Transcription Cost Calculator
Calculate per-episode and annual transcription costs.
About this calculator
Transcripts have become close to table stakes for podcasts -- they make episodes searchable, accessible to deaf and hard-of-hearing listeners, and reusable as blog posts or show-notes source material -- but the cost adds up differently depending on how you produce them. AI transcription services (Otter, Descript, Rev's automated tier) typically run around $0.10-0.25 per audio minute, using speech-to-text models that need little to no human review for clean studio audio. Human transcription services cost far more -- commonly $1.00-2.00+ per minute (GoTranscript's standard tier starts around $1.02/min, Rev's standard human tier runs $1.99/min, and rush turnaround can push well past $2.00/min) -- because a person is listening to the whole episode and typing or correcting it, which buys meaningfully better accuracy on cross-talk, accents, and technical jargon that still trips up automated tools.
This calculator scales a single per-minute rate across your episode length and monthly publishing cadence to show the real budget line, and separately estimates word count from average speaking rate -- useful for estimating blog-post length or checking a transcription vendor's per-word pricing against their per-minute rate. Podcast speech typically runs somewhat slower than a fast public speaker at around 140-160 words per minute, since podcast hosts pause for effect and interviews include natural back-and-forth, compared to roughly 130-150 wpm for conversational speech generally.
Inputs
Results
Cost per Episode
$11.25
How to Use This Calculator
- Enter your average episode duration in minutes.
- Set the number of episodes you publish per month.
- Enter the transcription cost per minute — AI services run ~$0.10-0.25/min, human services ~$1.00-2.00+/min.
- Set your average speaking rate in words per minute (150 WPM is typical for podcast speech).
- Review Cost per Episode and Monthly Cost to decide whether to include transcription in your budget.
How the result changes with Episode Duration
| Episode Duration | Cost per Episode |
|---|---|
| 23 | $5.75 |
| 34 | $8.50 |
| 68 | $17.00 |
| 113 | $28.25 |
What each input means
- Episode Duration
- Average episode length in minutes.
- Episodes per Month
- Number of episodes published monthly.
- Cost per Minute
- Transcription service rate per audio minute (AI ~$0.10-0.25, human ~$1.00-2.00+).
- Speaking Rate
- Average speaking rate to estimate word count.
How this is calculated
Worked example, using the default values
- Identify Input Parameters4 parametersEpisode Duration = 45, Episodes per Month = 4, Cost per Minute = 0.25, Speaking Rate = 150 = 4 input(s) provided
- Calculate Cost per EpisodeCost per Episode11.25 = $11.25
- Calculate Monthly CostMonthly Cost45 = $45
- Calculate Annual CostAnnual Cost540 = $540
Engine last updated . Checked against 2 independently-derived tests — how we verify calculators. Built by Paul Gunder, a software engineer, not a licensed financial, medical, or legal professional.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is AI transcription so much cheaper than human transcription?
AI transcription runs a speech-to-text model with no human listening time required, so the marginal cost per minute is mostly compute, not labor -- that's why rates commonly sit around $0.10-0.25/min. Human transcription pays someone to listen to the full episode and type or correct it in close to real time, so its cost scales with a person's hourly wage rather than server time, which is why it commonly runs $1.00-2.00+ per minute -- several times the AI rate -- even for a single average-quality audio track.
Should I budget for annual cost or monthly cost when planning transcription?
Monthly Cost is the more useful number for ongoing cash-flow planning, since transcription is typically billed per episode as you publish. Annual Cost is useful for big-picture budgeting or comparing against a bulk/subscription transcription plan, which sometimes offers a lower effective per-minute rate than pay-as-you-go pricing at higher volume.
Why does raising Speaking Rate change Words per Episode but not Cost per Episode?
Speaking Rate only feeds the word-count estimate (Words per Episode and Annual Word Count) -- it has no role in the cost formula, which is purely episode length times the per-minute transcription rate. A faster-talking host produces a longer transcript for the same audio length, but doesn't change what the transcription service actually charges for that length of audio.
How accurate is the word-count estimate for planning blog posts from transcripts?
It's a reasonable ballpark, not an exact count -- actual transcript word count varies with how much cross-talk, filler words, and pause-heavy dialogue the episode has, which a flat words-per-minute rate can't capture. Use it to size the scope of a repurposed blog post or show notes draft, but expect the real transcript to land within a meaningful range of the estimate rather than hitting it exactly.
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