Looking for the best TranscribeMe alternative? If so, keep reading below to discover some awesome companies and sites like TranscribeMe for transcriptionists.
TranscribeMe is an excellent starting point if you are looking to break into the transcription industry. A solid feature pack and a straightforward transcription editor make the website one of the friendliest you’ll see whether you’re a beginner or an expert.
That doesn’t make it a perfect one-size-fits-all site for transcriptionists, though. Everything has its downsides, and TranscribeMe is no exception.
Some users find it too crowded for their liking, while others detest its first-come-first-served style of assigning tasks. I personally don’t feel like the hourly pay reflected the work I had to do. I also struggled with audio quality and hated the fact that TranscribeMe did very little to get clients to send better audio files.
It goes without saying that there are no faultless websites like TranscribeMe that you can hop on as a disgruntled TranscribeMe user. However, if you have a specific gripe, one of these 15 alternatives surely has the solution for you.
Sites Like TranscribeMe To Find Transcription Jobs
Related: 30 Best Online Transcription Jobs From Home
1. Rev
Rev is a popular transcription service that pays roughly similarly to TranscribeMe but offers more translating, captioning, and subtitling job opportunities.
It has over 100,000 clients and 150,000 transcriptionists, making it the most popular transcription website on the internet.
The company stands out for accepting entry-level transcriptionists – despite its repute – and giving freelancers total power over their schedules. So it’s excellent if you wish to work as a part-time transcriptionist.
Rev also has an extensive work pool, meaning you will always find an assignment that suits your strengths.
Transcriptionists and captioners earn between $0.30 and $1.10 per audio/video minute, while translators can get as much as $3.00 per audio minute. Payment is made weekly via PayPal.
Additional Reading: 15 Companies and Websites Like Rev
2. 3Play Media
3Play Media uses artificial intelligence and human assistance to create transcripts. The service feeds raw data to machines and involves humans in the editing and reviewing parts of the process.
Unlike many other transcription services, 3Play Media doesn’t actually call its contractors transcriptionists. It describes them as transcription editors instead, and that’s because freelancers are charged with editing transcripts, not creating them.
It’s a simple job but one that requires a solid grasp of grammar and punctuation.
To join 3Play Media, you need to be:
- 18+ years old
- A US resident with a work permit and a US bank account
- An excellent typist with a minimum typing rate of 75 words per minute
- A proficient internet researcher
You can earn $10-30 per audio/video hour as a 3Play Media transcription editor, depending on the project you take and your typing speed.
Payment is made monthly via bank deposits or checks.
3. CastingWords
CastingWords offers both in-house and freelance transcription opportunities. As a freelancer, you can join the platform freely as long as you are 18+ years old, have a computer and an internet connection, and can receive payment through PayPal.
Transcription orders can be completed on the website or downloaded and worked on from a separate software tool. You might find grammar tools like Grammarly and a foot pedal useful if you wish to work offsite.
CastingWords pays its transcriptionists around $1 per media minute. The actual earnings depend on the submission’s placement in the 0-9 grading system.
Work graded 0-4 is considered low quality and will typically need redoing. Grade 5 will earn you the base pay, while grade 9 can get you up to three times the base rate.
4. Transcription Outsourcing LLC
Transcription Outsourcing has a more specific target audience compared to most other websites like TranscribeMe. Audio files are usually from police calls, court hearings, business interviews, and medical appointments.
The platform is available to US freelancers bar New Jersey, Massachusetts, and California residents. Applicants must also be at least 18 years old, have a clean criminal record, and promise near-perfect transcript accuracy.
For that prerequisite checklist, Transcription Outsourcing is willing to pay some of the highest rates in the industry. Freelancers receive a starting pay of $0.85 per media minute, which roughly translates to $8.50-$30 per work hour (not media hour).
Transcriptionists rave about Transcription Outsourcing for its unmatched work availability and fairly high pay rate.
5. Pioneer Transcription Services
Pioneer Transcription Services has been in the game since 1990, so there is no questioning the name choice. There is also no questioning the platform’s credibility, at least according to online reviews and the sheer longevity of the company.
Like TranscribeMe, Pioneer Transcription Services doesn’t seem to have an area of focus. Freelancers can pick up anything, from academic and business jobs to education, finance, insurance, and legal transcription.
Versatile freelancers will also enjoy some decent diversity, with the company also offering part-time secretarial services to businesses.
You need the following to become a transcriptionist at Pioneer Transcription Services:
- Transcription software
- Foot pedal and headset
- Good grasp of the English language (which will be tested)
- Some prior experience
The platform pays $15 per hour, and all payments are made through PayPal and direct deposit.
More Sites Similar to Transcribeme
Additional Reading: 30 Online Medical Transcription Jobs From Home
6. Way With Words
Way With Words (WwW) is among sites like TranscribeMe that focus on speech-to-text services but also offer captioning and proofreading assistance.
WwW transcriptionists work as independent contractors and hence can set their schedule and work as much or little as they like.
You don’t need to have any transcription experience to join Way With Words. You just need to be of legal age, have a computer with Microsoft Word, have a reliable internet connection, and pass the accuracy test.
Your experience, accuracy, and speed, rather than seniority, will determine how much you will make on WwW, whose pay rate is $0.45-$1.73 per audio minute. All work is paid for monthly via PayPal.
7. Transcript Divas
The founder of Transcript Divas, Andrew Dodson, used to outsource transcription services from transcription sites like TranscribeMe. He realized most of these platforms offered unacceptable turnaround times and embarked to create one that addressed that shortcoming.
True to form, Transcript Divas is renowned for offering same-day deliveries without sacrificing quality or charging exorbitantly.
These are the sites that ask so much from freelancers and offer so little in return, you might think. Well, that’s not the case with Transcript Divas. The platform cushions freelancers by giving them a market-average pay of around $1.40 per media minute.
The application process for Transcript Divas is simple and straightforward. It doesn’t require you to sit lengthy exams or provide evidence of prior transcription experience. You can start as a newbie.
Payment is made monthly or bimonthly by direct deposit for US transcriptionists or PayPal for non-US residents.
8. Cambridge Transcriptions
Cambridge Transcriptions offers corporate and legal transcription jobs. Most of its clients are thus established organizations that demand a high level of professionalism from freelancers.
All applicants need to have at least one year of court reporting or legal transcription experience. This means the job is not available to greenhorn transcriptionists. Freelancers also have to go through a sophisticated training program before starting work.
Cambridge transcription doesn’t have strict working hours for its freelancers, so you have full control of your work schedule.
Payment details are sketchy, but ZipRecruiter estimates the rate to be around $19.78 a work hour.
9. Daily Transcription
Daily Transcription offers transcription, translation, and closed captioning services. Assignments range from legal and academic transcription to research and corporate transcription assigned in the form of sermons, video, mobile phone dictation, podcasts, and Skype or Zoom conversations.
One of the sign-up requirements that make Daily Transcription different from other websites like TranscribeMe is the mandatory signing of a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). The rest of the process is straightforward.
To work on the site you have to be:
- At least 18 years old
- A US or Canadian citizen
- Excellent in grammar
- Able to meet deadlines
DT pays $0.75-$1.10 per media minute. That’s higher than Rev and TranscribeMe.
You will be paid weekly via check for all approved work.
10. GoTranscript
Based in the UK, GoTranscript is a popular transcription company that employs and offers services to people around the world. The platform prides itself in having transcribed over 144 million audio minutes thus far using artificial intelligence and manual transcription.
As someone who has used GoTranscript, two things stood out for me: the easy sign-up process and the website’s user-intuitive nature. The company also offers services in more than six international languages, making it more accommodative than most TranscribeMe alternatives.
GoTranscript is a platform for everyone. You don’t need any professional expertise or qualification to start transcribing – just good listening skills, a high typing speed, a functioning computer, and an internet connection.
The company’s relatively low pay rate of $0.60 per minute is arguably its biggest downside.
Other Websites Like TranscribeMe
Additional Reading: How to Become a Transcriptionist
11. Scribie
Scribie offers AI-based and manual transcription services. It promises 80%-95% accuracy for the former and 99% accuracy for the latter. Obviously, to join you need to be better than the machines at least.
Scribie’s sign-up process is simple, but then all new applicants are tossed on a waiting list, which doesn’t have a way around it.
In essence, you won’t start work immediately. Your application will, however, be approved immediately if the recruiters deem you good enough.
How much you make on Scribie is down to your accuracy and speed. The pay range for freelancers is $5-$25 per audio hour. If you are able to commit three or more audio/video hours within a pay period, you are also eligible for a $3-per-hour bonus.
You can transfer your accumulative earnings to your PayPal account anytime.
12. Quicktate
With industry bigwig clients like Coca-Cola, Wells Fargo, CNN, and Ford, Quicktate has to be acknowledged as one of the best transcription websites.
The company is good for beginner freelancers as well as experienced individuals who have no certification to show for their abilities.
That said, contractors need to prove that they are first-rate or promising transcriptionists to be taken aboard. They will also need to pay a $20 background verification fee.
Most of Quicktate’s freelancers praise it for its transparent billing system, timely payment, and high project availability.
The platform has a base pay rate of $0.0025 per word. Legal and medical transcriptionists can earn up to twice as much. Payment is made once every week via PayPal.
13. GMR Transcription
Since GMR Transcription offers manual transcription services only, it is one of the best platforms to find work for transcriptionists. Unfortunately, you have to be a US or Canadian citizen to set up an account.
As a new transcriptionist, you have to pass a GMR Transcription test, which evaluates typing speed, grasp of English, and accuracy, and then pass a probationary period, which, according to the company, tests your availability and commitment.
GMR Transcription’s pay rate is a humble $0.70-$1.25 per audio/video minute, with audio quality and turnaround time determining your earnings from a project. The company claims that its seasoned transcriptionists can make up to $3,000 per month.
14. Speechpad
Speechpad offers both software-based and human transcription services to its diverse client base. As a contractor, you are charged with transcribing meetings, conferences, speeches, videos, and insurance documents, among other file types.
You will be able to choose jobs according to your expertise and preference and decide when to work, with no minimum daily/weekly/monthly work hours required.
According to the company, transcriptionists are paid $0.25-$2.50 per audio, depending on task intricacy and freelancer grade.
Joining is easy, but all new freelancers are dumped in the basic qualification level and let to work their way up the ranks.
Speechpad pays every Friday through PayPal for tasks that have been reviewed.
15. Athreon
Athreon predominantly provides transcription services to individuals and organizations in the legal, medical, corporate, and academic sectors. It also offers dictation, workflow management, and speech recognition services.
One of the company’s unique and unsurprisingly effective traditions involves keeping in touch with contractors and providing regular feedback about their work. This ensures everyone is in line with client expectations and fixes their mistakes accordingly.
Athreon transcriptionists are free to choose when and how long to work. Tasks will come with strict deadlines, though, and it will be up to the Athreon marketing team to decide whether you are qualified for a job or not.
The average Athreon pay rates are $10-$15 per hour (not audio hour). Transcriptionists are paid weekly via PayPal.
Additional Reading: Can You Make Good Money as a Transcriptionist?
Wrapping up
There are many more websites like TranscribeMe, but not all of them are patently legit or have been around long enough to be trusted.
You might want to research the above 15 a little more if you are looking to put your best qualities to use and earn desirably.
Have you worked on any of these platforms? How did you find them? Share your experience with us in the comment section.
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