How Much Do Online Transcription Services Cost?

Transcription has, over the years, become an integral part of most organisations. Keeping a typed transcript of phone conversations, meetings, interviews, and videos come with great benefits; that is why a good number of businesses are always interested in transcription services.

However, as hiring an in-house transcriber may be expensive, many organisations have resorted to outsourcing online transcription services from various companies. But, do you know how much you need to pay for transcription services? Knowing the pricing metrics used by transcription companies to arrive at their prices is the first step to understanding the cost of transcription services.

This guide talks about the common payment structures, what transcription rates to expect, and what goes into these rates. This will help you ask the essential questions and select a transcription company that provides the best services at the best rates.

Standard Pricing Plans for Transcription Services

Typically, audio transcription services are billed in various ways, including:

• Per audio hour or audio minute: This fixed-rate structure is the recognised industry standard for transcription services. Professional transcription rates range between $1.50 per audio minute.
• Per Line: The pricing plan is common in the medical transcription field. Here, the line is defined as 65 characters with spaces. The standard price for medical transcription services is 0.07-0.14 $ USD per line.
• Per typed page: This is prevalent with document typing projects.
• Per hour of the service provider’s time: The hourly rate price structure benefits transcriptionists by guaranteeing a minimum rate irrespective of the quality. Currently, the average hourly pricing for transcribing interviews is capped at $50.
• Document typing: Also called copy typing, this is transcribing from another text document instead of an audio file. This is billed per typed page, but it can be billed per hour or per word. Generally, the rates for document typing start from $4 to $15 per typed page. The standard page length is always 350 words.

Things that Affect the Transcription Rates

All audio files are not created the same. Some take a long time to transcribe. So, transcription agencies charge higher prices for:

• Problematic audio files that are distorted, too quiet, muffled, intense background noise
• Audio files with several speakers, lots of crosstalk, and fast speakers
• Additional requirements like true verbatim transcription, timestamps, and special formatting
• Rush delivery time of below 24 hours.

Specialised forms of transcription like medical, legal, technical, financial, and academic might have higher rates than the general transcription services. This is because of their specialised nature and the kind of research needed.

What Impacts Transcription Cost: Important Factors to Consider

When comparing the transcription pricing of various online transcription service providers, you need to understand everything included in the costs. This will help you make a choice that accurately meets your company’s needs.

Transcription Service Rates Versus Turnaround Time

Typically, transcription rates are affected by the turnaround time. It is common to see the rates skyrocket the faster a company requires the files submitted. Note that the same-day submission has the highest rates. Several factors can affect the project turnaround time. Mainly how long it will take to transcribe an accurate audio file. You will pay different prices to personal transcribers, companies, and software agencies. That’s because each alternative provides different turnaround abilities.

Transcription Service Rates Versus Transcription Accuracy and Quality

It is easier to figure out the turnaround times, such as transcription service prices per hour and transcription service prices per audio per minute. Either the agency provides its rates online, or an agency submits a file for cost estimates.

How to Trim Transcription Rates Without Affecting Turnaround Times and Accuracy

With the rapid revolution in technology, many online transcription service providers manage to cut costs by automating some transcription services. A good example is automatic sound recognition (ASR). This software helps to distinguish between ranges of voices in an audio file. Transcribers use the software to find the speaker rather than listening to the file several times and playing it forwards and backwards. The introduction of AI is another exciting advancement in this industry.

When looking for transcriptionists, it’s essential to know everything about their costs. A lower rate doesn’t sound good when a company notices it has received a non-accurate, non-proofread transcript, with speaker and industry names mixed up. However, as technology advances, companies don’t have to sacrifice quality and accuracy for their budget. The introduction of AI in the transcription field will help companies regain their supremacy and get the best of both worlds.