Sorted by starting price

8 Cheapest Free Transcription Software of 2026

By the Rankozo research desk · Updated November 9, 2026

Among the 9 tools in our best free transcription software ranking, Tactiq has the lowest verified paid starting price at $8 per user per month. Prices below are quoted from each vendor's US pricing page.

1. 01

   Tactiq

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

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

   Full entry, No. 8 overall

   Starts at

   $8

   Score 8.1

2. 02

   Notta

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

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

   Full entry, No. 7 overall

   Starts at

   $8.17

   Score 8.2

3. 03

   Otter.ai

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

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

   Full entry, No. 2 overall

   Starts at

   $8.33

   Score 8.8

4. 04

   Happy Scribe

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

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

   Full entry, No. 5 overall

   Starts at

   $8.50

   Score 8.3

5. 05

   TurboScribe

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

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

   Full entry, No. 1 overall

   Starts at

   $10

   Score 8.9

6. 06

   Fireflies.ai

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

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

   Full entry, No. 3 overall

   Starts at

   $10

   Score 8.6

7. 07

   Descript

   Podcasters who want transcription and editing in the same app.

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

   Full entry, No. 6 overall

   Starts at

   $16

   Score 8.2

8. 08

   Rev

   Researchers and podcasters who occasionally need a human-verified transcript.

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

   Full entry, No. 9 overall

   Starts at

   $25.49

   Score 7.7

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