Sorted by starting price

9 Cheapest AI Transcription Software of 2026

By the Rankozo research desk · Updated November 12, 2026

Among the 10 tools in our best ai transcription software ranking, AssemblyAI has the lowest verified paid starting price at $0.15 per hour of audio. Prices below are quoted from each vendor's US pricing page.

1. 01

   AssemblyAI

   Developers and data teams transcribing at scale

   Pay as you go from $0.15 per hour of audio (Universal-2); Universal-3.5 Pro at $0.21 per hour

   Full entry, No. 5 overall

   Starts at

   $0.15

   Score 8.4

2. 02

   Notta

   Small teams that want meetings and files transcribed at a low hourly cost

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

   Full entry, No. 2 overall

   Starts at

   $8.17

   Score 8.7

3. 03

   Otter.ai

   Teams that mainly transcribe live meetings

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

   Full entry, No. 3 overall

   Starts at

   $8.33

   Score 8.7

4. 04

   Happy Scribe

   Multilingual teams producing transcripts and subtitles

   Free plan; Basic from $8.50 per month billed annually with 1,440 upload minutes a year

   Full entry, No. 6 overall

   Starts at

   $8.50

   Score 8.2

5. 05

   TurboScribe

   Individuals with heavy, unpredictable transcription volume

   Free plan with 3 files a day; Unlimited from $10 per month billed yearly ($120)

   Full entry, No. 1 overall

   Starts at

   $10

   Score 8.8

6. 06

   Fireflies.ai

   Meeting-heavy teams that want unlimited transcription per seat

   Free plan; Pro from $10 per seat per month billed annually ($18 monthly)

   Full entry, No. 4 overall

   Starts at

   $10

   Score 8.6

7. 07

   Descript

   Podcasters and video creators who edit from the transcript

   Free plan with 1 media hour a month; Hobbyist from $16 per person per month billed annually ($24 monthly)

   Full entry, No. 8 overall

   Starts at

   $16

   Score 8.0

8. 08

   Sonix

   Occasional users who prefer paying by the hour

   Pay as you go at $10 per hour; Core subscription from $25 per month with 5 hours ($275 a year)

   Full entry, No. 7 overall

   Starts at

   $25

   Score 8.1

9. 09

   Rev

   Legal and investigative teams that need human-verified transcripts

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

   Full entry, No. 9 overall

   Starts at

   $25.49

   Score 7.6

Scores and prices come from our Best AI Transcription Software ranking, which uses one method for every tool. Questions or corrections: editorial@rankozo.com