The best transcription apps in 2026, compared on what actually limits you

There's no single best transcription app: it depends on what you record. For live meetings in English, Otter is the usual pick. To edit video by its text, Descript. For a human-checked transcript, Rev. For short memos, your phone's built-in recorder. To transcribe files you already have, in Italian or Portuguese too, with a summary, HiText fits best.

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Product review call

Oct 9 · 52:14

SummaryTranscriptQuiz

Summary of the product review call:

Language: Italian, detected automatically
Decided: Ship the new onboarding in November.
To do: Giulia sends the test results.

52:14

52 min transcribed

How to pick in three questions

1
Live or recorded?
If you need a bot that joins your calls and writes as people talk, look at meeting assistants like Otter. If you already have the recording, any file-based app will do, and the free limits matter more.
2
Which language?
Several popular apps transcribe only a handful of languages. Check yours before you subscribe, especially Italian, Portuguese, Dutch or Arabic.
3
How long are your files?
Free plans often cap each recording at a few minutes or limit how many files you can upload. Test with your longest real recording, not a 30-second demo.

The seven apps, side by side

Plans and limits as published on each company's pricing page in October 2026. Prices change often, so check before you pay.

Only on iPhone? See the best transcription apps for iPhone, with the built-in Notes and Voice Memos. On a budget? Here's the free transcription software worth trying, from Whisper to TurboScribe. For calls, see the best meeting transcription apps; to record and transcribe in one step, these apps.

Otter.ai: free plan with 300 minutes a month, up to 30 minutes per conversation and 3 file imports in total; Pro from $8.33 per user/month billed yearly ($16.99 monthly). Transcribes English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese and Chinese. Best for joining live meetings
Notta: free plan with 120 minutes a month and conversations of up to 3 minutes; Pro from $8.17/month billed yearly. Meeting bot plus file uploads
Descript: free plan with 60 media minutes a month, transcription in 25 languages; Hobbyist from $16/month billed yearly ($24 monthly) with 10 media hours. Best if you edit podcasts or videos by cutting the text
Rev: 45 free AI minutes a month (English only); human transcription from $1.99 per minute. Best when a person must check every word
Apple Voice Memos: free, built in. Since iOS 18 it shows a transcript on iPhone 12 and later, but not in every country, region or language
Pixel Recorder: free, built into Pixel phones, transcribes as you record in some languages depending on the model. Only on Pixel
HiText: 30 free minutes with no card, then a Pro subscription. 13 languages with auto-detection, files up to 2 GB, an AI summary, translation, and a quiz and flashcards. iPhone, Android and the browser

Who should pick which

Sales and team calls in English, live: Otter or Notta, because a bot joins the call for you
Podcasters and video editors: Descript, because the transcript is the editing timeline
Legal, medical or published quotes: Rev's human transcription, or HiText as a fast first draft you then check
A two-minute memo: the recorder already on your phone, if it supports your language
Classes, interviews, voice notes or long recordings you already have, in any of 13 languages: HiText (how to choose a transcription app)

Where HiText is not the best choice

HiText doesn't join calls as a bot and doesn't transcribe live while people talk. The standard app gives you the full text and a summary but doesn't label speakers or export subtitles (SRT) or Word files. If you need a bot in every meeting, Otter or Notta suit you better; for transcripts by speaker or minutes in Word, there's HiText Business.

Frequently asked questions

Which transcription app has the most free minutes?

Among the ones above, as of October 2026, Otter's free plan has the most monthly minutes (300), but each conversation is capped at 30 minutes and you can import only 3 files in total. HiText gives 30 free minutes with no per-file cap below that, and Rev 45 AI minutes a month in English.

Which one is best for languages other than English?

Otter transcribes six languages and Rev's free plan only English. Descript lists 25 languages and HiText 13 with automatic detection, including Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Russian, Hindi and Arabic. Always test with a real recording in your language.

Is the transcription on my phone good enough?

For short memos in a supported language, often yes, and it's free. It falls short with long recordings, unsupported languages or regions, files that come from other apps, or when you want a summary or a translation.

Do these apps keep my recordings?

Each one has its own policy, so read it before uploading anything sensitive. HiText uses your audio only to transcribe it and deletes it from its servers when it's done; it doesn't use your content to train AI models. Details in our privacy policy.

Is this comparison neutral?

It's written by the HiText team, so we tell you where HiText is not the best option. The figures come from each company's public pricing page in October 2026; if something has changed, the official page is what counts.

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