Our pick
Within minutes, Temi returned transcripts that were easier to read than what other AI services produced, even when the audio file wasn’t perfect or when the words were hard to follow.
AI-based transcription services are useful for finding a specific place in or quickly skimming the contents of an audio recording. They do not return results that are perfect enough that you can expect to copy a quote without going back and checking the actual content of the audio. In our tests, Temi transcripts were the easiest to read among the AI-based options, with acceptable grammar and word accuracy even when our audio contained jargon or background noise. (We recommend using a company that employs human transcriptionists if your recordings have noise, feature a non-American accent, include speech impediments, or otherwise pose a challenge.) Transcripts arrive in minutes, and the built-in text editor lets you easily clean up the completed transcript—a necessity since even the top AI-based services, like Temi, get only about 75% of words right at best. Because Temi is quick and relatively inexpensive (at 25¢ per minute of audio), it’s a great choice for anyone who is paying for their own transcriptions, doesn’t expect them to be error-free, and doesn’t mind doing some cleanup work themselves.
Also great
The human transcribers at GoTranscript returned nearly 100% accurate transcriptions in a couple of days and didn’t balk at recordings featuring heavy accents.
If you want the most accurate transcriptions possible and you (or your company) are willing to pay a premium for it, GoTranscript is the best service to use. It’s also a great option if you have audio that includes difficult accents, or if you need a transcription of something in a language other than English. For about four times the cost of Temi, a real person will transcribe your audio and return a nearly perfect transcription within a few days. Other companies we tested that use human transcriptionists were nearly as accurate, but GoTranscript returned jobs faster and was willing to tackle even the most challenging audio files, with support for many accents and 48 languages.
