A freelance transcriptionist ‘s job is to convert audio or video into text at the request of a client. This is typically a service that requires time, concentration, good spelling, good listening skills, and a lot of patience. Therefore, properly pricing audio-to-text transcription services is very important if you want to be successful in this field of freelance work.
Learning how to set your rates for transcribing text from audio is essential in this business, as it’s not actually as simple as it may seem at first.
First of all:
This is a service that is charged per minute of transcribed text, and the price per minute depends on several factors. On the other hand, there are methods and tools that can help you make this work more cost-effective.
In this article we will explain how to set your rates and how much to charge for transcribing audio to text per minute. We’ll also give you some advice on what tools and methods can help you in this task.
The types of audio or video that clients typically seek to transcribe include recordings of classes, lectures, interviews, testimonials, videos that require subtitles, and more.
Why would anyone hire transcription services when there is software that transcribes?
One of the reasons clients want to hire audio-to-text transcription services is because artificial intelligence or transcription software isn’t always accurate. Neither with punctuation nor with words. Simply put, when it comes to verbal communication, artificial intelligence is far from achieving what the human brain can do.
Especially if the service is provided in Spanish or a language other than English, the options are often more limited and imprecise.
Software is still unable to distinguish filler words, errors, and repetitions in the audio being transcribed. It’s also unable to summarize if a word-for-word transcription isn’t desired. Furthermore, if the speaker speaks too quickly or has poor diction, the result will be a text that doesn’t make much sense.
This is why clients require transcription services, especially when it comes to important projects. And that is the role of the freelance transcriber: to deliver well-done, logical, well-punctuated, and high-quality work.
Aspects to evaluate when establishing your rates for text transcription
Beyond charging per minute of transcription, you need to consider a few things, such as:
- Type of transcription
- Audio quality
- Speaker’s speech rate
- Number of interlocutors
- Accent or region
- Topics addressed
- Number of audios to transcribe
- Help tools
You can set different rates based on these factors. This means you can start with a basic rate, establishing standard quality requirements for the text. Then, you can specify which factors will increase the price or under what conditions the basic rate no longer applies.
What types of transcription exist?
This refers to the accuracy of the transcription depending on the purpose for which it will be used. It can be identified in several types.
Literal transcription:
This is the type of transcription in which everything heard is translated into text without summarizing or omitting any words. This often also includes repeated cut words, filler words, doubts, brief interruptions from other speakers, substantive comments, and more. This is the type of transcription requested in testimonials, trials, and other such requests.
Verbatim transcription is usually more expensive because it takes longer. It also sometimes requires context indicators. For example, indicating who the voice belongs to, if any words are unintelligible, etc.
Natural transcription:
This is most frequently requested and includes texts in a natural way, but omitting irrelevant information such as interrupted words, interrupting speakers whose contribution is not part of the message, and others.
Edited transcript:
This is where the text is edited and formalized to improve readability and facilitate understanding. Grammatical and verbal errors are corrected, incomprehensible jargon is edited, and portions that don’t contribute to the central message are omitted. Grammatical corrections are also made. Repeated words, filler words, and other excerpts are often omitted. This type of transcription is highly sought after for forums or class recordings. It can also be useful for media publications of verbal interviews.
This type of transcription removes pauses, general noise, and any irrelevant words or sounds. It requires judgment, attention, and additional proofreading and editing.
There are other types of transcription, such as phonetic transcription, but this is a much more advanced area that requires knowledge of linguistics and the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). It can also be linked to other areas, such as translation. Therefore, we won’t delve into it here.
Audio quality
This refers to the clarity with which the speaker’s message is heard. Obviously, if the recording is made up close, by a person who speaks without interruptions or clearly and at a medium speed, it will be much easier to transcribe what the audio says.
On the other hand, if there is background noise or frequent interruptions from other speakers, if it is taken from a location far from the speaker or the sound source, it will be more difficult to hear clearly and therefore more difficult to transcribe.
Speaker’s speech rate
This is another factor to consider, as each person’s speaking speed varies. It’s a good idea to take random sections of the audio and check how many words the speaker says within a given time.
It is not the same if you have to transcribe 120 or 125 words per minute of audio as it is if you have to transcribe 180 or 190.
This is the average range in which people usually speak and is not that important when speaking, but it makes a big difference when transcribing what is said.
Depending on the estimated words per minute, the rate may be higher. You can randomly sample a minute from the middle of the recording and try transcribing it. If you don’t have the opportunity to do so, ask the client if the speaker in the audio speaks quickly or slowly.
The client usually has no problem answering these questions. If they tell you they’re speaking quite quickly, be prepared for the work to require more effort. You’ll have to listen more carefully, and it will take longer to transcribe each minute.
Number of interlocutors
This aspect should be taken into account when it comes to classes or interviews, since, generally, a class involves interaction between speakers. This is quite different when it comes to a presentation or instructional video. Or, for example, if it’s a transcription of a video for a YouTube channel, where there’s only one speaker.
On the other hand, in a class there are usually more interlocutors than in an interview, but their interventions may occur less frequently than in the latter.
In any case, when there is an exchange of speakers, you will surely have to indicate it in the text, whether or not the name of the person is specified.
Therefore, when there is usually more than one interlocutor, the rate can increase from 5 to 10 cents per minute of audio.
Accent or region
Accent or region can be important depending on the geographical distance, as well as the speaker’s clarity or neutrality in speaking.
For example, if you live in Mexico and are transcribing audio in Spanish ( Spain ), you may need to pay more attention to the words. Sometimes you’ll need to listen twice or slow down to fully understand the audio.
You should also look up some references on the internet for terms that you don’t know how to spell well.
On the other hand, accents within the same country tend to vary by geographic region, which can make understanding difficult if the person is from a rural area or an area full of localisms.
This is, therefore, another factor that can cause the rate per minute to increase.
– Find freelance projects in Mexico
– Find freelance projects in Spain
Topics covered and terminology
In addition, transcription can be difficult if the audio covers a more technical or academic topic. It can also be difficult if it contains elements from another language, such as Anglicisms, excessive slang , professional jargon, frequent use of acronyms, among others.
For simple projects, you can leave the basic rate as it is. However, for more complex projects, you’ll need to increase the price, as you’ll need to pay more attention to the work and it will likely require more effort on your part.
Amount of audio to transcribe
When the audio is very long, the client will likely want you to consider the price based on the volume of work, and you certainly can. But it’s better to apply a fixed discount to the final price than to reduce the per-minute rate based on the length of the audio.
For example, if you’ve set a rate of $1.75 per minute and the audio is 6 hours (360 minutes), this will give you a total value of $630. It’s better to tell the client you’ll do all the work for $600 than, say, reducing your rate to $1.50 per minute, which would net you $540. That’s significantly less money.
The customer will appreciate your consideration, but the discount will be smaller in the first case. And that’s what the discount should really be about: consideration for the volume of work and not to lower your fees or what the work is really worth.
Help tools
This refers to what resources you’ll need to transcribe audio. Many have probably made the mistake of thinking it’s just a matter of “listening and putting in what you hear,” singing and sewing…
But in reality, sometimes you may receive audio files in formats you don’t have a program to play, and you’ll need to convert them before you start working. If the audio is very long, the conversion tool probably isn’t free, or you’ll have to split the audio into sections, which will mean extra work.
On the other hand, if the delivery time is very tight, but the audio is quite clear, you may want to use an automatic transcriptionist and then correct the generated text. These tools are rarely free, and I can expect a cost from $0.10 to $1.00 or more per minute. Depending on the tool you need to use, you’ll have an extra cost. Keep this in mind when setting the per-minute rate for your client.
For example, if your established rate is $2.00 but you need a tool of this type, and the cost is $0.10 per minute, you’ll need to change your rate by adding this amount per minute. Never omit this cost.
How much should I charge per minute for transcription?
Generally, a text transcription can start at around $1.75 per minute for a single speaker in your regional language and with natural transcription. From there, you can add additional amounts for each factor or element of difficulty. The price for a highly difficult transcription can even be around $3.50 or more.
You can start by setting a base rate and specifying, based on the factors previously discussed, how much money will be recharged per minute with each additional difficulty.
Example:
Basic text:
- 1 speaker
- 125 to 130 words per minute
- Spanish (regional)
- Clear audio
- Non-technical topic
- Natural transcription
$1.75 per minute
+ 1 speaker or interlocutor: $0.05 extra per minute
+ Spanish outside of X region: $0.05 extra per minute
+ Literal transcription: $0.10 extra per minute
Final rate: $1.95 per minute
After detailing this breakdown, multiply the rate by the total minutes to be transcribed. If you wish, you can add the discount amount afterward.
Example: $1.95 x 360 minutes (6 hours) = $702
Before setting your delivery time, review the words per minute test you took and see how long it takes you to transcribe a single minute. Keep in mind that sometimes you’ll need to rewind more than once to listen to the audio again.
Also consider the hours you’ll have available to complete the work. Having the day off isn’t the same as doing it in the evening after your regular work or classes, for example.
Also, keep in mind the delivery time to charge the client an extra charge for urgency, as is normal for any freelance job.
Make any adjustments you consider necessary to your rates, and as we always recommend, review them regularly.
How can I work as a transcriber?
Now that you know what factors to consider when setting your per-minute rates, let’s look at some final tips that will help make your transcription work easier.
Find a quiet and peaceful place
Although it may seem obvious, the first thing to keep in mind is to be in a quiet place where you’re at low risk of being interrupted while working. Eliminate factors such as pets, background music, the noise of children playing, and sounds from the street, among others.
Comfortable seat and correct posture
Try to find a place with plenty of natural light and a comfortable sitting position. After a couple of hours of sitting transcribing, you’ll be grateful for an ergonomic chair and a stable posture.
Good quality hearing aids
This is a key technical factor for any freelancer who works in text transcription. Have working headphones that clearly hear the message. The headphone cable and plug must be in excellent condition to avoid noise in your listening experience.
There’s no need to invest in expensive equipment. Mid-range headphones will work well if you take care of them and work in a quiet place, as we mentioned previously.
Function to quickly rewind or advance seconds
Choose an audio player that allows you to easily skip forward or backward a few seconds. This will be very useful when you need to listen to something again if you couldn’t quite hear it, or if you need to get up for a moment and then pick up where you left off. This is much easier than manually dragging and much more precise.
The Windows 11 Music Player has this feature, but there are sure to be many other options on the market.
Reduce speed without reducing pitch
This is a feature that can be useful when the speaker speaks very clearly and is close to the recording source.
Windows AutoPlay, VLC Player, and others have this feature.
It can be useful if you have already written a paragraph, but you want to listen to it again, but more slowly because you are unsure of something or at the time of the final revision.
Two windows on the same screen function
This feature will be particularly useful if you need to search the internet for technical terms. You can have your text documents on the left and your search engine on the right to find the information you need. Although it may seem insignificant, you’ll save a lot of time by not having to switch windows by minimizing. This is a way to get work done faster and with less effort.
Pause and play functions on your keyboard
Just like the dual-window feature, having a keyboard from which you can pause or play without having to resort to a trackpad or mouse will save you a lot of time when moving forward with work.
If you don’t have these functions on your keyboard, one tool that can help is oTranscribe. You can upload your audio file and use the escape key to pause or play while you type, which the tool will display. You can then export it in notepad format (.txt) or copy and paste it into your word processor.
What automatic transcription programs or applications are there?
When the text is too long and you have a short deadline, but the audio is clear, you can use a transcription tool so you don’t have to start from scratch, but rather have a baseline to work from. There are several solutions on the market for this type of need.
While they are not 100% accurate, as you will have to listen to the text from the beginning, correcting misspelled words or punctuation, you will appreciate the time you will save by having this step beforehand when the audio is long or you have many files to transcribe.
Some of these solutions are tools like Amberscript, Happy Transcribe, and Gglot. They work by uploading the audio to the site, clicking Convert, waiting a few minutes, and downloading it as a text document.
Keep in mind that these tools are paid. Also, remember that these types of tools are not usually as accurate, especially in Spanish. Therefore, a thorough review will always be necessary; the advantage is that you can do it faster than if you start from scratch.
Word Spelling and Grammar Checker
Once you have the transcribed text, you can use the spelling and grammar checker in Word, or whatever word processor you use, to check if you have made any unintentional mistakes.
Also, if it’s an edited transcript, you can use these recommendations to improve the grammar after you’ve personally reviewed it.
Very important: Your word processor’s automatic review process does not exempt you from manual review, which you must do if you want to deliver good work.
Where can I find work as an audio-to-text transcriber?
As you’ve seen, freelance transcription work requires concentration, quality, and knowledge of the tools used. It’s also a job that takes time and requires taking into account technicalities that at first glance seem irrelevant but end up complicating the job. Therefore, setting your rates as a professional transcriber is something you must do very carefully so that the work and effort are worthwhile.
Find transcription jobs in our projects section and submit your offer by registering for free as a freelancer now at SoyFreelancer.com.
Author: Patricia Gutierrez, content writer for Soyfreelancer.com
