guides · compare · prices for one episode

Podcast transcript services, compared.

For one episode you heard, the cheapest paid options are pay-per-episode with no subscription: Podmenti ($1) and Transcribe a Podcast by PodcastRex ($1.49). Free tiers cover an episode or two, with length caps. Upload tools such as Otter, Rev and Descript are built for your own recordings.

Or just try it: paste an episode link or title.

Spotify · Apple Podcasts · YouTube · Overcast · RSS feeds · or just the title

Paste a link, get the transcript

These start from the podcast itself, so there is no file to find. The price is for one 60-minute episode, without a subscription where that is possible.

USD as listed on each service's site, checked October 29, 2026
ServiceWhat you can pasteOne hour-long episodeReady in
PodmentiSpotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube or any app link, RSS, or the title$1About 2 minutes
Transcribe a Podcast (PodcastRex)Apple Podcasts link, RSS, or search$1.49 (£1)About 10 minutes
Listen411 (Listen Notes)Search, or a direct audio URL$4.60About 1 minute
PodScriptsIts catalogue, a link or a fileFree if already transcribed, else $5 for 5 hoursNot stated
SpotScribeSpotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTubeFree for 3 episodes up to 60 min, then from $6.99/month"Seconds"
PodcastsToTextSpotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, RSSFree up to 30 min, then from $14/month"Seconds"
PodsqueezeSpotify, YouTube, RSSFrom $8.99/monthUnder 5 minutes
PodwiseApple-listed shows, RSS, YouTubeFrom $9.90/monthNot stated
transcript.lolYouTube and others, not SpotifyFree cuts off at 20 min; $20/month"Minutes"
CastmagicSpotify, Apple Podcasts, RSS, YouTubeFrom $29/monthAbout 3 minutes

Upload a file

Built for audio you own: you download the episode's MP3 first, then upload it. Several also take a YouTube link.

ServiceOne hour-long episodeGood to know
RiversideFreeMP3, WAV, MP4 or MOV, no sign-up
TurboScribeFree up to 30 min a file; $20/month unlimitedWhisper underneath
Sonix$10, pay as you goAlso takes public links
Rev$15 by AI; $119.40 by a humanHuman transcripts within 12 hours
OtterFree covers 30 min; Pro $16.99/monthMade for meetings
DescriptFree 60 min a month; from $24/monthAn editor more than a transcriber
NottaFrom $13.61/monthYouTube, Drive and Dropbox links
Happy ScribeFrom €17/month; human €1.75 a minuteAI or human
Whisper on your computerFreeCommand line; about 11 minutes an hour on a mid-range GPU

How to choose

  • One episode you heard: a paste-a-link service. Here it is $1, from any app's link or just the title.
  • Who said what matters: pick a service with speaker labels. PodcastRex has them; we do not yet.
  • It has to be perfect: a human service such as Rev or Happy Scribe, at $100 or more an hour.
  • Your own recordings: an upload tool, or Whisper if you are technical.
  • A summary, show notes, clips: creator tools such as Castmagic or Podsqueeze.

This is our comparison, so read it knowing we are on the list. We have tried to be fair: every price is the one each service published on the day we checked, and we say where others do something we do not.

Find your episode $1 an episode, any length. No subscription.

Questions people ask

What is the cheapest way to transcribe one podcast episode?
Free, if Apple Podcasts or Spotify already shows a transcript and you only need to read it there, or if a free tier covers its length. Paid, pay-per-episode services start at $1.
Which is the most accurate?
A human transcript. Among automatic ones, the differences between modern models are small next to the audio itself: clear speech transcribes well everywhere, cross-talk and noise do not.

Facts on this page checked October 29, 2026.