This is the complete TranscribeMe vs Rev comparison guide.
Keep reading to discover what makes each platform unique. Which one is the best for transcriptionists?
Transcription is one of the more popular passive income jobs for moderately-skilled up-and-coming freelancers.
As a result, many companies have emerged looking to hook up audio transcription clients with transcriptionists.
I wrote a listicle about some of the best transcription sites, which you might want to check out.
What I learned while scouring the internet is that despite transcription being a simple, straightforward domain, most of these platforms are apples and oranges. They offer distinct experiences and are (unintentionally) built for different user preferences.
In this TranscribeMe vs Rev comparison, I will focus on the aspects that I reckon make or break a transcription platform. I will give my verdict at the end, but the idea is to help you develop your own opinion.
What is TranscribeMe?
TranscribeMe is a top-rated platform, where you can make money transcribing audios and videos remotely.
It is acclaimed for its user-friendliness, regular payouts, fairly high job availability, and flexibility.
As a spinoff effect of sourcing jobs from TranscribeMe, you are going to meet one of the best transcription communities in the world and learn and hone your skills while you earn.
TranscribeMe doesn’t really care about your experience; it will give you the benefit of the doubt as long as you have a computer and a pair of ears.
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What is Rev?
Rev also connects transcription clients with work-from-home freelancers. It sells itself with self-acclaimed market-leading flexibility, which we will confirm or debunk further down the article.
What I would be shameless not to laud is the platform’s simple transcript editor. In my opinion and strictly from a freelancer’s viewpoint, that is perhaps its greatest selling point.
While it may be no child’s play signing up for Rev, working on it is pretty easy. Clients submit their audio or video files for transcription or captioning, and Rev passes them over to transcriptionists. Your job is to be the freelancer that gets the assignment.
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TranscribeMe vs Rev: The Sign Up Process
TranscribeMe admits everyone but gives work only to those who have shown to have a nodding acquaintance with transcription. In essence, you will have to take and pass an entrance exam.
The exam is multifaceted and somewhat difficult. You will have to answer simple multi-choice questions, audio tests, clean verbatim tests, etc., and be expected to perform immaculately.
A good understanding of written English and common dialects are all prerequisites. You will also want to get in there with a firm knowledge of TranscribeMe’s style guidelines.
Rev’s sign-up process is more or less the same. There is a style guide to adhere to, for starters, and you will need it in the 21-question entrance exam.
The exam is not easy. It will test your grasp of dialects and accents, grammar, typing speeds, etc.
It would be safe to say, joining either platform will suck the same amount of energy from you. So ease of signing up may not be the thing that settles the TranscribeMe vs Rev debate.
And so you know, application approval is not an instant thing on either platform. Both claim to get back to applicants in “a few days,” but reviews show that that’s far from the case.
TranscribeMe vs Rev: Job Availability
The average Rev transcriptionist does 15 jobs per month from 15 hours of working. Of course, this includes beginners, meaning the experienced lot is likely to average a higher work flow.
There are also multiple avenues for getting work, including transcribing, captioning, and translating audio, which give you a way to increase your workload.
It’s also worth noting that there are over 750,000 clients on Rev – Facebook, Amazon, and Google being some of the more notable ones. Only around 70,000 Revvers serve these clients, so the competition for work is relatively low.
That is not to say your industry will solely determine your workload and earnings. Sometimes there will be a drought in the job pool and your willingness to work won’t have an impact.
On TranscribeMe, job availability is dictated by two things: your availability to work and your luck (because jobs are assigned, not taken).
The number of clients is relatively low, but so is the number of transcriptionists, so it cancels out. Still, there are fewer jobs on TranscribeMe than Rev, and the earning avenues are limited.
Many reviews, however, seem to suggest that dry spells are not common on the platform, and that diligence plays a major role in determining work availability.
Basically, since orders are pre-assigned on TranscribeMe, your hard work places you in a better position to receive more transcription orders.
Rev has a more level-playing field, which may benefit beginners at the expense of its experienced transcriptionists.
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TranscribeMe vs Rev: Beginner-Friendliness
While Rev lets you browse jobs and choose what you like, TranscribeMe assigns you what they think you can handle based on your profile. There are upsides and downsides to each of these approaches.
TranscribeMe is good for you if you don’t want or can’t afford to be on the platform browsing jobs at all times. Rev is better if you are interested in specific types of jobs.
Sure, TranscribeMe gives you the option to turn down jobs, but then you will have to wait for them to find other jobs to assign to you.
That, in my opinion, affects your industry and earning potential. Rev’s system is better if you are a beginner and can only handle specific job types.
Does this also mean you are more likely to have your account closed on TranscribeMe than on Rev? Well, all other factors kept constant, yes! You’re likelier to attract lower ratings if someone else chooses work for you than if you do it yourself.
TranscribeMe vs Rev: Customer Support
One thing that freelance platforms never get right is customer support. It’s not difficult to see why. Platforms like Transcribe Me and Rev deal primarily with people, and their support desks are bombarded with daily inquiries and complaints.
It might seem unfair, but clients receive priority for being the ones that bring the money. Contractors take a backseat and sometimes don’t receive responses for questions that are deemed peripheral.
These reviews are proof that customer support is a major weakness for Rev:
Interestingly, many reviews, including negative ones, express contentment with the quality of customer service offered at TranscribeMe.
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TranscribeMe vs Rev: Earnings and Pay Rate
TranscribeMe claims that transcriptionists on its platform can get up to $2,200 per month, which is way more than Rev’s top-of-the-spectrum pay of $1,495. Averagely, Rev’s freelancers make $156 per month, while TranscribeMe’s earn $250 per month.
The guys at TranscribeMe clearly fancy themselves more than their opposite numbers at Rev, but I thought it wise to consider user back-up before handing them the trophy.
I was lucky to find a pay review of a Redditor who had used both platforms. It would be safe to say they didn’t have many positives to say about TranscribeMe, or TM as they call it.
Before you give your verdict, remember that there is barely anyone on the internet who is downright comfortable with what the two companies have to pay their transcriptionists.
The pay rate is quite low, which FYI is typical of transcription freelance platforms. So we are more interested in where you would make more money if you dedicated the same amount of time and energy on both.
Rev triumphs on that, from where I’m seated.
Regarding pay rates, Rev pays $0.30-$1.10, $0.54-$1.10, and $1.50-$3.00 per/video minute for transcribing, captioning, and translating subtitles, respectively. TranscribeMe, which focuses on transcriptionists, pays roughly $20 per media hour or roughly 33 cents per media minute.
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TranscribeMe vs Rev: Payment Options
How and when do you get paid?
On TranscribeMe, you will only be eligible to withdraw when your earnings accumulate to at least $20. That’s roughly 1 audio hour. And even if you cross the threshold, you will still need to request to withdraw and wait until Thursday for the payment to be processed.
Rev sends payments every Monday for projects completed and accepted between Sunday 00:00 GMT and Saturday 23:59 GMT the previous week.
Freelancers don’t have to cross any threshold nor send an invoice to receive their money, so it’s quite likely that you will receive some money every Monday if you’re a regular Rev user.
Both Rev and TranscribeMe pay via PayPal.
TranscribeMe vs Rev: Common Complaints
TranscribeMe
- Job scarcity
- Low pay
- Poor audio quality
- Pre-assignment of work
- Presence of a withdrawal threshold
- Lengthy, unpaid training
- Short jobs
Rev
- Low pay
- Lengthy sign-up process
- Poor customer support
- Poor audio quality
- Dry spells
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Who is TranscribeMe for?
TranscribeMe is great for you if you have some transcription experience but do not mind starting from the bottom.
Its task pre-assignment system favors experienced transcriptionists and may prove to be your way through to the top if you are patient enough.
For beginners, project canceling is acceptable, and there is no ceiling to the number of tasks you can reject. However, this can ruin your reputation and lower the amount of work you get over time.
As a chance countermeasure, the company offers excellent customer support, which you really need as a learner.
Who is Rev for?
Rev is for someone who has loads of time on their hands for transcription assignments. The platform sure experiences dry spells, but it still has the most active marketplace in the industry.
The platform is also friendlier to beginners and part-time transcriptionists as it lets users choose assignments from a work pool rather than wait for assignments.
TranscribeMe vs Rev: Verdict
The fact that both platforms have loyal transcriptionists when you could join either for free is proof that neither is perfect.
However, if the aspects discussed above are anything to go by, Rev is slightly ahead in the TranscribeMe vs Rev comparison.
Not only does it offer transcriptionists a more realistic earning opportunity, but it also has a better payout system and fits more easily in tight schedules.
