Technology allows us to simplify our lives, solving so many problems quickly and easily. For example, with a program for transcribing audio files you can turn a recording into text, a really useful solution for students, journalists, professors, event managers and writers. Here are the best audio transcription apps, with a selection that includes mobile apps, PC programs and online software, with free and paid options.
Best Audio Transcription Apps for Android
Apps for transcribing audio and voice into text allow you to perform many tasks, with different features and functionality. Here are the best apps for transcribing compatible with Android smartphones and tablets.
Transcription Tool
An app for converting audio files to text is Transcription Tool, an Android app that can be downloaded for free on Google Play Store. The program is quite simple to use, in fact it allows you to transcribe audio into a text file, an ideal solution to turn the voice of a recorded lecture into a document. The application is compatible with various formats, including MP3, 3GPP, MPEG-4, OGG and WAVE.
With the Transcription Tool app, you can turn dictated information, or information from audio and video files, into text. The system sometimes makes mistakes, however you can delete them and there are no ads inside. There's support for voice recognition, keyboard integration and you can also insert punctuation marks, such as semicolon, hyphen, apostrophe and question mark.
Instant Transcription
One of the best apps for untranscribing audio files into text is Instant Transcription, an application compatible with Android and iOS devices. The program boasts excellent reviews on Google Play Store, plus it's one of the few that works very well with the Italian language. It is a Google app, with which you can convert your voice into text for free, easily and quickly.
Instant Transcription is an active software, with which you can interact in real time by writing answers, or by activating the app during multiple conversations in conferences and other similar situations. An interesting feature is the ability to receive notifications when your name is spoken, so you can find it within the transcripts, it also supports over 80 languages and even some dialects.
Speech to Text
An Android app that works as a program to transcribe audio files automatically is Speech to Text, a free app that can be downloaded from Google Play Store. The software provides a system for speech recognition, to unwrap audio and turn it into a text document, with good accuracy in the transcription made. Also, you can share the files on different applications, such as Gmail, Skype, Viber or Twitter.
Automatically saving is done at each dictation, so you don't risk losing the document, with the possibility of writing both short and long texts. The document can be edited, automatic spacing is inserted and custom keypads can be created. All in all, this is a great dictation app, with options for corrections and adding notes within the text.
Best iOS Dictation Apps
There are a number of Dictation Apps available for iPhone and iPad as well, many of which are paid apps but provide a really high level of quality. Here are the best ones on the App Store.
Transcribe
A great audio transcription program for iOS is Transcribe, a transcription app compatible with iPhone and iPad. With this software you can convert voice memos and even video files into written text, import the documents to your computer quickly and easily, otherwise you can export the files by loading them within any editing program. Unfortunately it is quite expensive, with a price of 5.49 euros for one hour and monthly subscription at 10.99 euros and 85.99 euros a year.
With Transcribe you can also search within the text, for example to quickly locate certain words. It is a true virtual personal assistant, a system with artificial intelligence technology for self-learning, with support for over 120 languages and dialects. The app is useful for several purposes, transcribing lectures, audio from videos to insert subtitles and converting texts for translation.
Smart Recorder and Transcriber
Compatible with iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, an app for chunking audio on iOS is Smart Recorder and Transcriber. The app works very well, offering fairly accurate voice transcription, with support for several languages including Italian, English, French, German, Spanish, Chinese and Japanese. There is a charge for the features, with a price starting at €1.09 per conversion, or with a full package for €18.99.
With this iOS app you can record video and audio at any occasion, such as when attending a seminar, university lecture or business meeting. Transcription can be done from the recording made with the app, or from other files imported via email. Among the features of this program are error-correcting editor, iTunes sharing, iCloud support, stereo audio compatibility and tagging.
Registra Voce+ and Save Audio
Another transcribing app compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch is Registra Voce+ and Save Audio. With an extremely positive rating in reviews on the App Store, the application recognizes 44 languages including Italian, can be used as a voice recorder, allows you to edit the audio file and convert voice recordings to text. It should be noted that this is one of the few free iOS apps that can offer good quality transcription.
Inside there is also a filter to reduce external noise, a kind of noise cancelling, and there are no limitations on audio recordings, as it just depends on the memory capacity of your device. The application converts words into text in real time, lets you cut and sort the files according to your needs. The documents can be shared on Dropbox, via email or directly on Facebook.
Best programs for chunking
In addition to applications for mobile devices, you can use programs for your PC to transcribe audio files into text. Here is a selection of the best audio transcription software compatible with Windows PCs and Macs.
Express Scribe
The best program for transcribing audio files is definitely Express Scribe, a true benchmark in the industry with numerous imitation attempts. This transcription software is compatible with Windows and macOS PCs, has an Italian language interface and lots of features. The price of the application is $29.99 for the basic version, or $34.99 for the unlimited professional edition, otherwise, a free option is available with some limitations.
Express Scribe allows you to convert audio files into text documents, also you can integrate a voice recognition system to perform automatic transcription in real time. This program is mainly intended for professional use, to simplify certain tasks and make them faster. The application is compatible with other software, including Microsoft Word, with the possibility of connecting a foot control to increase productivity and speed of execution.
Listen N Write
One of the best programs to turn audio into text is Listen N Write, compatible with Windows PCs and available in a free version. This program is simple to use, just download the application from the official Elefant Software website and install it quickly and easily on your PC. The project is specially designed for transcribing school lectures, conferences, seminars and interviews, in fact it is mainly aimed at journalists and students.
Versions are updated often, in fact the last upgrade was in February 2020, with the introduction of support for TXT format and a number of improvements in functionality. The program supports many languages, including Italian, English, French and German. Recently, a version for mobile devices has also been launched, with options for iOS and Android. Among the features there is an editor system, you can listen to the recording again during the conversion and manage files in various formats.
Dragon Professional
A paid program to unwind audio is Dragon Professional, compatible only with Windows PCs and offered at a cost of 399 euros. This program is really advanced, in fact it can also be used for dictating medical records, just use the Dragon Medical Practice Edition extension. With the software you can record any type of voice note with your smartphone, and then convert the audio into text automatically.
The transcription also works with podcasts and with some pre-recorded files, and there is also a dictation function. Obviously this is a solution for professionals and businesses, especially for journalists, interviewers, doctors and any person who needs to manage notes, memos or memos efficiently to increase productivity. The graphical interface is simple and intuitive, with an easy-to-use menu and a support service that is always available.
Sbobina.it
If you don't want to install any programs, you can use online services to unwind audio, avoiding the installation of software and applications. A good solution is the platform sbobina.it, where with a cost of 5 euros for 60 minutes of transcription you can convert audio recordings into text in just 48 hours. Registration on the site is free, with the possibility to pay by credit card or via PayPal, as well as the audio test option to assess the quality of the transcription before activating the service.
oTranscribe.com
Another portal where you can transcribe audio is oTranscribe.com, a completely free website for converting audio files into text. The platform is in Italian, so it is quite simple to use, you can automatically save the document, pause and export the file to different formats such as text files or Google Doc. In addition, oTranscribe.com also allows you to transcribe videos from YouTube, which is an effective solution for inserting subtitles within movies or translating them into other languages.