Free options exist, and they are fine for simple jobs
Before paying for anything, know what you already have for free.
The free tools
- YouTube auto-captions: available on many videos, only for videos on YouTube, and quality varies a lot by language.
- Windows Live Captions: built into recent versions of Windows 11, shows captions on screen for any audio, but does not give you a saved document.
- Phone live-caption features: useful on a phone for what it plays, again with limited saving.
- Free tiers of transcription apps: usually capped by minutes per month and need an account.
Where they stop
- No complete, downloadable transcript.
- Limited languages or lower accuracy in some.
- Minute caps that run out in the middle of a long meeting.
Where Pendict fits
When you need a full, downloadable transcript of a long event, in your language, without an account, Pendict does that for €5 per session of up to 4 hours. It is not meant to replace the free tools; it covers what they do not.
| Free tools | Pendict | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | 2 free demos, then €5 per session |
| Downloadable file | Often no | Yes (.txt, .docx) |
| Any website or platform | Depends | Any browser tab with audio |
| Session length | Varies, often capped | Up to 4 hours |
Test it yourself: run the free demos.