Best Transcription Software in 2025 (And How to Take it Further)

Many people have likely experienced the frustration of attending an important meeting and later forgetting certain key points that were discussed.

This is why transcription services and apps have become so popular. As of 2024, the U.S. transcription market was reported to be valued at around $30.4 billion , with a projected CAGR growth rate of 5.2% between 2025 and 2030. Transcription services have become an essential part of most business operations and a key driver for better communication.

As with most tech-related services, the number of providers in the market is considerable. This can make it difficult to decide which provider is best for your own business needs.

That’s where our in-depth guide comes in. We’re going to take a look at what we believe to be some of the best transcription services available in 2025. We’ll also explore some of the issues these types of platforms still encounter, and examine what’s being done to try and counter the existing limitations.

Transcription software is a program or app designed to convert spoken language into written text. It has become an essential tool in fields where note-taking is key, such as journalism and law. Many of the best transcription services will also offer manual review functionality so that parties can validate the accuracy of what has been recorded.

Some of the most common use cases of transcription software include:

• Business meetings: Advanced note-taking on what was said to be accessed for future reference
• Videos: Automated transcription to generate subtitles
• Sales calls: Allows for uninterrupted dialogue so the representatives can focus fully on the sale
• Journalism: An essential replacement for shorthand during interviews
• Media accessibility: Full closed captioning for full subtext

Another popular application for artificial intelligence (AI) in the workplace is the AI meeting assistant. It’s easy to assume that both types of software are essentially the same thing. However, while there is definite crossover in what they do, there are some key differences to be aware of.

As mentioned, transcription apps such as Rev and Descript are designed to convert audible speech into written text. Many modern versions of this software will also include features such as integration with video editing and timestamps. Its primary focus is on what was said.

AI meeting assistants go one step further. While most leading providers will capture text, they will also summarise and analyse it before providing actionable insights. It’s used to help businesses decide on the next steps based on what was said.

We’ve broken down the core differences as follows:

Now that we’ve discussed what transcription software is and what it does, let’s take a look at some of the leading standalone transcription tools available for 2025. We’ll compare them using various key metrics such as accuracy, features, and cost.

Later, we’ll explore how Salesforce takes a different approach – not as another app, but as the CRM-native hub where transcription becomes actionable.

Here is a snapshot of the services we’ll be reviewing.

Pros:

• Highly accurate transcriptions
• Fast turnaround times
• Good selection of additional/advanced features

Cons:

• AI summaries are quite long
• Limited support on basic plans

Rev is one of the most well-known transcription software services on the market. It offers both human- and AI-based transcription services, with high levels of accuracy across both selections. Its Rev Insights feature is excellent for reviewing things such as case studies in law by exposing contradictions and highlighting inconsistencies, making it a great choice for those in the legal profession.

There are three tiered plans to choose from, starting with the free transcription software option and moving up to the Pro plan for $20.99/mo. There is also a custom plan available to allow businesses to pick and choose their features.

One slight drawback is that, while the software is known for its high level of accuracy, it has been noted that the summaries are sometimes a bit long-winded.

Pros:

• Excellent free service
• Accurate live transcription
• Solid integration with video conferencing

Cons:

• Strict limits on prerecorded audio and video uploads
• Accuracy drops considerably with accented audio

Otter.ai is another excellent transcription service that is well-regarded for its generous free plan features, including unlimited meetings and excellent integrations with video conferencing platforms such as Zoom, MS Teams, and Google Meet. It also offers exceptionally fast transcription, thanks to its advanced live transcribing functionality. It is ideal for businesses that need a transcription service for frequent usage and regular team collaborations.

There are three tiered plans to choose from, including a free plan. There is also an Enterprise plan for custom selections as well as a pay-as-you-go option. Pricing on the Pro plan starts at $8.33/mo.

The pay-off for the convenience is that it isn’t as accurate as some of the other options on this list. You may need to set aside some time for manual transcription reviewing. It’s also quite limited in terms of advanced features.

Pros:

• Outstanding multilingual capabilities
• Sleek user interface
• Smart sentiment analysis

Cons:

• Costly translation fees
• Occasionally inconsistent upload and processing times

Where Rev targets accuracy and OtterAI favours convenience, Sonix has made a big move to place itself as the market leader in terms of languages and translation. It comes with a highly intelligent, professional-grade editor interface where it gets to show off some of its powerful features, including confidence scoring, visual wavelengths to show speaker transitions, and precise timestamping.

This multilingual capability places it at the forefront of international enterprise businesses. This does place a slight premium on pricing, with the pay-as-you-go plan incurring an additional $10/hr for translation costs. Their Premium plan is also quite expensive at $30/mo. There is also no AI analysis on the cheapest plan.

Aside from the higher expense, there aren’t any major limitations to the platform. It doesn’t come with live transcription, which might be an issue for some users. There is also some evidence to suggest that processing speeds are a little inconsistent at times. However, all in all, it’s a solid choice.

Pros:

• Excellent video and audio editing tools
• Strong AI features
• User-friendly for beginners

Cons:

• No pay-as-you-go option
• Accuracy issues at times

For all of you creatives out there, Descript may well be exactly what you’re looking for when it comes to transcription services. It’s touted as being one of the leading transcription tools that also allows for excellent audio and video editing. The transcript smoothly syncs to video and audio, so that any cut in the transcript will result in the same section being immediately cut as well. In short, the transcript becomes an editing tool!

In terms of pricing, it lands in the middle of the providers on this list. It does offer a free plan, but not a traditional pay-as-you-go option, which might not be ideal for some. Plans start from $16/mo, though the Hobbyist plan is quite limited when compared to other basic plans.

Aside from the slightly steep price, Descript’s only other limitation is related to accuracy. Ironically, it can sometimes be too accurate, with natural pauses and hesitations from the speaker being transcribed, creating unnecessary editing on the back end.

Pros:

• Superior AI functionality
• High level of accuracy
• Excellent across multiple languages

Cons:

• Comparatively expensive
• Still a developing platform

One of the newer names on this list, Whisper is emerging from the field with some impressive metrics in terms of accuracy and capability. It’s another provider that’s probably more tailored towards social media content, with optimisation allowing users to turn their audio and video clips into ready-to-use content. It also offers instant translated AI-powered transcriptions into more than 50 languages, with smart AI training to mirror the user’s unique style.

It is, however, expensive. There is no free plan available, and while the cheapest plan is quite generous in terms of what it offers, prices start at $39.99/mo. It is the priciest option on this list.

Whisper has been noted for having a potentially steep learning curve, and integration and collaboration seem to be lacking somewhat. However, it’s a service that seems to be consistently updated with new features and, with high reviews across the board, the outlook is looking positive.

Pros:

• Huge range of individual services
• Highly accurate professional transcription
• Affordable pricing

Cons:

• Subscription pricing is a little tricky to work out
• British-based timezone

The final name on this list is one of the most experienced players in the field. Having been in the industry for more than 20 years, GoTranscript is a highly reputable service with more than 144,000 satisfied clients. While they have embraced the capabilities of AI transcription, they make it very clear that they retain a highly human-centric approach to fulfilling their services.

Their pricing is a little confusing to navigate. While they do offer a subscription service, it wasn’t straightforward to work out how much this would be. They seem to favour a price-by-service model, which is reasonably affordable when compared to other names on this list. They also offer discounts to students, non-profit organisations, and green energy initiatives.

The biggest caveat with GoTranscript is that it is UK-based, so you would have to account for the different time zones when factoring in your expected turnaround. However, if this is something your business can navigate, this is an excellent company for accuracy and breadth of services.

There is no doubt that transcription technology has been a game-changer for many businesses. Transcription services are a highly convenient way of making sure that businesses can capture speech to be analysed at a later time.

However, there are limitations to what they can do, especially in today’s hyper-integrated landscape. And while they’re still great at what they do, many businesses need more from their tech infrastructure.

Some of the key limitations to transcription services include:

• Accuracy challenges: Transcription apps can still struggle to convert accurately if there is background noise or poor audio quality. They can also be tripped up by localised jargon and accents.
• Limited insights: Once the audio has been transcribed, there isn’t much else for transcription software to offer in terms of insights, editing, and analysis.
• Cost vs. value: With AI meeting assistants now starting to become proficient in terms of transcription capability, the value-for-money of transcription tools is coming into question, given everything else AI assistants can contribute.
• Limited live collaboration: As most transcription is completely after an upload, most services aren’t great with real-time transcribing, which can affect workflows and collaboration projects.

There is also a big issue in terms of integration with CRM platforms. It can lead to fragmented storage and siloed data if businesses do not keep on top of their transcriptions. This is why many businesses are moving towards CRM-native transcription as opposed to standalone apps, where transcripts live alongside other tools for analysis and decision-making.

At Salesforce, we have recognised the importance of bridging the gap between transcribing business meetings and sales calls, and turning those transcriptions into sources of actionable insights. We’ve achieved this with several of our AI-powered products that are all designed to work seamlessly with one another.

Here’s how it all fits together:

1. Einstein Conversation Insights - a key component of our Sales Cloud software that automates call transcriptions and extracts key insights
2. Agentforce - designed to integrate with existing customer CRM data and knowledge bases to unlock key next steps and decision-making
3. Voice and Phone Support - combines with Agentforce to transcribe customer calls, automate queries, and provide ready-made resolutions
4. Salesforce Shield - offers robust compliance with advanced customer data security features to help keep transcription content safe

Let’s take a look at a real-use example of this. Audata helps media and entertainment brands around the world automate processes and engage their audiences with data-driven experiences.

Thanks to Agentforce and its integration with Audata’s existing CRM data, we were able to help them cut down on manual workloads and handle real-time transcriptions at scale, with great results.

Transcription services will always be in high demand, such is their usefulness to businesses, content creators, translators, and anyone else who requires audio-to-text software. However, the nature of transcription technology is constantly evolving. For many businesses, it’s no longer enough that an app can turn business calls and video meetings into siloed transcripts – they require something more.

Thanks to platforms such as Agentforce, we’ll continue to see advanced integration into CRM systems, with agentic AI tasked with turning the raw transcript data into detailed actions and insights.

We’ll witness more specialised industries adopt this new form of transcription, with a heavy focus on ensuring that transcripts containing sensitive customer data are treated with advanced encryption to comply with vital national and international standards.

Apps will continue to evolve in terms of accuracy and sophistication, to the point where they’ll be able to incorporate jargon, dialects, and team-specific vocabulary into their functionality.

At Salesforce, we’ve designed our transcription services to go one step further. Where standalone apps have mastered capture, we excel at providing transcription context, retrieval, and governance. And with seamless integration into our Agentforce platform, we will continue to provide our customers with a holistic solution and expert training on all their transcription needs.

Get in touch today to discuss our revolutionary transcription services.