What Are The Best Closed Captioning Services? (December 2024)
As a YouTuber with over 5000+ minutes of captioned videos, I've used numerous captioning services over the years. In this guide, I'm laying down all of the best captioning services for 2024 that help you create transcripts or timed captions from your source media.
There are also some free captioning services listed below too! I'm including both automated and manual captioning services in this guide.
Below are my favourites!
SUMMARY: BEST 3 CAPTIONING SERVICES FOR 2024
#1 Recomended Captioning Service for YouTube
- Base Price: $1.00/min
- Turnaround: <24 Hours
- Extra Fees: NO
- Rush Service: YES
- ($10 coupon for your first order using this link)
#2 GoTranscript
A solid Rev Alternatiive
- Base Price: $1.30/min
- Turnaround: 5 days
- Extra Fees: YES
- Rush Service: YES
#3 Scribie
A Solid Captioning choice
- Base Price: $1.30/min
- Turnaround: 36 hours
- Extra Fees: YES
- Rush Service: YES
*Base price reflects the cost per minute of video for timed captions.
VERDICT
As of December 2024,  Rev currently ranks #1 as the best captioning service for YouTube. It is the fastest and most reliable. I’ve been using Rev for over 7 years. Having captioned over 5000 minutes of video, I am in a good position to recommend them. Rev dominates their competitors for many reasons, but their strongest suit is their price, speed, and accuracy. GoTranscript and Scribie are alternatives to Rev that work well if you want to try something different. I’ve used both but still prefer Rev.
FULL CAPTIONING SERVICES REVIEWS
1. Rev
The best overall captioning service for any audio or video to text.
PROS and CONS
As a Rev customer for over 6 years, I can confidently say that Rev is the best captioning service for YouTube. Having captioned over 300+ videos and 5000+ minutes of footage, I can vouch for the accuracy of the work on Rev and for the speed and affordability. There simply is no better option. Rev offers excellent transcription, captions, and subtitle services to fulfill your needs.
Whether you’re captioning videos for YouTube or adding captions to videos for clients, Rev has the fastest and most affordable service on the market.
Helps you grow on YouTube. Growing a YouTube channel takes a lot of work. I get it. Especially in the beginning. One way to give yourself an edge is to add captions to your videos. This has a positive impact on watch time, which in turn can get you more views through the YouTube algorithm.
Fast. Adding captions to your videos manually is way too much work. You have to write out each line of spoken dialogue and manually time the text using a captioning software. I’ve done it many times in the beginning before I knew of Rev. And luckily, Rev is both fast and affordable at only $1.00 per minute of video and it usually only takes a couple hours for the captions to be completed! For YouTubers like myself under a tight timeline, this is a lifesaver.
Affordable: Rev is the most affordable captioning service on the market, at only $1.00 per minute. Adding captions to a 10 minute video only costs 10 bucks!
Accurate: Even with prices this low, Rev is incredibly accurate. They hire only the best transcribers to finish your captions. After placing your order, you also have the option of noting any difficult words or names for the transcriber. For me this is usually food names or terms in different languages.
Flexibility: Before placing your order, you have the option of directly uploading your file, or providing a URL. I love the direct connection to YouTube feature!
2. GoTranscript
My second choice for adding captions and subtitles to my videos.
Although the pricing is a little on the higher end for captioning, I’ve been happy with the accuracy and level of service.
PROS and CONS
I’ve been very happy with my orders from GoTranscript. Even with the premium pricing, it is a caption service I can highly recommend. I only wish it had direct YouTube integration so that I wouldn’t have to upload the caption file to YouTube after the work is finished. Other than this, I can generally recommend GoTranscript, even while I still prefer Rev.
3. Scribie
Another solid captioning service.
PROS and CONS
Scribie is a great transcription service that I’ve used a few times over the years. Their prices aren’t as competitive as Rev, but the quality is still top notch and I enjoy the additional features like the integrated editor. It’s still an overall great transcription service that I can recommend. If you’re willing to try automatic captions, you can use their service of only $0.10 per minute!
WHAT ARE THE BEST FREE CAPTIONING SERVICES?
A common workaround for using a paid transcription service is to use automatic transcription. Automatic transcription is MUCH faster and sometimes free too!
With little background noise, clear speakers, and minimal accents, automatic transcription is sometimes just as accurate as manual. These are my favourite free (or nearly free) transcription and caption services below:
1. Rev Automatic Transcription
Rev is currently offering FREE automatic transcription or caption services for the first 45 minutes of video or audio!
And after you’ve used your 45 minutes of free captioning, Rev only charges $0.10 per minute! To me that’s as good as free!
2. Temi
An accurate and fast automatic caption service.
Temi also offers 45 minutes of free transcription for first time users. I’ve used them a couple times and can vouch for their service, although sometimes the accuracy is a little low.
The only thing that’s missing is the option to switch to manual transcription if you find that the automatic accuracy wasn’t up to your expectations. It’s still a good option if you want to get some free captions.
Thanks for reading! I’m constantly updating this article as new services come available!
I hope you enjoyed my comprehensive captioning services guide. If you find one of these not up to your expectations, please leave me a comment down below and I will update the reviews. I hope this guide is useful for you as you add captions and transcriptions to your videos!
Disclaimer: Some of the links on this page are affiliate links, which means that I will receive a small commission if you purchase from one of my recommendations (at no extra cost to you). In fact, for many of these, I’ve found exclusive deals that will save you money!
