Free and open first

Best Audio Transcription Software in 2026

Audio transcription software turns spoken recordings into text, but the right fit can depend on what you record and how you use the results. Notta, Happy Scribe, and Speechmatics are among the options shown. Compare languages supported, maximum file length, and monthly transcription limits to see how they align with your material and expected volume. Real-time transcription and speaker identification can matter for live sessions or recordings with multiple voices. API access may be useful when transcription needs to connect with another system. Check free-plan availability and paid-from pricing as well, so the listed capabilities and usage terms fit your workflow.

35 apps
Research read 23 Sept 2026
How the order is worked out

1

Avidemux

Free plan Open source LinuxMacWeb+1

9.2 Free plan Visit site
2

ESPnet
by ESPnet
Free plan Open source APILinuxMac+2

Choose ESPnet for an open-source speech toolkit with broad task coverage, recipes, and pretrained-model inference options. It can also support training, though that requires additional dependencies.

9.1 Open source Visit site
3

oTranscribe

Free plan Open source Self-hostedWeb

oTranscribe is a manual transcription workspace with useful playback controls and several export options.

8.5 Free plan Visit site
4

AssemblyAI

Free plan APISelf-hostedWeb

AssemblyAI offers a broad set of speech capabilities and usage-based plans, with a free tier subject to stated limits.

7.5 From $0.15 Visit site
5

Fathom

Free plan APIExtensioniPhone+3

7.5 Free plan · paid from $15/user/mo (annual) Visit site
6

Amazon Transcribe

Free plan APIWeb

Amazon Transcribe covers live and batch speech transcription, with language, speaker, and privacy features.

7.4 From $0.01 Visit site
7

Azure AI Speech
by Azure AI Speech
Free plan APISelf-hostedWeb

7.4 Free plan Visit site
8

Gladia
by Gladia
Free plan APIMacWeb+1

7.4 From $0.61 Visit site
9

Grain

Free plan APIMacWeb+1

Grain pairs meeting capture and transcription with summaries, cited library answers, sharing, and integrations.

7.4 Free plan · paid from $15/user/mo · 14-day trial Visit site
10

aTrain

Free plan LinuxMacWeb+1

aTrain provides local, open-source transcription with speaker labeling and research-software imports.

7.3 Open source Visit site
11

Happy Scribe

Free plan AndroidAPIiPhone+1

Happy Scribe combines transcription, translation, meeting connections, and AI-assisted tools, with support for individual and team workflows.

7.3 Free plan Visit site
12

Notta
by Notta
Free plan AndroidExtensioniPhone+3

Notta combines meeting capture and file transcription with summaries, action items, and multiple export formats.

7.3 Free plan · paid from $8.17/user/mo (annual) · 7-day trial Visit site
13

ElevenLabs
by ElevenLabs
Free plan APIWeb

7.2 Free plan · paid from $6/mo Visit site
14

Google Cloud Speech-to-Text

Free plan APISelf-hostedWeb

Speech-to-Text offers multiple recognition modes, language support, and developer interfaces for application integration.

7.2 From $0.00 Visit site
15

OpenASR

Free plan APILinuxMac+2

Choose OpenASR if local processing and offline transcription matter, or if you need its CLI and local server.

7.2 Open source Visit site
16

Otter.ai

Free plan AndroidExtensioniPhone+2

Otter.ai combines meeting capture, transcription, and follow-up notes across desktop and mobile platforms. Check the plan limits if you need longer conversations or more imported files.

7.2 Free plan · paid from $8.33/user/mo (annual) Visit site
17

Rev

Free plan AndroidAPIiPhone+1

Rev brings transcription, captions, recording, and file analysis into one platform. The Free plan is limited in language, monthly minutes, user count, and simultaneous files.

7.2 Free plan · paid from $25.49/user/mo (annual) Visit site
18

noScribe
by noScribe
Free plan LinuxMacWindows

noScribe offers local transcription, speaker recognition, and an editor suited to reviewing interview recordings.

7.1 Free plan Visit site
19

Fireflies.ai
by Fireflies.ai
Free plan Extension

Fireflies.ai combines meeting capture, transcription and follow-up tools, with file uploads and team collaboration. Check the Free plan's storage, AI-credit and recording limits against your needs.

7.0 Free plan · paid from $10/user/mo (annual) Visit site
20

IBM Watson Speech to Text
by IBM Watson Speech to Text
Free plan APISelf-hosted

7.0 Free plan Visit site
21

MacWhisper
by MacWhisper
Free plan iPhoneMac

MacWhisper covers transcription, meeting recording, dictation, and transcript workflows, with a free plan and a paid one-time Pro option.

7.0 Free plan · paid from €64 Visit site
22

Speechmatics

Free plan APILinuxMac+3

Speechmatics offers speech APIs with multilingual transcription and multiple deployment choices. Its free plan has a two-session real-time limit, and the available deployment options depend on plan.

7.0 Free plan · paid from $0.13 Visit site
23

tl;dv
by tl;dv
Free plan AndroidAPIExtension+5

Choose tl;dv if you want bot-based meeting capture, transcription, and summaries with action items, including a free plan with unlimited recordings and transcriptions.

7.0 Free plan Visit site
24

Transkriptor

Free plan AndroidAPIExtension+2

Choose Transkriptor if you need transcription or translation with speaker identification, timestamps, and broad language support.

6.9 Free plan · paid from $9.99/mo Visit site
25

Tactiq
by Tactiq
Free plan WebMac

6.7 Free plan · paid from $8/user/mo (annual) Visit site

#1Places #1, #2, #3, #4, #5 on this list can be bought by the makers of the software on it. See the price

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