$2 per hour of audio.
Pay per hour, billed per minute. The same flat rate for every file and every language. About $0.033 per minute — roughly 5× cheaper than per-minute rates from human transcription.
Founder · Building TranscribeCat since 2024 · Last updated May 2, 2026
How much would you save?
Enter how many hours you transcribe per month. We'll show what you'd pay on TranscribeCat versus a typical subscription.
TranscribeCat math: $2 × hours per month. Subscription prices are sticker rates from each provider's public pricing as of 2026-05. Subscriptions usually cap hours; pay-per-use never does.
Transcription cost by file length
$2 per hour of audio or video — the same flat rate for every file, every language, every customer. Common file lengths:
| File length | Cost | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 15 minutes | $2 | $2 minimum per file |
| 1 hour | $2 | |
| 2 hours | $4 | |
| 5 hours | $10 | |
| 8 hours (full day) | $16 | |
| 20 hours | $40 | |
| 100 hours | $200 |
Transcription rates per minute
Most of the industry quotes a per-minute rate. Here's how $2/hr translates against common rates:
| Service | Per-minute rate | Per-hour equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| TranscribeCat | $0.033/min | $2.00 |
| Sonix | $0.167/min | $10.00 |
| Rev (AI) | $0.25/min | $15.00 |
| GoTranscript (human) | $0.79/min | $47.40 |
| Rev (human) | $1.50/min | $90.00 |
Public pricing as of 2026-05.
Transcription pricing comparison
Side-by-side across the most common services:
| Service | Price | Model | Monthly fee | Cost for 8 hrs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TranscribeCat | $2/hr | Pay per use | None | $16 |
| TurboScribe | $10-20/mo | Subscription | $10-20 | $10-20 |
| Otter.ai | $16.99/mo | Subscription | $16.99 | $16.99 |
| GoTranscript | ~$0.79/min | Per minute (human) | None | ~$379 |
| Rev | $1.50/min | Per minute (human) | None | ~$720 |
| Sonix | $10/hr | Pay per use | None | $80 |
Prices as of 2026-05. See our full comparison for features, accuracy, and supported formats.
When pay-per-use saves you money
Pay-per-use is better when:
- You transcribe less than 8 hours per month
- You have one-off or seasonal projects
- You don't want to manage a recurring charge
- Your needs are variable
A subscription may be better when:
- ·You transcribe 10+ hours every single month
- ·You need real-time meeting transcription
- ·You need team collaboration features built in
What's included
Speaker labels
Automatic detection and diarization
100+ languages
Auto-detected, same price for all
Multiple export formats
DOCX, PDF, TXT, SRT, VTT
Audio kept 90 days
Or change to instant-delete / 1 year
Automatic refund
On failure, no support ticket needed
Fast processing
Most files finish in under 5 minutes
Frequently asked questions about pricing
How does the $2 per hour pricing work?
$2 per hour of audio or video, billed per minute. The minimum charge is $2 per file, which covers anything up to one hour. A 15-minute file and a 55-minute file both cost $2. A 90-minute file costs $3.
What is the per-minute rate?
About $0.033 per minute. Industry per-minute rates range from $0.033 (TranscribeCat) up to $1.50 per minute for human transcription.
What are typical transcription rates in 2026?
AI transcription: $0.033/min ($2/hr) up to $0.25/min ($15/hr). Human transcription: $0.79/min ($47.40/hr) up to $1.50/min ($90/hr). Subscriptions like Otter run $16.99/month with capped usage. The 2026 AI floor is roughly $2/hr; the human ceiling is roughly $90/hr.
Is there a minimum charge?
The minimum charge is $2 per file. This covers up to one hour of audio.
How does pay-per-use compare to a subscription?
If you transcribe less than 8 hours per month, pay-per-use is cheaper than any major subscription. A $16.99 monthly subscription costs the same as 8.5 hours on TranscribeCat. If your usage is occasional or seasonal, you save money by paying per use.
Are there volume discounts for large projects?
The rate is $2 per hour at any volume. 100 hours costs $200. The price is already low enough that a volume discount would save less than a dollar.
What payment methods are accepted?
Visa, Mastercard, and American Express via Stripe. Payment is processed at the time of upload.
What if a transcription fails?
You get an automatic refund to your original payment method. No support ticket needed.
Is the price the same for all languages?
$2 per hour across all 100+ supported languages. Same speed, same editor, same export formats.
How does pricing work for a team?
Create an organization, add one billing card, invite teammates. Every upload by any member is charged $2 per hour to the org card — no seats to provision and no per-seat fees. Setup walkthrough: /blog/set-up-team-transcription-shared-billing.
How does enterprise transcription pricing work?
$2 per hour, same rate for everyone. No enterprise plans, no sales calls. 1,000 hours costs $2,000.
Upload your first file.
One hour of audio. $2. Editable transcript. No subscription.
Start transcribing