Updated · Prices checked (Otter and TurboScribe re-read 4 November 2026)
Which free transcription tool should you use?
It depends on what you record. For one long recording, Slice (ours) takes up to 1 hour per file free, the longest single free file here, and your first file needs no account. For more free audio, TurboScribe gives three files a day of up to 30 minutes each. Otter gives 300 minutes a month, but its free plan allows three file imports for the life of the account. If you need an editor, a meeting bot or human transcription, Slice has none of these, so one of the others is your answer. Figures as checked on 21 September 2026; Otter and TurboScribe on 4 November 2026.
Head to head: Otter vs Slice · TurboScribe vs Slice
| Tool | Free tier | Longest single file | Speaker labels | Account | What it costs after |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slice | 2 files a month, every month | 1 hour | Yes | Not for your first file; then a free account | Optional hour packs: 1 hour for $1.99, 5 hours for $4.99, 15 hours for $9.99 or 40 hours for $24.99. Paid once, no subscription, and the hours never expire |
| TurboScribe | 3 transcriptions a day | 30 minutes | Yes | Its pricing page says sign up; we did not test its home-page upload box | Unlimited: $20 a month, or $10 a month billed yearly |
| Otter.ai | 300 minutes a month | 30 minutes per conversation | Yes | Yes | $8.33/user/month billed annually, $16.99 monthly |
| Descript | 60 minutes a month | Within the monthly hour | No | Yes | $16/month Hobbyist, $24/month Creator |
| Rev | 45 minutes a month | Within the monthly 45 | Not stated | Yes | $1.99/min for human transcription; subscriptions from 5,000 AI minutes |
| Sonix | 30 minutes, once | Within the 30-minute trial | Yes | Yes | $10/hour pay-as-you-go, or $25/month for 5 hours |
| Happy Scribe | 10-minute trial of AI transcription | 10 minutes | Yes | Yes | £17/month for 120 minutes, extra at £0.20/min |
Slice 2 a month per person, and the tool also has a monthly budget. If that runs out, the tool says so.
TurboScribe The most free volume here by a distance, and the best value if you transcribe many hours a month. Its free files stop at 30 minutes. Read 4 November 2026. TurboScribe vs Slice, in full.
Otter.ai The catch is not the minutes: the free plan allows 3 file imports for the LIFETIME of the account. It is built for recording meetings, not uploading files. Read 4 November 2026. Otter vs Slice, in full.
Descript Speaker detection is listed on the paid tiers. It is an editor first — if you want to cut the video by editing the text, that is what it is for.
Rev The reason to use Rev is the human option. Nothing on this page competes with a person typing it out.
Sonix A trial rather than a free tier. Pay-as-you-go with no subscription is the useful part.
Happy Scribe Unlimited free meeting recording at 45 minutes a recording is separate from the AI transcription trial.
How to read this
Every number above came from that company’s own pricing page on 21 September 2026 — not from a roundup, not from a review site, not from memory. Otter and TurboScribe were read again on 4 November 2026, in a browser with the monthly and yearly toggles clicked, for their head-to-head pages. TurboScribe’s row was marked unverified until then, because its pricing page refused automated readers in September; it has been read since.
There is no winner and there are no stars. Every tool here is the right answer for somebody: if you want a person to type it out, that is Rev. If you want to edit video by editing its transcript, that is Descript. If you live in meetings, that is Otter. If you want up to an hour of audio turned into text and subtitles right now without making an account, that is us.
Prices move several times a year. If you find one of these out of date, tell us and we will fix it and re-date the page.
Where Slice loses
Volume. 2 files a month is generous per file and thin per month. If you transcribe something every day, TurboScribe’s three free files a day will take you further.
Scope. No editor, no meeting bot, no human option. It turns audio into text and subtitles and then it stops.
Language. Tuned for English. It will transcribe other languages and tell you which one it detected, but we are not going to promise the accuracy, and a tool that promises everything in every language is either better than us or lying.
Questions
Which free transcription tool gives you the longest single file?
Which free tiers label who is speaking?
Which ones work without an account?
What is the catch with Otter’s free plan?
Where does Slice lose?
How current are these numbers?
Try the one this page is on
The transcription tool is free, takes files up to 1 hour, labels who is speaking, and emails you the text, SRT and VTT. No account. There is also an HTTP API if you would rather call it than click it.
This tool is looked after by Clack.Listens hard, types fast, never asks you to repeat yourself.
More Free Tools
Shorts by Slice
From the team behind these free tools
One video. A week of posts.
Upload an episode and get back the moments worth posting, cut and captioned.
- Reads the whole episode, then picks the excerpts worth posting
- Captions burned in and framed vertical, ready to post
- Your first video (we search the first hour) and first 2 clips are free, no card