For uploaded audio or video files, start with TurboScribe if you want a repeatable free allowance, Riverside if you want a no-sign-up public transcriber, or Descript if the transcript is only one step inside a larger editing workflow.
This guide is about existing files → transcript/subtitles → correction/export. If your real job is joining live meetings, consent handling, summaries and meeting archives, use the AI meeting note taker guide instead.
Free plans change frequently. The limits below come from current official pricing/help/transcription pages. This is not a hands-on accuracy ranking.
TurboScribe currently allows three free files per day, up to 30 minutes each. Riverside's public transcriber says unlimited transcriptions for free with no sign-up required. Descript includes 60 media minutes per month and is useful when transcription flows directly into editing.
Notta and Otter look generous by monthly minutes, but their file limits change the decision: Notta Free caps each conversation at 3 minutes, while Otter Basic allows only three lifetime audio/video imports and 30 minutes per transcription.
Compare the limit that blocks your actual file, not the biggest number in the pricing card.
| Tool | Free allowance | File / recording cap | Transcript export path | Key catch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TurboScribe | 3 transcripts per day | 30 minutes per file; one upload at a time | Official site documents PDF, DOCX, TXT, CSV, SRT and VTT downloads | Lower-priority processing on Free |
| Riverside | Public transcriber says unlimited free transcriptions | Public page supports MP3, WAV, MP4 and MOV | TXT transcript and SRT captions on the public transcriber | The free public tool assigns all text to one speaker; product-account features have separate plan rules |
| Descript | 60 media minutes/month | Pricing page meters imported or recorded media minutes | Edit transcript inside Descript; verify the exact export you need in-app | The allowance is shared with imported/recorded media processing |
| Notta | 120 transcription minutes/month; 50 file uploads/month | 3 minutes per conversation on Free | Official comparison places transcript export in Pro | The 3-minute cap makes the 120-minute headline poor for normal file transcription |
| Otter | 300 transcription minutes/month | 30 minutes per transcription; 3 lifetime file imports | Meeting-first transcript workflow; verify export need before relying on Basic | The import cap is lifetime, not monthly |
| HappyScribe | 10-minute free trial for uploaded-file AI transcription/subtitling/translation | Trial allowance, not a recurring monthly file bucket | Free plan lists TXT and SRT; hardcoded MP4 is watermarked | Do not describe the 10 minutes as a monthly recurring allowance |
| VEED | Free to try on a short audio/video clip | Higher transcription limits require paid plans | Separate TXT, VTT and SRT downloads are for paid users | Free video export carries a watermark; separate transcript download is paid |
Monthly minutes, daily files, one-time trials and lifetime imports are different units. Convert every plan to the number and length of files you actually need.
TurboScribe is the cleanest free-file default in this shortlist because the current Free plan states three transcripts per day, each up to 30 minutes. The official product page also documents speaker recognition and transcript/subtitle downloads.
Choose it for: interviews, lectures, podcasts or clips you can keep under 30 minutes per file. Skip it for: long single files or workflows that need batch upload on Free.
Official: pricing · formats and exports
Riverside's public transcription page currently says unlimited transcriptions are free and no sign-up is required. The page supports MP3, WAV, MP4 and MOV and exposes TXT and SRT downloads. Its free public tool assigns all transcribed text to one speaker, including multi-speaker uploads.
Choose it for: a quick file-to-text or file-to-captions job when you do not want to create an account. Check first: the public tool itself, because account-based Riverside recording/editor features use separate plan rules.
Official: free transcriber
Descript's Free plan includes 60 media minutes per editor each month. Its pricing table documents automatic transcription in 25 languages and multi-speaker detection.
Choose it for: media projects where the transcript should immediately feed editing, captions or a text-based production workflow. Skip it for: a pure transcription job where you want the largest free file allowance.
AI Tool Finder profile · Official: pricing
Notta Free lists 120 transcription minutes and 50 file uploads per month, plus speaker identification. The deciding limit is smaller: each Free conversation is capped at three minutes.
Choose it for: very short clips or for testing Notta's interface. Skip it for: normal interviews, lectures or podcast episodes unless you upgrade.
Official: pricing
Otter Basic lists 300 transcription minutes per month, speaker identification and live transcription. For uploaded files, the Help Center limits Basic to three audio/video imports per account and 30 minutes per transcription.
Choose it for: people already using Otter for meetings who occasionally need to import a file. Skip it for: a recurring file-transcription workflow.
AI Tool Finder profile · Official: pricing · Basic limits
HappyScribe's current Free plan includes a 10-minute trial for uploaded-file AI transcription, subtitling and translation. It also lists automatic speaker detection, TXT/SRT exports and watermarked hardcoded-subtitle MP4 output.
Choose it for: evaluating a multilingual transcription/subtitle workflow before buying. Skip it for: recurring free file transcription because the uploaded-file allowance is a trial, not a monthly refill.
Official: pricing · plan details
VEED lets you try automatic transcription on a short audio or video clip and edit the generated text in the browser. Its current transcription page says separate TXT, VTT and SRT transcript downloads are for paid users; free users can export a watermarked video with subtitles burned in.
Choose it for: testing transcription inside a browser video-editing workflow. Skip it for: a free workflow whose required deliverable is a standalone transcript or subtitle file.
AI Tool Finder profile · Official: transcription
This is a proposed test design, not a completed benchmark. Use an audio file you own and already know well.
Do not assume “free” also means disposable. Before uploading confidential interviews, customer calls, research sessions or unreleased media, check the current vendor policy for storage, deletion controls, model-training use, team access and data location if those issues matter to your work.
Use TurboScribe when you repeatedly receive files under 30 minutes and need downloadable transcript/subtitle formats. Use Riverside's public transcriber when the job is a quick one-off and you want to avoid account setup. Use Descript when the next step is editing media, not merely handing off text.
Use Notta or Otter carefully when their meeting features are also valuable; their free file limits are much tighter than the headline monthly minutes suggest. Use HappyScribe as a multilingual evaluation trial. Use VEED when transcription belongs inside video editing and a free watermarked video preview is enough for testing.
AI Tool Finder accepts free tool submissions and separately reviewed sponsored placement requests. Payment does not buy an organic rank, traffic, leads, sales, indexing or AI citations. Sponsored pages and paid links are disclosed.
Submit a tool for editorial consideration · View sponsored placement pricing · Read the editorial policy
Checked September 27, 2026. Pricing, free quotas and export rules can change; use the linked official page as the final source before relying on a free workflow.
TurboScribe is the strongest default for repeated free file transcription on current published limits: three files a day, up to 30 minutes each. Riverside is the strongest no-sign-up public route. Descript is better when the transcript is part of an editing project.
Do not compare only the headline minutes. Notta lists 120 minutes/month but caps Free conversations at three minutes. Otter lists 300 minutes/month but only three lifetime file imports and 30 minutes per transcription. The blocking unit matters more than the largest number.
TurboScribe documents transcript and subtitle downloads, Riverside's public tool exposes TXT and SRT, and HappyScribe Free lists TXT and SRT. VEED reserves separate TXT/VTT/SRT transcript downloads for paid users.
No. The page verifies documented plans and workflows. It does not claim a quality winner because the same owned audio file has not been run through every product under controlled conditions.
Use a meeting note taker when capture, participant consent, live notes, summaries, action items and a searchable meeting archive are part of the job. Use this transcription guide when you already have the audio or video file.
Need to separate speakers before or alongside transcription? See the speaker diarization guide for standalone components and hosted routes.
NVIDIA Nemotron 3 Diarization adds who-spoke-when timestamps to a developer pipeline. It does not transcribe words: pair it with ASR and validate the alignment. Open weights still require compute and integration.