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How to Transcribe a Podcast: Tools and Tips

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How To Transcribe A Podcast

If you’re looking to create a podcast and build an audience, there will come a point where you will need to consider transcribing your podcast audio. This can open your podcast to more people and make it more accessible.

In this article, we will look at how to come up with a podcast transcript.

02/07/2025 08:23 am GMT

What Is Transcription?

When we talk about podcast transcription, we are referring to the act of taking the audio recording and writing it in text form. This means having a written document that includes all of the words spoken by the podcast hosts and guests. 

Why Should I Transcribe A Podcast?

There are several reasons why you should transcribe a podcast. Having a transcription available for your podcast can make it more accessible to more people.

It means that people who are hard of hearing can still enjoy your content. They can also be useful for people who speak a different language and may occasionally struggle with rapid, natural speech and colloquialisms.

A transcript also allows new listeners to look at your content and decide if they want to listen to the podcast itself.

Some podcast listeners like to sample a podcast before committing to listening to it and a transcription is one of the most effective ways to try a podcast without having to listen first.

If you have a website, an audio transcription can also help boost your content for search engines . Search engines are designed to index text-based content much more easily than audio files, so having a transcription available can help your website appear higher in searches.

Moreover, converting a podcast into text makes it easier to share snippets or quotes taken from audio files. You can also repurpose these content for your social media posts, blogs, or articles.

How To Transcribe A Podcast

How To Transcribe A Podcast

There are several different ways to transcribe a podcast and they can be divided into three distinct methods. There are many podcast transcription services out there that may offer one or several of them.

Automated Transcription

Transcriptions that are purely automated are produced by an AI software. The AI listens to your audio file and will do its best to transcribe what it hears.

If you’ve used any kind of voice-controlled systems you will know from firsthand experience that AI doesn’t always get this right, unfortunately. 

On average, automated transcription tends to have an accuracy rate of around 80 to 95 percent. There are several factors that can affect the accuracy, such as background noise, clarity of voice, having one or multiple speakers, and the accents being used.

Manual Transcription

keyboard for manual transcription

These are transcriptions that have a real person overseeing them. They might begin as AI transcriptions or might involve someone listening to your podcast a couple of times, but the end result is always pretty accurate.

In fact, they generally have an accuracy of around 99 percent. 

Manual podcast transcripts do take a little longer than automated transcriptions to be completed, so expect to wait around 12 to 36 hours for your transcription. They’re generally more expensive as well.

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Verbatim Transcription

If full accuracy is important to you, then you need a verbatim transcription. These types of transcriptions see a real person listen to your podcast several times to ensure that every word of the transcription is perfect.

You can usually expect an accuracy of 100 percent with verbatim transcriptions. This is also the type of transcription that will take the longest and cost the most.

Where To Get Your Podcast Transcribed

Now that we know why and how podcasts are transcribed, let’s look at where you can get a transcription.

Do It Yourself

There is nothing stopping you from transcribing your own podcast. This is the most cost-effective method available and can also be one of the most accurate as if anyone can understand your voice, it’s yourself!

However, transcription can be a very lengthy process, especially if you are not experienced or a fast typer. Transcribing an hour-long audio or video file can easily take several hours so don’t be surprised if your turnaround time is four to five hours.

If you have the spare time to do this then you may want to consider transcribing your own podcasts, especially at the beginning of your podcasting career. You can also use a voice typing tool

If you don’t have the time and patience to do your own transcription and have a budget, then you can get a company to do it for you.

Rev

How To Transcribe A Podcast

Rev is one of many companies that offer transcription services for a variety of media, including podcasts.

You can get a manual transcription from Rev that guarantees an accuracy of 99 percent. Their turnaround time is under 12 hours and they will transcribe both audio and video for you. 

If you need to transcribe your podcast episodes quicker then Rev also offers an AI transcription service that can be finished in as little as five minutes!

Rev offers its manual transcription for a reasonable price of $1.50 per minute. For an hour-long podcast, this works out to $90.

There are also deals for transcribing in bulk if you have over 100 hours of audio to transcribe.

Scribie

Scribie is another company that will transcribe your podcast for you. 

They offer all three types of transcription services so you have plenty of options. Their automated transcription services are one of the cheapest on the market at $0.10 a minute.

This means that an hour-long podcast will only cost you $6. This level of service will be completed in around 30 minutes and offers an accuracy rate of 80 to 95 percent.

Their manual transcription service has a higher but still reasonable price of $0.80 per minute or $48 an hour. You can expect this service to take 24 hours and have a 99 percent accuracy rate.

Scribie also offers verbatim transcription and subscription plans if you plan to frequently use the service.

Otter

The final company that we’re going to introduce is Otter. There is a free level of membership with this service that although limited, may be of use to some podcast creators.

It allows you to create up to 300 minutes of automated transcriptions in real-time per month. This can be a great way to try the service.

The subscription levels may be more useful when it comes to podcasting transcriptions, however. It offers automated transcriptions of pre-recorded audio and will transcribe up to 1,200 hours per month.

Final Thoughts

In this article, we explained how you can transcribe a podcast and why you should consider it.

Matt Brook

With a background in Journalism and years of experience in the industry, Matt brings a wealth of knowledge to the WiredClip team.

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