Home › Best tools › Best AI transcription tools for UK small businesses (2026)

Best AI transcription tools for UK small businesses (2026)

If you already pay for Microsoft 365, the best transcription tool is probably one you have: Word's Transcribe feature turns uploaded recordings into text with speakers separated, and Microsoft 365 subscribers get up to 300 minutes of uploaded audio a month. For transcribing conversations as they happen on your phone, Otter's free plan gives 300 minutes a month. Descript is best when the recording is going to become a podcast or video, because you edit the audio by editing the text. Fireflies suits a team that wants every call searchable. This page is about turning recordings into text; for automatic notes from video meetings, see our best meeting notes tools.

Prices checked on each provider's own page; dates are shown. Updated 18 October 2026. Part of our best AI tools for small business UK guide.

Quick picks

• Best if you have Microsoft 365: Word Transcribe. Up to 300 minutes of uploaded audio a month on a Microsoft 365 subscription; .wav, .mp4, .m4a and .mp3 files.
• Best free app for live conversations: Otter. Basic is free: 300 minutes a month, 30 minutes per conversation, 3 file imports in total.
• Best for podcasts and video: Descript. Free plan; Hobbyist $16 a person a month billed annually ($24 monthly).
• Best for a searchable library of team calls: Fireflies. Free plan; Pro $10 per seat a month billed annually ($18 monthly).
• Best free option for video meetings only: Fathom. Free for individuals with unlimited recordings and transcriptions of meetings.

Compared at a glance

How we chose

Small businesses transcribe for different reasons: a site meeting recorded on a phone, a customer interview, a voice note with a list of jobs, a training session, a podcast episode or a disciplinary meeting that needs an accurate record. We compared free allowances, whether you can upload existing files, file formats, speaker labels, UK English support where the provider states it, and price, all checked on the provider's own pages.

The tools in detail

Microsoft Word Transcribe: best if you already have Microsoft 365

Word can record directly or transcribe an audio file you upload. It separates speakers ("Speaker 1", "Speaker 2"), lets you rename them, play back any section from its timestamp at up to 2x speed, correct the text, and add all or part of the transcript to your document. English (United Kingdom) is one of the supported languages.

Microsoft says users with a Microsoft 365 subscription can transcribe up to 300 minutes of uploaded audio a month, and users with a Microsoft Copilot licence up to 30,000 minutes. Supported uploads are .wav, .mp4, .m4a and .mp3. It works in Word for the web (Edge or Chrome) and in Word for Microsoft 365 on Windows for commercial tenants. Recordings are saved to a Transcribed Files folder in OneDrive.

• Good: no extra cost if you have Microsoft 365; UK English; speaker labels; files stay in your OneDrive.
• Watch: 300-minute monthly cap without Copilot; needs Edge or Chrome on the web, or Windows.
• Price: Included with a Microsoft 365 subscription (300 minutes of uploads a month). Checked 18 Oct 2026 (provider's pricing page).

Microsoft Word Transcribe website

Otter: best free app for live conversations

Otter records and transcribes live on your phone or computer, which makes it handy for a site visit, a customer consultation or a planning chat over coffee. It can also join video calls and produce a summary.

Basic is free with 300 transcription minutes a month, a 30-minute limit per conversation, three file imports in total and your 25 most recent conversations. Pro is $16.99 per user a month paying monthly (the annual price was shown as $8.49 a month as an offer for first-time subscribers). Business is $30 per user a month paying monthly, or $24 billed annually.

• Good: easy phone app; live transcript; free minutes every month.
• Watch: only 3 file imports in total on the free plan; 30-minute cap per conversation.
• Price: Free. Pro $16.99 per user a month paying monthly; Business $24 billed annually. Checked 17 Oct 2026 (provider's pricing page).

Otter website

Fireflies: best for a searchable library of team calls

Fireflies joins your Zoom, Teams or Google Meet calls, transcribes them and builds a searchable library, so you can find what a customer agreed three weeks ago. You can also upload recordings.

There is a free plan. Pro is $10 per seat a month billed annually ($18 monthly), Business $19 billed annually ($29 monthly) and Enterprise $39, annual only. Prices are in US dollars. See Otter vs Fireflies.

• Good: searchable call library; integrations with CRMs and project tools.
• Watch: built around meetings more than one-off files; per-seat pricing.
• Price: Free. Pro $10 per seat a month billed annually ($18 monthly). Checked 14 Oct 2026 (provider's pricing page).

Fireflies website

Descript: best for podcasts and video

Descript transcribes your recording and then lets you edit the audio or video by editing the text: delete a sentence and it is cut from the recording. That makes it the natural choice for a business podcast, training videos or customer testimonials.

There is a free plan. Hobbyist is $16 a person a month billed annually ($24 monthly), Creator $24 ($35 monthly) and Business $50 ($65 monthly). Prices are in US dollars.

• Good: edit by text; captions; good for content you will publish.
• Watch: more than you need for a plain transcript.
• Price: Free. Hobbyist $16 a month billed annually ($24 monthly). Checked 17 Oct 2026 (provider's pricing page).

Descript website

Fathom: best free option for video meetings

Fathom records and transcribes Zoom, Google Meet and Teams calls and writes instant summaries. If your recordings are mostly video calls, its free plan for individuals is hard to beat. It isn't built for uploading phone recordings or voice notes.

Free for individuals. Premium is $20 per user a month paying monthly or $16 billed annually. Team plans need at least 2 users.

• Good: generous free plan for meetings; quick summaries.
• Watch: meetings only; team features need paid plans.
• Price: Free for individuals. Premium $16 a month billed annually. Checked 15 Oct 2026 (provider's pricing page).

Fathom website

Ten hours of recordings a month: what fits

Paid-plan minute allowances change often, so check the current allowance against your hours before you subscribe. Prices exclude VAT.

UK rules when you record and transcribe

• Tell people you're recording. A recording of a person is personal data. You need a lawful basis, such as legitimate interests or consent, and you should tell people at the start (ICO).
• Watch what you upload. Customer calls, staff meetings and HR conversations can include sensitive details. Check where the provider stores recordings and whether it uses them to train models; the ICO's AI guidance sets out your duties (ICO).
• Keep the audio for disputes. A transcript can mishear names, numbers and trade terms. For anything that might matter later (a disciplinary meeting, an agreed price), keep the original recording and check the transcript against it.
• Delete on a schedule. Decide how long you keep recordings and delete them after that; Word saves them to your OneDrive, where you can delete them.

Which should you pick?

• You have Microsoft 365 and a few recordings a month: Word Transcribe.
• You want to record conversations on your phone: Otter.
• The recording will become a podcast or video: Descript.
• Your team wants every call searchable: Fireflies.
• It's all video meetings: Fathom, and see best meeting notes tools.

Turn a transcript into something useful

Paste the transcript into ChatGPT, Claude or Copilot and ask:

From this transcript of a site visit, list: 1) the work the customer asked for, 2) measurements and materials mentioned, 3) anything still to confirm, 4) a short summary I can send the customer. Use British English. Do not add anything that isn't in the transcript.

Then check names, numbers and prices against the recording before you send anything. For quotes, see how to write a quote that wins.

Questions

What is the best free transcription software in the UK?

If you have Microsoft 365, Word Transcribe is included with up to 300 minutes of uploaded audio a month. Otherwise, Otter's free plan gives 300 minutes a month for live conversations, though only 3 file imports in total.

Can Word transcribe audio files?

Yes. Word for the web and Word for Microsoft 365 on Windows (commercial tenants) can transcribe uploaded .wav, .mp4, .m4a and .mp3 files, separating speakers. Microsoft 365 subscribers can upload up to 300 minutes a month.

Does AI transcription understand UK accents?

Most tools handle common UK accents reasonably well, and Word lists English (United Kingdom) as a supported language. Strong accents, background noise and trade terms cause errors, so check names, numbers and prices against the recording.

Is it legal to record a conversation for transcription?

A business recording is personal data under UK GDPR, so you need a lawful basis and should tell people you are recording. The ICO's lawful basis guidance explains the options.

What is the difference between transcription and meeting notes tools?

Transcription tools turn any recording into text, including phone recordings and voice notes. Meeting notes tools join video calls and summarise them. Some do both; see our best meeting notes tools page.

Can I transcribe a voice note from WhatsApp?

Yes, once it is in a format the tool accepts. WhatsApp voice notes often save as .opus files, while Word accepts .wav, .mp4, .m4a and .mp3, so convert the file first. Remember the voice note may contain someone else's personal data.

Related

• Best AI tools for small business UK
• Best AI image generators
• Best AI writing tools
• Best AI website chatbots
• Best meeting notes tools
• Otter vs Fireflies
• Otter vs Fathom
• Fireflies vs Fathom
• Otter price
• Descript price

Disclosure: We have applied to the affiliate programmes of fireflies, descript, fathom (pending on 18 october 2026). There are no affiliate links on this page today, and no company paid to be included or to be ranked. If we add an affiliate link later, we'll label it next to the link. See how we make money.