A human transcriber charges 1.99 dollars per minute. An AI transcriber charges about 3 cents per minute on a paid plan. That gap is 66 times, and it is the reason most teams never hire a human transcriber again, except when accuracy is non negotiable. The gap also hides the real question, which is not whether AI is cheaper, because it is, but which AI tool is cheapest for the volume you actually record. That gap is the reason AI transcription pricing now decides the budget for most teams, not the hourly rate of a person.
A tool that gives you 300 free minutes a month and charges 8.33 dollars for 1,200 minutes is cheap for a team that records five hours a month, and expensive for a team that records 50 hours a month, because the minute meter, not the monthly price, decides the bill. That is the core of AI transcription pricing, and it is the number this guide works out for every tool.
Prices in this guide are US list prices checked in September and October 2026, per user per month on annual billing unless noted, with the monthly billing rate beside it where it is published. AI transcription in 2026 costs about 0.006 dollars to 0.142 dollars per included minute on the entry paid plans of the apps that meter minutes, with a median of about 0.033 dollars on monthly billing. That range is the starting point for AI transcription pricing, and the worked costs below show what each tool costs at the volumes a real team records.
Human transcription at Rev costs 1.99 dollars a minute, about 800 times the cheapest API price, and about 60 times the median AI app price. Free plans range from 45 minutes a month at Rev to 300 minutes at Otter, and several tools cap a single free recording, from three minutes at Notta to two hours at Fireflies.
The AI transcription pricing in this guide covers Otter.ai, Fireflies.ai, Rev, Descript, Notta, Temi, Sonix, Trint, Happy Scribe, and TurboScribe. They cover the range from a meeting bot that joins your calls to a file tool that transcribes a recording you upload, from a free plan that covers a real month to a pay as you go tool that charges only for what you use, and from AI accuracy that is good enough for notes to human accuracy that is good enough for court. The fee table below gives the free plan, the entry paid price, the minutes included, and the per minute cost, for each one.
AI Transcription Pricing at a Glance
The table below is the short answer. Prices are per user per month in US dollars, on annual billing unless noted, before tax. Minutes are the allowance on the entry paid plan, and the per minute cost is the plan price divided by the minutes included.
| Tool | Free plan | Entry paid | Minutes included | Per minute cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Otter.ai | 300 minutes a month, 30 minute cap per conversation | Pro 16.99 dollars monthly, 8.33 annual | 1,200 minutes a month | 0.014 dollars annual, 0.014 dollars monthly |
| Fireflies.ai | Unlimited transcription, 400 minutes storage per team | Pro 18 dollars monthly, 10 annual | Unlimited transcription | No per minute cap, storage is the limit |
| Rev | 45 AI minutes a month | Essentials 29.99 dollars monthly, 25.49 annual | 5,000 AI minutes a month | 0.006 dollars monthly |
| Descript | 60 minutes a month | Hobbyist 24 dollars monthly, 16 annual | 600 minutes a month | 0.040 dollars monthly |
| Notta | 120 minutes a month, 3 minute cap per recording | Pro 13.99 dollars monthly, 8.17 annual | 1,800 minutes a month | 0.008 dollars annual |
| Temi | No free plan | Pay as you go 0.25 dollars per minute | Pay per minute, no subscription | 0.25 dollars per minute |
| Sonix | 30 minutes free trial | Standard 10 dollars per hour, about 0.17 per minute | Pay per hour | About 0.17 dollars per minute |
| Trint | 7 day trial only | Starter 52 dollars a month, 48 annual | 7 files a month, minutes vary | Varies by file length |
| Happy Scribe | 30 minutes free trial | Standard 17 dollars a month | 120 minutes a month | 0.14 dollars per minute |
| TurboScribe | Free, limited | 20 dollars a month, unlimited | Unlimited, fair use | No per minute cap at 20 dollars |
Read the per minute column first, because a plan that looks expensive can be cheap per minute, and a plan that looks cheap can be expensive per minute. Rev Essentials at 29.99 dollars a month gives 5,000 minutes, which is 0.006 dollars per minute, the cheapest in this guide.
Descript Hobbyist at 24 dollars a month gives 600 minutes, which is 0.040 dollars per minute, the most expensive in this guide for a file tool, because Descript meters media minutes, not just transcription. Otter Pro at 16.99 dollars a month gives 1,200 minutes, which is 0.014 dollars per minute, and Notta Pro at 13.99 dollars a month gives 1,800 minutes, which is about 0.008 dollars per minute on annual billing.
Read the free plan column second, because a free plan that covers a real month saves you a paid bill while you test the tool. Otter Free gives 300 minutes a month, with a 30 minute cap per conversation and three lifetime file imports. Notta Free gives 120 minutes a month, with a three minute cap per recording. Fireflies Free gives unlimited transcription, rationed by 400 minutes of team storage. Rev Free gives only 45 AI minutes a month, so it is a test, not a plan.
Otter.ai
Otter.ai is the default for meeting transcription, and its pricing is a minute meter with a per user price. Free gives 300 transcription minutes a month, with a 30 minute limit per conversation and three lifetime file imports. Pro costs 16.99 dollars per user per month billed monthly, or 8.33 dollars billed annually, for 1,200 minutes a month. Business costs 30 dollars per user per month billed monthly, or 19.99 dollars billed annually, with more minutes and team features.
Worked cost for 1,000 minutes a month, which is about 16 hours of meetings. Free gives 300 minutes, so a team that records 1,000 minutes a month needs Pro. Pro at 8.33 dollars a month on annual billing gives 1,200 minutes, so the cost is 8.33 dollars a month, or 100 dollars a year, for 1,000 minutes. The per minute cost is 0.008 dollars on annual billing, or 0.014 dollars on monthly billing. A team that records 10 hours a month, which is 600 minutes, fits in Pro with room to spare.
OtterPilot auto joins scheduled Zoom, Meet, and Teams calls and transcribes live, and the accuracy is good enough for meeting notes and summaries. A team that needs a transcript for every meeting should test Otter first, because the bot is the feature that makes it the meeting default.
Fireflies.ai
Fireflies.ai is the pick for searchable meeting history, and its pricing is a seat price with unlimited transcription. Free gives unlimited transcription, rationed by 400 minutes of team storage and limited AI summaries. Pro costs 18 dollars per seat per month billed monthly, or 10 dollars billed annually, with unlimited transcription and more storage. Business costs 19 dollars per seat per month billed monthly, with more AI features and integrations.
Worked cost for 1,000 minutes a month. Free gives unlimited transcription, so a team that records 1,000 minutes a month can start on Free, but the storage cap of 400 minutes per team means older meetings will need to be deleted or archived. Pro at 10 dollars a month on annual billing gives unlimited transcription, so the cost is 10 dollars a month, or 120 dollars a year, for 1,000 minutes or for 10,000 minutes. The per minute cost falls as the volume rises, because the price is flat. A team that records 50 hours a month, which is 3,000 minutes, pays the same 10 dollars a month on Pro, which is 0.003 dollars per minute.
Fireflies meters its AI features through separately metered AI credits, so the headline seat price is not the full cost if the team uses the AI features heavily. Check the AI credit allowance before you commit, because a team that asks the AI assistant a question after every meeting will burn through credits faster than a team that only reads the transcript.
Rev
Rev is the pick when accuracy is non negotiable, because it is the only tool in this guide that sells human transcription as well as AI. Free gives 45 AI minutes a month, English only. Essentials costs 29.99 dollars per seat per month billed monthly, or 25.49 dollars billed annually, for 5,000 AI minutes per seat. Pro costs 59.99 dollars per seat per month billed monthly, or 47.99 dollars billed annually, for more minutes and more features. Human transcription costs 1.99 dollars per minute, pay as you go, with 99 percent accuracy guaranteed and a 12 hour turnaround.
Worked cost for 1,000 minutes a month. Essentials at 29.99 dollars a month gives 5,000 minutes, so the cost is 29.99 dollars a month, or 360 dollars a year, for 1,000 minutes, with 4,000 minutes left over. The per minute cost is 0.006 dollars, the cheapest in this guide. A team that needs 100 minutes of human transcription a month will pay 199 dollars for that human work, on top of the AI plan, so the human cost should be budgeted separately from the AI cost.
Rev AI pay as you go costs about 0.25 dollars per minute, so a team that transcribes only a few files a month should use pay as you go rather than a subscription. A team that transcribes every week should use Essentials, because the subscription is cheaper per minute at volume.
Notta
Notta is the value pick in this guide, and its pricing is a minute meter with strong multilingual support. Free gives 120 minutes a month, with a three minute cap per recording. Pro costs 13.99 dollars a month billed monthly, or 8.17 dollars billed annually, for 1,800 minutes a month across 58 languages. Business costs 27.99 dollars a month billed monthly, for more minutes and more uploads.
Worked cost for 1,000 minutes a month. Pro at 8.17 dollars a month on annual billing gives 1,800 minutes, so the cost is 8.17 dollars a month, or 98 dollars a year, for 1,000 minutes. The per minute cost is about 0.005 dollars on annual billing, which is among the cheapest in this guide. A team that records in multiple languages should test Notta first, because the 58 language support is the widest in this guide, and the free plan at 120 minutes a month is the most generous after Otter.
Descript
Descript is the pick for creators who edit audio and video by editing text, and its pricing is by media minutes, not just transcription. Free gives 60 minutes a month. Hobbyist costs 24 dollars a month billed monthly, or 16 dollars billed annually, for 600 minutes a month. Creator costs 35 dollars a month billed monthly, or 24 dollars billed annually, for 30 hours and 4K export. Business costs 50 dollars a month billed monthly, for more hours and team features.
Worked cost for 1,000 minutes a month. Hobbyist gives 600 minutes, so a team that imports 1,000 minutes a month needs Creator. Creator at 24 dollars a month on annual billing gives 30 hours, which is 1,800 minutes, so the cost is 24 dollars a month, or 288 dollars a year, for 1,000 minutes. The per minute cost is 0.013 dollars on annual billing, but the meter is media minutes, meaning everything you import or record, not just the transcription, so a team that imports a lot of raw footage will burn through minutes faster.
Descript transcribes in 25 languages, with caption translation to 61 languages, so a creator who publishes in multiple languages should test Descript first. A team that needs only a transcript, without editing, should not pay Descript prices, because the editing features are the reason for the higher per minute cost.
Temi
Temi is the cheapest pay as you go tool in this guide, and its pricing is the simplest to read. There is no free plan and no subscription. Temi charges 0.25 dollars per minute, pay as you go, for AI transcription. A ten minute file costs 2.50 dollars. A 60 minute file costs 15 dollars. A team that transcribes one file a month will pay less on Temi than on any subscription, because there is no monthly fee to pay when the team does not record.
Worked cost for 1,000 minutes a month. Temi at 0.25 dollars per minute costs 250 dollars a month for 1,000 minutes, which is far more than Otter Pro at 8.33 dollars or Notta Pro at 8.17 dollars. Temi is the cheapest tool for low volume, and the most expensive tool for high volume, and that flip is the reason pay as you go should be used only when the volume is low and irregular. A team that records 100 minutes a month will pay 25 dollars on Temi, against 8.33 dollars on Otter Pro, so even at 100 minutes the subscription is cheaper.
Sonix
Sonix is the pick for a team that needs a simple pay per hour tool, and its pricing is by the hour rather than by the month. The free trial gives 30 minutes. Standard costs 10 dollars per hour, which is about 0.17 dollars per minute, pay as you go, with no subscription. Premium costs 5 dollars per hour plus a 22 dollar monthly fee, which is about 0.08 dollars per minute plus the fee.
Worked cost for 1,000 minutes a month, which is about 16 hours. Standard at 10 dollars per hour costs 160 dollars a month for 16 hours, which is far more than Otter Pro or Notta Pro. Premium at 5 dollars per hour plus 22 dollars a month costs 80 dollars plus 22 dollars, which is 102 dollars a month. Sonix is the right tool for a team that transcribes a few hours a month and wants a simple per hour price, and the wrong tool for a team that records every day, because the per hour price does not fall with volume.
Trint
Trint is the pick for a team that needs a transcript editor with collaboration, and its pricing is by files rather than by minutes. The trial lasts seven days. Starter costs 52 dollars a month billed monthly, or 48 dollars billed annually, for seven files a month. Advanced costs 100 dollars a month, for more files and more features. Enterprise is custom.
Worked cost for 1,000 minutes a month. Trint meters by files, so the cost depends on how many files the 1,000 minutes are split into. Seven files a month on Starter, with an average file length of 60 minutes, covers 420 minutes, so a team that records 1,000 minutes in 17 files a month will need a higher plan. Trint is the most expensive tool in this guide per minute, and it is worth that price only when the team needs the collaboration and editing features that Trint provides, rather than just a transcript.
Happy Scribe
Happy Scribe is the pick for a team that needs transcription and subtitles in one place, and its pricing is a minute meter with a monthly fee. The free trial gives 30 minutes. Standard costs 17 dollars a month for 120 minutes a month. Pro costs 29 dollars a month for more minutes and more features. The per minute cost on Standard is 0.14 dollars, which is among the highest in this guide, because Happy Scribe charges for the subtitle and translation features as well as the transcription.
Worked cost for 1,000 minutes a month. Standard gives 120 minutes, so a team that records 1,000 minutes a month will need a much higher plan, or a pay as you go top up. Happy Scribe is the right tool for a team that needs subtitles and translations, and the wrong tool for a team that needs only a transcript, because the subtitle features are the reason for the higher price.
TurboScribe
TurboScribe is the pick for a team that records a lot and wants a flat price, and its pricing is the simplest in this guide for high volume. Free gives limited minutes. The paid plan costs 20 dollars a month for unlimited transcription, with fair use up to 300 hours a month on some listings. That flat price makes TurboScribe the cheapest tool in this guide for a team that records 100 hours a month, because the price does not rise with volume.
Worked cost for 1,000 minutes a month, which is about 16 hours. TurboScribe at 20 dollars a month gives unlimited transcription, so the cost is 20 dollars a month, or 240 dollars a year, for 1,000 minutes. The per minute cost is 0.02 dollars, which is higher than Otter or Notta, but the flat price means a team that records 6,000 minutes a month, which is 100 hours, still pays 20 dollars a month, which is 0.003 dollars per minute. A team that records a lot should test TurboScribe first, because the flat price is the cheapest at high volume.
Total Cost of Ownership
The sticker price is not the total cost, and a buyer that budgets on the sticker price will be surprised in month two. The total cost includes the plan, the overage minutes, the human transcription for the files that need it, and the time spent correcting the transcript.
Otter Pro for one user costs 100 dollars a year on annual billing, for 1,200 minutes a month. A team that records 2,000 minutes a month will need to buy extra minutes or move to Business, and the extra cost should be budgeted. Notta Pro for one user costs 98 dollars a year on annual billing, for 1,800 minutes a month. Rev Essentials for one user costs 306 dollars a year on annual billing, for 5,000 minutes a month. TurboScribe costs 240 dollars a year for unlimited transcription.
Add the hidden costs to every tool. Human transcription at 1.99 dollars a minute is the largest hidden cost, because a team that sends one hour of audio to a human transcriber will pay 119.40 dollars for that hour. A team that needs human accuracy for one file a month should budget 120 dollars a month for that file, on top of the AI plan. Correction time is the second hidden cost, because an AI transcript with 90 percent accuracy needs 10 percent of the words corrected, and a 60 minute transcript with 9,000 words needs 900 words corrected, which takes about 30 minutes of a human time.
The rule is simple. Take the published price, work out the cost per minute at your real volume, add the human cost for the files that need it, and that is the real monthly cost. A tool that costs 8 dollars a month for 1,200 minutes costs 0.007 dollars per minute, while a tool that costs 20 dollars a month for unlimited minutes costs 0.003 dollars per minute at 100 hours a month, and 0.02 dollars per minute at 16 hours a month. The per minute cost at your volume, not the monthly price, is the number that decides the value. That per minute figure is the heart of AI transcription pricing.
Cheapest by Situation
| Situation | Best value | Why it wins |
|---|---|---|
| Meeting notes, 5 hours a month | Otter.ai Pro | 8.33 dollars a month annual, 1,200 minutes, live bot |
| Meeting history, searchable | Fireflies.ai Pro | 10 dollars a month annual, unlimited transcription |
| Highest accuracy, legal or research | Rev Essentials plus human | 25.49 dollars annual, 5,000 AI minutes, human at 1.99 |
| Multilingual, low budget | Notta Pro | 8.17 dollars a month annual, 1,800 minutes, 58 languages |
| Creator, edit by text | Descript Hobbyist | 16 dollars a month annual, 600 media minutes |
| One file a month, pay as you go | Temi | 0.25 dollars per minute, no subscription |
| Few hours a month, simple per hour | Sonix Standard | 10 dollars per hour, no subscription |
| Collaboration, transcript editing | Trint Starter | 48 dollars a month annual, 7 files, team editing |
| Subtitles and translation | Happy Scribe Standard | 17 dollars a month, 120 minutes, subtitles included |
| High volume, 100 hours a month | TurboScribe | 20 dollars a month, unlimited, flat price |
Read the table by situation, not by price alone. The cheapest tool for meeting notes is not the cheapest tool for a creator, because the creator needs editing that the meeting tool does not provide. That situation test is the core of AI transcription pricing. A buyer that chooses the cheapest tool and then discovers it lacks the one feature the team needs will pay twice, once for the cheap tool and once for the replacement.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a truly free transcription tool?
Yes. Otter Free gives 300 minutes a month, with a 30 minute cap per conversation. Notta Free gives 120 minutes a month, with a three minute cap per recording. Fireflies Free gives unlimited transcription, rationed by 400 minutes of team storage. Those three are the only free plans in this guide that cover real work. Rev Free gives only 45 minutes a month, so it is a test, not a plan.
How accurate is AI transcription in 2026?
AI transcription is good enough for meeting notes, summaries, and searchable history, with word error rates that vary by tool, by audio quality, and by accent. Human transcription at Rev is 99 percent accurate, with a guarantee, and it is the pick when accuracy is non negotiable, such as legal or research work. A team that needs a transcript for notes should use AI. A team that needs a transcript for a court filing should use a human.
What is the cheapest AI transcription per minute?
Rev Essentials at 0.006 dollars per minute is the cheapest in this guide, because it gives 5,000 minutes for 29.99 dollars a month. Notta Pro at about 0.005 dollars per minute on annual billing is close, because it gives 1,800 minutes for 8.17 dollars a month. TurboScribe at 20 dollars a month for unlimited transcription is the cheapest at high volume, because the per minute cost falls as the volume rises.
Do unused minutes roll over?
No, on most tools in this guide. Otter, Notta, Rev, and Descript minutes reset each month, and unused minutes are lost. A team that buys a plan for a busy month and then has a quiet month will lose the unused minutes, so the plan should match the average month, not the busiest month. Buy extra minutes for a busy month rather than buying a higher plan for a quiet month.
Which transcription tool is best for a small business?
It depends on the job. Otter is best for meeting notes, Fireflies is best for searchable history, Rev is best for accuracy, Notta is best for multilingual work on a budget, Descript is best for creators, and TurboScribe is best for high volume. A small business that records meetings should choose Otter or Fireflies. A small business that records interviews for research should choose Rev.
Verdict
For most small businesses, the best value is Otter.ai Pro at 8.33 dollars per user per month billed annually, for 1,200 minutes a month, with a live bot that joins meetings. A team that records five hours a month fits in Pro with room to spare, and the per minute cost is 0.008 dollars on annual billing. For a team that records in multiple languages on a budget, Notta Pro at 8.17 dollars a month for 1,800 minutes is the best pick, with 58 languages and the most generous free plan after Otter.
For high volume, TurboScribe at 20 dollars a month for unlimited transcription is the best pick, because the flat price means the per minute cost falls as the volume rises. For accuracy, Rev Essentials at 25.49 dollars a month on annual billing for 5,000 AI minutes, plus human transcription at 1.99 dollars a minute for the files that need it, is the only pick that covers both AI and human work in one place.
The right tool is the one that fits the volume, the language, and the accuracy need at the tier the team will use in six months, not at the entry price, because the entry price buys a minute allowance that may not cover a real month of recording. That is the honest read on AI transcription pricing in 2026.
