oTranscribe
by Elliot Bentley
Free browser-based manual transcription tool — keyboard-shortcut transcript editor.
Looking at oTranscribe? Try this first.
Drop your audio. Transcript in seconds. First transcript free, then $4 = 300 min
TL;DR
Best for journalists, researchers, and students transcribing interviews by hand with keyboard playback control. Pricing: free.
Category
Open source
License
MIT
Stars
★ 1.2k
Last push
2026-07-25
Pricing
free
Platforms
Web
What it is
oTranscribe is a free, open-source web app for manual transcription — you control playback with keyboard shortcuts while typing. Beloved in journalism and qualitative research.
Best for: Journalists, researchers, and students transcribing interviews by hand with keyboard playback control.
Watch out for: Manual transcription only — no AI transcription.
Watch out for: Manual transcription only — no AI transcription.
Install / use
otranscribe.com — free, open source
Features
| Speaker diarization | No |
| Word-level timestamps | No |
| Streaming / real-time | No |
| Languages supported | 1 |
| HIPAA eligible | No |
Links
oTranscribe vs Whipscribe
| Feature | oTranscribe | Whipscribe |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Open source | Transcription APIs |
| Pricing | free | $4–$24 one-time packs (credits never expire) · $2 single unlock · 60 min free on signup |
| Speaker diarization | — | Yes |
| Word timestamps | — | Yes |
| Streaming | — | No |
| Languages | 1 | 99 |
| Platforms | Web | Web, API, MCP |
Alternatives to oTranscribe
Whipscribe is a managed faster-whisper + whisperX service. If you want transcripts without running infrastructure, paste a URL or drop a file in the form below — you'll have a transcript in seconds.