I've been frustrated by how expensive and complicated it is to get quality podcast transcriptions. That's exactly why I built Articlu - to make podcast transcription accessible to everyone. In this guide, I'll share everything I've learned about getting podcast transcriptions for free, including why we decided to offer 5 free hours of transcription to every user.
Why You Need Podcast Transcriptions
When we were developing Articlu, we considered some of the many compelling reasons why podcasters like you need transcriptions:
- To make your content accessible to deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences
- To boost your SEO and get more organic traffic
- To repurpose your episodes into blog posts and social media content
- To help international audiences understand your content better
- To create searchable archives of your episodes
The Best Free Transcription Option in 2025
I'll be completely transparent here - while I'm obviously biased as Articlu's founder, I genuinely believe we've created the best free transcription option available. Here's why:
First, we offer 5 free hours of transcription - that's significantly more than any other service out there. We made this decision because we believe creators should be able to try our service properly before making any commitment.
Our free tier includes:
- Professional-grade AI transcription
- Instant summaries of your episodes
- Multiple format support
- No credit card required
Other Free Methods (And Why They Might Not Be Ideal)
YouTube's Auto-Transcription
While YouTube does offer free transcription, the accuracy to be hit-or-miss. You also need to manually format everything, which can take hours.
Google Speech-to-Text
This requires playing your audio in real-time and doesn't handle multiple speakers well. Also, accuracy can be iffy.
Tips for Getting the Best Transcriptions
To have the best success when transcribing:
- Use high-quality audio files (at least 128kbps)
- Record in a quiet environment when possible
- Avoid speaker crosstalk
Why We Built Articlu
No high quality transcription service out there is truly free. That's why we built Articlu with two principles in mind:
- Offer enough free transcription hours for users to properly test the service
- Make the quality so good that users actually want to upgrade
The Bottom Line
While there are several ways to get free podcast transcriptions, most require significant time investment or produce low-quality results. At Articlu, we're proud to offer 5 free hours of professional-grade transcription to help you get started.
