This post may contain affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link. Please see our full affiliate disclosure for further information.
Table of Contents
Best Transcription Jobs
Looking for the best transcription jobs from home? Then you got to definitely check out the transcription companies below that even hire beginners.
If you hate phone-based work from home and got no fixed schedule, then these online transcription jobs for beginners might be the ones for you.
Most of these companies don’t require any experience and they hire worldwide.
You can make anywhere from $500 – $2500 with these remote transcription jobs.
What is transcription?
In a nutshell transcription consists of following steps –
- Listening to audio/video
- Typing exactly what is being spoken
- Labeling the speakers
So
The accurate typing/writing of speech after listening to an audio/video and the accurate labeling of speakers is transcription.
Remote Transcription Jobs Requirements
Like any other job, the transcription job also has certain pre-requisites.
The skills below will go a long way in making you a successful transcriptionist –
- Good Typing Speed – Most transcription companies require that you have a decent typing speed of about 60-80 WPM and a good typing accuracy
- Good Grammar – Your grammar and punctuation should also be good enough. But the good thing is, that all of the companies below got style guides that you can study and learn from.
- High-Speed Internet – You need a decent internet speed. You don’t want your audio/video files stuck while you are transcribing.
- PC/Mac – You need a PC or an MC to listen to audio and transcribe on their platform.
- Good headset – You can’t do without a good headset. The last thing you need is an outside distraction. Get a decent headset from Amazon.
Transcription Pay
Now there are certain concepts that we got to understand before we talk about transcription salary.
- Audio hour – When a transcription company says they pay $30/audio hour it doesn’t mean that they will pay you $30/hour. It just means that for audio of 1 hour, they will pay you $30 once you finish transcribing it. It may take you 2 hours or 3 hours to finish transcribing the whole 1-hour audio.
- Video hour – Same goes for pay per video hour. When a transcription site says that they will pay us $30/video hour, it just means you will be paid $30 to complete transcribing the whole 1-hour video. It doesn’t matter how long it takes you to do it.
So how much do transcribers make exactly?
It varies with experience and the transcription sites you work in.
Most of the beginner transcribers make around $15 per hour while the experienced ones can make anywhere between $25 – $35/hr.
Also depending on the type of transcription that you do, your pay rate would be different.
General transcription doesn’t pay that much but legal and medical transcription pay much more.
Best Transcription Sites
So here are the best transcription sites for beginners –
- Scribie
- Rev
- Transcribe Me
- Casting Words
- Go Transcript
- Speechpad
- Appenscribe
The above transcription companies are discussed below in brief.
1. Scribie
This company hires beginner transcribers from any country that supports PayPal. PayPal is their only method of payment.
So even if you have no experience transcribing before, and your country supports PayPal, you can apply to work with them.
If you want to get started with transcription work from home, and you got no experience, then I highly recommend Scribie.
Scribie Pay Rate
Since they hire anyone without any experience, they don’t pay much compared to other transcribing companies. They pay via PayPal and there is no minimum amount that you have to reach to request for payout. They pay daily.
Their payment ranges from $5 to $25/audio hour. The audio hour is the length of the audio file that you would be transcribing. It is not the time spent working on it.
Most of the files are 6 minutes or less.
You would be transcribing audio calls, discussions, and so on.
How much can you earn?
Their website claims that one can make anywhere from $400 – $1000 per month.
Also, once your application is approved, you can refer anyone and make 2.5% of their income as an affiliate commission. There is no limit to how much you can refer people.
You also get a $5 bonus for every 3 hours completed.
The best part about them is that there is no monthly or daily commitment.
Requirements & Responsibilities
Skills:
- Good communication skills
- Proficient in spoken/written English
- Excellent comprehension of American/British/Australian/Indian accents
Responsibilities:
- Transcribe audio files into text
- Review audio transcripts for accuracy
- Verify that the transcript matches the audio
- Interpret the spoken audio and identify contextual mistakes
- Correctly identify each speaker in the transcript and label them
- Correct spelling, punctuation, and grammatical mistakes in the transcript
Is there a qualification test?
Yes. It is an easy one though that tests your typing speed, grammar, and others.
What people are saying about them?
Pros – Easy hiring process, pays on time, good availability of work.
Cons – Low pay compared to other similar companies, only works for Chrome and Firefox browser, slow hiring process.
Sign up below here –
2. Rev
Rev is a well-known transcription website that hires beginners. You can find legit transcription jobs here.
Unlike the previous company where you can only transcribe audio files, here you can either transcribe audio files, caption videos, be a subtitler or a translator.
Supposing you are a YouTuber right and you need audio captioning for your video. You upload your files to Rev.com and you get the transcribers to transcribe and caption your video.
That job is done by Revvers as they like to call them.
Rev Payment
They pay via PayPal every Monday for the work completed the previous week.
Rev Transcription Salary
If you’re a transcriptionist or a captioner, the rates range from $.40 per audio or video minute to $.75 per audio or video minute.
This works out to be around $8 – $14/hour.
They report their average income to be around $250 with the top earners netting around $1500/month.
But it all depends on how experienced or how fast you type. The faster and more accurate you can type, the more you can earn. If you are a slow typer, you will earn less.
Also as you spend more time with them, you level up, and your pay scale increases.
They got three levels of workers –
Rookie
As a new worker with them, you are known as a rookie. Everyone starts as a rookie obviously.
As a rookie, your pay is 25% less than what revvers (one level up) make.
Rookies have shorter transcription files less than 30 mins in length. They also get detailed feedback on the work submitted.
Revver
Revvers are paid 25% more than rookies and one can get access to a wide variety of works. Your work would be spot-checked with comments applied to it.
People complain of inconsistent grading during spot checks.
Revver+
After 1200 mins of transcription work with a high level of accuracy rating and a high level of formatting accuracy, one is upgraded to revver+.
They get access to better-paying work obviously and are paid higher as well.
Rev Transcription Test
Before you start working with Rev, you need to pass their test.
Rev test consists of the following three components –
- Grammar test.
- English writing conventions.
- Sample audio that you have to transcribe in their in-built Editor.
What people are saying about them?
Pros – work from home, work any time, choose which files work at, choose how long one can work, free training, etc.
Cons – not much support, inconsistent grading, etc
Sign up for Rev.com right here below –
3. Transcribe Me
This transcription site is highly recommended by many reputed websites like Penny Hoarder among others for online transcription work from home.
One can work as a transcriber or a translator here.
If you want medical transcription jobs from home then you got to definitely check out Trancribeme because apart from general transcription, they got medical transcription jobs as well. They also got legal transcription jobs.
Transcribeme Pay
All payments are done once a week via PayPal once you reach a minimum of $20 in your account.
After getting experience as a general transcriptionist, one can advance to more specialist transcription such as medical or legal transcription.
How much can you earn?
They pay $15 per audio hour.
Their website claims that the top-level earners take a little over $2000 per month with an average monthly income of $250.
It takes some time and patience to reach over $2000+ per month.
Transcribeme Test
Just like other transcription sites, you got to pass Transcribeme’s test before working with them.
You will be given access to their Style Guide which you must study before attempting their exam.
Transcribeme test includes –
- English grammar.
- Punctuation.
- TranscribeMe specific questions (style guide).
The first part would consist of multiple-choice questions (or type on the correct response) while the second part would consist of two audio files that you got to transcribe.
If you do not pass the qualification test on your first attempt, you can re-take it one more time after six months again. So ready to put in the effort in your first attempt itself.
What people are saying about them?
Pros – Can work at their own schedule, got their own social network, not too long transcription files, can work as little as you want or as much as you want.
Cons – lack of auto-correction software, low pay in the beginning.
Where to apply?
Right here below –
4 Casting Words
This is another transcription company based in Mexico that hires for freelance transcription jobs.
In this transcription site, you got to –
- transcribe audio and video files.
- improve and edit transcripts.
- determine audio quality.
- grade transcripts and edits.
- approve transcripts and edits.
Transcription files can range anywhere from 2 minutes to 30 minutes long.
Casting Words Payment
Payments are made via PayPal every Friday.
How much can you earn?
Transcribers are paid anywhere from 8.5 cents and a bit over 1$ per audio minute.
Your work would be graded after submission and the pay would depend a lot on it. Here is how grading affects the compensation –
- Rejected work (grade 0-4) is discarded and redone, so it is not paid.
- Work graded 5 gets the base pay amount.
- Work graded 6 gets a total of 1.5 times the base pay amount.
- Work graded 7 gets a total of 2.0 times the base pay amount.
- Work graded 8 gets a total of 2.5 times the base pay amount.
- Work graded 9 gets a total of 3.0 times the base pay amount.
Is there a qualification test?
Yes and no. The company says it depends. Here is an excerpt straight from their website.
When you create an account, you will be asked to provide basic information and fill out a brief bio. Then, some workers are directed to a transcription test, which involves transcribing a short audio file.
The test serves as an introduction to our assignment format, and also allows us to verify that your work is accurate, displays correct English usage and that you have read and understood the style basics outlined in the Quick Start Guide.
If the system does not direct you to the test but sends you directly to your Dashboard, that means you are not required to take the test. In that case, please check your email for your welcome message, which will provide further info and provide links to the Style Guide and other resources.
Please note that whether or not you take the test, you will need to read and understand the full-length Style Guide before working on paying assignments.
What people are saying about them?
Pros – timely payment, responsive support staff, decent audio quality, easy to get started.
Cons – Low pay, inconsistent reviews, hard to access higher-paying jobs, it’s either a feast or famine when it comes to working availability.
Where to sign up?
Right here below –
5. Go Transcript
This is a UK-based company that specializes in audio and video transcription, translation, subtitles, and captioning.
They hire people from all over the world.
Go Transcript is perfect for people looking for entry-level general transcription jobs for beginners.
Go Transcript Payment
Up to $0.60 per audio or video minute. They payout every Friday by PayPal or Payoneer.
If you are looking for transcription companies that pay through Payoneer, then you should definitely consider Go Transcript.
Sign up here for Payoneer (and get $25 once you are paid $1000 into your Payoneer account).
How much can you earn?
They say that one can make anywhere between $150 on average with the top earners taking in about $1215 per month.
After having done sufficient transcription jobs with an average rating of 4.5, one can apply for editor positions that are paid between $12 – $50.
Go Transcript Test
Go Transcript test involves –
- Reading their detailed word doc that contains their style guide.
- 14 style guide questions that you got to clear.
- A 5-minute audio file that you have to transcribe accurately.
What people are saying about them?
Pros – Weekly payouts, work from home anytime, no commitment.
Cons – low audio quality.
Where to sign up?
Right here below-
Want to a free access to a premium General Transcription Course?
6. Speechpad
This California-based company not only hires transcribers, but also captioners and translators.
Speechpad is one of those sites where you get paid to transcribe, caption, and translate.
Payment
They pay via PayPal twice a week, on Tuesday and Friday for works that are approved as of midnight Monday and Friday GMT.
How much can you earn?
For transcription jobs, the pay ranges from $0.25/min for entry-level work to as high as $1.00/min for jobs requiring more experience. Captioning jobs pay between $.30/min and $1.00/min. Review jobs range from $0.20/min for entry-level work, up to $1.00/min for premium captions review.
Is there a qualification test?
Yes.
You need to score above 94 on their basic transcription test and 75 or above on their grammar test.
Once you are through a basic test you get a Speechpad worker account that allows you to sign in to the worker website. Then you got to sign a Confidentiality Qualification. Do this by going to the Qualifications section and clicking Confidentiality in the list of qualifications.
What people are saying about them?
Pros – good pay, good audio quality, and good support.
Cons – one must maintain a consistent score of 94 or above else one gets blocked.
Where to sign up?
Right here below
7. Appenscribe
This is a part of Appen World and is an Australian company. They hire transcribers from around the world.
Appenscribe is one of those companies where you can get transcription jobs that pay through Payoneer.
Payment
They pay every two weeks via PayPal or Payoneer.
Whenever there is an option to get the payment via Payoneer, always go for it as it has lower transaction charges than PayPal.
Sign up for a free Payoneer account (and get $25 once you are paid $1000 into your Payoneer account)
How much can you earn?
Some people report earnings of $5-$10 per hour. Some people report earning as high as $25/hr.
They need an accuracy level of 85 to be paid in full.
Is there a qualification test?
Yes.
Once you register to their website, you need to download their user guide and transcribe two audio files.
As per my research, they are not that tough to transcribe compared to other companies.
What people are saying about them?
Pros – bonuses for great work.
Cons – there can be dry periods sometimes, low pay.
Where to register?
Right here below
My Take On It
Most of these companies hire beginners. Beginner transcribers aren’t paid that much. This is true for all 9-5 jobs right, we don’t get paid much in the beginning but with time and effort, we get a pay hike.
Similarly, if you put in consistent effort working in these 7 companies that hire beginner transcribers, with time and effort, you level up, and then your pay increases.
You get preferred access to higher-paying jobs, can be promoted, and can make more money per hour.
Top earners in these companies make more than $2500+ per month. It will of course take time and effort in the beginning, like in all new jobs, but is well worth the effort.
So go check out those 7 companies that hire beginners for online transcription work from home.
How To Become a Transcriptionist?
There are two ways how you can be a transcriptionist.
- You can sign up for those companies above, study their style guide and appear for the test (which is pretty tough), and start working.
- Or you can sign up for this free mini-course on how to become a transcriptionist and see whether a transcription job from home is what you want to do or not.
Enroll in this FREE MINI-COURSE and see whether this is something you want to do full-time or not.
The free course above is by Janet Shaughnessy – the founder of Trancribe Anywhere.
Transcribe Anywhere is approved by the American Association of Electronic Reporters and Transcribers (AAERT). It is an organization that offers the Certified Electronic Transcriber (CET) examination and certification.
Want an even better deal? Here is free 14 days access to General Transcription Module 1 & 2 worth $127. No credit card required.
The modules are part of Janet’s Trancribe Anywhere course which is approved by American Association of Electronic Reporters and Transcribers (AAERT).
Sign up for free HERE.
Offer valid till 30th March, only.
Related
Get Paid Instantly To Your PayPal account up to $75 for voicing your opinion.
Online Transcription Jobs For Beginners
This article was originally published in 12th March 2019 and overhauled on March 20th, 2020.
great post Sam!
Are all these sites valid for people from anywhere in the world? Thank you.
Hi Igor, most of them are. Please go through them 🙂
Which is better for getting payed as a freelancer in India? – Payoneer, Skrill, or Paypal? Please rank them?
I personally prefer Payoneer. I haven’t used Skrill, so no idea. But hands down Payoneer is the best. Higher exchange rates and lesser fee than PayPal. Sign up and get $25 HERE from Payoneer.