What are transcription services? Who uses them?

Transcription services convert live or recorded speech into text for legal, medical, educational, or business purposes. A university student may record a lecture and have it transcribed to more easily take notes, or a court reporter may record the audio of a criminal trial and submit it to one of these services for transcription. Many transcription services also provide captioning for YouTube videos or other mp4 files.

Why should I use a transcription service? Why can't I do it all by myself?

By outsourcing the transcription of your file, you save yourself frustration and time, and as we all know, time is money. However, if you are determined to transcribe your audio all by yourself, some transcription services provide in-site dictation, editing, and automatic speech-to-text tools.

How much does transcription cost?

The pricing model of transcription is based on dollars-per-minute. Depending on the service you choose, the language and complexity of the audio, how polished you want your final transcript to be and how fast you need it, manual transcription will run you anywhere between $0.75-$3 per minute.

What is the difference between automated and manual transcription?

Most transcription services offer both automated and manual transcription options. Automated transcription is done by running your audio through speech recognition software, and the quality of the finished product will depend on whether or not the audio you submitted was clear enough to be understood by the AI. Manual transcription is done by an actual person. Automated transcription is cheaper, generally costing $0.10 per minute of audio. Manual transcription is more expensive, but it is typically much more accurate and is the only viable option for difficult audio files.

What if I am dissatisfied with the transcript I receive?

Most transcription services offer a 99% accuracy guarantee. If you are unhappy with your transcript, they will rework it until it meets 99% accuracy or until you are satisfied.

How long will it take to have my file transcribed?

If you opt for automated transcription, turnaround typically takes between 5 minutes and 5x the length of the audio. Manual transcription turnaround times will depend on the service and the length and complexity of the audio, but most services advertise 24 hours between when you submit your audio or video file and when you receive your finished transcript.

Can I have audio files in foreign languages transcribed?

Yes, you can. Most services offer foreign language transcription, though you should be aware that you may be paying as much as $7 per minute of audio depending on the language.

What about files with specialized medical, academic, and legal terms?

Most transcription services offer transcription for medical, academic, and legal purposes for an extra fee. Some services only do this sort of transcription. A mark of a transcription service well-suited to medical, legal, and academic transcription is their commitment to customer security. These services bind their employees to a non-disclosure agreement, and, at your request, will destroy their copy of your files upon completion of your order.

Go Transcript Review for March 2026 | Best Transcription Services

Item: Go Transcript Review
Rating: 3
Author: Top Consumer Reviews

Friday, March 6th We evaluate products and services based on unbiased research. Top Consumer Reviews may earn money when you click on a link. Learn more about our process.

2026 Transcription Service Reviews

What is the best place to find transcription services online today? If you're a business owner or someone who is constantly on the go, running and managing your (and other people's) lives, you've probably imagined what it would be like to have a personal assistant who steps in to help you keep track of it all. Now, imagine having a specific personal assistant who listens to what you say and writes it down perfectly so you never have to take notes again. Transcription services are exactly that. These tools take any audio or video (live or a recording) and turn the spoken words into a written document that you can refer back to (If you're on TikTok at all, you've definitely seen ads for these services. Don't worry, they are legit.)

3.0

AVERAGE

Average

Go Transcript

Pricing from $1.02 to $2.75 per minute for human transcripts
Pricing from $0.20 per minute for AI transcripts
Includes captions
Translation and subtitle services as an add-on
Includes transcriptions for multilingual situations

AVERAGE

3.0

On the Go Transcript website

Go Transcript is an audio and video transcription service that promises to boost your productivity. Its transcriptions are ready-to-use as soon as they're finished, and include "global communication," so no matter the language used in your meetings or phone calls, you can ensure everything is written down accurately. This transcription service is backed by professional linguistic resources and a human-trained and verified AI system to avoid errors or non-human-sounding transcriptions.

Videos, podcasts, meetings, and more

Go Transcript offers a few different services with its program. You can get standard transcription services from this company, which include high-quality transcriptions for meetings, interviews, and podcasts; full verbatim transcriptions that capture every word (including fillers and pauses and non-verbal sounds); specialized transcription which includes expert fields like legal, medical, and financial content; transcription proof reading done by human editors; time-coded transcriptions (including timestamps for video integrations); custom solutions for specific workflows or large-scale projects; integration with your existing APIs; and AI model training for data annotation and sentence-level sentiment marking.

Pricing from $1.02 to $2.75 per minute for human and $0.20 per minute for AI

Go Transcript offers 4 different tiers of transcription services. The options range from a 5-day turnaround to a 6- to 12-hour turnaround. Here's what you can expect for full transcription services with a professional (human) transcriber:

5-day service: from $1.02 to $1.20 per minute (minimums from 2,500-10,000 words at a time)
3-day service: from $1.19 to $1.40 per minute (minimums from 2,500-10,000)
1-day service: from $1.36 to $1.60 per minute (minimums from 2,500-10,000)
6-12-hour service: from $2.34 to $2.75 per minute (minimums from 2,500-10,000)

If you'd prefer fully automated services, you can pick a pay-as-you-go option of $0.20 per minute.

Get captions, subtitles, or translations too

Some additional services you can get at Go Transcript include captions (which come free with a transcript), translation services, subtitles (only done by a human), and a video description. In general, the only AI option is the automated transcripts. The rest of the features and services at this transcription service are monitored or written by humans.

Solid choice for transcription, but not for writers

Go Transcript does not currently have a page with the Better Business Bureau. However, we were able to find reviews for this transcription service on Trustpilot. According to recent reviews, Go Transcript has a 2.9-star average rating out of 5 stars. Customers recently complained that there was no way to get a business receipt for the purchase made on the website, so businesses that need that information for tax season find the process frustrating. On the other hand, we also saw some competitive reviews that noted the turnaround for transcriptions at Go Transcript was particularly fast and helpful. In fact, customers seemed pretty happy with the end product of this transcription service. Many of the poor reviews were from writers who were frustrated with the workplace.

Middle-tier, but not too costly

If you're looking for a site that offers human-centered transcription services as well as AI-guided options without breaking the bank, Go Transcript is going to be a solid choice for you. A standard transcription includes captions at no additional cost. However, you do need to pay for various services separately. So, if you need a transcription and a translation, you'll have to pay for two different services. It does make it a little more costly not having one purchase option, but you can save some money with this service. While we're a little disappointed they don't treat their writers better, the result for your company is a low-cost transcription that's easy to grab again and again.

On the Go Transcript website

Continued from above...

What is the Best Place to Find Transcription Services Online Today?

If you're a business owner or someone who is constantly on the go, running and managing your (and other people's) lives, you've probably imagined what it would be like to have a personal assistant who steps in to help you keep track of it all. Now, imagine having a specific personal assistant who listens to what you say and writes it down perfectly so you never have to take notes again. Transcription services are exactly that. These tools take any audio or video (live or a recording) and turn the spoken words into a written document that you can refer back to (If you're on TikTok at all, you've definitely seen ads for these services. Don't worry, they are legit.)

These days, transcription services are more powerful than ever. Thanks to major upgrades to AI, transcription software can handle tons of different possible situations, including noisy coffee shops, different dialects and accents, and higher accuracy for spoken-to-written transcription than ever before. As an added benefit, transcription services are fast. While it might have taken several hours to process audio previously, now you can get a full hour of audio turned into text in just a few minutes. And hey, if you still like a personal touch, you can hire a transcription specialist instead.

When you're checking out different transcription services, you can pick between AI or human transcribers. Whether you want meeting notes or someone to write up a transcript for your newest YouTube video, there's a professional transcription service out there for you. In general, AI is great for those who need transcriptions on a budget. However, if you're working on something important like legal documents or medical reports, you might want to pay a little extra for a human touch. Things like slang or technical words that are important to your field might trip up even the most advanced AI, so grabbing someone to transcribe for you may be a better choice if you have a jargon-heavy workspace.

Transcription services don't just type out your audio for you. You can find some extras along with the standard services, too. Some transcription services offer "smart summaries" and speaker labels so you can see who is talking (great for podcasts) or write up a recap to send with your meeting notes to give your boss the "tl;dr". Keep an eye out for privacy and security features too. If you work in an industry that has sensitive information, you might want to look for a transcription service that includes features like end-to-end encryption to keep your files safe.

If you're ready to streamline your audio into helpful written documents, we've got your back. There are tons of places to get transcription services out there today, so to help you find the best fit for your business, we've put together some factors. Take a look:

Cost. Paying for an AI or a human to do your transcriptions can include long-term subscriptions or one-time payments to a professional. Depending on your business needs (and how often you plan on using transcription services), you can opt for a lower-cost option or a more long-term plan. Make sure you pick a price that includes all the features you want.
Features. Do you only want transcriptions? Or are you looking for extras too? It might be helpful to grab a service with summaries. Or maybe you have to have extra security to keep that NDA above board. Whatever you're looking for, make sure your chosen transcription service handles it all for you.
Speed. Different transcription services will offer different speeds and options for you. Some are better for uploading an existing recording and transcribing the words for you. Others can transcribe as you talk, creating written documents for meetings and in-person conversations you might want to save for later. Pick the option with the best transcription speed for what you're hoping to have when you're done.
Reputation. If you're still between a few services, check out your top picks through third-party review sites. Reading feedback on Trustpilot or the Better Business Bureau can give you a clear idea of what you can expect and which providers are really worth your time and money.

So, whether you're the big boss trying to keep track of a team, a manager leading a meeting every week, or just someone who wants to keep track of your daily task list by talking out loud, transcription services are a great way to take audio and turn it into a useful written document. To help you out, Top Consumer Reviews has researched and ranked the best options on the market. This way, you can get your writing done whether you have the time to type or not. No matter if you want AI or human writing, there are plenty of transcription services to give your business the boost it needs.

Go Transcript Review: Transcription Services

2026 Transcription Service Reviews

Go Transcript

What is the Best Place to Find Transcription Services Online Today?

Transcription Service FAQ