AI video to text tools are platforms that enable you to easily convert a video into a text file, as simple as that. These handy tools work for a wide variety of purposes including in academic research, teaching, journalism, and many more.
In my upcoming book on AI in Academic Research, I discuss in detail how these tools can function as valuable data collection tools allowing researchers to easily transcribe video interviews and videoconferences for analysis. If you rely on video for research, AI transcription can save you hours of manual work.
Do You Really Need a Dedicated Transcription Tool?
If you’re conducting video interviews using Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, or Zoom, you might already have built-in transcription features at your disposal. These platforms offer basic transcriptions, but they lack advanced features like speaker attribution, in-depth insights, and note-taking capabilities.
Similarly, many modern video editing tools now come with automatic captioning and transcription powered by AI. If you already use a video editing software, check if it has a built-in transcription feature, this could eliminate the need for a separate tool.
However, if you need higher accuracy, editing capabilities, and AI-driven insights, a dedicated video-to-text tool is your best bet.
No worries, I have compiled a handy featuring some of the top tools that help you convert video files into text with just a few clicks. These tools are designed to work seamlessly: simply upload your video file, and AI will instantly generate a transcript.
Please note, I am talking here about transcribing your videos and not YouTube videos. For the latter, there are various tools and extensions you can use for this purpose and so often YouTube built-in transcription feature is enough to generate video transcripts.
Best Practices for Handling Transcripts
Before diving into the list of video to text tools, let me share with you this quick reminder on the best practices for working with AI-generated transcripts. These insights are adapted from my chapter on AI for Data Collection:
- Review for Accuracy – Manually check transcripts for errors, misinterpretations, and missing words, especially names and technical terms.
- Enhance Readability – Format your transcript properly with speaker labels, timestamps, and paragraph breaks for easier navigation.
- Annotate Key Insights – Highlight important sections, add summaries, and take notes to streamline future analysis.
- Organize Your Files – Store transcripts systematically by participant, theme, or date to keep your data structured.
- Secure Your Data – Save copies both locally and in the cloud, while ensuring compliance with ethical guidelines and anonymization requirements.
- Share with Participants (If Needed) – Consider participant review for accuracy, but be mindful of potential modifications or omissions.
A Word on Privacy & Security
Since we’re talking about AI tools, I deem it important that I share this caveat. Evey time you are interacting with AI, it’s essential to be mindful of what you upload to it. Always read the tool’s privacy policy to understand:
- What kind of data they store
- How long they keep it there
- Where it’s stored and who controls the storage
A rule of thumb: never upload sensitive or identifiable participant data unless you’re certain the tool meets your data security and ethical standards.
Finally, as I mentioned earlier, this post is adapted from my upcoming book, AI in Academic Research, where I explore how AI can streamline research workflows, improve efficiency, and enhance data collection techniques. If you’re a researcher looking for ways to increase productivity and reduce manual workload, this book is for you!
AI Video to Text Tools
Here are some of the best AI video to text tools to use in your academic research:
1. Rev AI
Rev AI is a powerful video-to-text transcription tool which allows you to convert video files into text. I have already featured Rev AI in a similar list but for speech to text tools for it supports both services speech and video to text conversions.
Rev ai is simple and easy to use: simply upload your video file and and Rev AI will generate a machine-generated transcript within minute, supported include MP4, WMV, and AVI. Rev AI also offers streaming transcription, but this feature is currently available in only nine languages.
Beyond transcription, Rev AI provides advanced AI-powered analysis tools which allows you to make sense of your transcribed data. These include topic extraction, sentiment analysis, summarization, and translation in 11 languages.
With these features, you will be able to organize, analyze, and extract meaningful insights from your transcripts. If AI-generated transcription isn’t enough, Rev AI also offers human-created transcription services with a 24-hour turnaround (English only). As for the pricing, Rev AI offers both pay-as-you-go rates ($0.25/min) and a free trial with up to five hours of transcription credits.
2. Otter AI
Otter AI is another excellent AI tool that offers both video and audio transcription services. It works more or less the same way as Rev AI and also offers live transcription live transcription during video conferencing interviews on Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams.
And the really great tool in Otter especially for those conducting their videoconferencing on Zoom is OtterPilot. This tool can automatically join meetings and help you transcribe conversations in real time, and even generate summaries—saving you the hassle of taking notes.
And yes, Otter offers analytic features which can be life aving for those of you dealing with large datasets. Some of these analytic features include: speaker identification, advanced search and playback features, highlighted takeaways, summaries, and key ideas tagging.
Otter supports transcription in English, French, and Spanish and offers a free plan with up to 300 monthly transcription minutes. For more extensive use, Otter AI has Pro ($8.33/month), Business ($20/month), and Enterprise plans.
3. Descript
Descript is more of a video editing tool that comes with powerful transcription features. So besides transcribing your video files to text, Descript will also help you edit your videos and polish your video content.
Here is the great thing abiut Descript editing: anything you edit in the text of the transcripts will automatically be reflected in the video making it seamless to clean up filler words, errors, and redundant sections.
In fact, Descript’s text-editing feels like you are working on a word processor but with extrac features such as speaker labeling which makes it easy to track multiple interviewees in focus groups or multi-speaker interviews.
Descript also offers some practical analytical and organizational features that allow you ro do more with your transcripts. For instance, you can use the AI-powered Chapter Generator to organize your transcripts into navigable sections. The Find Good Clips feature helps you identify key moments for analysis.
Descript also integrates with Zoom allowing direct import of recorded meetings for transcription. With flexible export options, you can save transcripts as text files, subtitles, or even repurpose them for research reports and presentations.
As for pricing, Descript offers various plans: Hobbyist ($19/per month), Creator ($35/month), and Business ($50/month).
4. TurboScribe AI
TurboScribe is a transcription-focused AI tool that is ideal for researchers and anyone working with multimedia data. You can use it to transcribe both video and audio files into editable text.
TurboScribe supports 98+ languages and can process large video files up to 10 hours long. It comes with various helpful features including automatic speaker recognition for multi-speaker recordings, built-in translation to 134+ languages, and an encrypted storage for sensitive data.
TurboScribe offers multiple export options, including PDF, DOCX, and SRT, making it easy to format transcripts for further analysis or integration into reports. As for the pricing, TurboScribe offer a pay-as-you-go pricing model ($20/month for unlimited transcriptions).
5. Riverside AI
Riverside AI (I like the name) provides both video and audio recordings and offers real-time transcription for face-to-face, video-recorded, and virtual interviews. Riverside AI also offers a host of interesting features to help you work with your data including automatic speaker detection which allows you to easily identify who said what in multi-participant interviews or focus groups.
Beyond transcription, Riverside allows you to edit transcripts directly from the video, meaning you can modify text and have it automatically update the video content. Pricing plans range from a free tier (limited to 2 hours of multi-track recordings) to paid plans starting at $15/month for expanded features and storage.
6. Sonix
Sonix is another good alternative to use for both audio and video files. It offers real-time transcription in 53+ languages and also supports speaker identification. Besides transcription, Sonix provides AI-generated summaries, topic detection, and automated chapter creation which makes it easier to extract key insights from long interviews.
And yes, Sonix integrates with Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams, offering a seamless workflow for video-based research. Pricing includes pay-as-you-go ($10/hour) and premium plans ($16.50 per month per user) for frequent users.
7. AmberScript
AmberScript offers AI-powered and human-reviewed transcription services for both audio and video interviews. It supports 70+ languages and also provides speaker labeling, allowing you to easily track different participants in discussions.
Once your transcripts are ready, you can export them in various formats, including subtitles (SRT, VTT). AmberScript offers a free trial (10 minutes), hourly transcription pricing ($10/hour), and subscription plans starting at $8.3 per hour for long-term projects.
8. Notta AI
Notta AI is another tool I recently discovered which seems to do a pretty good job transcribing video files. Notta allows you to upload video files or capture live speech and instantly convert spoken content into searchable, editable text. It also includes speaker identification and supports numerous languages.
Like previous tools, Notta AI offers various analytic features that include one-click summarization which helps you quickly extract key takeaways from lengthy transcripts, quick editing tools to help you refine and export transcripts in multiple formats (PDF, DOCX, and SRT), and more.
With integrations for YouTube, Google Drive, and Dropbox, Notta simplifies video-based research transcription. Pricing includes a free plan (limited features), Pro ($13.50/month), and Business plans ($27.99/month).
9. Restream
Restream is another good AI-powered video-to-text transcription tool to try out. Unlike many other tools, Restream does not require an account, making it a hassle-free option for occasional transcription needs.
While it provides basic editing and export options, Restream is not as feature-rich as dedicated transcription tools we have seen before. It does, however, prioritize secure data handling, automatically deleting transcripts from its servers after processing. Pricing starts with a free plan (limited features), with Standard ($19/month) and Professional ($49/month) options for users needing more advanced functionality.
10. Happy Scribe
Happy Scribe is an AI and human transcription tool that allows you to convert video interviews, academic lectures, and recorded discussions into text. Happy Scribe supports over 120 languages and offers both AI-generated transcripts and human-reviewed transcriptions.
With flexible import options, you can upload files from Google Drive, Dropbox, YouTube, and local storage. Happy Scribe also provides a built-in transcription editor allowing you to fine-tune transcripts before exporting them in multiple formats (TXT, DOCX, PDF, and subtitles). Pricing starts at $17/month for basic plans, with Pro ($29/month) and Business ($49/month) options for advanced users.
11. FlexClip
FlexClip is an AI-powered video-to-text tool that allows you to automatically transcribe video content into text in over 140 languages. It supports multiple video formats, including MP4, MOV, AVI, and WebM.
Using advanced speech recognition technology, FlexClip provides quick transcriptions while also allowing you to add and edit subtitles directly within the platform. Transcripts can be exported in TXT format (without timestamps).
As for pricing, FlexClip offers various plans: Free (limited features), Plus ($11.99/month), and Business ($19.99/month).
12. Flixier
Flixier is an AI-powered video-to-text transcription tool that allows you to convert video interviews, lectures, and discussions into text quickly. It supports over 130 languages and enables you to upload various video formats, including MP4, AVI, MKV, and WebM.
Flixier also offers subtitle generation and translation features. You can edit transcripts, customize captions, and export them in multiple formats (TXT, SRT, VTT, and more). As a cloud-based tool, it runs directly in your browser, eliminating the need for software downloads.
As for pricing, Flixier offers various plans: Free (limited features), Pro ($23/month), and Business ($43/month).
Final thoughts
So as you have seen, when it comes to transcribing video to text, the options are multifarious. I shared what I believe are some of the best out there. Most of them share more or less the same features. You may want to use the trial offer they provide to test which one fits your research needs. All the best in your research, and stay tuned!
