What transcription costs per hour, compared
14 services and WhipScribe, priced for 10 and 100 hours of recordings, every figure from the company's own page on 4 October 2026.
The short answer
As of 4 October 2026, WhipScribe's $24 pack (5,000 minutes) works out to $0.29 per hour of audio, lower than any no-subscription price published by the 14 other consumer transcription services we checked (the lowest of those was Sonix at $10 per hour). Some subscriptions cost less than our packs at volume: for 100 hours in one month on monthly billing, TurboScribe ($20), Notta ($27.99) and Otter.ai ($30) cost less than our $32 in packs, and our $19 Workspace month costs less than all of them.
Scope: AI transcription of recorded files, one user, prices read on each company's own page on 4 October 2026. Free tools and a developer API are listed separately below. Quote with the date.
Every service, side by side
The cheapest paid option for 10 hours and for 100 hours of recordings in one month, the price without any subscription, whether unused minutes run out, and the longest file each accepts. Sorted by the 10-hour price.
| Service | 10 hours, cheapest | 100 hours, cheapest | No subscription | Allowance expires? | Longest file | AI or human | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WhipScribe | $8 · $0.80/h $8 (1,000 min), one-time | $19 · $0.19/h Workspace, one month; packs: $32 · $0.32/h | $0.29/h (best pack) | No, credits never expire | 10 h / 5 GB | AI | whipscribe.com/pricing facts 2026-10-04 |
| Notta | $13.49 · $1.35/h Pro monthly; files up to 5 h | $27.99 · $0.28/h Business monthly, 1 seat; 200 uploads/month; files up to 5 h | none offered | Yes: no carryover | 5 h (3 h with speaker recognition); audio 1 GB | AI | www.notta.ai · support.notta.ai checked 2026-10-04 |
| Otter.ai | $16.99 · $1.70/h Pro monthly; at most 10 files, none over 90 min | $30 · $0.30/h Business monthly, exactly 100 h of imports, no file over 4 h; $0.24/h at the 3-month $24 promo | none offered | Yes: monthly minutes reset | 90 min (Pro), 4 h (Business) | AI | otter.ai checked 2026-10-04 |
| Fireflies.ai | $18 · $1.80/h Pro monthly; files up to 150 min | $48 · $0.48/h Pro monthly + 3,000 min overage at $0.01; files up to 150 min | none offered | Yes: no rollover | 150 min | AI | fireflies.ai · guide.fireflies.ai checked 2026-10-04 |
| TurboScribe | $20 · $2.00/h Unlimited monthly; files up to 10 h / 5 GB | $20 · $0.20/h Unlimited monthly; no published cap (designed for at least 720 h/month) | none offered | No allowance (unlimited) | 10 h / 5 GB (paid); 30 min (free) | AI | turboscribe.ai · turboscribe.ai checked 2026-10-04 |
| Descript | $24 · $2.40/h Hobbyist monthly | $265 · $2.65/h Creator monthly + 70 h of top-ups | none offered (top-ups need a Creator or Business plan) | Plan hours: not stated; top-ups after 12 months | Length not stated; 10–50 GB by plan | AI | www.descript.com · help.descript.com checked 2026-10-04 |
| Happy Scribe | $29 · $2.90/h Pro monthly | $89 · $0.89/h Business monthly | unknown | Plan minutes reset monthly; top-ups never expire | 90 min (Basic); no length limit (Pro, Business) | AI; human also sold | www.happyscribe.com checked 2026-10-04 |
| Rev | $29.99 · $3.00/h Essentials monthly | $59.99 · $0.60/h Pro monthly | $15.00/h | Not stated | Not stated | AI; human also sold | www.rev.com · www.rev.com checked 2026-10-04 |
| Riverside | $35 · $3.50/h Pro monthly (free tool also claims unlimited) | $35 · $0.35/h Pro monthly | none offered (paid); free tool exists | Not applicable | Not stated | AI | riverside.com · riverside.com checked 2026-10-04 |
| GoTranscript (AI) | $35 · $3.50/h AI subscription one month | unknown (between $60 and $120 if the subscription rate applies) page states two different subscription rates | $12.00/h | Not stated | Not stated | AI; human also sold | gotranscript.com · gotranscript.com checked 2026-10-04 |
| Sonix | $50 · $5.00/h Advanced monthly | $680 · $6.80/h Pro monthly + 60 h at $10 | $10.00/h | Not stated | 8 h unless enabled for longer; 16 GB | AI | sonix.ai · help.sonix.ai checked 2026-10-04 |
| Maestra | $99 · $9.90/h Premium monthly | $1,200 · $12.00/h Pay As You Go | $12.00/h | Not stated | Not stated | AI | maestra.ai · maestra.ai checked 2026-10-04 |
| Trint | $100 · $10.00/h Pro monthly | $100 · $1.00/h Pro monthly, only if inside the unpublished fair-use cap (bulk/known-volume projects excluded) | none offered | No allowance (unlimited, fair use) | Not stated | AI | app.trint.com checked 2026-10-04 |
| VEED | $147 · $14.70/h Creator annual (monthly price unreadable) | not possible in one month 50 h/month fair use | none offered | Yes: minutes do not roll over | Not stated | AI | www.veed.io · www.veed.io checked 2026-10-04 |
| Temi | $150 · $15.00/h $0.25/min | $1,500 · $15.00/h $0.25/min | $15.00/h | Not stated | 2 GB; length not stated | AI | help.temi.com · www.temi.com checked 2026-10-04 |
| AssemblyAI (developer API) | $1.50 · $0.15/h Universal-2 list price | $15 · $0.15/h Universal-2 list price | $0.15/h | Not applicable (billed in arrears) | Not checked | AI | www.assemblyai.com checked 2026-10-04 |
"Not stated" means the company's pricing page did not say; we did not guess. AssemblyAI is a developer API (code, no app) and is shown for reference, not ranked.
WhipScribe packs, per hour
One-time packs, no subscription, minutes never expire. Bigger packs cost less per hour.
| Pack | Minutes | Hours | Price per hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| $4 | 500 minutes | 8.33 h | $4 ÷ 8.33 h = $0.48/h |
| $8 | 1,000 minutes | 16.67 h | $8 ÷ 16.67 h = $0.48/h |
| $12 | 2,000 minutes | 33.33 h | $12 ÷ 33.33 h = $0.36/h |
| $24 | 5,000 minutes | 83.33 h | $24 ÷ 83.33 h = $0.29/h |
Workspace is the monthly option: $19 a month, fair use up to 700 hours. One file can be up to 10 hours or 5 GB; transcripts export as TXT, DOCX, SRT, VTT, JSON, in 99+ languages. Recordings are transcribed on our own servers and are never used for training.
Try it on a long recording
The summary of any recording is free to read; a pack from $4 opens the full transcript.
The arithmetic
- 10 hours = 600 minutes. The $4 pack (500 minutes) is too small, so the cheapest cover is $8 (1,000 min) = $8; $8 ÷ 10 h = $0.80/h. The 400 minutes left over stay on the account.
- 100 hours = 6,000 minutes. $8 (1,000 min) + $24 (5,000 min) = $32; $32 ÷ 100 h = $0.32/h. Or one Workspace month: $19 ÷ 100 h = $0.19/h.
- Best pack rate: $24 ÷ (5,000 ÷ 60) h = $0.29/h, reached when all 5,000 minutes are used, which they can be because they do not expire.
- Competitors: total paid ÷ hours transcribed, using the cheapest option on the company's own page; a monthly plan counts as one month's fee, overage and top-ups added at the listed rate. Each row's sum and the quote it came from are in the raw data.
Published no-subscription rates among the 14 consumer services (the rest, Otter.ai, Descript, Trint, Happy Scribe, TurboScribe, Notta, Fireflies.ai, Riverside, VEED, sell only subscriptions or do not publish the rate):
- Sonix: $10.00/h
- GoTranscript (AI): $12.00/h
- Maestra: $12.00/h
- Rev: $15.00/h
- Temi: $15.00/h
Who should pick something else
- You transcribe 100 hours or more every month, every month. A flat subscription is the better buy than packs: TurboScribe ($20), Notta ($27.99) and Otter.ai ($30) were each below our $32 in packs for 100 hours; our $19 Workspace month was lower still. Paid yearly, TurboScribe is $120 a year ($10 a month), which is less than our Workspace month.
- Your files are short and you transcribe a few hours. A free tier may be enough: TurboScribe's free tier takes files up to 30 minutes, three a day; Riverside's page offers free transcription without sign-up, with file limits it does not publish.
- You are a developer and only need raw text from code. AssemblyAI lists $0.15 per hour, with 185 free hours for a new account.
- You need a person to check the transcript. WhipScribe is AI only. Rev sells human transcription at $1.99 a minute; Happy Scribe sells human proofreading from $2.00 a minute.
- You want a bot to join meetings as they happen. Otter.ai, Fireflies.ai and Notta are built for that. WhipScribe transcribes recordings and finished streams, not calls in progress.
- You want to edit the video itself. Descript, VEED and Riverside are editors with transcription inside.
Where WhipScribe wins: no subscription, minutes that never expire, files up to 10 hours (only TurboScribe matched that among services that publish a cap), and 99+ languages (Temi, for comparison, is English only).
What this data supports, and what it does not
Statements you can repeat, with the date:
- At 10 hours, WhipScribe's $8 pack ($0.80/h) costs less than the cheapest paid option at each of the 14 consumer services checked; the next lowest was Notta at $13.49. Checked 4 October 2026.
- WhipScribe's best pack rate, $0.29/h ($24 for 5,000 minutes), is lower than every published no-subscription rate among the 14 consumer services: Sonix $10/h, GoTranscript (AI) $12/h, Maestra $12/h, Rev $15/h, Temi $15/h.
- At 100 hours in one month, WhipScribe Workspace ($19, $0.19/h) is the lowest paid price; the next was TurboScribe at $20.
- WhipScribe pack credits never expire; no subscription is needed.
- One WhipScribe file can be up to 10 hours or 5 GB.
Statements the data does not support:
- At 100 hours in one month, WhipScribe packs ($32) are not the cheapest: TurboScribe ($20), Notta ($27.99) and Otter.ai ($30) cost less; Otter.ai is $24 during a three-month promotion.
- WhipScribe is not cheaper than free tools: Riverside covers 10 h and 100 h (per its page: 'transcribe unlimited audio or video files without signing up') (limits: file limits unpublished; MP3/WAV/MP4/MOV only; all text assigned to one speaker); TurboScribe covers 10 h in 7 days (3 files/day, 30 min each); not 100 h in a month (limits: 30 min per file).
- WhipScribe is not cheaper than a developer API: AssemblyAI (developer API) lists $0.15/h, but it needs code and returns JSON, not an app.
- WhipScribe does not sell human transcription; Rev sells it at $1.99/min and Happy Scribe sells human proofreading from $2.00/min.
- On a yearly plan, TurboScribe is $120 a year ($10 a month), which is less than one WhipScribe Workspace month at $19.
- Any 'cheapest' statement must keep its scope: these services, AI transcription of recorded files, the stated volume, and the date checked.
Method and sources
Scenario. Transcribe N hours of recorded audio/video files (N = 10 and N = 100), one user, all within one month, using the cheapest purchasable option on the company's own price page. Monthly-billed plans are counted at one month's fee. Annual plans are listed separately because they require paying for 12 months up front.
Price per hour = total US dollars paid ÷ hours transcribed. Free tiers and trials are not in the paid ranking; they are named where they would cover the scenario. Enterprise and custom quotes have no public price and are left out. Human transcription is listed, not ranked.
How the pages were read. WebFetch and curl on public pages; headless Chromium (Playwright) for app.trint.com/plans and www.happyscribe.com/pricing, which return prices only after JavaScript runs (happyscribe.com returns HTTP 403 to curl). curl on public pages; headless Chromium (Playwright) for turboscribe.ai (HTTP 403 to curl), notta.ai (monthly prices rendered in JavaScript), veed.io, maestra.ai, riverside.com, fireflies.ai, gotranscript.com; Zendesk help-centre API for help.temi.com.
What would change the verdict. Prices change; this page is regenerated from the sweep files, and the build stops if a sentence above is no longer true of the data. If you see a price here that differs from a company's page, write to contact@whipscribe.com with the link and we will correct it.
Raw data: /proof/price-per-hour.json (every row, the verbatim quote behind each price, the arithmetic, and the claims the data does and does not support).
Questions
What is the cheapest way to transcribe 10 hours of audio?
Among the 14 paid consumer services we checked on 4 October 2026, WhipScribe's $8 pack (1,000 minutes, one-time) was the lowest, at $0.80 per hour; the next was Notta at $13.49 for a month. Free tools exist with limits: TurboScribe's free tier takes files of 30 minutes or less, three a day, and Riverside's page offers free transcription with unpublished file limits.
Is WhipScribe the cheapest transcription service?
Only within a stated scope. On 4 October 2026 its $0.29-per-hour pack rate was lower than every no-subscription price published by the 14 consumer services we checked, and its $19 Workspace month was the lowest paid price for 100 hours. It is not the cheapest on every plan: for 100 hours in one month, TurboScribe ($20), Notta ($27.99) and Otter.ai ($30) cost less than buying WhipScribe packs, and a developer API such as AssemblyAI lists $0.15 per hour.
How much does it cost to transcribe 100 hours with WhipScribe?
$32 in packs ($8 (1,000 min) + $24 (5,000 min)), which is $0.32 per hour and never expires, or $19 for one month of Workspace ($0.19 per hour, fair use up to 700 hours a month).
Do WhipScribe credits expire?
No. Pack minutes stay on the account until they are used. Several subscriptions in the comparison reset unused minutes each month, including Otter.ai, Notta, Fireflies.ai and VEED.
How long can one recording be?
Up to 10 hours or 5 GB per file. Of the services that publish a cap: Fireflies.ai takes 150 minutes, Otter.ai 4 hours on Business, Notta 5 hours, Sonix 8 hours unless enabled for longer, and TurboScribe 10 hours.
Is there a free WhipScribe transcript?
No. Not free: the summary of any recording is free to read, and a pack from $4 (500 minutes) opens the full transcript.
When were these prices checked, and how?
On 4 October 2026, on each company's own pricing page, for one user transcribing recorded files with AI, all hours within one month; monthly plans are counted at one month's fee and yearly plans are left out of the sums. The verbatim quotes are in the raw data at https://whipscribe.com/proof/price-per-hour.json.
See also: Transcription services · Turnaround time · Evidence log · Pricing · Privacy · Terms