Audio and video transcription services
Interviews, focus groups, meetings, lectures and legal recordings, transcribed by people and then proofread against the audio. Verbatim, edited or ready to publish, with speaker names and timestamps.
Maria Lopez: So, um, we, we shipped the, uh, the files on Friday, right? And then, like, nobody got back to us until Tuesday.
The same ten seconds of audio in three transcript styles.
- You send
- Audio or video files, or a link to them
- You get back
- Word, PDF or plain text, with speaker names and timestamps
- Checked by
- A proofreader who listens to the whole recording
- Priced by
- Audio length, number of speakers and audio quality
Three transcript styles
Transcription turns the speech in an audio or video recording into written text. The right style depends on what the transcript is for: legal and insurance work usually needs every word, research needs clean and readable text, and published interviews need polished prose.
We also transcribe recordings in other languages and translate the transcript, so you get the original and the English side by side. For transcripts used to train AI models, see speech and audio data.
Recordings we transcribe
From one short interview to a full research study.
Research interviews and focus groups
One-to-one and group interviews with every speaker labeled, for qualitative research, user research and market studies.
Legal and insurance recordings
Verbatim transcripts of statements, hearings and recorded calls, keeping every word, pause and false start.
Meetings and conferences
Board meetings, panels and conference sessions, with speaker names and a timestamp at every change of speaker.
Lectures and courses
Lectures, webinars and training videos, transcribed for study notes, captions or course handouts.
Podcasts and media
Episodes and interviews written up as ready-to-publish text for show notes, articles and accessibility.
Recordings in other languages
Audio in other languages transcribed by native speakers, then translated into English or the language you need.
Our three-step transcription process
Two people listen to every recording before the transcript reaches you.
Send the recordings
Upload files or share a link. Tell us the transcript style, the speakers' names and any terms we should know.
Transcription
A transcriptionist listens to the audio and writes the first complete transcript.
Proofreading
A proofreader listens to the whole recording again and corrects errors, unclear words and anything missed.
Second check QAFinal check
Our quality control team checks formatting, speaker names and timestamps, then sends the transcript in your format.
Difficult recordings
Most recordings have a hard patch somewhere. Here's how we deal with each kind.
- Unclear audioWe mark words we can't hear as [inaudible 00:12:41] with a timestamp, so you can check the spot. We don't guess.
- Many speakersSend a list of names or roles and we label each turn. Overlapping speech is marked [crosstalk].
- Strong accentsWe assign a transcriptionist who knows the accent or dialect, where we have one.
- Technical termsSend a list of names, products and terms. We add any new ones we find and ask about the ones we can't confirm.
Formats and options
- Audio and video
- MP3, WAV, M4A, MP4, MOV and most other formats, or a link to cloud storage
- Transcripts
- Word, PDF or plain text, or SRT and VTT if you need captions
- Timestamps
- At every change of speaker, or every 30 seconds, minute or two minutes
- Extras
- Speaker names, [inaudible] and [crosstalk] tags, and a list of names and terms used
Related services
Questions about transcription
What is a transcription service?
A transcription service turns speech in audio or video recordings into written text. Ours is done by people: one transcribes and a second proofreads against the audio, then a final check covers formatting, speaker names and timestamps.
What's the difference between verbatim, edited and ready-to-publish transcripts?
Verbatim keeps every word, including fillers, false starts and repeats, and is used for legal and insurance work. Edited removes fillers and repeats but keeps the speaker's wording, which suits meetings, calls and research. Ready to publish is edited for grammar and flow, for speeches, lectures and interviews you plan to publish.
Do you add timestamps and speaker names?
Yes. We add a timestamp at each change of speaker or at a fixed interval, and label speakers by name or role. Send us a list of names and we use them throughout.
How much do transcription services cost?
We price by audio length, adjusted for the number of speakers, audio quality and how technical the subject is. Send a sample and we'll reply with a fixed price and a delivery date before we start.
Can you transcribe and translate a recording in another language?
Yes. A native speaker transcribes the recording in its original language, then a translator turns it into English or another language. You can have both versions side by side in one document.
What happens with parts of the audio you can't hear?
We mark them as [inaudible] with a timestamp, so you can listen to that spot yourself. We don't fill gaps with guesses.
Send us a recording to transcribe
Upload a file or send a link with the transcript style you need. We reply with a fixed price and a delivery date.
- Phone
- +44 20 3290 0116
- Phone hours
- Weekdays 9:30 to 16:00, weekends 9:30 to 12:00, UK time