Zoom sure has changed the way we work, hasn’t it? We’re so much more productive simply because we don’t have to waste time and money planning to be in the same room as those we’re meeting with. You just get to your computer or device, log into Zoom, and, BOOM, you’re being productive with your team. No commute. No coordinating team breakfast. Sometimes, no getting out of your pajamas.
Heck, the one-button meeting recording option even eliminates a lot of the note-taking that used to occur in live meetings, meaning we’re free to be present and focus on the actual meeting. That said, reviewing a long recording for highlights and next steps can be tedious.
That’s where Zoom transcription tools come in. Reviewing a transcript of a meeting is far more efficient than scrubbing through an entire video, plus it can really ramp up your hybrid meeting productivity.
But how do you transcribe a Zoom meeting? And what are the best Zoom transcription services available? We have some thoughts! While most Zoom transcription tools offer the basic benefits of meeting transcription and note-taking, the eight options below each offer something a little bit extra.
1. Fireflies AI
Fireflies AI offers all the basic features you expect from a Zoom transcription service, including live transcription, note-taking, and translation into dozens of languages. But where Fireflies AI glows is in its call-analysis feature.
This AI note taker for Zoom not only transcribes your meeting in real time; it’ll also tell you what the most important takeaways were, so you can quickly and easily share the most important information with your team. That’s next-level productivity.
While Fireflies AI doesn’t offer human transcription services, its Zoom transcription is 90% accurate and the analysis feature can call out sections of your transcript that need to be edited.
Cost: Free, with paid options
Average G2.com Rating: 4.8 (out of 5)
Platform or Device Availability: All mobile and desktop
Favorite Feature: Easily share to Slack and other team communication apps
2. Happy Scribe
Accuracy matters when it comes to transcription, but unfortunately, most Zoom AI transcription offerings fall short when compared to their human counterparts. Happyscribe’s guaranteed 99% accuracy for human transcription is a refreshing option compared to many of the AI-only services on this list. The human option is pricey but also extremely quick, offering turnarounds in as little as four hours.
Happy Scribe’s Zoom transcription is great for collaboration because it’s easy to share files with your team, and the read-only mode is clutch when sharing with those outside your team. Happy Scribe doesn’t offer live transcription, however, which can be a deal-breaker for some. Instead, you’ll have to record your meeting and upload it afterward.
Cost: $1.75/minute
Average G2.com Rating: 4.8 (out of 5)
Platform or Device Availability: Mac and PC
Favorite Feature: Ability to lock files for view-only mode
3. Notta
If you need live transcription with real-time editing features, Notta is the Zoom transcription service you want. Notta converts your Zoom recording to a transcript with nearly 99% accuracy, which is up there with industry leaders.
The ability to edit your transcription as it’s happening is what sets Notta apart from the others. No more taking manual notes about mistakes that need to be fixed; you can just make the change without going back later. With both human and AI options, Notta is built for productivity, no matter what kind of transcription service you’re looking for.
Cost: $9 per month for 1,800 minutes
Average G2.com Rating: 4.6 (out of 5)
Platform or Device Availability: All mobile and desktop
Favorite Feature: The ability to add images to your Zoom transcription
4. Rev Notetaker
Rev’s transcription services currently offer Zoom integration for subscribers. With a Rev subscription, users can get free industry-leading AI transcription of any Zoom meeting with the option of adding human proofreading.
However, the most productive meetings are the ones you don’t have to attend so you can focus on more important tasks. Rev is now making this possible with VoiceHub.
If you can’t attend your Zoom meeting (or you just don’t want to), you can trust the Rev Notetaker to automatically join the meeting on your behalf. It will take detailed notes, create summaries with action items, and capture a full transcript of the meeting in real-time. After the meeting, it will also generate a summary that includes the topics discussed and follow-up action items. Plus, setting up this integration is super easy and only takes a few minutes. What an assistant!
Cost: Currently $9.99 per user per month with free options and options for professionals
Average Rating: Coming soon!
Platform or Device Availability: All mobile and desktop
Favorite Feature: Sending the Rev Notetaker to your Zoom meeting
5. Grain
Grain truly automates the Zoom meeting transcription process. All you have to do is connect to your calendar and it’ll record and transcribe your Zoom meeting automatically.
No individual scheduling here; once Grain is part of your calendar software, it’ll work by itself. You can even enter guidelines on the types of meetings you want Grain to handle. If you took a look at your calendar and started sweating, don’t fret. Our calendar management guide has you covered.
Grain’s AI-powered meeting tool also automates note-taking and offers insights on the most important aspects of each meeting. You can easily share those insights via Slack, Notion, and other team communication tools. It will also turn an hour’s worth of conversation into a short summary video.
Cost: $15/month per seat for unlimited meetings
Average G2.com Rating: 4.6 (out of 5)
Platform or Device Availability: All mobile and desktop
Favorite Feature: Calendar integration
6. Otter.ai
Otter.ai is an entirely AI-based transcription service that easily integrates with Zoom for live transcription. Otter’s claim to fame is that it will attend the meeting for you with its virtual AI assistant.
Basically, this means that its focus is on live transcription and a form of note-taking where it summarizes parts of your meeting for you. A major drawback of Otter.ai is that it only offers AI transcription and no human option, meaning its transcription tools might not be as accurate as other Zoom transcription services. But if you’re looking for an AI note taker for Zoom, you otter find what you need with Otter.ai. Learn how Rev and Otter stack up with our guide.
Cost: Free, with paid options
Average G2.com Rating: 4.3 (out of 5)
Platform or Device Availability: All mobile and desktop
Favorite Feature: AI note taker for Zoom
7. Colibri
Colibri integrates so seamlessly into Zoom that it feels like a native Zoom feature, even though it’s a third-party service. With Colibri, you can turn your transcription on and off inside the Zoom app, and easily scroll back through the transcript to verify facts or note future talking points.
Colibri’s AI transcription happens in real-time, but they don’t have a human option, so the final product is not the most accurate. If you value the utmost accuracy in your live transcription of Zoom meetings, you might want to seek a more robust option. Colibri is bare-bones but budget-friendly and straightforward.
Cost: $16/month for one seat
Average G2.com Rating: 4.3 (out of 5)
Platform or Device Availability: All mobile and desktop
Favorite Feature: Seamless Zoom integration
8. Verbit
If you attend a lot of large meetings and don’t need translation outside of English or Spanish, Verbit is an accurate and quick Zoom transcription service.
Verbit’s integrated Zoom speech-to-text service provides embedded transcription within the Zoom application, making it easy to schedule and transcribe meetings in real time. Verbit can be a bit pricey (they don’t offer a free version), and your transcription is limited to the aforementioned English and Spanish languages. But otherwise, Verbit is one of the more consistent conference call transcription services.
Cost: $1.48/minute
Average G2.com Rating: 4.4 (out of 5)
Platform or Device Availability: All desktop platforms, but when integrated with Zoom, it’s usable on mobile
Favorite Feature: Great customer service
What Is the Best Transcription Software for Zoom?
In our opinion, Rev VoiceHub is the best transcription software for Zoom. VoiceHub’s post-meeting analysis can uncover insights that might have (ahem) zoomed right by you during the call. When you don’t have time to go over every word with a fine-tooth comb, VoiceHub insights can make a huge difference in your productivity.
How Does Transcription Improve Productivity?
Transcription improves productivity by condensing long video meetings into a scannable, searchable transcript. The better services also use that transcription to provide summaries of meetings, highlight important information, and offer insights. All of this makes it so you don’t have to take copious notes during a meeting or re-watch hours of footage to find what you need.
Benefits of Automated (Hint: AI) Transcription
The best Zoom transcription services offer AI options, because AI can do things at a speed that humans simply can’t. But while speed is important, it’s not all AI offers. When you use AI to convert a Zoom recording to a transcript, you get:
- Near-instant speed for your final transcription
- Live transcription
- Instant summaries of long meetings
- Highlights and insights based on the recorded data
- “Someone” to attend meetings in your place
- Automatic video closed captioning
All of these benefits lead to one basic goal: better productivity for you and your team.
Revolutionize Your Work With Zoom Transcription
Zoom has revolutionized the way we work, but the best Zoom transcription services have revolutionized that revolution.
Sure, there are other virtual meeting apps like Google Meet , Microsoft Teams and GoTo Meeting that can benefit from transcription, but none of their names have become shorthand for meeting online. Though if you need some recommendations on Zoom alternatives, we’ve got you covered.
Zoom transcription services let you use your time for more important things than note-taking and meeting summaries. Accurate Zoom transcription, whether generated by AI or humans, can save everyone on your team a lot of time, and in the business world, time is money. At Rev, our whole goal is to save you time. And you know what that means!
