Best Audio Transcription Software in 2026
Updated
In short: AssemblyAI is ranked #1 of 31 as of 4 October 2026, ahead of Happy Scribe and Amazon Transcribe. The best-ranked option with a free plan is Happy Scribe. The lowest first paid tier on this page is Amazon Transcribe at $0.01/mo.
If you’re turning interviews, meetings, or other recordings into text, compare these tools against the audio you actually need to process. Compared on API access, language support, maximum file length, and monthly transcription limits, they also differ in real-time transcription and speaker identification. AssemblyAI, Happy Scribe, and Amazon Transcribe are among the named options to weigh; Google Cloud Speech-to-Text and Grain are also included. Check whether live results or speaker labels are important to your workflow, then consider the listed free-plan availability and paid-from price alongside the limits that matter for your recordings.
31 audio transcription software ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
Audio Transcription Software, one module each. A lit port is something its maker publishes; 18 of the 25 on this page have a public API.
- 01 AssemblyAI API yesOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 7.4$0.15/mo
- 02 Happy Scribe API yesOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 7.4$8.50/mo
- 03 Amazon Transcribe API yesOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 7.3$0.01/mo
- 04 Google Cloud Speech-to-Text API yesOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 7.3$0.02/mo
- 05 Grain API yesOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 7.3$15/mo
- 06 Rev AI API yesOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 7.3$0.01/mo
- 07 Speechmatics API yesOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 7.3Free
- 08 Rev API yesOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 7.2$29.99/mo
- 09 Soniox API yesOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 7.1$19.99/mo
- 10 Transkriptor API yesOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 7.0$8.33/mo
- 11 Amberscript API yesOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 6.6€1.85/mo
- 12 Deepgram Aura API yesOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 6.6
- 13 ESPnet API yesOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 6.6
- 14 Gladia API yesOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 6.6$0.20/mo
- 15 Sonix API yesOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 6.6$10/mo
- 16 TranscribeMe API yesOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 6.6
- 17 Verbit API yesOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 6.6
- 18 Trint API yesOSS not on recordFREE not on recordDOCS 6.4
- 19 Fireflies.ai API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 5.9$10/mo
- 20 MacWhisper API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 5.9€64/mo
- 21 Notta API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 5.9$8.17/mo
- 22 Avoma API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 5.8$19/mo
- 23 Fathom API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 5.8$15/mo
- 24 Tactiq API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 5.7$8/mo
- 25 tl;dv API not on recordOSS not on recordFREE yesDOCS 5.7Free
Compare all 25 in a table
| # | Platform | Score | Free plan | From | Free plan | Paid from | Languages supported | Speaker identification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AssemblyAI | 7.4 | Free plan | $0.15/mo | No | — | 99 languages | Yes |
| 2 | Happy Scribe | 7.4 | Free plan | $8.50/mo | Yes | — | 150 languages | Yes |
| 3 | Amazon Transcribe | 7.3 | Free plan | $0.01/mo | No | — | 113 languages | Yes |
| 4 | Google Cloud Speech-to-Text | 7.3 | Free plan | $0.02/mo | No | — | — | Yes |
| 5 | Grain | 7.3 | Free plan | $15/mo | Yes | — | 130 languages | — |
| 6 | Rev AI | 7.3 | Free plan | $0.01/mo | No | — | 1 languages | Yes |
| 7 | Speechmatics | 7.3 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | Yes |
| 8 | Rev | 7.2 | Free plan | $29.99/mo | Yes | — | 2 languages | Yes |
| 9 | Soniox | 7.1 | Free plan | $19.99/mo | Yes | 19.99 /mo | 60 languages | Yes |
| 10 | Transkriptor | 7.0 | No | $8.33/mo | Yes | 9.99 /mo | — | Yes |
| 11 | Amberscript | 6.6 | No | €1.85/mo | No | — | — | Yes |
| 12 | Deepgram Aura | 6.6 | No | — | No | — | 1 languages | — |
| 13 | ESPnet | 6.6 | No | — | Yes | — | — | Yes |
| 14 | Gladia | 6.6 | No | $0.20/mo | No | — | 100 languages | Yes |
| 15 | Sonix | 6.6 | No | $10/mo | No | — | 54 languages | Yes |
| 16 | TranscribeMe | 6.6 | No | — | — | — | 10 languages | Yes |
| 17 | Verbit | 6.6 | No | — | No | — | 4 languages | Yes |
| 18 | Trint | 6.4 | No | — | No | — | — | Yes |
| 19 | Fireflies.ai | 5.9 | Free plan | $10/mo | Yes | — | 115 languages | — |
| 20 | MacWhisper | 5.9 | Free plan | €64/mo | Yes | — | 100 languages | Yes |
| 21 | Notta | 5.9 | Free plan | $8.17/mo | Yes | — | 58 languages | Yes |
| 22 | Avoma | 5.8 | Free plan | $19/mo | Yes | — | 62 languages | — |
| 23 | Fathom | 5.8 | Free plan | $15/mo | Yes | — | 38 languages | — |
| 24 | Tactiq | 5.7 | Free plan | $8/mo | Yes | — | — | — |
| 25 | tl;dv | 5.7 | Free plan | — | Yes | — | — | — |
Is your platform on this list?
Numbered spots on this list can be sponsored, and a sponsored row is labelled as paid.
Questions about this list
Which audio transcription software is ranked first on Inferse?
AssemblyAI is ranked #1 of 31 with a score of 7.4. Happy Scribe is second and Amazon Transcribe third.
How many of these have a free plan?
16 of the 25 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
Which is the cheapest paid option?
On this page, Amazon Transcribe has the lowest first paid tier we found: $0.01/mo.
How is this list ranked?
Ranked on what each maker publishes, open and connectable first: a public API, open-source code, the depth of its documentation and a free tier to try it on. Model lists are sorted by the figure in their title, exactly as each provider publishes it.