Best Transcription Jobs in 2023 [Rated by 8 Different Categories]

What do the best transcription jobs have in common?

Depending on your goals for your transcription career, the answer will change. Some of us want reliable full-time work. Others want flexible scheduling. And we all want better pay! 😉

So instead of making one big generic list of “the best transcription jobs,” I’ve broken this post down into eight mini lists, each one representing a different perk of working for the companies listed under that category.

The categories are:

• Companies with positive reviews from remote transcription staff
• Most flexible transcription jobs (no production minimums or quotas)
• Best transcription jobs for beginners
• Transcription companies that hire worldwide or outside of the U.S.
• Best-paying transcription jobs
• Transcription jobs with steady work
• Transcription jobs that pay weekly or daily
• Transcription companies that let you use Microsoft Word (for transcriptionists who use Dragon to echo dictate due to a repetitive stress injury)

Some of the companies in this list fall under more than one of the above categories. All of them are general and legal transcription companies (not medical) that hire freelance transcriptionists to work from home.

If you’re specifically interested in part-time online work, make sure to browse this list of the top part-time work-at-home job opportunities available today.

This post may contain affiliate links. See my disclosure for more info.

What you’ll need to transcribe from home

To work for many of the companies in this list, you’ll need the following equipment:

• Professional transcription software like Express Scribe, which you can get for free here.
• A transcription foot pedal. I use the Infinity USB pedal, which is compatible with most of the software that transcription companies use.
• A recent version of Microsoft Word. I subscribe to Microsoft Office 365, which always has the most recent version of MS Word. It also lets you save your docs to the cloud so you don’t lose your transcripts if your computer crashes. You can subscribe on an annual or monthly basis.
• Headphones designed for transcribing low-quality audio, such as the Spectra or the WordMaster transcription headsets.

If you purchase a transcription bundle like this one, you can save on pro software, a foot pedal, and headphones.

To apply for most online transcription jobs, you’ll need to take a grammar and/or transcription test. Other companies require a cover letter and resume listing your transcription training or experience. If you’re interested in taking a course in general or legal transcription, I recommend Transcribe Anywhere’s online training, which is approved by AAERT.

Now here they are – the best transcription jobs in eight different categories!

Transcription companies with the best reviews from remote staff

In this category, I’ve included companies that generally receive positive feedback from transcriptionists on Glassdoor, Indeed, and elsewhere around the web.

3PlayMedia
Allegis Transcription
Audio Transcription Center
Automatic Sync Technologies (AST)
Brown & Meyers
Cambridge Transcriptions
Capital Reporting Company
Daily Transcription
eScribers
Landmark Associates, Inc.
Neal R. Gross & Co., Inc. (NRGCO)
Pioneer Transcription Services
Take Note Typing
Tigerfish
Verbal Ink
Way With Words

Most flexible transcription jobs (no production minimums or quotas)

While most transcription companies offer at least some degree of flexibility in scheduling, the companies in this list are the best of the best in terms of giving you complete control over your schedule: They let you work as much or as little as you want, whenever you want.

3PlayMedia
CastingWords
Crowdsurf
GoTranscript
Net Transcripts
OneSpace
Quicktate/iDictate
Rev
Speechpad
Take Note Typing
Transcribe.com
TranscribeMe
Way With Words

The following companies also appear quite flexible in terms of workload, but I was unable to verify whether they have a minimum production requirement:

Ai-Media
Audio Transcription Center
Automatic Sync Technologies (AST)
Averbach Transcription
Daily Transcription
eScribers
eWord Solutions
E-Typist
GMR Transcription
Kendall Creek Communications
Landmark Associates, Inc.
Pioneer Transcription Services
Production Transcripts
Scribie
Tigerfish
Verbal Ink

As far as I can tell, the following companies use a “transcription pool” type of workflow where you can log in when you’re available and claim jobs from a queue. (This automated workflow is most common in larger companies, but a few smaller transcription services have this kind of setup as well.)

3PlayMedia
Ai-Media
Allegis Transcription
CastingWords
Crowdsurf
Done It Now
E-Typist
GoTranscript
Net Transcripts
Pioneer Transcription Services
Quicktate/iDictate
Rev
Scribie
Speechpad
Transcribe.com
TranscribeMe

Best transcription jobs for beginners

Don’t have transcription training or experience? The companies in this list are open to hiring beginners. Many of them are larger companies that hire worldwide and offer steady work and plenty of flexibility. A few of them pay daily or weekly via PayPal. The downside is that since the companies in this list don’t require experience, some of them are lower paying.

3PlayMedia
Appen
Babbletype
CastingWords
CrowdSurf
Done It Now
GMR Transcription
GoTranscript
OneSpace
Quicktate/iDictate
Rev
Scribie
Take Note Typing
Tigerfish
Transcribe.com
TranscribeMe
TranscriptionWing
Way With Words

The following companies may also be open to hiring beginners, since they require applicants to complete a skills test:

Averbach Transcription
Dictate Express
MagiScript
National Capitol Contracting (NCC)
Terescription
Transcription Express, Inc. (TEI)

Transcription companies that hire worldwide or outside of the U.S.

The following companies offer online transcription jobs worldwide, internationally, or in places other than the United States. If you’re Canadian, also check out my post of transcription companies that hire Canadians, which includes many companies I haven’t listed here.

CastingWords
Crowdsurf
Daily Transcription – hires in U.S. and Canada – will consider international candidates for subtitling/captioning and translation
Done It Now – hires internationally (see countries listed on the application form)
eTranscription Solutions – hires in U.S., possibly elsewhere
GoTranscript
Landmark Associates, Inc. – hires in U.S. and Canada, unknown if they hire elsewhere
MagiScript – hires in U.S. and Canada, unknown if they hire elsewhere
National Capitol Contracting (NCC) – possibly hires internationally (the application form includes a dropdown list where you can select your country)
Net Transcripts – hires in U.S. and Canada
OneSpace
Opal Transcription Services – hires in U.S. and Canada
OutSec
Quicktate/iDictate
Rev
Scribie
SpeakWrite – hires in U.S. and Canada
Speechpad
Take Note Typing
TranscribeMe
TranscriptionWing
Verbal Ink – hires in U.S. and Canada
Way With Words

Best-paying transcription jobs

Many of the companies below pay $1 per audio minute or more. Most of them require experience or training. For more info about these companies, see my post on high-paying transcription gigs.

Aberdeen Broadcast Services
Allegis Transcription
Alpha Dog Transcriptions
Audio Transcription Center
Automatic Sync Technologies (AST)
Averbach Transcription
Cambridge Transcriptions
Capital Reporting Company
eScribers
Neal R. Gross & Co., Inc. (NRGCO)
Opal Transcription Services
Pioneer Transcription Services
Production Transcripts
Purple Shark
Rogers Word Service
Transcription Professionals
UK Transcription

Transcription jobs with steady work

Many transcription companies only have part-time or sporadic work available.  If you want to make transcription your full-time job, maximize your job search time by first applying to companies that are known to offer steady work. You can always tack on additional smaller contracts after you land a couple bigger fish.

Allegis Transcription
Athreon
Automatic Sync Technologies (AST)
Daily Transcription
eScribers
GMR Transcription
Net Transcripts
Rev
SpeakWrite
Speechpad
Take Note Typing
Transcribe.com
TranscribeMe
Way With Words

Transcription jobs that pay weekly or daily

Want your money faster? These transcription companies pay out weekly or daily, most of them via PayPal.

Allegis Transcription – pays weekly by direct deposit
Athreon – pays weekly via PayPal
Audio Transcription Center – pays weekly
CastingWords – pays weekly via PayPal
Daily Transcription – pays weekly by check
eScribers – pays weekly
GoTranscript – pays weekly via PayPal
OneSpace – pays daily via PayPal
Quicktate/iDictate – pays weekly via PayPal
Rev – pays weekly via PayPal
Scribie – pays daily via PayPal
Speechpad – pays every Tuesday and Friday via PayPal
Transcribe.com – pays daily via PayPal
TranscribeMe – pays via PayPal and you can request payout at any time

Transcription companies that let you use Microsoft Word

This category may seem random, but I included it for those of us who rely on voice recognition software because of repetitive stress injuries or other physical disabilities. As someone who gets hand and wrist pain from even small amounts of typing, I echo-dictate all my transcripts with Dragon, which works with Microsoft Word. This lets me type pain-free and also boosts my productivity. As far as I’m aware, the following companies don’t use any weird software platforms or proprietary transcription editors that are incompatible with Dragon.

Allegis Transcription
Automatic Sync Technologies (AST)
Audio Transcription Center
Averbach Transcription
CyberDictate
Dictate Express
eScribers
Kendall Creek Communications
Landmark Associates, Inc.
Opal Transcription Services
Pioneer Transcription Services
Preferred Transcriptions
Take Note Typing
Verbal Ink

Your turn

I hope you find these lists of the best transcription companies useful in your search for rewarding work-from-home contracts.

Make sure to check out the other posts in my “transcription jobs” series:

• TRANSCRIPTION COMPANIES MEGA LIST
• Transcription jobs that pay $1 per audio minute and up
• Transcription jobs that don’t require experience
• Transcription companies that hire Canadians

Do you have any suggestions for this list of the best transcription companies? Leave your tip below – and don’t forget to share this post!