TranscribeMe is a straightforward transcription service that can handle both automated and human-based jobs. We like its fairly smooth online editing experience, options to upgrade completed jobs, and niche offerings for specific industries. However, add-ons for its human-based services mean you generally pay more and wait longer compared with alternatives. Its aging, iOS-only mobile apps aren't compelling either. Our Editors' Choice winners for the category are GoTranscript, which can deliver equally accurate human-edited transcripts for less, and the AI-based Otter, which can transcribe meetings in real time at no cost.

How Much Does TranscribeMe Cost?

TranscribeMe's automated transcription option, called Machine Express, costs just $0.07 per minute of audio. You get that rate only through the website, though. Ordering an automated transcript through the service's iOS app costs $0.10 per audio minute (presumably to recoup Apple's cut). These transcripts include timestamps every 30 seconds. TranscribeMe estimates the turnaround for machine-generated transcripts to be between three and five minutes per minute of audio. Both prices are still good, however. GoTranscript and Rev, respectively, charge $0.20 and $0.25 per minute for their automated services.

(Credit: TranscribeMe/PCMag)

If you use automated transcription services regularly, a subscription plan from Otter, Rev, or Trint might make more sense. Otter offers the most viable permanently free tier for machine transcriptions.

TranscribeMe has tiered pricing for human-generated transcriptions. It lists each add-on service separately, and toggling the choices updates your final price in real time.

Rates start at $0.79 for a First Draft. A First Draft is a transcription from a team of people working in tandem, but no one does a final edit before you get the file back. TranscribeMe estimates that it can return these transcripts by the next day. That price doesn't include timestamps or speaker identification. Adding both raises the base rate to $1.04 per audio minute.

A Standard transcript (choose the Extra Review option on the order page) includes two layers of review and a guarantee of 99% accuracy. It has a base price of $1.25 per minute. Verbatim transcripts, which include every utterance as is, start at $1.75 per minute. These options increase the return times by between one and three days. If you need a transcript quickly, the Rush Order option doubles the price and shortens the delivery time to a day or two.

TranscribeMe's prices for human-based transcripts could be more competitive. GoTranscript offers human transcription starting at $1.20 per minute (with a five-day turnaround). However, once you factor in extras (such as timestamps) and account for similar return times, GoTranscript often comes out cheaper. Rev does, too; it charges $1.99 per audio minute with timestamps and a turnaround time of under 12 hours.

Getting Started With TranscribeMe

Like most other transcription services, TranscribeMe is web-based and doesn't require a download. It runs best on the latest versions of Chrome or Safari. You can download the mobile app for iOS though you pay more for orders, and the last update to it was in 2018. While the TranscribeMe website also lists the app as available on Google Play, I wasn't able to find it. A Call Recorder app is also available for iOS, though it too seems outdated.

To get started with TranscribeMe, you need to create a new account or authenticate via your Apple or Google account. After that, you simply upload an audio file, choose the services you want, and submit your order. TranscribeMe notifies you via email once it completes your transcription, and you can log into your account to edit it.

(Credit: TranscribeMe/PCMag)

Editing Transcriptions

TranscribeMe's web-based editing software is straightforward, with helpful hotkey shortcuts. As is typical, you can listen to your audio file while you edit your transcripts. It saves changes automatically, and you can easily export your file once you are done working on it. If you aren't content with an initial file, TranscribeMe lets you upgrade to a better service tier for the difference in price versus the original order. You can upgrade orders by hovering over the transcription status on the order dashboard and clicking the trophy icon. Standard turnaround times apply to upgraded transcriptions.

Unlike GoTranscript, Otter, and others, TranscribeMe doesn't have any collaboration features for team members working on the same project. Of course, that's not a problem if you primarily work by yourself. You also don't get any of the AI-based note-taking and summarization features of Otter or Rev.

You can't edit transcripts directly on your phone, like with Otter and Trint. You can, however, copy and paste the text into another app, share a link to it, or save it directly to Dropbox. The app lets you record live audio or upload a file to your account, which you can then use to place an order.

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(Credit: TranscribeMe/PCMag)

How Accurate Is TranscribeMe?

TranscribeMe’s machine-generated service did reasonably well in testing. I uploaded a two-minute audio recording of me reading a passage aloud from Marguerite Henry’s “Misty of Chincoteague” series. It's a good test because it has place names that are difficult to spell, such as Assateague, Chincoteague, and Pocomoke.

Capitalization, punctuation, and sentence breaks are fairly accurate in the machine-generated copy I got back. TranscribeMe made seven true errors in a two-minute test audio clip. They were all proper nouns related to the names of cities and islands. I also noticed some minor inaccuracies related to capitalization and punctuation. 

(Credit: TranscribeMe/PCMag)

Otter and Rev's automated services made three and six true errors, respectively, with the same audio clip. Otter had additional errors related to capitalization and punctuation, which is common among automated transcription services. Trint made only two true errors (again related to names of places), along with a few capitalization and punctuation mistakes.

Human-based transcription services are typically extremely accurate, so you aren't likely to notice much of a difference between TranscribeMe and GoTranscript, Rev, and others.

What Other Services Does TranscribeMe Offer?

TranscribeMe offers several specialized services, including transcription for the legal field. You must contact the company about pricing for this MAXScribe option (the result of a partnership with Stenograph). It's a useful offering since this field requires in-depth knowledge of its jargon and terminology. TranscribeMe, along with GoTranscript and Rev, also have HIPAA-compliant services for medical professionals.

Its data annotation service, which identifies emotions, relationships, and semantics within transcripts, is unique among the products I tested. In addition, it provides transcriptions explicitly for AI training and machine learning.

While some transcription services transcribe only English audio files, TranscribeMe works with a few additional languages: Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish. The company says it provides a few additional languages for other services (Catalan, Danish, Hindi, Polish, Russian, and Swedish), but you have to contact it directly for such orders.

TranscribeMe also offers translation into a variety of languages, though your audio files need to go through the transcription process. You can find the full list of languages here and request a quote. Translation starts at $0.11 per minute. I didn't test the translation service as part of this review.

Is Your Data Safe With TranscribeMe?

In regards to privacy, TranscribeMe is pretty transparent. The company breaks human transcription projects into segments so no transcriber receives an entire file. All employees sign a nondisclosure agreement and can sign your company provides as well. It doesn't support multi-factor authentication.

The company says it deletes any files from the employee side after 30 days and from the user portal after one year of inactivity. When TranscribeMe receives a subpoena, its policy is to have its legal counsel review the request, notify the customer of the request, and comply with all applicable laws. You can read more about its security and compliance policies here.

Verdict: Bargain Automated Rates, But Underwhelming Features

TranscribeMe produces generally accurate machine-generated transcriptions at a low cost and is straightforward to use. We also like that it provides harder-to-find services for specialized industries and even data annotation. However, extras for human-based transcription jobs quickly add to the turnaround time and cost. The service lacks the team collaboration features of most alternatives, too. Most people are better off with our Editors' Choice winners for the category: GoTranscript offers a more enjoyable user experience and tends to return human-based transcriptions faster, while Otter has much better mobile apps and an AI assistant that can attend meetings for you.