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2.50 € per audio minute*

No hidden charges, no complicated calculations. We charge 2.50 € per audio minute, regardless of audio quality or content, for a simple or smoothed transcript. A 1-hour audio file (60 minutes) = 150 €.

*Exclusive of 19% VAT (or relevant cross-border rate).

Introduction / About

We offer professional, fast, high-quality English-language transcripts, serving the financial and legal industries, academics, journalists, filmmakers, etc. We accept many different audio/video formats or even record events or teleconferences and turnaround an accurate, consistent document to save clients time and grief. Hire human transcriptionists, like us, for when you cannot tolerate mistakes. We also provide copyediting services for accuracy and precision before publishing.

What Is Transcription?

Transcription is the creation of a text document from audio or video recordings. Customers may require a typewritten document of an audio or video file to search, edit, or publish the text.

To date, speech-recognition software cannot compete with the discerning ear and expertise of a professional human transcriptionist. There is no grammatically accurate speech-to-text software. While it may be improving every year, this kind of technology is ideal only for individuals who have trained the program to recognize their specific voice and for extremely clear audio with no mistakes.

It is also quite hands on, as one must manually insert punctuation and occasionally correct grammar and misheard words. Processing and proofreading speech-to-text output can often take even longer than it would for a skilled professional to transcribe the audio from scratch.

When there are multiple speakers, speech-recognition software cannot differentiate them. Highly technical subject matter, such as medical or legal terminology, must be researched and spell-checked. People who speak English as a second language (ESL) often mispronounce words or have difficult accents that even experienced transcriptionists cannot determine.

As long as accuracy is required, there will always be a need for expertise in spelling, grammar, punctuation, and consistency. We believe that our transcription skills and experience are extremely valuable and will remain in high demand even as breakthroughs in speech-recognition technology occur. We specialize in transcription of highly technical material spoken by nonnative (ESL) executives, presenters, and interviewees.

Why Transcription?

Often during live events or meetings, note taking is distracting, time consuming, and the resulting notes are incomplete. A verbatim transcript documents your entire event so that you can pull accurate quotes, review topics, and reference information discussed, or you can publish the transcript for absent participants or public consumption.

Some documents are time sensitive and have ASAP deadlines. Typically, untrained office staff could take hours to type up even a short 10-minute audio file. The industry standard for transcription is 6:1, i.e. it takes about 6 hours to transcribe 1 hour of audio material. We can provide verbatim documents that are precisely edited for correct grammar and spelling in half that time.

Additional Services

We also offer other document preparation services. Please contact us directly for any of the following:

Text-to-text (handwritten, typewritten,
or image files to digital text)
2.50 € per 1000 characters

Timecoding (for video editing – 01:23:45)
before each speaker and approximately
every 30 seconds thereafter
additional 0.50 € per audio minute

Verbatim transcription
includes every utterance,
filler words like "um" and "uh",
pauses, nonverbal signs like (laughs)
3.50 € per audio minute

Copyediting/proofreading
checking text for correct spelling,
grammar, and punctuation
0.02 € per word
(or 5 € per normal
manuscript page
= 250 words/page)

LaTeX documents
0.03 € per word
(or 7.50 € per normal
manuscript page
= 250 words/page)

NVivo-compatible transcripts
for qualitative research, synchronized with
timecodes, or formatted with headings
additional 0.50 € per audio minute

Extended Dresing/Pehl notation,
with F4 timecodes after
every speaker change.
For import into MAXQDA
(audio track directly
connected to the transcript)
3.50 € per audio minute

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Typically, for 1 hour of audio, the final document will be ready within 2 to 3 days. Please contact us in advance about availability if rush/same day or 24-hour turnaround is required.

The most common file formats we receive are MP3, WMA, and WAV files, but we can also transcribe AudioNote, AIFF, AMR, AVI, CAF, DCT, DS2, DSS, DVF, MSV, MP2, MOV, RA, VOX, and WMV files directly. Otherwise, we may be able to convert your media file into a usable format. If you have a live or online event, we can record your audio/video teleconference, Webcast, WebEx, or YouTube. Just notify us of the event and give us the phone number and passcode or the URL.

Transcription serves a wide variety of industries, anyone that may need the text from an audio/video file, including:

  • the financial industry (quarterly earnings reports, conference calls, board meetings, investor conferences, speeches, company presentations, analyst road shows, sales meetings, trainings, Q&As),
  • for legal purposes (court proceedings, depositions, insurance claims, police interrogations),
  • the broadcast and film industry (interview footage, documentary video footage, commercial advertisements, entertainment),
  • marketing (press conferences, Webcasts, focus groups, marketing surveys), and
  • academic clients (dictations, research projects, informational interviews, classroom presentations, training, publishing).

With the advent of Podcasts and YouTube, more and more people are benefiting from improved search-engine optimization (SEO) that a transcript of their show can provide.

All material submitted for document processing will be kept strictly confidential in accordance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG). Further information on the processing of your personal data can be found in the Impressum/Privacy Policy. Nondisclosure agreements are available if necessary.

  • All client data (audio, documentation, and transcripts) are physically secure in locked office to which unauthorized people cannot gain access.
  • The workstation is password protected against unauthorized access with an automatic timeout, as well as with an encrypted hard drive.
  • Files are created, processed, and stored in separate directories (folders).
  • Data can be transferred with AES-256 encryption (zipped), and the password can be transmitted separately via SMS.
  • All data will be deleted after delivery of transcripts and payment is received.

Documents are typically delivered as Microsoft Word files via email. If you have a preferred template, style, or format, you can submit your instructions or reference documents along with your media files. To get an idea of what the finished product will look like, here is a sample transcript (opens in another window):

See PDF

Recording Tips

How do you ensure the best transcript? Your transcript will only be as good as your audio quality.

  • Record at the fastest speed and highest quality possible.
  • Reduce background noise during recording.
  • Record in a quiet room.
  • Place the microphone as close to the speaker as possible.
  • Do not use hidden microphones under the clothing.
  • Do not interrupt and avoid backchanneling ("mm-hmm", "yeah", "sure", "okay").
  • Never use speaker phone.
  • If you must use a smartphone to record audio, use airplane mode.
  • Provide speakers lists and meeting agendas for context.
  • Refer to speakers by name and spell out uncommon terms.

Contact Us

Need a transcript? Simply send your inquiry/order using this contact form.

You are also welcome to submit your audio file directly via SendThisFile, Dropbox, WeTransfer Plus, or an alternative file transfer method. Please enter your complete contact information so we can handle the request.

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