How Much Do Interview Transcription Services Cost?

The need to capture details during an interview and to write it down accurately will always be a cumbersome process for many professionals. Traditionally, reporters, journalists, researchers, writers, and recruiters have been manually writing down notes from their conversations with interviewees. However, interviewers are not always well equipped to keep up with taking enough notes during interviews which frequently results in some details being left out.

In time, many people recognized the efficiency of using a recording device where you can instead listen to playbacks of recorded conversations rather than revisit unreliable notes. Unfortunately, this meant having to rewind or fast forward the recorded audio over and over again until you get all the important details from the conversation. The sheer amount of time and energy put into this particular task of going over your notes and audio recordings can slow down the pace of the project on hand and can certainly be put to better use.  

Thankfully, the digital age paved the way for a more accurate and efficient means of documenting recorded interviews - by transcription. Transcribed interviews enable you to read, better organize, and archive the necessary information for later use. On average, a one-hour interview takes about five or more hours to manually transcribe - longer for inexperienced individuals. With the help of interview transcription services, you can quickly get a readable document of your interview that then allows you to easily search for specific keywords or terminologies.  You can skim and scan a text document much faster than stream or listen to audio material. It significantly increases your efficiency and can save you hours of work better spent on other aspects of the project. Last but not least, transcribed content also makes any recorded material easily accessible to hard-of-hearing individuals. 

How much should I pay for interview transcription services? 

The industry standard can range from $1.30 to around $3.50 per recorded minute and most services charge extra for markers, speaker labelling, or difficulty. Generally, the cost of interview transcription services varies depending on the turnaround time of the project, its add-ons, and other factors based on content or recording challenges. 

TranscriptionWing offers affordable and flexible rates that can cater to your specific needs. Economy pricing starts at $1.29 per minute with a turnaround time of five business days. If you need the transcribed document in two days’ time, you can opt for the regular option, priced at $1.49/minute. If you want faster turnaround options, you can choose one-day delivery (next business day) at $1.99/minute, or 9 AM delivery (next business morning) at $2.99/minute. Last but not least, TranscriptionWing also has a rush option: at $3.99 per recorded minute, you can get your transcriptions in as quick as 4 hours! 

Typically, in addition to the initial package that varies per turnaround time, many interview transcription services charge for add-ons that can be helpful depending on the raw audio file sent by the client for transcription. These include:

• Accents

This includes foreign accents, street slang, and ESL speakers.

• Audio challenges

This refers to muffled, distorted, or echoing audio, background noise, feedback issues, or other technical problems. It can also refer to speakers who are whispering, mumbling, stuttering, or if they are standing far from the microphone.

• Additional parties 

Open to transcribing for five or more additional parties in an audio file. 

• Timestamps

Timestamps can be added to your document ranging from every 1 to 5 minutes.

• Speaker Labelling/KnowWho

You can use names to identify the speakers instead of the generic male or female labels.

• Video Captioning 

The time-synchronized text representation of audio on a video file. It also includes any sound that may not be visually discernible but is essential to the video. 

Useful Features that Can Supercharge Your Interview Transcriptions for Free

TranscriptionWing has a couple of features such as Easy Upload. It allows you to upload as much as 10 audio files at a time through your account.  At no additional cost, TranscriptionWing can transcribe your interview using your preferred custom transcription format or template - all you have to do is provide the team instructions. 

The inclusion of timestamps also makes it easier for you to pinpoint where particular details are at in the audio file. If you feel like there’s a need to specifically identify the speakers rather than sticking to the generic male or female identification, that is also possible. 

ListenLink is also another unique feature considered the first of its kind in the transcription services market. This nifty feature allows you to insert audio links to your transcripts. Unintelligible or inaudible segments of the recording are inserted as a link enclosed in a bracket so you can listen directly to that portion of the audio file. 

Every transcription request is worked on by a team of highly-skilled transcribers and dedicated proofreaders to ensure that everything is as accurate as can be. Whether you need your transcript in 5 days or within the same day, an interview transcription service can always get it to you before the deadline. 

Lastly, TranscriptionWing offers convenient delivery of your files - you can either have them delivered via email, via an FTP site or simply stored in your secured online account.