What is the average price for outsourcing audio transcription? [Tips for requesting it cheaply]

I want to outsource transcription as cheaply as possible!

It's only natural that anyone would think that way, including you and of course me.

However, if you find a company or individual that is too cheap, you may be a little worried about whether they can do the job properly.

However, if you focus too much on quality and the price ends up being too high, it won't fit your budget.

The difficult part is that it's hard for an amateur to judge this balance.

This is about the going rate.

I can't believe how much money I've wasted, being fooled by such words from cunning companies...

So, this time we will explain the average fees that can be used as a guideline when outsourcing audio transcription .

The article also explains tips to avoid failure when outsourcing transcription , as well as techniques for ordering high-quality transcriptions as cheaply as possible , so if you read this article, you should be able to significantly reduce the risk of paying more than the market rate, like I did.

Please be sure to watch until the end.

Summary of outsourcing prices for audio transcription [by 3 types]

There are three main ways to outsource transcription :

• Automatic transcription by AI (2.5 yen to 40 yen/min)
• Request work from individuals on a crowdsourcing site (6 yen to 200 yen per minute)
• Manual transcription by a professional company (108 yen to 800 yen per minute)

Generally speaking, the prices tend to increase as you go down.

*Some companies charge by the number of characters, but in most cases quotes are given by the hour.

I'll explain each one in detail.

1. Automatic transcription by AI (market price: 2.5 to 40 yen/min)

If you want to obtain transcription data quickly and with as little hassle as possible , we recommend "AI transcription."

AI-based automatic transcription services do not involve human intervention,

• No labor costs and low unit price
• No time wasted on unnecessary communication
• The accuracy is also quite high

The benefits include:

On the other hand, the disadvantages are:

• It transcribes all meaningless words like "um" and "uh."
• May require manual correction after transcription

These are the two examples.

Solutions to these issues are provided later in the article , so be sure to check them out too.

2. Request work from individuals on a crowdsourcing site (Average rate: 6 yen to 200 yen per minute)

If you want the cheapest possible manual transcription , this is the method we recommend.

There are three famous crowdsourcing sites:

• CrowdWorks
• Lancers
• Coconala

If you meet a good contractor (crowdworker), they can do the job with care and speed that you wouldn't expect for the price, so if all goes well, it can be said to be excellent value for money.

However, if the work is done by someone who is not familiar with outsourcing, they may not be able to identify low-quality contractors or may encounter problems during transactions.

In the end, you may end up spending more on pre-test writing, or having to ask someone else to do it, resulting in wasted money...so instead of just leaving it to them, make sure you sit down and sit down and face the other party head-on.

3. Manual transcription by a professional company (price range: 108 yen to 800 yen per minute)

If you don't mind paying a little more and want a high-quality transcription , we recommend this old-fashioned method.

A major advantage of having transcription done by professional writers from a specialized company is that you can be sure of getting results, as mistakes and delays in delivery can affect your company's credibility.

Interviews and other interactions proceed very smoothly, as you would expect from professionals , so communication effort is kept to a minimum.

Generally, professional transcription companies:

• Raw transcription: Transcribing audio word for word (Average price: 240 yen to 700 yen per minute)
• Remove unnecessary words (price range: 108 yen to 700 yen per minute)
• Transcription: Converting spoken words into written words (price: 240 yen to 1000 yen/min)

There are often detailed distinctions in delivery formats, so you can choose the one that best suits your purpose.

On the other hand, there are also disadvantages such as higher fees and many companies only accepting projects of a certain volume .

Prices vary depending on conditions such as the quality of the original audio data and delivery date, and the calculation method differs depending on the company, so if you want to keep costs as low as possible, it is best to get competitive quotes if possible.

[Summary] List of transcription outsourcing prices (by type)

Related articles on outsourcing transcription

This article also explains the various services available for outsourcing transcription.

If you're interested, please take a look!

Comparison of transcription services (AI apps, individuals, businesses) [7 choices from 3 types] | AI transcription service - Mr. Transcription

AI transcription is recommended for beginners

So, which of these three outsourcing methods should you choose?

For those who want to outsource transcription services, the most recommended method is "AI transcription."

The advantages are that it is cheap and takes little time .

In recent years, deep learning has enabled dramatic advances in speech recognition technology, enabling transcription AI to transcribe with extremely high accuracy.

We can handle not only technical terms and proper nouns, but also foreign languages that are difficult for cloud workers and businesses in Japan to handle.

In addition, there are services such as Mr. Transcription that offer free plans , so you can try out the AI transcription performance for free before using it in earnest.

If you are unsure about outsourcing transcription, why not try an AI transcription service such as "Mr. Transcription" first?

Four points to keep in mind when outsourcing transcription

Now that I have a rough idea of the going rate, let's request a transcription service right away!

If you're excited about this, wait a moment.

Even if you choose a decent service at a reasonable price range, there are cases where it doesn't work out for various reasons.

The cause lies with you, not the other person.

Broadly speaking, there are four points you should keep in mind to avoid failure when outsourcing transcription:

• Choose the service that's right for you
• Prepare a glossary
• Specify whether to remove fuzz and tidy up the text.
• Don't haggle too much

We will explain each one in detail.

Choose the service that's right for you

Although they are all called transcription services, each one has its own strengths and weaknesses .

• To transcribe short audio files where quality isn't a big concern, they outsource the transcription to a reputable professional company.
• Data containing confidential information is handed over directly to individuals.
• Attempting to simply transcribe audio data with poor recording quality.

When a mismatch between your goals and the service occurs like this, it not only wastes time and money, but it could also become the source of unnecessary trouble.

*Even when it comes to specialist companies, there are many different types, such as those that boast immediate delivery or those that have expertise in law or other specialized fields.

When outsourcing transcription, be sure to do your homework beforehand and choose the most suitable service.

Prepare a glossary

A common mistake when outsourcing transcription is that the person doing the transcription cannot properly hear (understand) technical terms, proper nouns, or niche phrases used only within the company .

This is only natural, since the other person is a complete outsider.

Therefore, we recommend that you compile words and expressions that are objectively difficult to understand into a "glossary" in advance and submit it along with the requested data.

We understand that you may be hesitant because it seems like a lot of work, but the level of understanding of the other person is directly related to the quality of the entire work.

If you outsource transcription on a regular basis, this is something you will need sooner or later , so don't be lazy and make sure you prepare properly.

Specify whether to remove fuzz and tidy up the text.

I thought I had asked for the fuzz removal to be included, but the product was delivered with only an incomplete finish...

This is something that often happens with individuals.

vice versa,

Although I had requested a rough transcription, they removed some rough edges and tidied up the text...

There have been cases like this.

Some people might consider the latter to be lucky, but depending on how the data is used, it could come across as being unnecessary intrusion .

In order not to waste the other party's consideration, be sure to check the format of the delivery data carefully when making your request.

Don't haggle too much

I want to spend as little money as possible.

We understand how you feel, but being overly concerned with cheapness can lead to "cheap means bad quality" which defeats the purpose.

There is a fair price for everything.

Each service has its own clear reasons for setting its prices, and ignoring these reasons and forcibly lowering prices will inevitably cause problems somewhere.

This kind of "invisible cutting corners" is often hard to notice for the amateur eye.

Unless the price deviates significantly from the range of prices introduced here, it is best to avoid trying to force a price reduction , as you will end up with a satisfactory result.

Must read: Be well prepared.

I outsource it because I want to avoid as much hassle as possible.

However, completely leaving it to others (sending raw audio data without any proper explanation) is strictly prohibited .

In addition to the glossary and delivery format listed above,

• Original audio content and specifications
• How we use your transcription data
• Desired quality
• Presence or absence of time stamp
• Delivery date (preferably in milestone format)

Make sure to provide as much detailed information as possible and organize it in an easy-to-read format.

This kind of advance preparation may seem like a hassle, but considering the unnecessary burden and trouble it can cause later, it can be considered a necessary expense .

As mentioned above, by clarifying your purpose, you will often realize things like, " Hmm, maybe I don't need to hire a professional for this..."

The only trick to ordering audio transcription cheaply

While maintaining a fair market price, we outsource transcriptions of the highest quality as cheaply as possible.

There is actually a way to make this dream come true.

That is,

Combining AI and human power

This is the technique.

As mentioned above, there are two main types of transcription:

• Transcription (verbatim transcription of audio)
• De-cluttering (removing meaningless words)
• Sentence preparation (converting spoken language into written language)

There are three stages in this process, and by outsourcing these to separate places, you can achieve high-quality transcription.

The recommended combination is:

• Transcription: AI
• Removing fraying: Individual
• Refining: High-cost individuals or do it yourself

I will explain each one in detail.

[STEP 1] Transcription: AI

Recent advances in AI have been remarkable, and at the transcription stage, we can achieve a higher quality than would be possible with crowdsourcing.

*In particular, if it is not possible to prepare the "glossary" introduced in the previous section, AI that has built-in dictionary data of specialized terms may be superior.

Of course, compared to transcriptions provided by reputable professional companies, there are some drawbacks in terms of the details, but unless you need data that is accurate to every word, there's no need to go out of your way to choose an expensive service.

It seems that some companies use tools to remove fuzz and transcribe text before formatting, so if this is the case, it will be much cheaper to use AI yourself.

Let's leave all the tasks that AI (machines) are good at and let humans do the work that only humans can do.

For AI transcription, we recommend "Mr. Transcription"

If you are choosing an AI transcription tool for the first time, we recommend "Mr. Transcription."

Mr. Transcription uses the latest AI to transcribe with high accuracy and in a short time.

You can also choose two types of AI:

• PerfectVoice: Multilingual support for 100 languages including Japanese and English
• AmiVoice: Speaker separation function (transcription for each speaker)

Thanks to these features, it can be used in a variety of situations, such as transcribing foreign languages and meetings.

You can use it for free for up to one minute and without registering or logging in , so we recommend that you try out "Mr. Transcription" first.

[STEP 2] Removing fuzz: Individual

If the task simply entails removing meaningless words like "ah" and "um" or correcting typos, it is easy to outsource the work to an individual at low cost, and even on crowdsourcing sites, where the quality can vary widely, a certain degree of quality can be guaranteed.

A good tip is to remove any areas that are unlikely to require de-fuzzing at the rough draft stage , which will reduce the amount of work required and save costs.

When making a request, it is a good idea to approach an individual who regularly receives transcription requests on a crowdsourcing site and ask , "Can you just do the trimming for a cheaper price?"

[STEP 3] Editing: High-priced individuals or do it yourself

It's one thing to simply convert spoken language into written form, but it takes a certain amount of skill to summarize the content in an easy-to-understand way.

For this reason, it is recommended that you clearly separate the drafting task from other tasks and entrust it to an individual who can do the job reliably, even if the unit price is a little higher.

*However, it will still be cheaper than asking a professional to transcribe and edit the text.

If you have the time, we recommend that you do just the editing work yourself .

In some cases, having someone who is familiar with the original audio data and understands the context of the conversation review it can summarize it better than a writing expert.

Become an "outsourcing master" in 3 steps!

By breaking down the tasks you request into smaller tasks in this way, you can keep the total amount low while also being able to select the service that is best suited to each task, so you can expect great quality.

People who are good at outsourcing know the best tools and people for each task and can divide up roles appropriately .

Why don't you also aim to become an "outsourcing master" ?

summary

If you make good use of outsourced transcription services, you can get quality work at a much better cost-effective rate than if you did it yourself.

Outsourcing is costly...

Even if you have been hesitant in this way, if you compare the effort and time required to transcribe it yourself with the quality of the final result, you will surely realize that you are making an invisible loss.

Use the time you free up by outsourcing to focus on more important tasks that only you can do.

The method of combining AI and human power introduced at the end of the article is an extremely useful technique that can be applied to things other than transcription, so make sure you become adept at using it.

For an AI transcription service, we recommend trying Mr. Transcription.

■ 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.

It is "Mr. Transcription" who can easily transcribe from audio, video, and images. Transcription allows you to transcribe for up to 10 minutes for free. You can copy, download, search, delete, etc. the transcribed text. You can also create subtitle files, which is ideal for transcription of interview videos.

HP: mojiokoshi3.com
Email: mojiokoshi3.com@gmail.com