Best of
Best free transcription software in 2026, ranked by stated criteria
There is no single best free transcription tool, so this list ranks what each vendor's own page states on five points: free, no account, a free file length of 30 minutes or more, a free subtitle file, and Arabic named. On those points Happy Scribe, Riverside free tool and TryScriptorium are tied at the top with 4 of 5. We make TryScriptorium and rank it by the same rules; its weak spots are written out below. Checked on 2026-10-27.
Updated
The ranking
| # | Tool | Free | No account | 30+ min per file | SRT/VTT free | Arabic named | Score | What its page says |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Happy Scribe | Yes | Not stated | Yes | Yes | Yes | 4 of 5 | Free plan: 45 minutes per recording, plus a one-time 10-minute AI trial |
| 2 | Riverside free tool | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not stated | 4 of 5 | "Unlimited transcriptions for free"; no length cap stated |
| 3 | TryScriptorium | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | 4 of 5 | Free preview: one file up to 15 minutes and 25 MB, 3 tries a day. Small model for guests. |
| 4 | Buzz | Yes | Not stated | Yes | Yes | Not stated | 3 of 5 | Open source (MIT); offline desktop app; exports TXT, SRT and VTT. No price or cap stated. |
| 5 | Narakeet | Yes | Yes | No | Not stated | Yes | 3 of 5 | Up to 20 audio files, each up to 10 minutes |
| 6 | SubEasy | Yes | Not stated | Yes | Not stated | Yes | 3 of 5 | "3 x 30 mins" free every day |
| 7 | Vibe | Yes | Not stated | Yes | Yes | Not stated | 3 of 5 | Open source (MIT); offline desktop app; exports SRT, VTT, TXT and more. No price or cap stated. |
| 8 | Maestra | Yes | Not stated | No | Not stated | Yes | 2 of 5 | A 1-minute trial on the tool page |
| 9 | Notta | Yes | Not stated | No | No | Yes | 2 of 5 | Free plan: 120 minutes a month, 3 minutes per conversation. Its free web tool: one file up to 5 minutes |
| 10 | Otter.ai | Yes | Not stated | Yes | No | No | 2 of 5 | 300 minutes a month, 30 minutes per conversation, 3 lifetime file imports |
| 11 | Sonix | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Yes | 2 of 5 | 30 free minutes (no credit card) |
| 12 | VEED | Yes | Yes | Not stated | No | Not stated | 2 of 5 | "Free to try"; no number stated |
| 13 | Descript | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | No | 1 of 5 | 60 media minutes a month, 1 GB per upload, 100 one-time AI credits |
| 14 | Gemini app (audio upload) | Yes | No | No | Not stated | Not stated | 1 of 5 | Without Google AI Pro or Ultra: "Total audio length can be up to 10 minutes"; those plans extend it to 3 hours (the page does not use the word free) |
| 15 | Kapwing | Yes | Not stated | No | Not stated | Not stated | 1 of 5 | Free plan: auto-subtitling up to 10 minutes, exports up to 4 minutes, 2 GB upload, watermark on exports |
| 16 | MacWhisper | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | 1 of 5 | "Free forever" tier (its limits are not stated); Pro is a one-time EUR 64 |
| 17 | Rev | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | No | 1 of 5 | Free plan: 45 AI minutes a month, 5 files at a time, English only |
| 18 | Word Transcribe | No | No | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | 1 of 5 | Needs a Microsoft 365 subscription; 300 minutes of uploaded audio a month |
Checked on 2026-10-27. "Not stated" means the page did not say, could not be read, or contradicted itself; the cells are not guesses. Local apps (Buzz, Vibe, MacWhisper) are listed here for "free"; the private transcription list ranks them on privacy.
Not ranked because we could not read the page: TurboScribe (all four pages we tried returned HTTP 403 on 2026-10-27) and the ChatGPT app's audio features (OpenAI's help-centre pages returned HTTP 403). A tool missing from a list is not a verdict on it.
Pick by situation
- One file now, no sign-up, with a subtitle file: the top of the table. Riverside's free tool states no length cap but takes only MP3, WAV, MP4 and MOV and puts all speakers on one line; Happy Scribe's free plan is 45 minutes per recording and its sign-up is not stated explicitly; ours is capped at 15 minutes.
- A long or private file: a local app (Buzz or Vibe, both MIT-licensed and described as offline). The cost is setup and your own computer's speed.
- A meeting you are in: a meeting notetaker such as Otter, which joins calls. Its free plan is 300 minutes a month, 30 per conversation, and only 3 lifetime file imports.
- A short voice clip: the Gemini app accepts audio uploads, with a stated limit of 10 minutes of audio in total unless you pay for Google AI Pro or Ultra; its page does not mention transcripts or subtitle files.
- Arabic: see the Arabic list.
TryScriptorium, honestly
Our weaknesses, plainly: guests get the small model; the no-account preview is limited to one file of 15 minutes and 25 MB, 3 tries a day; there is no link input (you upload a file); there is no DOCX export in the app (open the TXT in Word, or convert it with the free browser tool at /tools/transcript-to-docx); it does not join live calls and has no live captions; and the transcripts are automatic and make mistakes.
What it does well on this page's criteria: no account for a first file, SRT and VTT free, and Arabic with an Arabic interface. Run the one-minute test on your own audio before trusting any ranking, including this one.
How we ranked
Five criteria, fixed before we filled in the table. Each cell is Yes only when the vendor's own page, read on 2026-10-27, says so; No when it says the opposite; Not stated otherwise, which scores nothing. The score is the number of Yes cells and ties are listed alphabetically. This ranks what products state, not how well they transcribe: we have not tested the other tools on your audio, and a transcript from any of them needs reading against the recording.
- Free to use, as the vendor states it (a free tier, "free forever", or an open-source licence)
- No account needed to start, as the vendor states it
- No per-file cap below 30 minutes stated on the free route (a stated cap of 30 minutes or more, or no cap stated)
- SRT or VTT subtitle file available on the free route, as stated
- Arabic named by the vendor
We make TryScriptorium, so it is in the table and scored by the same rules. We chose criteria that matter to someone who wants a free transcript fast, which is also what we built, so weigh our own placement with the most caution. Prices and limits change; the source links are below and each is worth a click before you decide.
Sources
Every row about another product was read on that product's own page on 2026-10-27. Where a page contradicted itself the cell says so.
- https://riverside.com/tools/transcription
- https://www.happyscribe.com/pricing
- https://www.happyscribe.com/audio-to-text
- https://www.happyscribe.com/professional-transcription-services/arabic
- https://www.narakeet.com/docs/speech-to-text-transcription/
- https://www.narakeet.com/docs/data-security/
- https://subeasy.ai/pricing
- https://subeasy.ai/
- https://subeasy.ai/languages
- https://github.com/chidiwilliams/buzz
- https://github.com/thewh1teagle/vibe
- https://www.macwhisper.com
- https://otter.ai/pricing
- https://www.veed.io/tools/video-to-text
- https://www.veed.io/tools/auto-subtitle-generator-online
- https://www.sonix.ai/pricing
- https://www.sonix.ai/en/languages/transcribe-arabic-audio
- https://maestra.ai/tools/audio-to-text
- https://maestra.ai/pricing
- https://maestra.ai/tools/audio-to-text/transcribe-arabic
- https://www.notta.ai/en/pricing
- https://www.notta.ai/en/tools/arabic-speech-to-text
- https://www.kapwing.com/pricing
- https://www.kapwing.com/subtitles
- https://www.descript.com/pricing
- https://www.descript.com/transcription
- https://www.rev.com/pricing
- https://www.rev.com/transcription
- https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/transcribe-your-recordings-7fc2efec-245e-45f0-b053-2a97531ecf57
- https://support.google.com/gemini/answer/14903178
- https://turboscribe.ai/pricing
Questions
What is the best free transcription software?
Is there free transcription software with no sign-up?
Why is TryScriptorium in its own list?
Are these ratings?
How often is this checked?
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