How to transcribe audio fast and for free

By- Akash Bhardwaj

Transcribing is a method of converting an audio or video into text. For example, the Indian Courts
have a transcriber who types each and every word said by the advocates and the Judge for the records.
But, in the contemporary world transcription not only stays with the court but is used in many aspects.
Transcribing audio have many benefits. Audio transcripts are not only easy to use and exchange, they
can also be helpful during crucial decision-making. Some of the benefits of transcription includes easy
distribution of data, text can be published but not audio, viewership can be increased and it’s easy to
use.

Transcribing videos is great way to easily repurpose your existing content or simplify the process of
creating video description. The most basic and totally free process of transcribing audio is manually
writing all the stuff by hearing the audio simultaneously. But this process is very time consuming and
it needs a lot of efforts. One more disadvantage of this method is that it is open to mistakes. Even one
mistake in the transcribed text can change the meaning of the whole text. So, if you have all the time
in the world and lots of efficient man power, you can surely go for this option.

Don’t worry, manual work is not the only option to transcribe audio. In the contemporary world, we
have many software over the internet through which transcription can be done. These software may be
paid or free to use. The transcription through the internet works when the audio is very clear. The
accuracy is the main key in terms of transcription. So if we want an accurate transcription of some
audio and video, the first point to keep in mind that the source should be clear and minimal
background noise should be there.

There are a number of services which helps in transcription of audio. These services can be paid as
well as free. The paid services obviously provide better accuracy over the free ones. In most cases the
higher you pay or the more expensive the service offering is, the higher the accuracy of the result.
Time also plays an important role in transcription. Usually, the paid option promises lesser time for
transcribing your audio as compared to the free options.

Here we will talk about how to transcribe audio fast and for free. The first thing to keep in mind is if
you are going for free option, the accuracy may be less than those of the paid services. If you want to
increase the accuracy of the output, try to keep your audio or video very clear and free from any
disturbances whatsoever.

The first and foremost free option is the Youtube’s Auto Transcribe function. In case you upload a
video to youtube and you want to add transcription, then this is the option. It usually takes 12 hours or
so to fully transcribe your video depending on the length of your audio or video. There are several
other modifications which you can do to your text like copying your text and pasting it wherever you
want to use it or changing some words or sentences.

The other free option is to use Google voice or Siri to do the transcribing for you. In the google docs
you can select the option of voice typing. When you hit the mic button, then you just need to talk and
the google will take care of the rest. If the background noise is minimal and there is not music or wind
in the background you can get some decent results here also. You can also use pre-recorded audio or
video. Just put the pre-recorded audio in your phone and play it in front of the google doc then the
transcribing will start. Don’t forget to put English language as your primary language.

Another website that can be used to transcribe audio is the Otter.ai. Here, the transcription is
absolutely free for 600 minutes per month. So if you have some limited number of minutes to
transcribe to text, then this is your option. This website uses artificial intelligence to transcribe your
files and the results are pretty much decent in different accents also. You just need to sign up and
create your account and add you file or link to the website and the results will come out pretty early.

Last but not the least is to get your work transcribed manually but at a very cheap price. There is a
website Rev.com which actually transcribe your work at very minimal price but the work is transcribe
manually by the professionally trained personnel. You just need to sign up the website and upload
your work or attach the link which you want to transcribe and within 12 hours you’ll get your
transcribed audio or video back to you. This might take a good amount of time but the results are very
accurate because it’s done manually and done by trained people. The biggest pros is that it is done by
a human so the accuracy level and quality is better than any free service.

So, these are the four free services which can help you getting your audio or video transcribed. Since
these are fee services, don’t expect the results be matched with that of the paid ones. Some things can
be kept in mind to increase the efficiency of the output, keep the background of the audio away of any
major disturbance like music or wind.