Ever wish you had a written record of a meeting? Ever thought about recording and transcribing everything that’s said?

The human mind has its limits. You can waste a lot of time racking your memory for a name, date, or idea that came up in a meeting. You might forget who said what or which tasks you agreed to complete before the meeting wrapped up. Likewise, your colleagues would benefit from precise meeting notes to aid their memories.

But it’s not only a question of memory. A meeting is an active work situation. You need to think, talk, and interact. And most of all, you need to listen. It’s challenging to do these things at once and leave the meeting with a comprehensive idea of what went on. Meeting minutes are helpful if someone took them (using our meeting minute templates, for example) – but nothing allows you to concentrate like knowing there will be an accurate transcript to study at your leisure.

Plus, a meeting transcript isn’t only for you. You can share it with colleagues from the meeting – as well as those who were unable to attend. A full audio transcription is also a valuable accessibility tool for the deaf and hard of hearing.

Thankfully, there are affordable options to record and transcribe meetings. And you need to use nothing more complex than your regular cell phone.

The Best Transcription Software for Meeting Notes

There are several mobile apps available that promise to record and transcribe your meetings. Let’s look at the pros and cons of three meeting transcription services.

1. Rev Voice Recorder & Memos

Rev’s free Transcription App makes voice-to-text more convenient. You can record the meeting and order the transcript directly from your phone. The app is available for iPhone or Android.

It is free to capture and record any amount of audio directly on Rev’s app, and you are free to share your meetings and voice memos with colleagues via email, Dropbox, or Evernote. You can also tap the app to send your recording to Rev for either automated or human transcription.

Human transcription costs $1.99/min of recorded audio. Rev’s human transcription service comes with a 99% accuracy guarantee. A 30-minute recording will come back to you as a full transcript within 12 hours, often much quicker. Your text document arrives in the app and via email. A key advantage of Rev’s human transcription service is that the text is presented as a script with each change of speaker identified.

The automated transcription option utilizes Rev’s industry-leading >80% accurate voice recognition technology to deliver a full transcript within five minutes. This option costs $0.25/minute, and you can buy credits in advance so that it’s truly a tap-to-order service.

Other advantages include:

• High-quality voice recording and playback
• Sync to Dropbox to back up your recordings automatically
• Record in the background while using your phone for something else
• Automatically pause recording for incoming calls
• Trim your recordings to discard unwanted audio
• Add to your recordings if you press Stop before you’re finished.

2. Dragon Anywhere

Dragon Anywhere is a mobile dictation service that you pay for by subscription. After a free one-week trial, the app costs $15/month or $150 if you pay once per year.

The app uses automatic speech recognition to transcribe your dictated notes as you say them. This means that you need to be online while you use it. So, while it’s great for taking notes in the office, it might not suit every meeting environment. Additionally, Dragon Anywhere is designed for personal dictation, so you won’t get individual speaker identification or a dialogue format.

However, Dragon Anywhere is a useful automated option if you would like to train it with unusual, industry-specific words and to learn to interpret your voice over time.

3. Transcribe

Transcribe is an alternative option if you are working with multiple languages. Like Dragon Anywhere, Transcribe is a dictation app. So, it will not offer the versatility of Rev’s Voice Recorder app and transcription services. However, Transcribe supports 120+ languages and dialects. Plus, you can choose to upload your own audio file or record directly into the app.

The app is free, and it costs $4.99 for an hour of transcribed audio. You can export your transcription as a TXT, PDF, DOCX, or SRT file with Transcribe PRO Subscription. Available on iOS only.

Options for Transcribing Different Meeting Types

Robust transcription tools like these take advantage of speech recognition technology and the networked workplace. They provide a beneficial service at an achievable price. With today’s pressures on our time, it makes sense to use accurate transcriptions to maximize your workflow.

Rev understands that you need to record and transcribe interviews and other audio in different contexts. A free iOS call recording app, Rev Call Recorder, is available in the Apple App Store. Just download it to your phone to record calls and order transcripts with a tap. Rev also offers a desktop recorder so you can record notes and key points directly from your workstation if this is a more convenient option for you.