The best free transcription software depends on where your audio is. For a YouTube video, start with YouTube's own transcript panel. For files you want to keep private, or for more hours than any free plan gives, run Whisper on your own computer with a free app such as Buzz. For meetings, Otter's free plan gives the most minutes, if 30 minutes per conversation is enough.
Every free plan has a catch: a cap per month, a cap per recording, no export, or English only. The table shows each one.
Free plans compared
| Tool | Free | The catch | Takes a YouTube link | Cheapest paid plan (US) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| YouTube "Show transcript" | Any video with captions | No download button; automatic captions have no punctuation | It is YouTube | Free only |
| Whisper with Buzz or MacWhisper | No limit | Runs on your computer, as fast as your computer | Buzz: yes | Free; MacWhisper Pro is a one-time €64 |
| Otter.ai | 300 min a month | 30 min per conversation, 3 file imports ever | No | $16.99 a month, or $8.33 a month billed yearly |
| TurboScribe | 3 files a day, up to 30 min each | One file at a time, lower priority | Yes | $20 a month, or $10 a month billed yearly |
| Notta | 120 min a month | 3 min per recording, no export | Yes | $13.49 a month, or $8.17 a month billed yearly |
| Descript | 60 min a month | A video editor first; exports at 720p | No | $24 a month, or $16 a month billed yearly |
| Rev | 45 min a month | English only | Not stated | $29.99 a month per user, or $25.49 billed yearly |
| Microsoft Word Transcribe | 300 min a month of uploads | Needs a Microsoft 365 subscription | No | Part of Microsoft 365 |
| Google Docs voice typing | No limit stated | Live microphone only, no files | No | Free only |
| YoutubeToText (ours) | First 10 minutes, once | YouTube links only | Yes | $10 a month for 600 min |
| FileToText (ours) | The first 10 minutes of your first file | Files only, no YouTube links | No | $3 per started hour per file, or $10 a month for 600 min |
Which one fits your job
- A YouTube video, to read along: YouTube's transcript panel. Our guide on getting the built-in transcript shows where it is.
- A YouTube video, as a file with punctuation and speaker names: a tool that takes the link and transcribes the audio: YoutubeToText, TurboScribe, Notta or Buzz. See how to transcribe a YouTube video.
- Many hours, free, nothing uploaded: Whisper through Buzz, or MacWhisper on a Mac.
- Meetings and calls: Otter, within its 30-minute cap per conversation on the free plan.
- A few files a day: TurboScribe's 3 files of up to 30 minutes.
- You already pay for Microsoft 365: Transcribe in Word on the web, 300 minutes a month of uploads.
- Dictating your own text: Google Docs voice typing.
Tool by tool
YouTube's transcript panel
Click "...more" under a video, then "Show transcript". It is free and works on any video that has captions. YouTube itself warns that automatic captions can misrepresent what is said, and they can be missing when the audio is poor, the language is not supported or speakers talk over each other. Automatic captions cover 67 languages (YouTube Help).
Whisper, Buzz and MacWhisper
Whisper is OpenAI's speech recognition model, free under the MIT license, and it runs on your own computer, so the audio never leaves it. On its own it needs Python and FFmpeg. Buzz wraps it in a free app that transcribes files, your microphone and YouTube links, and exports TXT, SRT and VTT. MacWhisper does the same on a Mac; its free version takes files and recordings, and YouTube links need the paid version.
Otter.ai
The free plan gives 300 minutes a month, with at most 30 minutes per conversation and 3 file imports in total. It transcribes 6 languages and does not take YouTube links (Otter pricing, Otter Help). Pro is $16.99 a month, or $8.33 a month billed yearly, for 1,200 minutes.
TurboScribe
Free gives 3 files a day of up to 30 minutes each, one at a time. It takes YouTube links and lists 98+ languages. Unlimited is $20 a month, or $10 a month billed yearly (TurboScribe pricing).
Notta
120 minutes a month, but at most 3 minutes per recording, and export is a paid feature, so the free plan is a trial more than a tool. It takes YouTube links and 58 languages. Pro is $13.49 a month, or $8.17 a month billed yearly, for 1,800 minutes (Notta pricing).
Descript
Descript is a video and podcast editor where you edit by editing the transcript. Free gives 60 media minutes a month and exports at 720p; it transcribes 25 languages and has no YouTube import. Hobbyist is $24 a month, or $16 a month billed yearly (Descript pricing).
Rev
Free gives 45 minutes a month of AI transcription, in English only. Essentials is $29.99 a month per user, or $25.49 a month billed yearly (Rev pricing).
Microsoft Word Transcribe
In Word on the web, with a Microsoft 365 subscription, you can record or upload audio and get 300 minutes a month of uploads transcribed into the document. It works in Edge and Chrome (Microsoft Support).
Google Docs voice typing
Tools, then Voice typing, in Google Docs in Chrome, Edge or Safari. Free, for live dictation through your microphone; it does not transcribe files (Google Docs Help).
YoutubeToText and FileToText (ours)
YoutubeToText takes a YouTube link and writes the transcript from the audio, with punctuation, speaker labels and timestamps, also for videos without captions. A new account gets its first 10 minutes free, once; after that plans start at $10 a month for 600 minutes (pricing). It does not take uploaded files. For those there is FileToText, from the same team: the first 10 minutes of your first file are free, then $3 per started hour per file (at most $12 a file) or a plan from $10 a month.
How we checked
We read each vendor's pricing page and help pages on October 9, 2026, and wrote down only what they state. We did not run an accuracy test across these tools, so this list compares what you get for free, not which one makes the fewest mistakes. Accuracy depends most on your audio: try a few minutes of your own recording before you commit to a paid plan. Our own numbers, and how we measure them, are on the accuracy page.