Best Free Transcription Software in 2026: 8 Free Plans Compared
Short answer: Fathom has the broadest free meeting transcription, with unlimited recordings and transcripts listed on its free plan. Buzz has no minute cap if you can run desktop software, and Otter's 300 free minutes a month end at 30 minutes per conversation. The allowances below come from each vendor's own pricing page or repository, checked on October 10, 2026.
"Free" means three different things in transcription: a pool of minutes per month, a cap on each recording, or an unlimited recorder that only works inside meetings. A plan that looks large on a pricing page can still fail on your first real file. So this list is built around the limit that bites first.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Free allowance | Limit that bites first | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fathom | Unlimited recordings and transcripts | No cap listed | Meetings with a bot or bot-free capture |
| Buzz | Runs on your own computer | None, speed depends on your hardware | Private or long audio files |
| Otter.ai | 300 minutes a month | 30 minutes per conversation, 3 file imports for life | Live meetings with speaker names |
| Fireflies.ai | Unlimited transcription | 400 minutes of storage per team | Meeting archives |
| Descript | 60 media minutes a month | 720p local video export | Editing audio by editing text |
| Tactiq | 10 transcripts a month | Counts transcripts, not minutes | Captions for Google Meet, Zoom and Teams |
| Rev | 45 AI minutes a month for one user | English only, 5 files at a time | Legal and investigative files |
| Notta | 120 minutes a month, 50 uploads | 3 minutes per recording | Short voice notes |
Toolradar data: Toolradar tracks 164 transcription tools as of October 10, 2026, and 8 of the 10 tools on its transcription ranking have a free plan. Across the eight below, four cap monthly minutes (Otter, Descript, Rev, Notta), one caps transcripts (Tactiq), and three list no cap on transcription itself (Fathom, Buzz, Fireflies). Fireflies caps storage instead, so its real limit sits there.
What is free transcription software?
Free transcription software turns recorded or live speech into text on a plan with no end date. A time-limited trial does not count here. The limit you hit first, whether minutes, file length or storage, decides whether a plan is usable.
Fathom: the broadest free meeting transcription
Fathom lists unlimited recordings and transcriptions on its free plan, with instant AI call summaries, clips and search across calls. You can choose a bot that joins the call or a bot-free capture, which Fathom still marks as beta on Mac.
Premium costs $20 a month, or $16 billed annually, and adds advanced summaries, AI action items and a custom meeting bot. None of that changes the transcript itself. Fathom's pricing page also says unlimited lookback is a paid-plan feature, so expect the free plan to keep less history. Its weak spot is scope: the page lists no file upload, so a podcast file needs a different tool.
Buzz: no minute cap, if you can install it
Buzz is a free, MIT-licensed app that runs OpenAI's Whisper speech model on your own computer. No vendor sets a minute limit, so the only cap is your hardware. It identifies speakers in transcribed media and exports TXT, SRT and VTT files.
It runs on Windows, Linux and Macs with Apple silicon. Intel Macs stop at version 1.4.5, the last release that supports them. The cost is effort and speed: you install it, pick a model and wait on your own machine. The Windows installer is unsigned, so expect a warning before it runs. If you use a Mac and want a different app, MacWhisper has a free version and a Pro license listed at €64 on its own site (in euros, not converted).
Otter.ai: the biggest monthly pool, with a 30-minute catch
Otter Basic gives 300 transcription minutes a month, live transcription, speaker identification and apps for Zoom, Teams and Google Meet. Live notes make it a good fit for a short stand-up or a quick client call.
Otter's own comparison table shows where free ends. A free conversation stops at 30 minutes, file imports are limited to 3 for the life of the account, and history keeps your 25 most recent conversations. A 45-minute meeting runs past the free cap, and the monthly pool covers at most 10 conversations at 30 minutes each. Pro costs $8.33 a month billed annually ($16.99 monthly) and lifts the limits to 1,200 minutes, 90-minute conversations and 10 file imports a month. If you are weighing it against other note-takers, see Otter.ai alternatives.
Fireflies.ai: unlimited transcription, capped storage
Fireflies lists unlimited transcription on its free plan, with an asterisk on the pricing page. The free plan also includes transcription in 100+ languages, file upload, desktop and mobile apps, and recordings of up to 2 hours. AI summaries are limited.
The real meter is storage. The free plan keeps 400 minutes per team, so eight 45-minute meetings use 360 of them and a ninth pushes past the limit. Pro costs $10 per seat a month billed annually ($18 monthly) and raises storage to 8,000 minutes per seat. Fireflies suits someone who reviews and deletes recordings, not someone who keeps everything. To compare it with other tools, see our best free AI meeting assistants ranking.
Descript: 60 minutes a month, built for editing
Descript Free includes 60 media minutes a month, which is one hour of imported or recorded media, with transcription in 25 languages and 720p local video export. Its draw is editing the recording by editing the text.
An hour disappears in one long interview, so treat the free plan as a trial of the editor. Hobbyist costs $16 a month billed annually ($24 monthly) and gives 10 media hours a month, 400 AI credits and watermark-free 1080p export. For podcast tools that work around an editor, see our best AI podcast tools.
Tactiq: browser captions, counted per transcript
Tactiq is a free Chrome extension that captions Google Meet, Zoom and Microsoft Teams calls. The free plan gives 10 transcripts a month and 5 AI credits, with sharing and export included.
It counts transcripts, not minutes, so ten 5-minute stand-ups use the same allowance as ten 2-hour workshops. Pro is $8 a month billed annually and makes transcripts unlimited, which makes it the cheapest paid step in this list. The ten-transcript cap matters more than any feature on the page.
Rev: 45 minutes a month, English only
Rev Free gives one user 45 AI transcription and caption minutes a month, English only, and lets you analyze up to 5 files at a time. That covers one 45-minute recording a month and nothing more.
Rev's Essentials costs $25.49 per seat a month billed annually ($305.90 a year, or $29.99 billed monthly) and includes 5,000 AI minutes per user. That is the highest first paid step in this list. Rev suits lawyers and researchers who value its workflow, not people who only need a free pool.
Notta: 120 minutes a month, 3 minutes at a time
Notta Free lists 120 transcription minutes and 50 file uploads a month, plus 10 AI summaries and speaker identification. The per-recording cap is the problem: 3 minutes per conversation on the free plan.
That makes it a voice-note tool, not a meeting or podcast tool. Pro costs $8.17 a month billed annually ($97.99 a year) and raises the allowance to 1,800 minutes a month and 5 hours per recording. On the free plan, it only makes sense for many short clips, since anything over 3 minutes hits the cap.
Which free plan covers your workload?
The same plans behave very differently on two common jobs. The sums below use only the limits listed above.
| Workload | Fits on a free plan | Falls short |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly podcast: four 45-minute episodes a month (180 minutes) | Buzz (no minute cap). Fireflies, if you delete as you go: its 400 minutes of storage hold two months of episodes | Otter (3 lifetime imports), Descript and Rev (each covers one episode), Notta (3-minute cap per recording) |
| Meetings: five 45-minute calls a week (about 900 minutes a month) | Fathom, the only free plan here that lists unlimited recordings | Otter (30-minute cap per conversation), Tactiq (10 transcripts for about 20 meetings), Fireflies (a ninth 45-minute meeting exceeds its 400 minutes of storage) |
For a podcast, Buzz is the free answer with no cap, and Fireflies covers two months if you delete as you go. For meetings, Fathom is the only free plan here that lists unlimited recordings and transcripts, while Fireflies caps storage at 400 minutes. Fathom's pricing page says unlimited lookback needs a paid plan, so check how far back the free plan searches before you rely on it.
What does the first paid step cost?
Free plans run out, and four of the first paid steps sit close together. Tactiq, Notta, Otter and Fireflies are the cheapest on annual billing: $96 a year for Tactiq (8 x 12), $97.99 for Notta and $99.96 for Otter (8.33 x 12). Fireflies is $10 per seat a month billed annually. Descript and Fathom come to $192 a year on annual billing (16 x 12), and Rev's Essentials costs $305.90.
| Tool | First paid plan | Price | What it adds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tactiq | Pro | $8/mo billed annually | Unlimited transcripts |
| Notta | Pro | $8.17/mo, $97.99 billed annually | 1,800 minutes a month, 5 hours per recording |
| Otter.ai | Pro | $8.33/mo billed annually, $16.99 monthly | 1,200 minutes, 90-minute conversations, 10 file imports a month |
| Fireflies.ai | Pro | $10/seat/mo billed annually, $18 monthly | 8,000 minutes of storage per seat |
| Descript | Hobbyist | $16/mo billed annually, $24 monthly | 10 media hours, watermark-free 1080p export |
| Fathom | Premium | $16/mo billed annually, $20 monthly | Advanced summaries, AI action items, custom meeting bot |
| Rev | Essentials | $25.49/seat/mo billed annually, $29.99 monthly | 5,000 AI minutes per user |
For paid-first rankings with accuracy and language coverage, see our best AI transcription tools.
How to choose
Pick Fathom for meetings, since its free plan lists unlimited recordings and transcripts with no minute cap.
Pick Buzz for sensitive recordings that must stay on your machine, or for hours of audio with no budget.
Pick Otter for short live calls where speaker names and live notes matter more than length.
Pick Tactiq for a few browser-captioned calls a month, where the 10-transcript cap is enough.
Pick Descript if you plan to edit the audio and treat the minutes as a trial. For subtitles on finished video, see best AI subtitle generators.
Related guides: best AI meeting assistants, best AI note-taking apps, AI meeting summary tools and AI dubbing tools for translating the result.
Methodology
We compared the free and first paid plans of eight tools on each vendor's own pricing or documentation page, checked on October 10, 2026: Otter pricing, Fathom pricing, Fireflies pricing, Descript pricing, Tactiq pricing, Rev pricing, Notta pricing, the Buzz repository and, for its one aside, MacWhisper. All prices are in USD except MacWhisper's, which is listed in euros. We left out any tool whose free limits we could not confirm on its own site. We did not measure accuracy or speed, and vendors change free limits without notice, so recheck before you commit a workflow. Toolradar also publishes a free transcription tools guide with its own picks.
FAQ
What is the best free transcription software in 2026?
Fathom for meetings, because its free plan lists unlimited recordings and transcripts. Buzz is the pick with no minute cap if you can install desktop software.
Which free transcription tool gives the most minutes?
Buzz, Fathom and Fireflies list no minute cap on transcription. Among capped plans, Otter gives the biggest monthly pool at 300 minutes, then Notta at 120, Descript at 60 and Rev at 45.
Is Otter.ai free?
Yes. Otter Basic gives 300 transcription minutes a month, but a free conversation stops at 30 minutes and only 3 file imports are allowed for the life of the account. Pro costs $8.33 a month billed annually.
What is the best free transcription for Zoom and Google Meet?
Tactiq and Otter both name Google Meet, Zoom and Microsoft Teams on their pricing pages. Tactiq gives 10 transcripts a month, while Otter gives 300 minutes with a 30-minute cap per conversation. Fathom has no cap on recordings, but its pricing page names no meeting apps, so confirm it joins your platform before you rely on it.
Can you transcribe audio for free offline?
Yes. Buzz runs Whisper on your own computer, so no vendor sees the audio and no minute cap applies. You install it and pick a model, and processing speed depends on your hardware. Intel Macs stop at version 1.4.5, the last release that supports them.
Is there free transcription with no time limit?
Fathom and Buzz list no minute cap. Fireflies lists unlimited transcription too, but its free plan stores only 400 minutes per team.
When is it worth paying for transcription?
When a cap blocks real work: a meeting longer than 30 minutes on Otter, a second podcast episode on Descript, or the storage limit on Fireflies. The cheapest first paid steps are Tactiq, Notta, Otter and Fireflies, all on annual billing.
Cite this: Dupple, "Best Free Transcription Software in 2026: 8 Free Plans Compared", October 2026.
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Across our whole catalogue the median is $24 a month and 33% of tools advertise a free tier. Figures are the lowest recurring monthly price quoted in our own review of each tool, read on 2026-08-19. Full method and every category.
