If you’re looking for a powerful meeting transcription tool, you’re likely to have found your way to Rev, the self-acclaimed best transcript service in the world. But what if you don’t want to fork out $1.50 per minute of text? Are there any Rev alternatives that offer more value for your money?
Sure there are. You just need to know where to look. And to save you the time, we’ve gathered them here!
To understand which software is better, however, we need to first understand what Rev is, what it does, and how much it costs.
What is Rev?
Rev is a company that provides transcription services. It converts the spoken language of your recordings into text. Whether you’re working with audio or video content, Rev can transcribe it for you. Businesses often use Rev to transcribe interviews, meetings, podcasts, videos, and other types of audio content into written form.
How Much Does Rev Cost?
Rev offers a few different ways in which you can transcribe your audio.
- If you want the most accurate transcripts, Rev offers a human transcription service with 99% accuracy for $1.50 per minute.
- For an automated transcript, you’ll pay $0.25 per minute. They claim it’s the most accurate AI-powered transcription service on the market.
- Recently, Rev has also offered a monthly subscription model for unlimited Zoom meeting transcriptions, as well as glossaries and more for $29.99 per month.
Rev also offers closed captions (English subtitles that appear on a video) for $1.50 per minute, and translated on-screen subtitles for $5-12 per minute.
How Does Rev Work?
There are three simple steps to getting your transcripts with Rev.
- Upload your audio or video file to the Rev platform.
- Select whether you want a human transcription or an automated transcription.
- Wait until the transcription is complete and then download the transcribed text.
Rev Pros
- Accuracy – If you have sensitive or critical content where accuracy is paramount, Rev’s human transcription service is as good as they come. Their automated one is one of the best in the industry too, but will still make mistakes occasionally.
- Quick Turnaround – Rev provides a relatively quick turnaround for transcripts which is essential if you’re in a hurry. 5 minutes is their current rate for automated transcripts. The human transcriptions take a little longer as they are done manually.
- User-Friendly Platform – Rev’s platform is intuitive and easy to navigate, making it straightforward to upload, manage, and download transcripts.
- Free 14-Day Trial Available for Rev Max – Rev Max gives you access to 20 hours of automated transcription and captioning per month. It promises a 5-minute turnaround and 90% accuracy. After the free trial, it jumps up to $29.99 per month.
Rev Cons
- Cost of Human Transcription – While Rev’s automated transcriptions are reasonably priced, their human transcriptions are expensive. This is especially true for longer recordings.
- Accuracy Varies – While human transcriptionists generally provide a high level of accuracy, the quality depends on the individual. Similarly, automated transcriptions are going to be less accurate if there is background noise or multiple speakers.
- Confidentiality Concerns – If your content contains sensitive or confidential information, there may be concerns about the security and confidentiality of your data. After all, another person is literally listening to every word you say.
- Limited Editing Options – Rev allows you to request edits, but the process is not as seamless as just doing it yourself, especially if you have specific formatting preferences.
- Additional Costs – There are some features and options, such as timestamps, that require an additional cost. This can be a pain due to the already lofty prices of human transcription.
Rev: The Verdict
Rev is a great transcription tool if you’re looking for highly accurate transcripts and don’t mind splashing the cash. However, if you want greater functionality – in regards to extra features and editing opportunities, there are certainly better platforms available.
Rev’s prices are a little steep as well. For an hour-long call recording, Rev would charge you $90 for a human transcription, and $15 for an automated one. As you’re about to see, there are plenty of Rev alternatives where you pay less than both of these sums for unlimited monthly transcriptions that are just as accurate, if not more so than Rev’s automated ones.
Overall, Rev gets the job done with great quality. But if you want more functionality at a lower cost, here are the Rev alternatives for you.
5 Rev Alternatives to Get More From Your Transcripts
1. tl;dv
tl;dv specializes in recording video calls – use it with Google Meet or Zoom to automatically transcribe the entire meeting in real-time. By the time the call ends, you’ll receive an instant file with the entire recording and transcript. This includes highly accurate speaker recognition as well as industry-leading precision. You can also use the tl;dv bot in your call to provide you with AI-generated summaries at the end of each call. This way, you know what was covered and what your next steps are.
If you’re transcribing your calls so you can better present user research, tl;dv trumps all Rev competitors here. You can quickly and easily create clips and highlight reels from multiple video call recordings at once, empowering you to use the voice of the customer to tell the narrative you want to present from your findings.
Don’t want to lose concentration by taking notes manually? tl;dv’s powerful AI can also make notes for you throughout the call. It’s a call recording platform that excels at making your life easier.
How Much Does tl;dv Cost?
tl;dv has the best free plan in the market. You can get unlimited call recordings and transcriptions without paying a penny! This also includes free translations in more than 25 languages!
If, however, you want to integrate with other tools like CRM platforms (Salesforce, Hubspot, Pipedrive, etc.), or if you want to create clips and reels and explore more of tl;dv’s features, then there’s a monthly subscription available for $20 per month per recording user.
tl;dv doesn’t charge transcripts per minute. In fact, if you have the paid plan, you can upload as many files as you want and transcribe them. It doesn’t matter if you’re transcribing MP4 files, WAV files or anything in between.
tl;dv Pros
- Free AI Integration – Use state of the art AI to provide summaries, notes, and automatic speaker detection.
- Free and Instant Translations – Live transcriptions in 25+ languages for Zoom and Google Meet.
- Amazing Free Plan – Unlimited free recordings of Zoom and Google Meet calls.
- Easy to Use – tl;dv has an intuitive design that makes it super simple to use.
- Timestamps and Tagging Features – Timestamp your meeting highlights to quickly jump back to specific moments in the call. It also features the ability to tag colleagues at specific meeting moments so they get an email with a link straight to their inbox.
- Integrations – Push timestamps and meeting clips directly to Notion, Slack, HubSpot, Salesforce, and more via third-party integrations.
- Create Clips and Highlights – Highlight sections of the transcript to create clips out of recorded meetings.
- Intuitive Library – Search your meetings library for keywords in transcripts to quickly find what you’re looking for.
tl;dv Cons
- Compatibility – Not yet available for Microsoft Teams.
tl;dv vs Rev: The Verdict
If you’re after the best quality transcripts, Rev’s human transcription service is the route to take. They offer 99% accuracy which is simply unbeatable. However, if you’re not a walking, talking money printer, then Rev’s transcription service will quickly burn a hole in your pocket.
Just three hours of human transcription service from Rev is more expensive than a year’s worth of tl;dv with every single feature included.
This alone makes tl;dv the Rev competitor to go for. Not only can you do a lot more with your videos, your money goes a lot further too.
2. Otter.ai
Otter.ai is another text-to-speech platform that is focused on transcribing audio from virtual meetings in real-time. It has a special emphasis on AI, and is now rolling out Otter Pilot, a live AI chatbot that will provide you answers instantly during your call. Like with tl;dv, Otter allows you to add timestamps, highlights and other edits to the transcription, as well as options to collaborate remotely with your colleagues.
Journalists, media teams, and universities tend to favor Otter.ai, but it’s rarely the first choice for remote or async work teams, and has struggled to establish a firm foothold in the realm of Product or UX. Despite this, when people say video call recordings, Otter.ai is the name that most people associate it with. It’s earned itself a name as one of the biggest and best speech-to-text transcription services in the world. But how does it compare to Rev?
How Much Does Otter.ai Cost?
Like tl;dv, Otter.ai features a free plan. Unlike tl;dv, however, you only get 300 monthly minutes – only 30 per call! Their Pro Plan is only $10 per month, but even that only provides 1,200 transcription minutes (90 per conversation), while their Business Plan sits at $20 per month with a whopping 6,000 transcription minutes (4 hours per conversation).
Overall, the prices are much more affordable than Rev if you compare the minute-by-minute rate, however it doesn’t come close to tl;dv unlimited free transcriptions. Another thing to consider is the transcription accuracy – Otter’s is considered top quality, but there have been several reviews that criticize the bot’s ability to pick up on more colloquial terms.
Otter.ai Pros
- Functionality – Otter.ai allows you to timestamp, highlight, and edit transcriptions.
- Intuitive Search Function – Like tl;dv, you can search meeting transcripts by keyword to find the exact part you’re looking for across multiple transcripts at once.
- Ease of Use – Otter.ai is fairly easy to use. It doesn’t have a complex learning curve so you should be able to jump straight in.
- Industry Leader – Otter.ai is trusted because it was one of the first big meeting recorder transcription services.
- Voiceprint – A relatively new feature, voiceprint trains Otter’s AI on your voice so that it can automatically detect when you’re speaking and tag you in conversations.
- Mobile App – The mobile app is easy to use and sets it apart from other Rev competitors.
Otter.ai Cons
- Lack of Translations – Otter.ai’s transcription service is only available in English.
- Weak Free Plan – While the free plan is enough to try out Otter.ai, it falls short of being anything more than a test run.
Otter.ai vs Rev: The Verdict
Again, Rev will win hands-down if you’re purely after the most accurate transcriptions as its human transcription service is going to be better than any automated software. However, in terms of value for money, Otter.ai has the upper hand. Having said that, its value for money is not as great as tl;dv’s, hence its second place on this list.
A flurry of new features over the past year or so, including video recording, speaker recognition, and an embedded chatbot, have made Otter.ai a strong contender for the meeting recorder throne once again. It’s certainly a Rev alternative to keep your eyes on if you’re after more functionality from your meeting recorder.
For more Otter.ai alternatives, check out this article.
3. Fireflies.ai
Another AI-powered meeting recorder, Fireflies is aiming at a very similar niche to Otter and tl;dv. Where Rev is focused predominantly on transcripts, most of the platforms on this list are meeting recorders that have automatic transcripts as just one of their many features. Fireflies is no different.
Used by a wealth of industry giants like Nike, Uber and Expedia, Fireflies.ai focuses on making note-taking simple. It has similar AI functionality as tl;dv and Otter, with its powerful search function and ability to condense an hour-long meeting into 5 minutes.
Comments, pins, and reactions can be added to certain parts of the conversation, allowing for async collaboration with your colleagues. It’s also possible to share meeting notes to your favorite collaboration apps like Slack, Notion, Asana and more. It even has the feature to create soundbites – little snippets of important information from your call that can be easily shared.
How Much Does Fireflies Cost?
Fireflies has a number of paid plans, and one free plan. The free plan has “limited transcription credits” but fails to disclose how many that is. It also offers 800 minutes of storage space. It translates in almost 70 languages, allows for playback at different speeds, and offers automated meeting summaries.
The Pro Plan is $10 per seat per month. This one allows for unlimited transcription credits and 8,000 minutes of storage space. It also offers a number of other features such as smart search filters, custom vocabulary for the transcripts, and the ability to download transcripts and recordings.
The Business Plan is $19 per seat per month and features unlimited storage, unlimited integrations, and video screen capture (for the other two plans, it’s only audio that’s available).
Fireflies Pros
- Integrations – Lots of great integrations are available, including Salesforce, Zapier and Slack.
- Translations – You can translate the transcript in up to 70 languages.
- Innovative AI – The AI powers the intuitive search function, makes great summaries, and takes notes.
- Compatibility – You can use Fireflies with Zoom, Google Meet, MS Teams, Webex and more.
Fireflies Cons
- Have to Pay for Video – Video recording isn’t available unless you purchase the Business Plan, which can be a bit frustrating if you can’t see your user’s body language.
- Limited Free Plan – The free plan is similar to Otter.ai’s in that it is enough for a taster only.
- Inaccurate Transcriptions – One of the biggest complaints about Fireflies is that its transcription tool often makes mistakes, sometimes inexcusably so.
Fireflies vs Rev: The Verdict
Again, Rev trumps its competitors when it comes to the most accurate transcripts, but Fireflies is on another level with its translations. Not only that, but Fireflies has lots of different options in regards to editing and collaborating too.
Its limited free plan and comparably inaccurate transcriptions have knocked it down to third on the list of Rev alternatives, but it’s certainly one to watch if you’re looking for a meeting recorder. This is especially true if you’re using one of the less popular meeting platforms as Fireflies is compatible with more options than the rest.
If you prefer Fireflies but want to see what alternatives they have, check out this post.
4. Tactiq
Tactiq bills itself as the number one live transcript tool for Google Meet, Zoom, MS Teams, and Webex. How true is it? Let’s see.
It offers transcripts in more than 10 different languages and is used by more than 10,000 different organizations, including Shopify, Canva, and Spotify. Like with other Rev competitors, Tactiq integrates with GPT to provide AI meeting summaries, speaker identification, and a whole host of integrations that make sharing quotes or clips super easy.
How Much Does Tactiq Cost?
Tactiq has a free plan that allows for 10 meetings per month, 5 AI credits, timestamped notes, speaker identification, and several basic integrations. While the amount of meetings to transcribe is fairly limited, the fact it offers integrations on the free plan separates it from the rest of the Rev alternatives, even if they are just the super basic ones.
The Pro Plan will set you back $8 per month and bumps you up to unlimited meetings and 10 AI credits. This plan unlocks video recording too.
The Team Plan is $16 per month and gives you everything from Pro as well as 1,000 AI credits, a collaborative workspace, and the ability to bulk export files.
Tactiq Pros
- Easy Onboarding – Tactiq is surprisingly simple to get started with.
- Intuitive AI – Tactiq’s AI automatically generates summaries, notes, and action points.
- Integrations – It includes basic integrations in the free plan. The paid plans feature all the main integrations you’ll need, including Salesforce, Jira, and HubSpot.
- Transcription Accuracy – Tactiq’s transcripts are often considered highly accurate.
Tactiq Cons
- Have to Pay for Video – Like with Fireflies, Tactiq charges extra for recording video.
- Limited Free Plan – While the free plan is great to get started and try out the software, its maximum capacity is 10 meetings per month.
- Weak Customer Support – Some users claim that Tactiq’s customer support is not up to scratch.
Tactiq vs Rev: The Verdict
Once more, Rev triumphs when it comes to the most accurate transcripts if money isn’t an issue. However, Tactiq is an easy-to-use alternative to Rev that is commended for its highly accurate automated transcriptions. It has mostly similar features to the other competitors in this list, but Tactiq falls a little short because of its customer support complaints.
The idea of charging for video (like with Fireflies) also brings it down a notch when you consider tl;dv gives unlimited video recordings completely free of charge.
For a deeper look at Tactiq and its alternatives, see our guide.
5. Avoma
Avoma is a great meeting recorder, specifically for product managers and user researchers. It has a dedicated note-taking feature that you can use for both audio and video calls. This type of feature is surprisingly rare in meeting transcription circles, so it gives Avoma a unique edge.
The main focus here is to let you carry on with the meeting while Avoma takes care of the notes, which are then searchable later on. It also allows for real-time collaboration and includes features such as timestamping, tagging, and editing. The platform even features a revenue intelligence section that you can use to analyze and improve your company’s revenue.
Avoma has also just introduced an AI forecasting assistant to build accurate revenue forecasts powered by conversational intelligence.
How Much Does Avoma Cost?
Avoma has five plans, one of which is free. The free plan gives limited recording and transcription capabilities, though those limits aren’t clearly defined. It also provides access to some of the most basic features.
The first paid plan costs $19 per user per month. This includes limited CRM integrations and limited transcriptions, but again the limits are not specified.
The Plus Plan is the first one that offers unlimited transcriptions but it will cost you a hefty $49 per user per month! This also includes an array of more advanced CRM integrations as well as an advanced AI meeting assistant and basic conversational intelligence.
The Business Plan will set you back \$79 per user per month and includes advanced conversational intelligence, pipeline management and CRM updates, and deal risk alerts and intelligence.
Finally, the Enterprise plan is a whopping $149 per user per month. This plan features premium support, quarterly review and training, as well as team-specific onboarding.
All plans are billed annually.
Avoma Pros
- Groundbreaking Notes – Avoma allows you to take notes on both audio calls and video calls!
- Collaboration Features – You can edit notes collaboratively with ease.
- Compatibility – Avoma is compatible with Zoom, Google Meet, MS Teams, Webex and more.
- Integrations – It integrates with all the top CRM platforms, including Salesforce, Pipedrive and HubSpot.
- AI Forecasting Assistant – Avoma’s AI is taking the knowledge from its call recordings and using it to build accurate revenue forecasts, making it a good option for sales-related teams.
Avoma Cons
- Expensive – The paid plans that Avoma offers are a lot pricier than the other Rev alternatives.
- Weak Free Plan – Avoma’s free plan is both weak and unclear. As with others, it will probably be enough to have a little play with the software, but not enough to do anything substantial.
Avoma vs Rev: The Verdict
For the fifth time in a row, Rev comes out on top for those looking for the most accurate transcripts, regardless of the price. If, however, you’re on a budget then Avoma might have the slight edge. Having said that, it doesn’t come close to the value of the other four meeting recorders on this list.
Where Avoma really shines is its sales-oriented use case. Like a cheaper version of Gong.io, Avoma is setting itself up to be the go-to call recorder for sales teams looking to improve their revenue.
Avoma also stands out because of the ability to record and transcribe both audio and video calls. This special feature can be a selling point on its own if you often find yourself wanting transcripts for audio-only calls.
In the end, though, Avoma’s costly plans are what pushes it back. While it excels in a few specific use cases, it doesn’t match the other Rev alternatives when it comes to the everyday transcribing of video calls.
To scout out the Avoma competitors, check out this blog post.
Should You Choose Rev or a Rev Alternative?
It all depends on what you want from your transcription service. As stated already, if your goal is to get the most accurate transcriptions possible without caring about the price, then Rev is a no-brainer.
If, however, you’re looking for the best bang for your buck, then tl;dv is absolutely unstoppable. Its free plan is better than most competitors’ paid plans, and its Pro Plan enables you to make the most of all its high-tech features, including state-of-the-art speaker recognition.
If sales and increased revenue is your goal, Avoma might be an option to consider. While if foreign languages are what you need, then Fireflies and tl;dv will have you covered.
Whatever you opt to go for in the end, it’s worth trying out the free plans of each contender so that you can get a feel for how the software works and whether it will be a good fit for your company.
