Prices & FAQ

Our base rate is very straightforward and transparent: $115/hour of taped recording transcribed for ONE or TWO voices (one main active interviewer) and reasonably intelligible sound quality.

These include IDs of speakers. That is our default verbatim style, with filler words with no meaning (such as ahs and ums) not transcribed.

However, to correct AI-generated transcripts, our charge is $30 per hour of labor. So far, it has been more cost and time effective to start AI-generated transcripts from scratch.

For many short files (for example, 37 total files adding up to 50 minutes), the charge is $138/hour of recording transcribed for one on ones. That is because of the extra time involved managing many tiny files.

Focus groups (of more than TWO voices, including more than one active interviewer) cost $165/hour of recording. That is with IDing participants by gender, male (M) or female (F) or they/them (T). That option is best for when you just need to know what is said, not exactly who said it. OR the focus-group rate is $185.00 for one hour of taped recording with as exact participant IDs as possible.

As a new option, responding to client feedback, we’re introducing a new “in-between” soft group rate of recordings that fall between a simple one-on-one and more complex focus group, for $138/hour of recording transcribed. This is for when you have three or more voices, but a third person hardly speaks. Or the subjects talk sequentially (interviewer interviews subject one exclusively for ten minutes, interviewer interviews subject two for ten minutes, etc) — not with the “free for all” of a more time-consuming true focus group.

Our minimum order is $50 for English-only non-rush jobs, and $75 for English-only rush jobs, and $100 for any jobs involving Spanish or French translation/transcription.

Ask also for our rate per hour of labor in correcting the work of a cheaper transcription service you have tried in the past, a common request we get. :)

Note:

This charge is PER HOUR OF RECORDING transcribed, not per hour of our labor! (With the exception of being hired to correct AI-generated transcripts at $30/hour)
We pro-rate our charges to the second of digital recording, and to the minute of analog tape recordings. This way you pay for only the transcription work you receive.
After you fill out our order form, we can provide you the most exact estimate possible, based on questions we ask about the complexity of the job.
Discounts for large and/or ongoing orders, non-profits, and students on request.
We count a file as a group with one respondent if there are more than one active interviewers.
Orders from outside of North America may be subject to different rates.

What's Included in the Base Rate:

E-mailing transcripts as Word attachments to an unlimited number of addresses.
Free uploading of digital sound files through our secure FTP site HERE.

ADD-ONS TO BASE RATE:

Absolute-verbatim style, or every single utterance transcribed, even filler words like ah and um.
Poor voice intelligibility that requires numerous playbacks and sound enhancements.
Same-day, overnight, or weekend service.
Fed-Ex or similar express delivery service charges.
Time coding added very frequently (more than every minute).
Closed-captioning format.
Large numbers of very short digital sound files (such as 60 one-minute files) transcribed (price for one-on-ones is $138/hour of recording transcribed).
Transcription from Spanish to Spanish.
TRANSLATION from Spanish into English, or English into Spanish. French also available.
Micro-cassettes or standard-size audio cassette tapes, instead of digital audio you can upload.

WHAT IS YOUR GENERAL TURNAROUND TIME?

Two to four business days for four hours of recording or fewer.
Up to five business days for additional hours of recording.

WHAT DOES SPANISH TRANSCRIPTION COST?

When Spanish or French translation is involved — to English or from English – we typically charge about three to four times the rate per hour of recording as English-to-English transcription (which is generally $115 per hour of recording). Transcribing Spanish to Spanish, or French to French, with no translation involved, costs close to or about double of what we charge for English-to-English transcription. Major variables in cost are regional accents, background noise, and density of speech.

Our minimum order with Spanish or French translation is $100. So that would be the cost if you give us, say, 10 minutes to translate from English to Spanish, or the reverse.

There are several reasons why Spanish costs so much more than English, including: the use of more specialized (and highly paid) transcriptionists, the extra time in formatting (such as with accents) required by the Spanish language, and the slower pace of work of Spanish transcriptionists, who do not do this work full-time like most of the our strictly English ones. We also do not cut corners, using very experienced and educated translators — and delivering as premium of a product for Spanish as we do for English recordings.

DO YOU PROVIDE TRANSCRIPTION IN LANGUAGES OTHER THAN SPANISH and FRENCH?

Yes! We are most experienced with Spanish and French, but now are happy to offer the translation services of another high-quality Chicago-area company, specializing in translation. With their assistance, we can now provide seamless transcription into about every other language, including German, Chinese and Arabic. For languages other than Spanish, please inquire with Paula about rates and availability.

WHEN AND HOW DO I PAY?

Basically any way possible: We accept checks, all major credit cards, PayPal, Chase QuickPay/Zelle. Venmo and cold, hard cash. You can go here to our payment page to choose credit card payment or PayPal. You can also use Zelle by logging on to your own account and emailing the payment to transcriptprofessionals[at]gmail.com. Or Venmo to #Paula-Kamen

Payment from corporations and institutions is due within two weeks after completion of assignment.

Partial payment from individuals (typically a deposit of 50 percent) is expected before delivery of the transcriptions.

DOES TRANSCRIBING VIDEO AND AUDIO COST THE SAME? AND DO YOU STILL ACCEPT CASSETTE TAPES?

Yes. But there may be an extra charge for cassette tapes, especially micro-cassettes, which tend to have poorer sound. And we often have to make mp3s out of them for swifter transcription.

DO YOU TYPE TEXT OUT FROM A PAGE, SUCH AS FROM A PDF DOCUMENT OR NOTEPAD?

Yes, we type 5-10 pages per hour, at a rate of $30 to $40/hour.

DO YOU PROVIDE EDITING OR PROOFREADING?

Yes, at an average charge of $30-40 per hour.