08.09.2025
20 min
Best AI-Powered & Automated Transcription Tools in 2025
By Sanduni
Growth Content Editor
AI-powered automated transcription tools making you lose your mind?
One job.
They had one job.
And yet:
- Acronyms get mangled,
- Names get completely wrong,
- And don’t even get me started on how phrases turn into nonsense.
What really gets you frustrated is
- When the speaker's diarization messes up
- One wrong comment and your whole meeting transcript is useless.
And then there’s the export headache - you’re ready to move forward with your project, but the timecodes are missing or the files won’t even open, which completely stalls everything you’re trying to do. You’ve had enough of trading automation for hours of cleanup work and want tools that actually work.
This guide shows you which ones are solving these problems so you can get back to work.
Enjoy! (and you are welcome)
Why Are People Actively Searching for the Best AI-Powered Automated Transcription Tools?
Bad Audio Ruins Everything and Cleanup Becomes a Full-Time Job
"It does require a bit of clean up because it's not perfect. This can take and hour to two depending on the length of the episode (which are always under an hour)."
Here's what happens to you: that one-hour podcast or meeting you thought would save time with the automated transcription tool you bought.
You'll spend 1–2 extra hours fixing names, acronyms, and garbled phrases.
Your "time saver" just became your biggest time waster.
This isn't just happening to you; other users are dealing with multi-speaker conversations that come back "horribly inaccurate," and you're forced to manually rework everything or start completely over.
So choosing the best transcription app is quite important.
The Tool Mixes up Who's Talking and Now Your Notes Are Useless
"Otter has problems, sometimes puts brief interjections inside the previous speaker's paragraph."
When the speaker identification gets messed up, your notes become completely unreliable. You can't trust who said what, so follow-ups get assigned to the wrong person, you can't pull quotes without listening again, and you have to hand-fix every single section.
Others are saying their transcripts "struggle naming the speakers" and keep "not recognising speakers," which means you end up re-segmenting and relabeling everything by hand.
Exporting Files Doesn't Work and Your Project Is Stuck
"It wasn't able to export an XML at all, EDL got exported but without time codes and file names (so no point really)."
When you export your XML, EDL, or SRT files and they fail or come out missing timecodes, you're stuck. You can't hand these broken files to your editors.
Your captions won't sync properly, and you have to start over and rebuild everything by hand. Download failures like "couldn't download the result as a .txt", and you deal with messy transcript downloading that just doesn't work right. This means when you try to hand off files to your video editors, captioners, or clients, your workflow stops dead.
What Are the Best AI-Powered & Automated Transcription Tools
Here are the 10 best AI-powered & automated transcription tools in 2025:
- Jamie: Best for bot-free, offline-friendly, native meeting transcription
- Fireflies.ai: Best for teams needing automatic call summaries
- Fathom: Best for customer calls with fast CRM handoff
- Sonix: Best for multilingual creators & journalists
- Trint: Best for live collaboration and newsroom workflows
- Descript: Best for editing podcasts and videos via transcript
- MacWhisper: Best for privacy-first offline transcription on Mac
- AssemblyAI: Best for developers building transcription into apps
- Deepgram: Best for real-time, scalable enterprise use
- Azure AI Speech: Best for global enterprise transcription and translation
Jamie
Best For: People who sit through lots of calls and just want reliable, searchable notes and transcripts so they can stay present in the meeting and handle follow-ups later, without fiddling with bots or elaborate setups.
Similar To: Sonix, Fireflies.ai
💜 Play around with Jamie in our fun interactive demo below and see how easy note-taking can be!
Jamie is a bot-free AI-powered transcription tool. It is a desktop application that captures your audio (any platform, online or offline), generates instant transcripts, turns them into clean notes and action items, and lets you query everything later.
If you’re juggling back-to-back meetings, Jamie handles the note-taking, tagging, and task capture, the full package; you get organised outputs in minutes and can pull answers on demand.
It's not just a transcription tool, as you can see below are the features that make Jamie a fully packaged transcription tool that you can use for free.
Start Recordings on Time Without Thinking About It
Since Jamie is a native recorder, it detects when you are in a meeting.
How?
You might ask,
Jamie monitors your device's microphone status. This helps Jamie know if you’re in a call or meeting. When it notices your microphone is on (For example, you might be in a call or in a Google Meet that triggers the microphone activity on), Jamie quickly pops up a message asking if you want to start recording and taking notes. This way, you don’t have to remember to start it yourself.
You only have to click "start Jamie," and you are good to go.
That's it, no more forgetting to take notes. Jamie quite literally reminds you to.
Transcribe Instantly and Fix Text Fast
After you use Jamie, you get an instant transcript right next to your summary, and you can edit it immediately. You stop recording, and boom - you get your transcripts and notes ready in just minutes.
It's that simple.
You can also edit the text however you want, use formatting, and do find/replace functions. You also get searchable text right away instead of having to re-listen to everything, which saves you tons of time.
And yes, you can make quick edits to clean up jargon or names before you share anything with others. Simple as that.
Turn Long Calls Into Clean Notes and Action Items Automatically
Jamie summarises your meetings and pulls out the tasks and decisions you need to handle.
You get meeting notes that are ready to use, action items with clear assignees and checkboxes you can tick off, and tasks that link back to your original meeting so you always know where they came from.
You can add your own tasks manually with just a "/" when you need to.
No more sitting there typing up minutes after every meeting. You get your decisions and to-dos captured automatically so nothing gets forgotten between one meeting and the next.
No Bot Joins Your Calls and Takes Notes on All Platforms You Already Use
You get high-quality transcription with speaker identification on Mac or Windows without any virtual bot jumping into your calls.
Jamie's desktop recorder grabs audio right from your device, so you can use it with whatever online meeting app you want; it handles your headphones and basic mic setup too. No bot "guest" showing up, no permissions headaches, and you can stick with whatever meeting platform your client prefers, simple as that.
Jamie even works offline. Meaning if you were to run into a client outside, where the internet connection is poor, Jamie would still work and provide you with amazing notes!.
In short, Jamie works wherever you do.
Find Meetings Later With Tags Instead of Digging
Tag your meetings by project, client, team, or whatever works for you, then filter everything in one click. You can add tags right on the note, create your own custom tag sets, and filter from the sidebar.
Those hours you spend scrolling through endless meetings, consider those days vanished.
All you have to do is jump straight to the exact conversation you need with the help of tags.
Ask AI Anything About Your Meetings and Get Instant, Context-Aware Answers
You can now chat with a single meeting or your recent meetings to pull facts, summaries, and follow-ups.
When you use Ask AI, it streams a reply, shows you reasoning details, understands your chat history, and lets you choose the scope you want: All meetings, Last 30 days, or Last Week.
You can also "chat with only one meeting note" and pick up where you left off later from the Ask AI page; there's also thumbs-up/down feedback built right in.
Instead of you having to hunt through transcripts, you can just ask:
- "Summarise what we decided in the Q3 planning meeting."
- "List follow-ups from last week's customer call."
- "What changed across my meetings in the last 2 weeks?"
You get quick answers right when you're writing updates or next-step emails.
Plug Jamie Into Your Favourite Tools So Notes and Tasks Land in the Right Place Automatically (Integrations)
Notes/Docs
- Notion: You can connect this right from your Integration settings. Jamie then creates a special notes database just for you in your workspace. You get to choose how you want it synced - pick automatic sync that happens right when your summary finishes, or go with manual sync where you control when it happens through the Share card.
- OneNote: Jamie creates a My Jamie Notes notebook for you, then adds a Meeting Notes section inside it. You get a fresh page for each meeting you have. You can choose automatic sync or manual sync.
Tasking / PM (via copy-paste with formatting preserved)
- Linear: When you paste tasks here, they show up as clean bullet points.
- Todoist: It spots when you have multiple tasks and splits them up for you.
- Notion: Your formatting stays exactly how you want it.
- Bear: You get tasks as bullet lists when you paste.
- Typora: Your tasks come through as bullet-list format, and your formatting stays put.
- Ulysses: You get Markdown format with clear done/not-done status. We recommend using "Paste from HTML" for the best results.
Meeting Platforms (compatibility)
- Jamie works with any online meeting platform you use. Because Jamie records your system audio right on your computer - no bot required.
Keep data private and compliant
You get a GDPR-first design that puts your privacy first, plus strong encryption that keeps your data safe, and we automatically delete your audio once we're done transcribing it.
You're protected with AES encryption when your data moves around and when it sits still; we process your audio in EU infrastructure and then delete it right away; you get notes through our API without us training on your data; we run regular audits and train our team to keep your data safe.
You can share more safely with your clients and stakeholders because you stay in control of what happens with your meeting content.
Jamie Supports Over 100+ Languages
You get transcription and note generation support for over 100 languages. If you're working with global teams, you'll appreciate getting usable transcripts without having to switch between different tools for different languages.
Workspaces That Match Your Sharing Style
You can keep your notes private or share them with your teammates; you get free invites, and nothing gets auto-shared without your permission. You create or join a workspace, and you control what's visible for each note. This way, you can gather all your meeting knowledge in one place without accidentally sending it to everyone.
Jamie Pricing
FREE Plan (€0/month)
- 10 meeting credits per month
- 30-minute meeting duration limit
- AI-generated meeting notes
- Automatic action item extraction
- Complete meeting transcripts
- Speaker identification
- Calendar integration (Google & Outlook)
- Tag system
- Task management
- Advanced text editing
- Copy-paste integration
- Team workspace sharing
- No meeting bots required
- 100+ languages support
PLUS Plan (€25/month)
- 20 meeting credits per month
- 2-hour meeting duration limit
- Includes everything in FREE plan
PRO Plan (€47/month)
- Unlimited meeting credits
- 3-hour meeting duration limit
- Includes everything in PLUS plan
Team & Enterprise Plans
- Custom pricing
- Custom solutions
- Contact required for details
Pros and Cons of Jamie
Pros
- No meeting bots, captures audio locally on your device.
- Works with any platform, online or offline.
- Fast, accurate summaries and transcripts.
- Auto-detects tasks and decisions.
- AI chat lets you search notes instantly.
- Integration capabilities with tools you already love.
Cons
- Manual speaker tagging is required at first.
- No real-time transcription notes during meetings.
- No sales coaching and sentiment analysis.
Fireflies.ai
Best for: Teams drowning in meetings who need automatic notes and summaries
Similar to: Otter.ai, Fathom
Source: Fireflies
Fireflies.ai is an AI meeting notetaker. Its bot joins your meetings and records conversations. You get meeting notes, action items, and summaries after each call. The tool supports 100+ languages. You can use it during multilingual meetings without taking manual notes.
You can search conversations to find who said what using the AI bot named Fred. You can share highlights with your team. Fireflies.ai works with your team's workflow and has good features. Let's look at some below.
Who is it for?
Remote teams and client-facing professionals use Fireflies.ai to handle note-taking and transcribe meetings. It works with your video calls and collaboration tools.
Key Features
- Automated Capture: An AI assistant called "Fred" joins and records your online meetings.
- AI Summaries & Action Items: Creates summaries and lists follow-up tasks after each meeting.
- Searchable Transcripts: You can search past conversations by keyword to find what someone said.
- Integrations: Syncs with your CRM and creates tasks in project tools.
- Speaker & Language Support: Shows different speakers in the transcript and works with over 100 languages.
Pricing
- Free: $0 per user/month
- Pro: $18 per user/month
- Business: $29 per user/month
- Enterprise: $39 per user/month (no monthly option; billed annually)
Pros and Cons of Fireflies.ai
Pros
- Fireflies joins your calls by itself, writes down what you say, and makes summaries.
- You can search your old meetings. Smart Search and Highlights take you to the exact part you need.
- You can use it with Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams.
- You can edit and share the summaries, and you can organise them by projects or clients.
- You get notes for each speaker and see how long each person talked.
Cons
- You get bad transcripts when it's noisy or when people have strong accents or talk over each other.
- It doesn't join every meeting you want it to; this happens when you have meetings back-to-back.
- The interface looks old, and you might find it confusing compared to newer tools.
- You wait longer for your transcripts. This slows down your work.
- You can't use multiple languages well, and summaries are sometimes wrong.
Source: G2
Fathom
Best for: Sales and customer-facing teams that live in Zoom calls and need instant notes
Similar to: Jamie, Fireflies.ai, Krisp
Source: Fathom
Fathom is a free AI meeting assistant that transcribes and summarises your Zoom, Google Meet, and Teams meetings in real time. Fathom creates an AI summary after your call ends and puts action items into your CRM.
Fathom delivers summaries quickly after meetings end and connects to CRMs. You can also share parts of your meetings as video clips instead of text. This way, your teammates see important call moments with full context when you drop a snippet into Slack.
Let's explore who benefits most from Fathom and the features that save them time.
Who is it for?
Fathom works for sales reps, customer success managers, and professionals who spend their day on virtual calls.
Key Features
- Instant AI Summaries: You get a meeting summary quite fast after you hang up.
- CRM & Follow-up Automation: Notes and action items go to your CRM or helpdesk automatically.
- Time Savings Stats: The tool handles the entire note-taking and distribution process.
- Video Clip Sharing: You clip and share specific moments from a call with one click.
- "Ask Fathom" Q&A: You get a ChatGPT-like assistant that answers questions about your call recordings.
Pricing
- FREE: $0 per user/month
- Premium: $19 per user/month
- Team Edition: $29 per user/month
- Team Edition Pro: $39 per user/month
Pros and Cons of Fathom
Pros
- You can stay focused in conversations instead of worrying about taking notes.
- It records full meetings with transcripts, recaps, and speaker names.
- You’ll find it highly accurate, even in multiple languages like Spanish and Afrikaans.
- It quickly provides summaries, action items, and transcripts after meetings.
- You can rewatch specific moments or ask the tool questions to save time.
Cons
- You might run into less precise topic segmentation during complex discussions.
- It can be hard if you’re looking for broader integrations with project tools.
- You may experience Afrikaans notes being output in English.
- It doesn’t always enter meetings automatically, which can disrupt workflow.
- You may need extra time to adjust settings before it works smoothly.
Source: G2
Sonix
Best for: Journalists, researchers, and content creators who need fast, accurate transcripts of recordings
Similar to: Trint, Rev
Source: Sonix
Sonix is a cloud-based transcription platform. You upload audio and video files, and it converts them to text using AI. You can access it through your web browser. It works with over 50 languages. Its commonly used to transcribe interviews, lectures, podcasts, and films.
Sonix also has an online editor if you are someone who likes editing features. You can search, play back, edit, and organize your transcripts in one place. You don't need to switch between a media player and a text editor.
It does more than basic transcription. You can translate transcripts into dozens of languages. AI tools auto-summarize content, generate subtitles, and detect topics or keywords.
Content creators use these to repurpose and analyze recordings. Next, we'll see who uses Sonix and what features they use in their daily work.
Who is it for?
Sonix is for professionals in media, academia, and business. Journalists, podcasters, researchers, and video producers use it. You transcribe and manage large amounts of audio and video content. You use Sonix's editor to search and polish transcripts for publication.
Key Features
- Multilingual Transcription: Works with over 50 languages for speech-to-text.
- In-Browser Editing: Highlight or correct text, and adjust timestamps or subtitle formatting.
- AI-Powered Insights: Automatically generate summaries, identify key themes, and create automatic chapter titles or topic tags from transcripts.
- Collaboration & Sharing: Allows multi-user access with permissions. Teams can comment on or edit transcripts together.
- Integrations & Workflow: Connects with popular tools and has export options like PDF, DOCX, and SRT. There's an integration for Adobe Premiere. Video editors can send transcripts directly into their video workflow.
Pricing
- Standard: $0 per month
- Premium: $22 per user/month
- Enterprise: Contact sales
Pros and Cons of Sonix
Pros
- You’ll find it works well across many languages, including Arabic, Turkish, Spanish, Chinese, and Vietnamese.
- Transcriptions are fast, accurate, and often need little to no editing.
- It’s simple and intuitive to use, with speaker labeling and easy editing options.
- You can get instant translations along with high-quality transcripts.
- The summaries and insights make it more than just a transcription tool.
Cons
- You might run into problems exporting subtitles due to technical issues.
- It can be hard when mixed-language conversations don’t transcribe smoothly.
- You may experience slow or unhelpful responses when seeking support.
- You could find the pricing setup confusing, with extra charges per transcription.
- It might feel underdeveloped in some areas compared to other tools.
Source: Trustpilot
Trint
Best for: Newsrooms and content teams needing fast, collaborative transcript workflows
Similar to: Jamie, Sonix, Happy Scribe
Source: Trint
Trint is an AI transcription platform that you can to turn your audio and video files into text that you can edit. You can transcribe speech in over 40 languages.
You just have to upload recorded files or transcribe live events as they happen. Your team can edit and check these transcripts together in real time. Multiple people on your team can clean up the same transcript at the same time.
You can use the mobile app for live transcription when you're out in the field. Say you're a reporter at a press conference. You transcribe it live on your phone and share the transcript with your editors right away.
Let's look at who uses Trint and which features solve the transcription problems it was made to fix.
Who is it for?
You can use Trint if you're a journalist, work at a news organisation, or create content and need to transcribe interviews or press events fast. You get transcripts almost instantly, even when you're out in the field, and you can work on them with your team at the same time.
Key Features
- Automated Transcription (40+ languages): You upload audio or video, and get text back, and it works with dozens of languages.
- Live Transcription via Mobile: Trint's mobile app helps to capture and transcribe live audio.
- Collaborative Editor: Works like Google Docs where multiple people can check text, leave comments, and highlight important quotes at the same time.
- Story Builder: Pull excerpts from transcripts across many files into one place to write articles, podcast scripts, or video scripts.
- Workflow Integrations: Exports to different formats like Word, PDF, and captions. It has an API and direct integrations with editing software.
Pricing
- Starter: $80 per user/month
- Advanced: $100 per user/month
- Enterprise: Contact sales
Pros and Cons of Trint
Pros
- You can rely on it for robust, accurate transcription in multiple languages like English and French.
- It offers strong editing tools, making video markup and corrections easier.
- The mobile app is slick, responsive, and convenient for quick access.
- Features like closed captioning, speaker ID, and playback syncing save time.
- It significantly reduces transcription time, even for long or complex files.
Cons
- You might find the pricing high compared to other transcription services.
- It can be hard when billing feels unclear or when charges stack unexpectedly.
- You may experience inaccuracies with very complex audio or certain languages.
- It can be tricky to organise files since renaming and sorting are clunky.
- You could see occasional lagging or speaker labels jumbling during edits.
Source: G2
Descript
Best for: Podcasters and video creators who want to edit audio/video by editing text
Similar to: Jamie, Kapwing
Source: Descript
Descript is an AI-powered tool that edits audio and video files. You import audio or video and get a transcript.
Has editing features like cutting or moving content by deleting and moving sentences in the text. Descript also has AI tools that remove filler words like "um" and "uh" with one click.
It cleans background noise and enhances voices through Studio Sound. You can generate voice clones for overdubs. You don't need formal editing training to use it; it's quite easy.
Teams can work on projects together in the Descript cloud. A marketer can edit transcript text while a designer changes video layout in the same tool. Here's who uses Descript's text-based editing and what features make it work for them.
Who is it for?
Descript works for podcasters, YouTubers, and marketing teams. You edit audio and video by editing text. You can cut parts by deleting sentences from the transcript.
Key Features
- Text-Based Editing: Audio and video editing works through transcript changes. Deleting a sentence removes the corresponding audio.
- Near-Instant Transcription: Automatic transcripts are generated immediately after import or recording.
- Filler Word Removal: The system identifies filler words like "um," "uh," and "like." A single click removes all instances.
- AI Audio Tools: Studio Sound removes background noise and improves audio quality.
- Multi-Format Export & Publishing: Projects exported to various formats or are published directly to platforms. Videos receive automatic captions. Shorter clips get created for social media.
Pricing
- Free: $0 per user/month
- Hobbyist: $24 per user/month
- Creator: $35 per user/month
- Business: $65 per user/month
- Enterprise: Contact sales
Pros and Cons of Descript AI
Pros
- You’ll find the transcription highly accurate and better than many competitors.
- It makes video editing smooth, even letting you edit directly from text.
- You can save hours editing podcasts, clips, and digital content.
- The tool offers easy navigation with powerful features for editing tasks.
- Studio Sound and orientation options help polish audio and adapt content.
Cons
- You might run into auto-transcription even when you don’t need it.
- It can be hard to upload and use your own fonts.
- You may experience small errors with missed words in transcripts.
- Interface design could feel less intuitive and limited for video editing.
- You might notice Studio Sound and regeneration features working worse over time.
Source: G2
MacWhisper
Best for: Mac users who need high-quality transcripts locally (including sensitive audio)
Similar to: Jamie, OpenAI Whisper, Whisper.cpp
Source: MacWhisper
MacWhisper is a native macOS app that transcribes audio and video files entirely offline on your Mac. It uses OpenAI's Whisper AI model to process the files. The app works as a transcription tool on your Mac.
You drag and drop recordings into it, or set it to automatically record Zoom and Teams calls. It produces transcripts quickly by using Apple Silicon GPUs for processing speed.
MacWhisper transcribes in 100 languages and processes long files at up to ~30x real-time speed. It works without an internet connection. MacWhisper also works offline, so you can use it during travel when internet access isn't available.
Who is it for?
MacWhisper works for Mac-based journalists, researchers, and legal professionals who transcribe sensitive or offline audio.
Key Features
- On-Device Transcription: Runs entirely offline on your Mac.
- Drag-and-Drop: You drag audio files onto MacWhisper, and transcription starts automatically.
- High Speed on Apple Silicon: Uses Apple's Metal and GPU capabilities for transcription speeds up to 15–30x faster than real-time.
- Multi-Language Support: Transcribes in 100 different languages.
- Search and Edit Tools: After transcription, MacWhisper provides search functions within transcripts, text highlighting, segment editing and deletion, and automatic filler word removal.
Pricing
- MacWhisper: €0 per month
- MacWhisper Pro (Personal License): €29 one-time (no monthly option; billed once)
- MacWhisper Pro (5 Licenses Pack): €125 one-time (no monthly option; billed once)
- MacWhisper Pro (10 Licenses Pack): €220 one-time (no monthly option; billed once)
- MacWhisper Pro (20 Licenses Pack): €400 one-time (no monthly option; billed once)
Source: aihungry
Pros and Cons of MacWhisper
Pros
- You’ll find MacWhisper’s dictation feature surprisingly strong and accurate.
- It can run fully offline, giving you privacy and control over recordings.
- You can use optional LLM post-processing to clean and refine transcripts.
- It supports automatic language detection, which is helpful if you switch often.
- You can even capture audio directly from apps without using speakers.
Cons
- You might run into clunky UI elements when changing post-processing options.
- It can be hard to use effectively on older Intel Macs without cloud support.
- You may experience occasional instability after frequent feature updates.
- It sometimes inserts unwanted noises, pauses, or non-speech sounds as text.
- You might see text mistranslated or formatted poorly, especially in dictation.
Source: Reddit
AssemblyAI
Best for: Developers and companies who need a powerful speech-to-text API to transcribe and analyze audio at scale
Similar to: Google Cloud Speech-to-Text, Deepgram
Source: AssemblyAI
AssemblyAI converts speech to text through an API. Developers integrate it into applications when they need voice transcription and audio analysis.
The service works with over 99 languages. It identifies speakers, filters profanity, adds punctuation automatically, handles custom vocabulary, and transcribes live audio in real-time. It turns audio into text and pulls information from that text. Companies use AssemblyAI for conversation analysis, meeting notes, podcast indexing, and other speech data tasks.
Who is it for?
AssemblyAI works for software developers and tech companies that need to transcribe or analyse audio in their applications.
Key Features
- Developer-Friendly API: A REST/WebSocket API that takes audio files and returns JSON with transcripts and metadata.
- High Accuracy Multilingual STT: Speech-to-text processing across 99+ languages and accents.
- Advanced Transcription Features: Speaker identification, profanity filtering, custom vocabulary for specific terms, word-level timestamps, and confidence scores.
- Audio Intelligence Add-ons: Models for summarisation, topic detection, sentiment analysis, and personal information removal work with basic transcription.
- Scalability and Support: The cloud service processes large volumes of audio (millions of minutes) and meets enterprise security and compliance requirements for healthcare and finance applications.
Pricing
- Free: $0 per month (includes $50 free credits)
Speech-to-Text (Pre-recorded)
- Universal: $0.27/hr
- Slam-1 (BETA): $0.27/hr
Streaming Speech-to-Text
- Universal-Streaming: $0.15/hr
Speech Understanding / Audio Intelligence
- Entity Detection: $0.08/hr
- Topic Detection: $0.15/hr
- Key Phrases: $0.01/hr
- PII Audio Redaction: $0.05/hr
- PII Redaction: $0.08/hr
- Sentiment Analysis: $0.02/hr
- Content Moderation: $0.15/hr
- Auto Chapters: $0.08/hr
- Summarisation: $0.03/hr
LeMUR (LLM APIs, per 1k tokens)
- Claude 4 Opus: $0.015 input / $0.075 output
- Claude 4 Sonnet: $0.003 input / $0.015 output
- Claude 3.7 Sonnet: $0.003 input / $0.015 output
- Claude 3.5 Sonnet: $0.003 input / $0.015 output
- Claude 3.5 Haiku: $0.0008 input / $0.004 output
- Claude 3 Opus: $0.015 input / $0.075 output
- Claude 3 Haiku: $0.00025 input / $0.00125 output
- Enterprise: Contact sales
Pros and Cons of AssemblyAI
Pros
- You’ll find the API easy to use, with clear documentation that gets you up and running quickly.
- You can integrate it into your systems with minimal effort, thanks to a developer-friendly design.
- You’ll get fast, accurate transcription with solid diarization, even on lower-quality audio.
- You may like features such as sentiment analysis, word boosting, and real-time transcription.
- You can save money with competitive pay-as-you-go pricing that stays affordable for large-scale needs.
Cons
- You might run into inconsistent transcription response times during high-load periods.
- It can be hard to customise the model deeply for domain-specific vocabulary or acoustic quirks.
- You may experience clutter in the API response due to unnecessary fields that slow things down.
- It can be frustrating that diarization doesn’t distinguish between real voices and automated menus.
- You might find the API intimidating if you’re not a developer, despite the presence of a web playground.
Source: G2
Deepgram
Best for: Enterprise dev teams needing fast, scalable speech transcription with flexible deployment
Similar to: AssemblyAI, Google Cloud Speech-to-Text
Source: Deepgram
Deepgram is an AI speech recognition platform that provides a real-time speech-to-text API for developers. It focuses on enterprise requirements like scalability, speed, and flexible deployment options, including cloud or on-premises installation.
You can use Deepgram for real-time call centre analytics dashboards, voice-enabled customer service bots, or processing large audio archives. The platform works when you need a speech API that processes quickly, offers customisation options including deployment in your own data centre, and reduces costs at scale.
The next section explains exactly who uses Deepgram and which features they use.
Who is it for?
Deepgram works for large enterprises and developers in contact centres, conversational AI, and voice analytics.
Key Features
- Real-Time Transcription (Streaming): Provides transcription with under 300ms latency for live audio streams.
- High Accuracy Models: Offers models that achieve over 90% accuracy on real-world audio.
- Flexible Deployment: Deepgram works in the cloud, on-premises, or in your virtual private cloud.
- Cost-Effective at Scale: GPU optimisation allows Deepgram to process speech efficiently, often resulting in lower costs per hour transcribed.
- Advanced Features: Includes Keyword Boosting where you can supply terms like product names to improve recognition, Diarization that labels speakers in multi-speaker audio, Smart Formatting that automatically formats numbers and dates correctly, and PII Redaction that removes sensitive information like credit card numbers from transcripts.
Pricing
- Pay As You Go: $0 per month (includes $200 credits, then usage-based)
- Growth: $333+ per month (no monthly option; billed annually at $4k+/year)
- Enterprise: Contact sales
Pros and Cons of Deepgram
Pros
- You’ll find the API simple to use, with clear documentation that makes setup smooth and fast.
- You can count on accurate, low-latency transcription even with background noise or varied accents.
- You’ll benefit from real-time transcription and multilingual support across different use cases.
- You can integrate Deepgram easily with your existing systems and audio formats.
- You may find features like speaker diarization and key term boosting helpful for industry-specific needs.
Cons
- You might run into reduced accuracy when dealing with heavy accents or noisy environments.
- It can be hard to scale quickly due to a concurrency limit of 50 sessions.
- You may experience confusion when grouping API results into natural dialogue with single-channel audio.
- It can be frustrating that some languages, like Farsi, aren’t yet supported.
- You might find the setup slow at first, and model selection requires some trial and error.
Source: G2
Azure AI Speech
Best for: Enterprises and developers needing a comprehensive, cloud-based speech solution in the Azure ecosystem
Similar to: Google Cloud Speech-to-Text, Amazon Transcribe
Source: Azure
Azure AI Speech is Microsoft’s enterprise-grade cloud service offering speech-to-text, text-to-speech, and real-time speech translation powered by customizable AI models.
Supporting over 100 languages and dialects, it enables high-accuracy transcription of calls and meetings, plus speech-to-speech translation for multilingual scenarios. Custom speech models improve recognition of industry jargon and accents, while custom neural voices allow branded text-to-speech.
The service integrates tightly with Azure’s ecosystem, providing enterprise-grade security, compliance, and global infrastructure. On-device/offline options are available for limited connectivity.
Who is it for?
Ideal for enterprises and developers on Azure needing scalable speech capabilities for transcribing calls, enabling multilingual voice bots, or captioning meetings with trusted cloud security.
Key Features
- Speech-to-Text: Accurate batch and real-time transcription in 100+ languages.
- Speech Translation: Real-time speech-to-speech and speech-to-text translation.
- Text-to-Speech: Natural, customizable neural voices.
- Custom Models: Train models for domain-specific vocabulary.
- Azure Integration & Security: Seamless integration with Azure services and enterprise-grade security.
Pricing
- Free (F0): $0 per month (includes 5 audio hours STT, 0.5M TTS characters, 10k speaker recognition transactions, 1 custom model hosting, and 5 audio hours speech translation)
Pay As You Go
- Speech-to-Text Standard (real-time): $1/hr
- Speech-to-Text Standard (batch): $0.18/hr
- Speech-to-Text Custom (real-time): $1.20/hr
- Speech-to-Text Custom (batch): $0.225/hr
- Conversation Transcription (preview): $2.10/hr
- Speech Translation (real-time): $2.50/hr
- Video Translation (input video): $5/hr
- Video Translation (output standard voice): $15/hr
- Video Translation (output personal voice): $20/hr
- Text-to-Speech Neural: $15 per 1M characters
- Text-to-Speech Custom Voice (professional): $24 per 1M characters
- Text-to-Speech Custom Voice (neural HD): $48 per 1M characters
- Speaker Verification: $5 per 1k transactions
- Speaker Identification: $10 per 1k transactions
- Voice Profile Storage: $0.20 per 1k profiles (first 10k free)
- Avatar (standard interactive): $0.50 per minute
Commitment Tiers (Standard)
- Speech-to-Text Standard: $1,600/month (2,000 hrs), $6,500/month (10,000 hrs), $25,000/month (50,000 hrs)
- Speech-to-Text Custom: $1,920/month (2,000 hrs), $7,800/month (10,000 hrs), $30,000/month (50,000 hrs)
- Text-to-Speech Neural: $960/month (80M chars), $3,900/month (400M chars), $15,000/month (2,000M chars)
Commitment Tiers (Connected Container)
- Speech-to-Text Standard: $1,520/month (2,000 hrs), $6,175/month (10,000 hrs), $23,750/month (50,000 hrs)
- Speech-to-Text Custom: $1,824/month (2,000 hrs), $7,410/month (10,000 hrs), $28,500/month (50,000 hrs)
- Text-to-Speech Neural: $912/month (80M chars), $3,705/month (400M chars), $14,250/month (2,000M chars)
Commitment Tiers (Disconnected Container – annual only)
- Speech-to-Text Standard: $74,100/year (10,000 hrs/month), $285,000/year (50,000 hrs/month)
- Speech-to-Text Custom: $88,920/year (10,000 hrs/month), $342,000/year (50,000 hrs/month)
- Text-to-Speech Neural: $47,424/year (400M chars/month), $182,400/year (2,000M chars/month)
Pros and Cons of Azure
Pros
- You’ll find the transcription feature easy to use and reliable for both short and long audio.
- You can fine-tune it for specific tasks, including domain-specific vocabulary.
- It works well offline, making it a good fit for secure or remote environments.
- You may find it handles background noise effectively in most cases.
- It can save time by accurately converting speech to text, reducing manual typing.
Cons
- You might run into difficulty when identifying multiple native English speakers in one recording.
- It can be hard to get accurate results when speech is fast or unclear.
- You may experience challenges when setting up or customising speech models.
- It can be frustrating that minor backend issues sometimes affect accuracy.
- You might find the interface or purpose confusing without proper guidance.
Source: G2
Final Verdict: What’s the Best AI-Powered and Automated Transcription Tool?
No single transcription tool works best for every situation. The right choice depends on your specific requirements. If you need better speaker identification, reliable file exports, and consistent recording capture, consider these options based on your workflow:
- Most suitable for high-quality transcription (online or offline) with the full package of AI meeting summaries, speaker identification, Ask AI features, Workspaces for Collaboration, 100+ language support and Integration to your favourite tools, for free is Jamie.
- Jamie records locally, creates transcripts with speaker identification, includes tagging features, and provides Ask AI chat features and so much more. Limitations include manual speaker setup and no live transcription. Jamie also inte
- Most suitable for sales and customer service teams requiring quick summaries and CRM integration: Fathom provides speed and automated CRM connections. Fireflies.ai offers broader meeting coverage and searchable archives, though automated meeting joining can be inconsistent.
- Most suitable for content creators and editors: Descript allows text-based editing and audio refinement. Sonix provides multilingual accuracy and comprehensive export options. Trint works well for live collaboration and newsroom workflows.
- Most suitable for privacy requirements and offline use (sensitive audio, Mac systems): MacWhisper processes audio locally without an internet connection. Jamie is also a similar tool to Macwhisper. It is GDPR compliant, your audio is deleted soon after the transcription process is over, and it does not send bots to your meetings, preserving the natural conversation and preventing an intrusive and uncomfortable environment for your clients/attendees.
- Most suitable for developers and large-scale operations: AssemblyAI and Deepgram provide robust APIs, speaker identification, and real-time processing. Azure AI Speech integrates well with existing Microsoft infrastructure and handles enterprise-level translation.
Direct recommendations based on specific situations
- Individuals/Professionals/Founders/CEOs/Entrepreneurs managing many calls → Jamie.
- Sales and customer service teams needing sentiment analysis and coaching features → Fathom (or Fireflies.ai for wider integration options).
- Podcast creators and video production teams → Descript (add Sonix/Trint for multilingual support, collaboration features, and reliable exports).
- High-security requirements or offline processing → MacWhisper.
- Custom application development or large-scale processing → Deepgram or AssemblyAI (Azure for integrated cloud services).
Choose the tool that gives you more time to do greater things in life, and make sure the tool works wherever you do with the least amount of friction.
Read More
- Explore our guide to free AI-powered transcription software you can start using today
- Compare AI tools in our review of Rev Transcription and modern alternatives
- Discover the top-rated meeting transcription software for remote and hybrid teams
- See how to enable transcription in Microsoft Teams and boost meeting productivity
- Find the best call transcription software for customer support and sales teams
- Learn about interview transcription tools that save time and improve accuracy
- Get step-by-step help on transcribing Zoom meetings automatically
- Discover top transcription software for Mac users who need offline privacy
- Check out the 5 best video transcription software tools for creators and editors
- Read our German-language guide on interview transcription software (DE)
- Explore meeting transcription software tailored for German-speaking teams (DE)
FAQs on AI-Powered and Automated Transcription Tools
What Are Automated Transcription Services And How Do They Work?
Automated transcription services use AI transcription software powered by machine learning algorithms and natural language processing to convert spoken words into text. These AI transcription tools handle audio transcription from audio clips, podcast episodes, or virtual meetings with minimal manual effort, producing a final transcript faster than traditional human transcription or manual transcription.
How Accurate Is AI Transcription Software Compared To Manual Transcription?
Transcription accuracy varies by tool and audio quality. While AI transcription apps can provide consistent accuracy in many cases, complex customer conversations or multiple speakers may still need some manual transcription editing. Users often spend extra transcription hours correcting names, acronyms, and mislabeled speakers to ensure reliable transcribed content.
Which AI Transcription Tools Are Best For Multiple Speakers?
Some ai transcription services like Jamie, Fireflies.ai, and Trint include speaker identification features to handle multiple speakers in internal meetings or sales calls. However, users report that diarization issues can make notes unreliable, requiring collaborative editing to fix speaker mix-ups in the final transcript.
Do AI Transcription Apps Support Multiple Languages?
Yes, tools like Jamie, Sonix, and MacWhisper support multiple languages. These AI transcription tools can convert spoken words from global customer interactions, healthcare providers, or legal firms, making them suitable transcription solutions for diverse teams and industries.
Can AI Transcription Services Handle Virtual Meetings Automatically?
Yes, platforms like Fireflies.ai and Fathom integrate directly with communication tools such as Zoom, Google Meet, and Teams. These ai transcription apps capture audio content from virtual meetings, generate transcribed content, and even extract actionable insights for customer interactions or internal meetings.
What Are The Key Benefits Of Using AI Transcription Tools?
Ai transcriber platforms save manual effort by generating summaries, key insights, and actionable insights from spoken words in customer conversations or sales calls. They reduce time spent cleaning up audio content, help with identifying key topics, and enable conversation intelligence that supports better decision-making.
Are Enterprise-Grade Security Measures Available In AI Transcription Services?
Yes. Tools like Jamie and Azure AI Speech provide enterprise-grade security measures, including GDPR compliance and encryption. These safeguards ensure transcribed content from legal firms, customer conversations, or healthcare providers remains private while still benefiting from advanced AI transcription solutions.
Which Transcription Software Works Best For Podcast Episodes?
Creators often prefer ai transcription software like Descript, Sonix, or Trint. These ai transcription services allow users to edit audio clips and podcast episodes by working directly with the transcribed content, making it easier to refine the final transcript and share key insights with teams.
Sanduni Yureka is a Growth Content Editor at Jamie, known for driving a 10x increase in website traffic for clients across Singapore, the U.S., and Germany. With an LLB Honors degree and a background in law, Sanduni transitioned from aspiring lawyer to digital marketing expert during the 2019 lockdown. She now specializes in crafting high-impact SEO strategies for AI-powered SaaS companies, particularly those using large language models (LLMs). When she’s not binge-watching true crime shows, Sanduni is obsessed with studying everything SEO.