Google Transcription: 6 Handy Tools That Do It for Free

Key takeaways:

• Google offers several transcription tools.
• For meetings, Google Meet’s transcription tool is a good option (with a paid plan).
• For on-the-go voice-to-text, try Google Keep or Google Live Transcribe.
• For full recordings, Google Speech-to-Text API could work, but it requires some technical knowledge.
• If you're looking for an alternative for transcribing recorded or live video quickly, accurately, and easily, try Riverside.

Looking to transcribe virtual meetings, webinars, videos, or just turn audio notes to text? Google makes it easy with its transcription tools. 

Here we’ll take a look at six of the most useful Google transcription tools, how to use them, and which one might be the right one for your project. 

Let’s do this!

Google transcription: 6 tools to try

Google offers a number of handy transcription tools. Let’s break down each one of them, first:

How to transcribe with Google Meet transcription

Price: Included in Google Workspace Plans starting at $14/month.
Best for: Recording virtual meetings

Google meet offers transcription, but only on paid Google Workspace plans. If your team is using it already,  this could be a cost-effective option. 

Here’s how to use Google Meet transcription to transcribe your next meeting:

Step1: Open Google Meet on your computer or laptop (transcription isn’t available on mobile). Join or initiate your meeting.

Step 2: Click on the “Activities” icon (looks like a triangle, square, and circle) at the bottom right corner of your screen. Select Transcripts > Start Transcription > Start to enable transcription.

Step 3: During your meeting, the “Transcripts” icon will appear at the top-left corner, to confirm that transcription is active. Run your meeting as usual.

Step 4: End your meeting by clicking “Leave Call.” An email with a link to the transcript (saved as a Google Doc) will be sent to the meeting organizer, co-hosts, and the person who started the transcription.

Pros

• Easy to set up and use: Once enabled, transcription runs automatically in the background.
• Multilingual support: Supports 8 languages (English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish) with good accuracy.
• AI-powered summaries: For eligible Workspace plans, Gemini AI can generate meeting summaries and suggest action items, enhancing post-meeting follow-ups.
• Integration with Google Workspace: Transcripts are automatically saved as Google Docs and linked to the corresponding Calendar event for easy access and sharing.

Cons

• Limited availability: Only available on desktop to specific Google Workspace plans.
• Accuracy issues: May struggle with heavy accents, overlapping speech, or technical jargon.
• Storage limitations: Transcripts are stored in Google Drive and count toward your storage quota.‍
• No speaker identification: Doesn’t distinguish between speakers, making it difficult to identify who said what in multi-person meetings.

Tip: The clearer your recording, the more accurate your transcript. Riverside records in studio quality without letting your internet connection affect resolution. You get up to 99% accurate transcriptions with speaker labels, and you can use your transcript to edit your recording.

How to transcribe with Google Docs Voice Typing

Price: Free

Best for: Dictation or single-speaker transcription

Transcribing speech to text is easy with Google Docs’ Voice Typing feature. Google Docs’s built-in voice to text feature is free, versatile, and easy to use. Note that his functionality is only supported in Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, or Safari browsers. 

Here’s how to use Google Docs Voice Typing:

Step 1: Navigate to Google Docs and open or create a new document.

Step 2: In the menu bar, click “Tools” then “Voice Typing.”

Step 3: Click the dropdown to select your language.

Step 4: Click the “Microphone” icon to start transcribing. It will turn red to show that it’s recording. Speak clearly or play a recording into your device’s microphone. Your words will appear in real-time in the document.

Step 5: Voice typing requires commands for punctuation. You can add these by saying “period,” “comma,” “question mark,” etc. Note that punctuation commands are supported only in selected languages.

Step 6: When you’re done, click the red “Microphone” and review your transcript. You can edit your transcript just like any other Google Doc.

Pros

• Free and easy to use: Simple and straightforward to use, requiring minimal setup.
• Supports more than 100 languages: Use Google’s Voice Typing to transcribe an extensive list of languages and dialects.
• Real-time transcription: Transcribes as you speak, allowing you to create an instant transcript.
• Edit with voice commands: Use voice commands like “select next paragraph” or “bold” to edit, format, and navigate your doc.

Cons

• Browser limitations: Works best on Chrome, may suffer from minor issues in other browsers.
• No speaker identification: Provides no context regarding who said what, making it better suited for transcribing a single voice.
• Limited voice commands in non-English languages: Punctuation and editing commands mostly work in English. Transcription is also less accurate in non-English languages.

How to transcribe with Google Keep Transcription

Price: Free

Best for: Transcribing on the go

If you need to capture a quick thought or idea on the fly, Google Keep offers a convenient voice-to-text feature to dictate notes that are instantly transcribed into text. Useful while multitasking, it’s best for notes since it isn’t sophisticated enough to capture a full conversation. 

Here’s how to use Google Keep Transcription:

Step 1: Open the Google Keep app on your Android or iOS device. Tap the “+” icon to start a new note.

Step 2: Select “Audio” and begin speaking to transcribe your text in real time.

Step 3: Your note will save automatically when you stop speaking. It will also sync across all devices linked to your Google account, so you’ll be able to access your transcript from anywhere.

Pros

• Free and mobile-friendly: Google Keep is free and works on both Android and iOS devices.
• Real-time transcription: Instantly converts speech into text as you talk.
• Audio backup: Keeps a copy of the original audio alongside the text, providing a reference for accuracy.
• Integration with Google Docs: Easily export notes to Google Docs for more extensive editing or formatting.

Cons

• Variable accuracy: Not the smartest transcriber in town. If there is any background noise, transcript quality will suffer.
• Mobile only: Voice transcription is available only on the mobile app, not on the web version of Google Keep.
• Difficult to capture longer notes: Automatically turns on when you speak and off when you stop. Any pauses in speech (even normal ones) will automatically cut off your transcript.

Read: How to Transcribe a Voice Memo to Text‍

How to transcribe with Google Live Transcribe

Price: Free

Best for: Making conversations more accessible

Google Live Transcribe is a free accessibility app developed by Google for Android devices. It uses your phone’s microphone to provide real-time speech-to-text transcription on screen. It’s especially helpful for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. 

Here’s how to use Google Live Transcribe:

Step 1: Download the Live Transcribe app from the Google Play Store.

Step 2: Open the app, and grant it permission to use your microphone when prompted.

Step 3: Tap the gear icon to access settings. Here you can select a primary and secondary language, adjust text size, and opt to save transcription history for up to 3 days.

Step 4: Speak normally into your phone’s microphone. Live transcribe will instantly display the spoken words as text on the screen.

Step 4: To save the transcript, select and copy the text to paste it into another document, such as Google Docs.

Pros

• Accurate and easy: This app is dead easy to use and it accurately transcribes text with proper grammar.
• Accessibility features: Set the phone to vibrate when certain words (like your name) are  spoken, or when speech resumes.
• Multi-language support: Supports more than 80 languages and dialects and allows switching between two languages mid-conversation.
• Transcribe offline: Can be used offline in some languages (like English), making it great for travel or spotty connections.

Cons

• No speaker identification: Can’t identify or differentiate between speakers.
• Limited save options: Transcriptions are only saved for a maximum of 3 days, and there’s no option to separate conversations into files. 
• No built-in export or syncing: To save your transcript, you need to manually cut and paste it into another file.
• ‍Android only: Only available for Android 5.0+ devices.

How to transcribe with Google Recorder App

Price: Free

Best for: Interviews, meetings, note-taking

The Google Recorder App is a powerful voice recording and real-time transcription tool, but it’s only available on Google Pixel phones (Pixel 2 and newer). It automatically transcribes audio in real time, allows search through speech, and works completely offline. 

Here’s how to use the Google Recorder App:

Step 1: Open the Recorder app on your Pixel phone (it comes pre-installed).

Step 2: Tap the red button to start recording.

Step 3: Speak clearly into the phone. You’ll see your words transcribed in real time on the screen.

Step 4: Tap the “Stop” button to pause the recording. Use “Resume” to continue, or “Save” to stop and save your transcript.

Step 5: Tap on the saved recording. Use the Search bar in the top right of your screen to find keywords in your transcript. You can also use text-based editing to edit your transcript and recording by clicking the “Scissors” icon.

Step 6. If you want to share the transcript, tap the “Share” icon. You can share the full audio (.m4a) or  the text transcript.

Step 7: To copy the transcript to Google Docs, tap the three dots in the top right of your screen and select “Copy Transcript to Google Docs.”

Pros

• Accurate transcription: Pixel’s built-in noise reduction ensures a high-quality recording and accurate transcript.
• Search function: Instantly find words or phrases in the transcript.
• Edit transcripts and audio: Edit transcripts and trim audio directly from the app.
• Offline functionality: Works without internet, so you can record and transcribe from anywhere. 

Cons

• Pixel phone-only: Available exclusively on Pixel phones.
• Limited language support: Currently supports English only.
• No multi-speaker labeling: Doesn’t identify or separate speakers.
• No direct integration with meeting platforms: You can’t record Zoom or Meet calls natively through the app (though you can record speaker output using your phone.)

Pro tip: Want the same features (and more) on any device? With Riverside’s mobile app you can record in high-quality from anywhere, get AI-powered transcripts with up to 99% accuracy, and you'll find all your files synced to your desktop, ready to edit fast.

How to transcribe with Google Speech-to-Text API

Price: Free for up to 60 minutes of transcription per month

Best for: Transcribing recordings (no live support)

Google Cloud Speech-to-Text API is Google’s developer-focused service for speech-to-text transcription. It is one of the most powerful and scalable options out there for both real-time and pre-recorded audio transcription. However, it’s quite technical and you need to be comfortable with a bit of setup to make it work. 

Here’s how to do use Google Cloud Speech-to-Text API:

Step 1: Go to Google Cloud Console. Click “Select a Project” then “New project.” Name your project a name, then click “Create.”

Step 2: Use the search bar to search for and go to "Google Text-to-Speech API".

Step 3: Click “Create Transcription.”

Step 4: Follow the instructions to create a Google Cloud Workspace.You might need set up billing for usage beyond the free tier.

Step 5: Select whether to save your file locally (on your computer) or in the cloud, then upload your audio file from your computer. Wait for your file to upload, then click “Continue.”

Step 6: Once your transcription is complete, you’ll find it under “Transcriptions” in the left-hand menu. Click on the file name to see and download your transcript.

Pros

• High accuracy: Google’s AI supports 125+ languages and is very accurate if the audio is clean and in high quality.
• Flexible file support: Works with pre-recorded audio in WAV, FLAC, MP3 and more.
• Customizable for developers: You can add features like keyword boosting, timestamping, or real-time transcription. Easily integrated into larger automation workflows or apps.

Cons

• Technical setup: You need to create a Google Cloud project, enable billing, and manage service account keys.
• No built-in UI: There’s no dashboard or transcript viewer unless you build one or export the results manually.
• Takes time: An hour-long transcript takes several minutes to transcribe.
• ‍Not completely free: After your 60 free minutes are up, you need to pay $0.006 per 15 seconds of translation.

FAQs about Google transcription

Is Google transcription free?

Yes, most Google transcription tools are free to use, but their functionality is limited. For example, Google Docs Voice Typing and Google Keep don’t go beyond single-speaker dictation or quick notes. 

If you’re looking for up to 99% accurate transcripts with speaker identification, try Riverside. You can record or upload audio and get a downloadable transcript that you can use to search and edit your videos like a document.

How do you convert a Google Doc to audio?

The easiest way is using a Chrome extension like"Text to Speech Google Docs." With it you can select text in your document and have it read aloud using customizable voices and speeds. Simply install the extension, highlight the text you want to convert in your doc, and click the extension icon to start the audio.

Can Google translate audio to text?

Google Cloud’s Speech-to-Text API can be combined with the Translate API to transcribe audio and then translate it. However, this solution does require technical knowledge and developer-level setup to implement.