Free AI Transcription (2026): The Free Plans for Files and Meetings, Compared

Yes, free AI transcription exists for files and for meetings: OpenAI's Whisper transcribes audio and video files with no limit when you run it on your own computer, and TurboScribe's free plan transcribes 3 files a day, up to 30 minutes each, in your browser. For live meetings on Google Meet, Zoom and Microsoft Teams, Scribbl gives 10 meetings a month with the video and nothing joining the call, while Fathom and tl;dv send a bot into the call and Otter shows only 30 minutes of each transcript.

Every free plan stops somewhere: a length per file, a count of imports for the life of the account, a number of meetings a month, or a bot in the call. The two tables below show where, with every number taken from the vendor's own pricing or help page on October 7, 2026.

We make Scribbl, our pick for the live-meeting half of this page: why it wins for meetings.

Is there a free AI transcription?

Yes, two kinds. Software that runs on your own device is free with no limit: OpenAI's Whisper on a computer, and Apple Voice Memos on an iPhone 12 or later. Online tools give a free plan that stops at a set number of files, minutes or meetings: TurboScribe and Otter for files, and note takers such as Scribbl, Fathom, tl;dv and Otter for live meetings.

Free AI transcription plans compared

Start with what you have. A recording or file you already have is one job. A meeting that hasn't happened yet is another, and the tools are mostly different.

Transcribe a recording or file you already have

Sources: Whisper on GitHub, Apple Support, TurboScribe pricing and TurboScribe's free transcription tool, Otter pricing and Otter's Basic plan limits, as of October 7, 2026.

Transcribe live meetings on Google Meet, Zoom and Teams

Sources: Scribbl pricing, Fathom pricing and Fathom's Free vs. Premium help page, tl;dv pricing and tl;dv's free plan limits, Fireflies pricing and Fireflies' free plan help page, Otter pricing and Otter Notetaker overview, Read AI pricing, Granola pricing, as of October 7, 2026.

Is there free AI transcription with no limit?

Yes. Two options have no meter at all, and each has a different trade.

OpenAI Whisper is open-source speech recognition, trained on 680,000 hours of audio collected from the web. OpenAI released its code and model weights under the MIT License, so you can run it on your own computer at no cost, with no monthly cap, and without uploading your audio anywhere. It transcribes many languages, can translate speech into English, and can identify the language spoken. It comes in six sizes, from tiny (39 million parameters, about 1 GB of graphics memory) to large (1,550 million parameters, about 10 GB). The default, turbo, needs about 6 GB. You need Python and the ffmpeg command-line tool, then two commands:

pip install -U openai-whisper
whisper interview.mp3 --model turbo

If you'd rather skip Python, whisper.cpp is a free, MIT-licensed port of Whisper in C/C++. It runs on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android, works offline, and can run on the CPU alone. Some web tools are built on Whisper itself: TurboScribe says its service is powered by Whisper. (Sources: OpenAI, Introducing Whisper, github.com/openai/whisper, github.com/ggml-org/whisper.cpp, TurboScribe, as of October 7, 2026.)

Apple Voice Memos shows a transcript of your recordings while you record or afterward, on iPhone 12 or later and on Mac. On iPhone it works in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese, and not in every country or region. Open a recording, then choose Copy Transcript to paste the text anywhere. Recordings made in iOS 17 or earlier are transcribed when you open them. Apple's help pages list no limit. The trade is that it only works on recordings in the Voice Memos app. (Sources: Apple Support for iPhone and for Mac, as of October 7, 2026.)

Is there a free AI to transcribe audio files to text?

Yes. Whisper transcribes audio and video files with no limit on your own computer, TurboScribe takes 3 files a day of up to 30 minutes each in your browser, and Voice Memos transcribes recordings on an iPhone 12 or later. Choose by the length of the file and where it is. Each step below fits a different case.

1. 1

   A short clip, under 10 minutes: the free Gemini app

   Upload the audio and ask for a transcript. Google's help page says total audio can be up to 10 minutes on the free version, or 3 hours with Google AI Pro or Ultra. Check names and numbers against the recording.

2. 2

   Up to 30 minutes, nothing to install: TurboScribe

   Free accounts get 3 files a day, each up to 30 minutes, one at a time, in a lower-priority queue.

3. 3

   Long files, or a stack of them: Whisper on your own computer

   Install Python and ffmpeg, then run pip install -U openai-whisper and whisper yourfile.mp3 --model turbo. No length limit, and the audio never leaves your computer.

4. 4

   A recording on your iPhone: Voice Memos

   On iPhone 12 or later, open the recording in Voice Memos and choose Copy Transcript.

5. 5

   Already pay for Microsoft 365: Transcribe in Word

   Word transcribes up to 300 minutes of uploaded audio a month (.wav, .mp4, .m4a and .mp3 files) in Microsoft Edge or Chrome. It needs a Microsoft 365 subscription.

Sources: Gemini Apps Help, TurboScribe pricing, Whisper on GitHub, Apple Support, Transcribe in Word, as of October 7, 2026.

Is there a free AI to transcribe text?

Yes, if you mean turning speech into text. Every tool above does that for free up to its limit, and Whisper and Voice Memos do it with no limit. Two tools people try first work differently:

• Google Docs voice typing (Tools, then Voice typing) types what your microphone hears while you speak, in Chrome, Edge or Safari. It's handy for dictating, but Google's help page doesn't describe transcribing a recording, so it isn't a way to turn an audio file into text.
• Microsoft Word's Transcribe does take a recording (.wav, .mp4, .m4a or .mp3), up to 300 minutes of uploads a month, but only with a Microsoft 365 subscription.

Sources: Google Docs Editors Help, Microsoft Support, as of October 7, 2026.

Is transcribe AI free?

Most AI transcription tools are free up to a limit, and only software that runs on your own device is free without one. A free plan is also not the same as a free trial: a trial ends after a set number of days, while a free plan keeps working inside its limits. Check which one a sign-up page means.

Headline numbers hide the real limit. Otter gives 300 minutes a month, but you see only the first 30 minutes of each conversation or import, and you get 3 imports for the life of the account, not per month.

Check numbers on the vendor's own pricing page, because roundups go stale. One roundup on page 1 for this search lists Otter's free plan at 600 minutes a month; Otter's pricing page says 300. TurboScribe's own free tool page mentions uploads of up to 10 hours and 5 GB per file, but its pricing page shows that is the paid Unlimited plan: free files stop at 30 minutes.

When a free plan runs out, this is what the first paid plan costs and adds for file transcription:

Sources: Otter pricing, TurboScribe pricing, as of October 7, 2026. For meetings, the meetings table above shows where each free plan stops.

Free AI transcription for meetings: bot or no bot

Most free meeting plans work by sending a bot into the call. Otter's help center says Otter Notetaker joins Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams meetings as a guest participant that everyone can see, can't join anonymously, and needs the meeting to allow guests. Fathom, tl;dv, Fireflies and Read AI also join as a meeting bot. Some people don't mind a bot in the participant list; others ask what it is. And a meeting that doesn't allow guests keeps the bot out.

The free options with nothing joining the call:

• Scribbl (our pick): Google Meet, Zoom and Microsoft Teams, 10 meetings a month, with the video, a transcript with speaker names, AI notes and action items. More below.
• Granola: listens to your computer's or phone's audio, so it works with any call app. It deletes the audio after transcription, and the free plan shows only the last 30 days of meeting history.
• Otter's desktop app for Mac and Windows offers recording without Otter Notetaker. Otter's help page for the app lists no plan requirement for it.
• Fireflies' Chrome extension records Google Meet without the Fireflies bot.

Read the catches before you choose a plan with a bot, because the unlimited part is often not the part you want:

• Fireflies is unlimited only with calendar auto-join on, which sends its bot to every eligible meeting. Turn it off and new accounts get 3 meeting transcriptions. AI summaries and action items depend on AI credits.
• tl;dv gives AI notes on your first 10 meetings ever. After that, only the first 10 minutes of each meeting get AI notes. Its help center says these limits are for the life of the account.
• Fathom transcribes every call, but advanced AI summaries cover your first 5 calls each month, and AI action items are on the paid Premium plan.
• Otter keeps recording past 30 minutes, but you see only the first 30 minutes of the transcript until you upgrade.

For the free note-taker plans side by side, see best free AI note takers. For the no-bot options in more detail, see free AI note takers without a bot, and for every Otter limit, Otter.ai pricing.

Do Google Meet, Zoom and Teams transcribe for free?

Mostly not on a free account. Google Meet and Zoom save transcripts only on paid plans, and Microsoft's help page for Teams for personal use covers live captions, which Teams doesn't save.

Sources: Google Meet Help, Zoom pricing, Zoom Support, Microsoft Support, Microsoft Learn, as of October 7, 2026.

If you do pay for one of these, the built-in transcript is already in your plan. Our guides cover each one: Google Meet transcripts, Zoom meeting transcription and Teams transcription. If you're on a free account, or your meetings happen on more than one of the three, Scribbl fills the gap for free, on all three in one account.

Free meeting transcription with no bot: Scribbl

Scribbl is an AI note taker for Google Meet, Zoom and Microsoft Teams. We make it, and it's our pick for transcribing meetings for free. Nothing joins the call: Google Meet runs in a Chrome extension, and Zoom and Teams run in Scribbl Desktop for Mac (Apple silicon) and Windows. After each meeting you get the video recording, a transcript with speaker names, AI notes and action items.

Why it wins for meetings:

• No bot, and you get the video. Most free meeting plans send a bot into the call, and Granola, which doesn't, keeps no recording.
• A transcript with speaker names, with Google Meet, Zoom and Teams all in one account.
• More than a transcript. Automations do the follow-up: draft the follow-up email, post a summary to Slack or Teams, log notes in HubSpot or Pipedrive, or save them to Notion. They ask before changing anything by default. Smart Collections sort your meetings by themselves, and on Pro you can connect Scribbl to Claude or ChatGPT and ask about past meetings, or about just one Smart Collection.

The free plan includes Google Meet, Zoom and Microsoft Teams. It covers 10 meetings a month. Pro is $13 per user per month billed annually, or $20 monthly. Recordings are private by default, and Scribbl doesn't use your meetings to train AI for anyone other than you. (Source: Scribbl pricing, as of October 7, 2026.) Whatever you use, tell everyone you're recording.

Try Scribbl free

For capturing a single call step by step, see how to transcribe a conversation.

FAQ

Is there a free AI transcription?

Yes. For audio and video files, OpenAI's Whisper is free with no limit when you run it on your own computer, and TurboScribe's free plan transcribes 3 files a day, up to 30 minutes each, in your browser. For live meetings on Google Meet, Zoom and Microsoft Teams, Scribbl's free plan gives 10 meetings a month with the video, a transcript with speaker names and AI notes, and nothing joining the call. Fathom and tl;dv send a bot into the call, and Otter's free plan gives 300 minutes a month with only 30 minutes of each transcript.

Is there a free AI to transcribe text?

Yes, if you mean turning speech into text. On a computer, OpenAI's Whisper is free and open source with no limit, and TurboScribe transcribes 3 files a day of up to 30 minutes each with nothing to install. On an iPhone 12 or later, the Voice Memos app shows a transcript of your recordings. To dictate straight into a document, use voice typing in Google Docs.

Is there a free AI to transcribe audio files to text?

Yes. OpenAI's Whisper transcribes audio files for free with no limit on your own computer and saves the text as TXT, SRT or VTT files. With nothing to install, TurboScribe's free plan takes 3 files a day of up to 30 minutes each, and the free Gemini app takes up to 10 minutes of audio. Otter's free plan allows only 3 file imports for the life of the account.

Is there a free transcription AI?

Yes, several, and each free plan stops in a different place. Scribbl, which we make, gives 10 meetings a month on Google Meet, Zoom and Teams, each with the video, a transcript with speaker names and AI notes. Otter gives 300 minutes a month but shows only 30 minutes of each transcript and allows 3 file imports for the life of the account. Read AI gives 5 meeting transcripts a month. Whisper has no limit because it runs on your own computer.

Is transcribe AI free?

Most AI transcription tools have a free plan with a limit, and a few are free without one. Whisper is open source and has no usage limit, and Apple's help page for Voice Memos lists no limit. Cloud tools cap the free plan by files, minutes or meetings: Scribbl at 10 meetings a month, TurboScribe at 3 files a day, Otter at 300 minutes a month.

What is the best free AI transcription?

It depends on what you are transcribing. For meetings on Google Meet, Zoom and Teams, Scribbl, which we make: nothing joins the call, and you get the video, a transcript with speaker names, AI notes and action items for 10 meetings a month. For files, Whisper if you can install it (no limit, nothing uploaded), or TurboScribe if you can't (3 files a day, 30 minutes each).

Is there free meeting transcription without a bot?

Yes. With Scribbl, nothing joins the call. The free plan includes Google Meet, Zoom and Microsoft Teams. It covers 10 meetings a month. Granola's free plan also works without a bot, but it keeps no recording and shows only the last 30 days of meeting history. Fireflies' Chrome extension can record Google Meet without its bot. Whatever you use, tell everyone you're recording.

Is Otter's free plan really free?

Yes, with limits. Otter Basic gives 300 transcription minutes a month, shows only 30 minutes of each conversation, keeps your 25 most recent conversations visible and allows 3 file imports for the life of the account. Otter Notetaker joins Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams calls as a guest that everyone can see.

Do Google Meet, Zoom and Teams transcribe for free?

Mostly not on free accounts. Google Meet transcripts need a paid Google Workspace edition such as Business Standard, or Workspace Individual. Zoom's transcripts of cloud recordings need a Pro, Business, Education or Enterprise account; free Zoom Basic gets 40-minute meetings and AI meeting summaries for 3 hosted meetings a month. Teams for personal use shows live captions during a meeting, and Microsoft says Teams doesn't save captions.

Is free AI transcription private?

It depends on where the audio goes. Whisper runs on your own computer, so the audio stays there. Cloud tools upload your audio to the vendor's servers, so read their privacy terms before you upload anything confidential. TurboScribe says it never uses your uploads to train AI models. Scribbl keeps recordings private by default and doesn't use your meetings to train AI for anyone other than you.

Is Whisper free?

Yes. OpenAI released Whisper's code and model weights under the MIT License, so you can run it on your own computer at no cost and with no usage limit. You need Python and ffmpeg, and the models need from about 1 GB (tiny) to about 10 GB (large) of graphics memory. whisper.cpp is a free port that runs on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android, including on the CPU alone.

Can Google Docs or Word transcribe an audio file for free?

Not for free. Google Docs voice typing (Tools, then Voice typing) types what your microphone hears while you speak, and Google's help page doesn't describe transcribing a recording. Microsoft Word's Transcribe does take uploaded .wav, .mp4, .m4a and .mp3 files, up to 300 minutes a month, but it needs a Microsoft 365 subscription.

Sources

Every price and limit above was checked on these pages on October 7, 2026.

• File transcription: OpenAI Whisper, OpenAI, Introducing Whisper, whisper.cpp, TurboScribe pricing, TurboScribe free AI transcription, TurboScribe free audio and video transcription
• Otter: pricing, Basic plan limits, Otter Notetaker overview, AI transcription free
• Apple: View a Voice Memos transcription on iPhone, View a Voice Memos transcription on Mac
• Google: Upload and analyze files in Gemini Apps, Type and edit with your voice in Google Docs, Use transcripts with Google Meet
• Microsoft: Transcribe your recordings in Word, Live captions in Teams for personal use, Manage transcription and captions for Teams meetings
• Zoom: pricing, Using audio transcription for cloud recordings
• Meeting note takers: Fathom pricing, Fathom home page, Fathom Free vs. Premium, tl;dv pricing, tl;dv free plan limits, tl;dv home page, Fireflies pricing, Fireflies free plan transcriptions, Read AI pricing, Granola pricing
• Scribbl: pricing