactly.

   • ✓Human transcription available from $1.99 per minute
   • ✓Essentials includes 5,000 AI minutes per user per month
   • ✓No restriction on when you can cancel a subscription

   • ✕Free plan has only 45 AI minutes a month, English only
   • ✕Paid plans are priced for legal and investigative teams
   • ✕Highest paid starting price on this list

   Free plan:

   45 AI minutes a month, English only

   Essentials (annual):

   $25.49 per seat per month

   Essentials (monthly):

   $29.99 per seat per month

   Human transcription:

   $1.99 per minute, 99%+ accurate

   Turnaround:

   12 hours or less

   Bottom line: Rev's free AI plan is small, but its human transcription at $1.99 per minute fills a gap the other tools leave. Most students and podcasters should not buy the subscription.

   Visit rev.com ↗

Questions or corrections: editorial@rankozo.comSee our disclosure. Prices change; confirm on the vendor page before buying.