Transcription Service Costs: AI vs. Outsourcing Prices
June 8, 2025


The cost of transcription varies significantly depending on the service used, the transcription method, and the turnaround time.
In this article, we'll delve into the pricing of recommended transcription methods, including outsourcing to professional transcribers, crowdworkers, and AI transcription services!
For affordable and fast transcription, AI transcription services are highly recommended!
If you need to transcribe audio from meetings, interviews, or video production, why not use this article to find the perfect method for you?
Recommended Affordable Services for Low-Cost, Fast Transcription
When transcribing audio or video, cost is often a major concern, right?
For those looking for high-quality transcription at a low price, there's an excellent affordable service just for you!
It's called "Mojiokoshi-san".
"Mojiokoshi-san" is an AI transcription service that uses the latest AI for highly accurate and fast transcription.
Amazingly, "Mojiokoshi-san" is free for up to 3 minutes!
Even the paid plans are incredibly affordable!
You can transcribe for as little as 25 yen per hour, which is an extremely low price!
What's more, "Mojiokoshi-san" can convert even long audio files into text in just 10 minutes!
Outsourcing typically requires waiting several days at the fastest, making this service perfect for business use where speed is critical.
Why not try "Mojiokoshi-san" for affordable and fast transcription?
What is the Average Cost of Transcription? [Easy-to-Understand Explanation of Per-Hour Rates]

Let's immediately break down the average cost of transcription in an easy-to-understand way!
[How much per hour?] Average Transcription Costs
When outsourcing transcription, the price is generally determined by the duration of the audio.
Especially when outsourcing to a professional agency or a crowdworker, where a transcriber listens to the audio, the cost is often based on the length of the audio file.
With AI transcription services, the amount of transcription time available is determined by your monthly plan.
>Comparing Average Costs Per Hour
When comparing the average cost of transcribing one hour of audio...
AI Transcription Service (Mojiokoshisan) | 25 yen per hour |
Outsourcing Company | 12,000 yen per hour |
Crowdworker | 6,000 yen per hour |
As you can see, AI transcription services offer significantly lower prices for transcription!
By using an AI transcription service, you can convert audio to text at a very affordable rate.
It's worth noting that when requesting services from outsourcing companies or crowdworkers, an advance quote is often required.
In contrast, AI transcription services have pre-determined pricing, so you can transcribe immediately without quotes or meetings whenever you need it. This is a key advantage.
If you're looking for cheap transcription services, AI transcription is highly recommended!
Average Transcription (Tape Transcription) Costs by Turnaround Time
Furthermore, when requesting services from outsourcing companies or crowdworkers, the price also varies depending on the turnaround time.
For outsourcing companies and crowdworkers, a turnaround time of about 2-3 days is typical.
If you need transcription faster than that, the shorter the turnaround time, the higher the cost.
It takes a considerable amount of time for transcribers to listen to audio files and transcribe them.
Therefore, for short turnaround times like next-day or same-day completion, additional express fees of several thousand to tens of thousands of yen or more will be incurred.
If you want affordable transcription at a low price, the turnaround time will typically be 1 week to 10 days or more.
For example, comparing the cost of express transcription for one hour of audio...
AI Transcription Service (Mojiokoshisan) | 0 yen |
Outsourcing Company | 30,000–40,000 yen |
Crowdworker | 10,000–20,000 yen |
As shown, very high additional fees are required in addition to the standard transcription cost.
In contrast, with AI transcription services, transcription is performed by computers, not humans, so no additional fees are necessary.
In fact, since it can transcribe in just 10 minutes, the standard plan is always express delivery!
- Looking for low-cost, fast-turnaround transcription methods
- Need transcribed text on the same day
- Want affordable transcription
In such cases, using an AI transcription service for transcription (tape transcription) is highly recommended!
Transcription (Tape Transcription) Costs for Highly Specialized Fields
The cost of transcription (tape transcription) also varies depending on the content of the audio or video file.
Particular attention should be paid to cases involving highly specialized fields such as medicine, law, or politics.
The vocabulary used differs from standard transcription, and transcribers require very high capabilities. Therefore, when requesting services from outsourcing companies or crowdworkers, the price will be higher.
AI Transcription Service (Mojiokoshisan) | Same |
Outsourcing Company | 1.5–2 times |
Crowdworker | 1.5–2 times |
Thus, when requesting services from outsourcing companies or crowdworkers, the cost is 1
special rates, typically 1.5 to 2 times the standard price.
On the other hand, AI transcription services charge the same price for transcription regardless of the audio or video content.
A key advantage is that the performance of the latest AI speech recognition technology is rapidly improving, allowing it to handle specialized terminology without issues.
Since no extra charges are required, you can transcribe specialized audio at a low and affordable price.
If you need to transcribe audio or video files with a lot of technical jargon at a low cost, AI transcription services are the optimal choice.
'Mojiokoshi-san': Recommended Low-Cost, High-Performance AI Transcription Service
For low-cost transcription of audio or video files, 'Mojiokoshi-san' is highly recommended!
'Mojiokoshi-san' is an AI transcription service that uses two types of the latest AI for low-cost, fast, and highly accurate transcription.
With its high-performance AI speech recognition engine, you can transcribe text files in just 10 minutes.
The two types of AI offer:
- PerfectVoice: Ultra-fast transcription for long files in 10 minutes, supports 100 languages.
- AmiVoice: Can transcribe per speaker, fast transcription in about the same time as the audio file length.
These features make it suitable for challenging audio files, such as those requiring extremely short deadlines for event or wedding video production, or meetings with many speakers, as it can handle highly complex audio files!
1/400th the Price of Outsourcing!
What's more, 'Mojiokoshi-san' offers transcription at a much lower cost than outsourcing to agencies or cloud workers.
The price is incredibly low at just 25 yen per hour!
Since the market rate for outsourcing is around 12,000-13,000 yen per hour, you can transcribe at an ultra-low price of 1/400th!
Furthermore, 'Mojiokoshi-san' offers up to 3 minutes for free!
You can experience the performance of the latest AI without registration or login, so why not try 'Mojiokoshi-san' for free first?
Tips for Accurate and High-Precision Transcription
When transcribing, accuracy is as important as a low price!
Here are some tips for accurately transcribing audio content without errors.
1. Choose an AI Transcription Service with a High-Performance Speech Recognition Engine
When using an AI transcription service, besides the low price, it's crucial to check if it uses the latest high-performance speech recognition engine.
AI technology is advancing rapidly.
Speech recognition performance can improve dramatically in just one month, so it's recommended to choose a high-quality AI transcription service that constantly updates to the latest AI versions.
Also, a key point is to choose an AI transcription service that allows you to use multiple speech recognition engines.
This way, you can switch AI engines based on their strengths, allowing you to transcribe each audio file with the best AI!
For example, the AI transcription service 'Mojiokoshi-san' allows you to use two types of AI engines: "PerfectVoice" and "AmiVoice"!
Another important aspect is that high-performance speech recognition engines can handle fields requiring advanced vocabulary, such as medicine and law.
If you're using an AI transcription service, make sure it uses the latest AI.
it's recommended to choose a service that aligns with your specific needs.
2. If Outsourcing, Plan Meetings Meticulously
When requesting transcription (or tape transcription) from an outsourcing company or a freelancer, it's crucial to have a thorough meeting before starting the work.
Unlike AI transcription services, where a writer types text while listening to audio, it's necessary to share information about the audio in advance.
Especially important are technical terms.
By communicating industry-specific jargon or proper nouns—words that are not commonly used—to the outsourcing company or freelancer, you can ensure smoother transcription.
While it takes effort, creating a glossary of terms is ideal.
Also, it's important to decide in advance how to handle unintelligible sections.
Additional meetings not only waste time that could be used for core tasks but also contribute to longer delivery times.
If there are too many additional instructions, extra charges may be incurred in addition to the original price.
By putting in a little extra effort, you can prevent rework and ultimately achieve transcription at a lower overall cost.
When outsourcing, it's highly recommended to conduct thorough preliminary meetings.
3. Checking Transcription Results is Also Important
Whether you use an AI transcription service or outsource to a vendor or freelancer, you should carefully review the transcribed text.
Regardless of the purpose—meeting minutes, interview articles, or video subtitles—it's very important to personally check for any errors.
Especially when outsourcing to a vendor or freelancer, thoroughly check whether the content specified in the meeting has been reflected.
The need to check the results yourself after transcription is the same whether you use an AI transcription service or outsource to a vendor or freelancer.
The time spent on checking is roughly the same in both cases, so if you want to transcribe text quickly and affordably at a low cost, an AI transcription service that can transcribe (tape transcribe) in just 10 minutes is highly recommended.
■ AI transcription service "Mr. Transscription"
"Mr. Transcription" is an online transcription tool that can be used from zero initial cost and 1,000 yen per month (* free version available).
- Supports more than 20 file formats such as audio, video, and images
- Can be used from both PC and smartphone
- Supports technical terms such as medical care, IT, and long-term care
- Supports creation of subtitle files and speaker separation
- Supports transcription in approximately 100 languages including English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, German, French, Italian, etc.
To use it, just upload the audio file from the site. Transcription text is available in seconds to tens of minutes.
You can use it for free if you transcribe it for up to 10 minutes, so please try it once.
Email: mojiokoshi3.com@gmail.com
Transcription for audio / video / image transcription. It is a transcription service that anyone can use for free without installation.
- What is Mr. Transcription?
- Transcript images, sounds, and videos with Mr. Transcription
- Free registration
- Rate plan
- manual