Plainscribe

PlainScribe is an AI transcription and translation service built around pay-as-you-go pricing. Instead of a monthly subscription with minute caps that reset, you top up prepaid credits only when you have something to transcribe. It handles audio and video in 47 languages and adds AI summaries, speaker labels, timestamps and subtitle exports.

How it works

1. Upload: drop an audio or video file into the dashboard.
2. Process: the AI transcribes the file, labelling speakers and adding timestamps.
3. Export: download the result as TXT, or as SRT or VTT subtitle files.

Translation lets you turn a transcript into another supported language, and AI summaries give you a quick overview of long recordings.

Key features

• Transcription in 47 languages.
• Speaker labels and timestamps.
• AI-generated summaries.
• Subtitles in SRT and VTT formats.
• Translation of transcripts.
• Automatic deletion of transcripts after 30 days for privacy.
• No subscription, nothing to cancel.

Pricing

PlainScribe uses a credit balance that you can top up by any amount. One credit transcribes one hour of audio. Your first transcript is free for files up to two hours long, with no credit card required. Because credits are prepaid and there is no plan to cancel, you only pay when you use the service. See the pricing page for the current price per credit.

Why pay-as-you-go matters

Many transcription services charge a monthly fee that includes a fixed number of minutes. That suits heavy users, but people who transcribe occasionally end up paying for unused time. PlainScribe targets those irregular users: freelance journalists with a few interviews a month, students with a handful of lectures, or small businesses that occasionally need meeting notes.

Use cases

Researchers can transcribe interviews as projects come up. Podcasters can generate transcripts and subtitles for occasional episodes. Students can turn recorded lectures into searchable notes. Video creators can export subtitle files for uploads. Teams can document infrequent meetings without another subscription.

Things to consider

As with any automated transcription, accuracy depends on recording quality, accents and crosstalk, so proofread important transcripts. Because transcripts are deleted after 30 days, download anything you want to keep.

Who it is for

PlainScribe is for occasional and irregular users who want accurate, multilingual transcription without committing to a monthly plan.