Overview

Scribewave is an online AI transcription service that converts audio and video files into editable text, subtitles and translations. It emphasizes confidentiality and GDPR compliance, and is aimed at professionals who need transcripts quickly without sending recordings to a human typist. A free account lets you try the service.

How it works

Upload: Scribewave accepts almost every common audio and video format, including MP3, WAV, M4A and MP4. Files can be as large as 5 GB and as long as 5 hours, and you can upload several files at once.
Transcribe: the AI speech-to-text engine processes the file; the site says transcripts are typically ready in under three minutes.
Edit: a built-in editor plays the media while highlighting the matching text, so you can correct errors and check speaker turns.

Key features

Transcription in 99 languages and dialects, including English, Spanish, French, German and Dutch.
Speaker recognition on every plan.
Translation of transcripts into 99 languages.
Export as text documents or as subtitle files.
Batch uploads and support for long recordings.
A privacy-focused approach with GDPR compliance.

Use cases

Researchers can transcribe interviews and focus groups. Journalists can turn recorded conversations into quotable text. Video producers can create subtitle files for social media and YouTube. Businesses can document meetings and webinars, and translate them for international teams. The company estimates that automatic transcription saves around three hours of work for every hour of recorded content.

Pricing

You can buy transcription hours as you need them on a pay-as-you-go basis, with no monthly commitment, or choose a monthly subscription that can be cancelled anytime. There are separate offerings for individuals and for teams and organizations. Every plan includes speaker recognition, translation and export to any format. See the pricing page for the current hourly and monthly rates.

Limitations

Automatic transcripts still need review, particularly for poor audio, heavy accents, overlapping speakers or technical terms. The editor is designed to make that review quicker.

Who it is for

Scribewave suits researchers, journalists, podcasters, students and organizations in Europe or elsewhere that care about data protection and want fast, multilingual transcription with flexible pricing.