Wouldn’t it be a dream if meeting transcription softwares actually did what they were supposed to do – accurately, reliably, and automatically transcribe the online meeting efficiently?
We think so. And we believe that dreams do come true, so stick around and you might find the online meeting transcription tool that seems to be perfectly designed for you and your business.
Tons of organizations, government sectors, and businesses of any size value transcriptions as a permanent record of decisions made, actions taken, and discussions held during meetings. Now that speech-to-text technology has become more advanced and accessible, there are no excuses any more. You deserve the best.
So without further ado, here are the top 5 meeting transcription softwares for 2024 and beyond…
5 Meeting Transcription Tools You Shouldn’t Miss in 2024
1. tl;dv
Compared to many other automatic meeting transcription tools, tl;dv’s speaker recognition is super accurate. Many users report that tl;dv picks up the speech of meeting attendees with strong accents much better.
Basically, if the average transcription tool is a good ship, tl;dv is the Black Pearl. It’s the stuff legends are made of. People whisper its name in secret, wondering if its AI-empowered speech recognition tool is this powerful, what else must it be capable of?
@tldv.io Written by ChatGPT #inception #chatgpt #ai #openai #meeting #corporate
♬ original sound - tldv.io - AI Meeting Recorder
But there’s nothing to fear. At least not immediately. Who knows what the future holds?
Anyway, tl;dv isn’t just the crème de la crème for speaker recognition, it’s also a pro when it comes to translating. For multilingual teams, tl;dv allows you to transcribe your meetings in more than 25 languages! And the translations are done instantly. No faffing about. Unless your teammates are speaking Quechuan, you should be covered.
When a Zoom, Google Meet, or MS Teams call is recorded with tl;dv, the transcript serves as a means for users to instantly locate a specific moment in a call. Text can be lifted straight from the transcript to function as a quote, timestamps can be added so your colleagues can jump to the more important parts with ease, and by highlighting any part of the transcript, users can create a corresponding clip.
Whether you want to use Google Meet for your transcripts, MS Teams for your call recordings, or you’re gonna be transcribing Zoom calls, tl;dv covers all three. At the end of your call, complete transcripts will be automatically sent to all participants, as well as the recorded video itself (something that a lot of other meeting transcription softwares leave out). This allows you to rapidly rewatch your calls, ensuring the automated AI notes, summaries, and clips didn’t miss anything that you would have included yourself.
Users can also configure tl;dv super easily so that certain types of meetings are automatically transcribed and recorded. tl;dv also integrates directly with your favorite work apps, including Salesforce, Notion, and Slack. Plus, saving the best for last, tl;dv has the ultimate freemium plan!
Almost all the features mentioned above – from AI notes, summaries, and clips, to state-of-the-art speaker recognition, unlimited recordings and transcripts, multi-language translations, and the ability to insert timestamps and share with a simple copy/paste – are all FREE!
Pros
- Free AI integration for summaries, notes, and automatic speaker detection
- Live transcriptions in 25+ languages for Zoom, Google Meet, and MS Teams
- Free and instant transcript translations
- Unlimited free recordings of Zoom, Google Meet, and MS Teams calls
- Easy-to-use and intuitive
- Time-stamped highlights and the ability to tag colleagues at specific meeting moments
- Push timestamps and meeting clips directly to Notion, Slack, HubSpot, Salesforce, and 5,000+ other work tools via integrations
- Highlight transcript to create clips out of recorded meetings
- Search your meetings library for keywords in transcripts
Cons
- Not available for WebEx and BlueJeans (Yet!)
2. Otter.ai
Otter is a well-known meeting transcription software but there are a few standout reasons for why it misses out on the top spot. They are as follows:
- Transcriptions have earned some complaints for lack of accuracy
- Doesn’t record video
- Only available in English
Despite Otter.ai having top notch AI, most of the GPT-powered features are premium, meaning you’ll have to fork out for them. While it’s a bit pricier than tl;dv, for instance, it’s still a widely popular choice for English-speaking journalists and educational institutions. If you only need audio and only need it in English, Otter.ai is a fantastic choice, but tl;dv still pips it here for its excellent speaker recognition.
According to Otter themselves, their transcriptions have around 90% accuracy. To increase this percentage, they advise you to reduce background noise, avoid overlapping dialog, use an external microphone or headset, as well as a few other things. However, according to independent reviewers, Otter’s transcription service is more in the region of 83% accurate, meaning they get roughly 1 word wrong for every 5.
Having said that, there is an option to add words so that the AI will comprehend them in the future. This is particularly useful if you often use technical jargon in your meetings.
Pros
- Easy to use
- Includes timestamps, highlights, edits and transcription services
- Search transcripts by keyword
Cons
- Transcriptions only available in English
- Doesn’t record video
- No speaker recognition
- Low transcription accuracy
3. Fireflies.ai
Fireflies is another popular meeting transcription software for its fantastic AI, intuitive user interface, and compatibility with a wide range of video conferencing platforms. So why does it rank third?
Fireflies suffers from some of the same pitfalls as Otter. Like the woodland critter, the glow in the dark bugs have no speaker recognition, no video recording, and a weaker free plan.
But don’t count Fireflies out just yet. It’s used by Netflix, Uber, Nike and Expedia. There must be something good about Fireflies in this case, right? And, of course, there is!
Its proven track record of taking meeting notes and organizing them efficiently isn’t unfounded. Its epic search function empowers users to review a 1 hour meeting in just 5 minutes. You can also create a library of recorded meetings that acts as a ‘hub of knowledge’. It enables you to collaborate with co-workers, analyze meetings, and automate your workflow.
Like Otter, Fireflies claims to hit a 90% benchmark when it comes to transcription accuracy. While there aren’t as many bad comments about the transcription accuracy than Otter, there are still a few.
Pros
- Good integrations, including Salesforce
- Records, transcribes and analyzes voice conversations
- AI-powered search function
- Great for team collaboration
- Available on Google Meet, Zoom, MS Teams, and more…
Cons
- No video recording unless you pay $19 per month
- No speaker recognition
- Limited free plan
4. Gong.io
While it’s undoubtedly a powerful transcription tool, Gong charges a hefty price. We’re talking upwards of $100 per month per user. Does it have enough bang to justify its buck? That all depends on your specialty.
Gong is a highly specialized meeting transcription software. For that reason, if you fit the niche audience, it could well be worth the price tag. If, however, you’re not looking to enhance your client-facing interactions through AI analysis and recommendations, then it’s definitely not worth it.
One of the great features of Gong is its speaker recognition tool. Arguably one of the best in the business, Gong not only identifies who is speaking, but it makes a note of how long they’ve been talking and actively gives suggestions to improve pitches and sales. It also claims to have no translation barriers, enabling transcripts in more than 70 languages.
Pros
- Offers a suite of integrations with important apps like Klue and Salesforce
- Analyzes data of client interactions and suggests improvements
- Powerful speaker recognition tool
- Translates into 70+ languages
Cons
- Exclusively focused on Sales teams
- Difficult onboarding
- Expensive
- Recommendations on how to ‘improve your sales pitch’ can be intrusive
5. Rev
The self-proclaimed “#1 speech-to-text service in the world”, Rev specializes in transcriptions. It’s only fair that they’re listed in the top 5 meeting transcription softwares. However, there is one caveat. Most of Rev’s praises are sung by users who opt for human transcripts. With this, the transcription accuracy can be as close to 100% as possible.
But as with all great things (except for love, friendship, peace, quiet, and tl;dv), it comes at a cost. Depending on your exact requirements, a 99%+ transcription service costs between $1.50-12 per minute. Of course, getting a human to manually sift through the gibberish will be more accurate, but it’ll also take longer. The quicker you want it, the more you’ll pay.
Just like the Otter and Fireflies, Rev doesn’t record video. It’s hyper focused on transcription, with its laser sights so firmly set that if you share the passion for squeaky clean transcripts, Rev is your only real choice. The issue is that it’s not really a meeting transcription software, but more of a service for workers to manually check your meeting transcriptions.
They do offer auto transcriptions as well which have the similar 90% prediction as Otter and Fireflies. These take just 5 minutes to generate, as opposed to tl;dv’s instant transcripts.
A nifty extra feature of Rev is that you can upload existing video or audio files to have them transcribed. They also offer a lot of training resources like e-books and webinars that help you maximize the tool and improve your business.
Pros
- 90% accuracy with automatically generated transcripts
- 99% accuracy with human transcriptions
- Auto detect speech in 22 different languages
- Video conferencing software integration
- Offers transcripts, captions, and subtitles
- Can transcribe existing video or audio files
Cons
- There is no free version and the free trial has limited features
- No team collaboration
- Limited to transcripts only
- Can be costly for human transcriptions
The Verdict
There is only one real winner here. You’re looking for an online meeting transcription software? tl;dv gives you everything you need for free. Upgrade only for business-specific features like top level integrations and more control over the settings.
It offers free unlimited video recordings, transcripts, translations in 25+ languages, timestamps, reels, and AI-powered note-taking, summaries, and clips. Its search function enables you to easily find segments from calls made many moons ago. And sharing insights, especially those gained during user interviews or other UX research, is as easy as could be. Plus, if you want to upload pre-existing files and transcribe them, you can do that in just a few clicks too!
There isn’t another automatic meeting transcription tool that does everything tl;dv does as fast as it does, as affordable as it does, and as accurately and efficiently.
