Transcription App Comparison · 2026
Transcription Apps, Compared — by Price and by Model.
The best transcription tool depends on the job, not a single ranking. For live meeting capture, Otter, Fireflies and Fathom lead; for editing, Descript. For the occasional voice message or recording without a $8–20/seat/month subscription, a per-use Telegram option (@vustScribeBot) is the cheaper shape: free under 5 minutes; for a 5–20 minute file, the price is stated up front, the debit happens when it is sent, and processing or delivery failure triggers an automatic refund. Pricing below is as of 2026 — verify current before relying on it.
Transcription apps — pricing & model (2026)
Prices are the cheapest paid entry and the top consumer tier; annual-billed where noted. A dash (—) means the vendor doesn't publish a clear public price (A/B-tested, login-gated, or usage-only) — check their own page.
| Tool | Free tier | Cheapest paid | Top tier | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VUST Scribe (@vustScribeBot) | ≤5 min, 3/day | 5–20 min: price stated up front; debit on send; auto-refund on failure | — | Occasional files & voice notes, no subscription |
| Otter.ai | Basic (free) | $8.33/mo (Pro, annual) | $19.99/mo (Business) | Live meeting capture, collab notes |
| Fireflies.ai | 800 min storage | $10/user/mo (annual) | $39/user/mo | Meeting auto-join + AI credits |
| Fathom | Free forever | $15/user/mo | — | Zoom/Meet meeting notes |
| Descript | Free (1 hr) | from $16/mo | — | Editing transcripts (multitrack) |
| Happy Scribe | Trial | $8.50/mo (annual) | $59/mo (Teams) | Transcribe + subtitle + translate |
| Grain | Free | $15/user/mo | $29/user/mo | Sales-call notetaking |
| Krisp | Free (limited) | $8/mo (Core, annual) | $15/mo (Advanced) | On-device noise-cancel + notes |
| Temi | 1 free ≤45 min | $0.25/audio-min | — | Pay-per-minute, no subscription |
| Rev | — | — | — | AI + human transcription (see rev.com) |
| Trint | Trial | — | — | Enterprise editorial workflows |
Prices as of 2026, gathered from vendor pricing pages and app stores; several are A/B-tested or region-dependent. Verify the current figure on the vendor's own page before relying on it. VUST Scribe pricing is per-use in Balance, topped up inside Telegram after the exact amount is shown.
How to read this
Pick by the job — three of them, honestly
Live meeting capture (auto-join Zoom/Meet/Teams) → Otter, Fireflies, Fathom. Editing audio via the transcript → Descript. The occasional forwarded file or voice note without a subscription → VUST Scribe, per-use inside Telegram. VUST has no meeting-bot and no editing surface; it's forward-and-get-transcript, which is exactly why it needs no setup and no monthly floor.
See the difference
Three jobs, three winners — including where the competitors beat us.
Pick your transcription tool by the job
- Occasional files
- A voice message, interview or lecture to transcribe now and then — no appetite for a monthly seat
- @vustScribeBot: forward the audio, get transcript + summary + action items. Free under 5 min (3/day); a 5–20 min file costs cents, the exact price shown before you confirm. No subscription floor.
- Live meeting teams
- Auto-join Zoom/Meet/Teams calls, record live, share notes in a workspace
- Otter, Fireflies or Fathom — that meeting-bot + workspace is their core product; VUST has no meeting-bot and doesn't compete there.
- Editors / producers
- Edit a podcast or video by editing its transcript
- Descript is the editor. Scribe returns a transcript + summary, not an editing surface.
How the pricing shapes differ
- 01
Subscription seats (Otter/Fireflies/Fathom)
~$8–20/user/mo (annual) with AI-credit systems on higher tiers — worth it for daily live-meeting teams, a poor fit for occasional use.
- 02
Per-minute / per-file (Temi, VUST)
Temi $0.25/audio-min; VUST Scribe free ≤5 min (3/day), then per-file pricing for 5–20 min shown before you confirm — you pay for what you transcribe, nothing in quiet months.
- 03
Editor suites (Descript)
From $16/mo — priced as a production tool, not a transcriber; you're paying for the editing surface.
Transcribe the occasional file — no subscription
Forward a voice message or recording to @vustScribeBot: transcript + summary + action items, free under 5 minutes; longer files show their price before you confirm.
Honest scope
No meeting-bot
Scribe never joins a call or reads your calendar. It transcribes audio you already have and forward — which is why it needs zero setup, but also why live-capture tools win that job.
Prices verified + dated
Figures are as-of-2026 from vendor pages/app stores; A/B-tested or hidden prices show a dash, not a guessed number. Verify current before relying on it.
20-minute cap
Up to 20 min / 20 MB per file (Telegram limit). Split longer recordings. Failed processing refunds automatically.
Frequently asked questions
What's the cheapest way to transcribe the occasional audio file?
Per-use beats a subscription when you transcribe irregularly. Temi ($0.25/audio-min) and VUST Scribe (free under 5 minutes, 3/day; for a 5–20 min file, the price is stated up front, the debit happens when you send it, and processing or delivery failure triggers an automatic refund) both avoid a monthly commitment, versus Otter/Fireflies at roughly $8–20/seat/month even for light use. Prices as of 2026.
Which transcription apps have a real free tier?
Fathom is free-forever for individual meeting notes; Otter Basic and Fireflies (800 min storage) have free tiers with caps; VUST Scribe is free for clips under 5 minutes, 3 per day. Sonix and several others offer only a short trial, not an ongoing free allowance.
Does VUST Scribe join and record my meetings like Otter or Fireflies?
No — deliberately. There's no bot in your call and no calendar access. You forward the audio or voice message you already have and get a transcript, summary and action items back. If auto-joining live calls is what you need, Otter, Fireflies or Fathom are the right tools.
What are the limits on VUST Scribe?
Up to 20 minutes and 20 MB per file (Telegram's limit). Free for clips ≤5 minutes, 3 per day; for a 5–20 minute file, the exact price is stated up front, the quoted amount is debited when you send it, and processing or delivery failure triggers an automatic refund. It's forward-and-get-transcript, not live capture or editing.
Otter vs Fireflies — which is cheaper?
On annual billing Fireflies Pro is ~$10/user/mo and Otter Pro ~$8.33/user/mo; Otter's top consumer tier is Business at $19.99/user/mo, Fireflies' is ~$39/user/mo. Both are meeting-bots with AI-credit systems on higher tiers. Verify current pricing on their own pages before relying on it.
Ready when you are
The right transcriber depends on the job.
Live meetings → Otter/Fireflies/Fathom. Editing → Descript. The occasional forwarded file without a subscription → VUST Scribe, per-use in Telegram.