Transcription jobs are usually work from home and very plentiful! It's non-phone work that you can do on your own time, and the best part is that for some branches of transcription, you don't necessarily have to have past work experience to get started. Many companies will just ask that you pass a test to prove you're capable of the work.
Today, I'm sharing with you a list of 100 work at home transcription companies that are frequently looking for new workers.
We've broken this down for you into convenient sub-categories so you can see which companies are willing to accept beginners and which ones would prefer past experience or some sort of training.
Before applying for any jobs you find below, you may want to enroll in this free 7-lesson transcription e-course you can do on your own time. It explains what transcribers do, what you can earn, and whether or not you're a good fit.
Also, some (but not all) of the companies below will want you to have transcription software and a foot pedal, plus a headset prior to starting work.
Entry Level Transcription Companies
- AccuTran Global – Read AccuTran Review – US only. Prefers experience, but will hire newbies if skills test is passed. Pay is per word and ranges from a starting base rate of $0.005/word for a beginner on basic audio, to their top rate of $0.0066 for difficult and/or foreign audio done by senior transcribers.
- Appen – Read Appen Review – This company is best known for offering search engine evaluation work, but you can transcribe for them, too. No experience needed.
- Casting Words – Read Casting Words Review – Beginners OK. Only $1 is needed to request a payout.
- Daily Transcription – Read Daily Transcription Review – US and Canada only. Specializes in entertainment, corporate, and legal transcription. They claim their top transcriptionist makes between $250 and $950 weekly. Glassdoor indicates some transcribers are averaging between $10 and $11 hourly here.
- National Capitol Contracting – Read National Capitol Contracting Review – Entry level is OK, but they do prefer experience. Pays $40 an audio hour.
- Quicktate – Read Quicktate Review – No experience needed. Must take a test before being hired. Hires in US & other countries.
- Rev – Read Rev Review – Accepts beginners. Also offers freelance video captioning work.
- Scribie – Read Scribie Review – No experience needed. Must take test. Hires worldwide. Waiting list and very low pay.
- Tigerfish – Read Tigerfish Review – Entry level OK. Must take test. US only.
- TranscribeMe – Read TranscribeMe Review – This is another company that's open to hiring beginners. Pays via Paypal, no exp. needed to get in.
- Transcript Divas – Read Transcript Divas Review – They will consider beginners. The company receives many applications per week, but if they interested, they will contact you for a phone interview.
- Ubiqus – Read Ubiqus Review – Hires for all types of transcription. Will consider beginners. Must type at least 70 wpm.
- 3 Play Media – Read 3 Play Media Review – Occasionally has openings for work from home transcript editor. This is not technically transcription, but rather editing transcription already done.
- Focus Forward – Read Focus Forward Review – This company is often hiring (I see their ads on Craigslist a lot). The website does not mention experience at this time, though you do have to pass a skills test.
- Crowdsurf – May be open worldwide, but you must be fluent in English. CrowdSurf offers transcription and captioning HITs on Work Market. You must have a Work Market account to work on their transcription/captioning tasks. Rate per audio hour is not known, but salary reports on Glassdoor indicate some transcribers average $6 to $7 hourly.
- Genius – Not always open. Lyrics transcribers usually needed. Doesn't specifically say under qualifications that you need transcription experience. They do prefer that you are fluent in a foreign language. Look for “lyrics associate” on the job openings page to find this.
- GoTranscript – Open worldwide. No experience needed, just a computer and internet connection. Website claims most transcribers here only make $150 per month, so this would definitely pay on the lower end and should just be considered extra money.
- GMR Transcription – US and Canada. Entry level OK.
- Pactera – Frequently has remote transcription tasks available. Experience is not required, but you must test, train, and follow the guidelines.
- SpeechPad – Beginners may apply here. You only a computer and internet connection to start. Pay is twice weekly, no minimum.
- Telenotes – Appears to consider people without experience. However, it is required that you come into their office for interviews, etc. prior to being hired, so you must live in Utah (within reasonable commuting distance of Murray, UT, where their corporate office is located).
- T ‘n T Transcriptions & Translations – Entry level OK. Must pass skills test first.
- VIQ Solutions – This Arizona-based company may consider beginners. US only. Set your own hours and work when you want.
- Transcription For Everyone – Appears to be open to beginners. Must have strong computer, grammar, and research skills.
- Transcription HUB – No experience level listed, but it does say you will be evaluated prior to getting accepted here. You're allowed to work whenever you want and at anytime you want.
- TranscriptionWing – Appears to be open to beginners, although you do have to indicate on the application form if you've ever done transcription work in the past.
- Dictate Express – Legal transcription. Does not mention that you need experience to work for them.
- eWord Solutions – Read eWord Solutions Review – US candidates only. They send files five days per week. You may earn around $.0050 per word (a rate one of my readers was offered), although this could possibly vary. Under experience, it just says you need to be familiar with Microsoft Word.
- Terescription – Does entertainment, business, legal, and education transcription. Experience not mentioned, and it does say they will train you.
- Happy Scribe – Read Happy Scribe Review – Open worldwide. You do not need past experience, but you must take a skills test. They pay every two weeks.
- Audio Transcription Center – US. You can work in-house or at home. This is a 55 year old company based in Boston. They do not require experience, but you do have to take a typing test for them and screenshot your results. They say bi- or multilingual candidates are always welcome, but it's not required.
- Transcriptionwave – Does not list that you need experience, but you need to have the skills most companies seek in a good transcriber — attention to detail, good listen, proficient at internet research. Rate is not listed, but it does say it's based on the quality of audio recordings per hour.
- Copytalk – US (Georgia and Florida residents only). Your typing speed and audio acuity will be tested before you are offered a position. You will also have to have a background check done.
- Clarabridge – May be open worldwide. A Bachelor’s degree in English, Linguistics, Speech Pathology, or other language focused degree is required. Legal or medical transcription experience is preferred but does not say it is required.
You can get good training for general transcription here.
Requires Experience
- Allegis Communications – Read Allegis Review – Hires occasionally for people to transcribe 100 pages per week. Pays weekly. Must have at least two years of transcription experience.
- Babbletype – Read Babbletype Review – Sometimes has openings for work from home transcribers and QA editors. Check their jobs page for current openings.
- eScribers – Read eScribers Review – This is a company that is frequently looking for remote legal transcribers. Experience needed. Weekly pay. Cannot accept workers in the states of Massachusetts or California.
- Landmark Associates – Read Landmark Associates Review – Must take test, and they prefer experience, although if you can pass their skills test you can possibly get in anyway.
- Net Transcripts – Read Net Transcripts Review – Lots of law enforcement based work, must pass background check for this work. Also hires for financial transcription.
- Speak Write – Read Speak Write Review – Does both legal and general transcription. Work is on a contract basis and you must have experience.
- A & P Transcription – Always looking for qualified transcriptionists to add to their team. Appears that they do prefer experience (at least one year).
- Alice Darling Secretarial Services – Must type at least 75 wpm. Not always hiring, check career page for openings.
- AlphaDog Transcription – They only hire experienced transcribers and they prefer if you've had experience in entertainment transcription. Additionally, you must reside in the Los Angeles area to qualify for work here although the position is home-based.
- Cambridge Transcription – Hires for legal and corporate transcription, experience required.
- Cyber Dictate – Are currently looking for US based workers with experience in legal transcription (minimum three years).
- eTranscription Solutions – Typing speed of no less than 80 wpm required. Experience needed, details on career page.
- Fantastic Transcripts – Requires experience. Website claims they are always interested in hearing from people with transcription experience.
- Hollywood Transcription – This company may require experience though it is not stated as a requirement on the website. You must type at least 65 wpm.
- Kelsey Transcripts – Must have experience in transcription and all necessary equipment, plus a transcription program on a newer model computer to be considered.
- Moravia – This company needs people to transcribe song lyrics. They prefer experience. Work is available for English speakers and speakers of other languages.
- On the Record Reporting and Transcription – Must live in or near Austin, TX area because you will be required to work in the office during training time.
- OutSec – A UK based company that hires worldwide. Need at least two years of typing experience to be considered.
- Multilingual Connections – This company hires for home-based transcription. Most likely you will need to be fluent in a language besides English to qualify for a job.
- Preferred Transcriptions – Does medical, legal, and general transcription. One year experience required for general.
- Production Transcripts – Must be experienced. Fill out online application. Hires sporadically.
- Same Day Transcriptions – US only. Professional transcribers only. Some federal work.
- Say It Back – Entertainment transcription. Must have digital foot pedal and software.
- Take 1 – Entertainment transcription. Appears to be a UK based company. Prefers experience.
- TASK Transcription – General and legal transcription. Requires three years of experience.
- Transcription Centre – They hire US and UK based transcribers with experience that are fluent in English. They specialize in focus groups and interviews for university and market research
- Transcription Experts – US only for remote work. Minimum 2 years experience.
- Transcription Outsourcing, LLC – US only. Transcription Outsourcing, LLC is looking for committed and professional transcriptionists.
- Voxtab – Requires experience. Hires freelance transcribers in many different countries, including the US.
- We Scribe It – US only. Must have at least six months experience in the last two years for general transcription.
- Word Wizards – This company hires US based transcribers for various types of transcription, including audio and video.
- Written Communications – Prefers at least three years experience. Hires in the US and Canada.
- LegalProofs – US. Prefers that you've had some experience in the legal space as this is legal transcription, although they will consider applicants with any transcription experience. Pays weekly.
- CRC Salomon – US. Hires transcribers with experience for legal transcription. Bi-weekly pay. Must commit to at least ten hours of work per week.
- Vernon Court Reporters – US. Hiring legal transcribers with experience for full- or part-time work from home. At least three years of past experience is required.
- Athreon – US and Canada. Must have two years of transcription work experience, or proof you've graduated from a transcription training program. Compensation is based on production and pay is weekly.
You can go here to learn more about getting training for general transcription work.
Medical Transcription
Note that you will need training before you can land a job as a medical transcriber. CareerStep is one the more reputable online schools you can use for the training you need to get certified.
They will even give you a voucher ($250) to get your certification from AHDI once you've completed the training.
You can read our full review of CareerStep here.
- Ubiqus – Read Ubiqus Review – Hires for many different types of transcription, including medical. Required experience not listed.
- 360 Transcription – Regularly looking for proficient medical transcribers. They appear to consider CareerStep graduates.
- Absolute Transcription – US only. Must have 3 years experience & be able to pass test.
- Acusis – Offers full and part-time employment. Requires at least three years of past transcription experience. Job description says they provide competitive compensation.
- Amphion Medical Solutions – At least two years' hospital inpatient experience transcribing the “Basic Four” or at least two years' clinic experience transcribing all specialties (>4 specialties) in addition to any formal training.
- GMR Transcription – This company does medical as well as other types of transcription. You can get in with no experience but you have to pass a test. Hiring from US & Canada only.
- Keystrokes Transcription – Has several medical transcription jobs listed that appear to be remote. The listings do specifically say no new grads accepted and that you must have at least 3 years of past experience.
- NJPR – You must view their employment page for details about current open positions.
- Perfect Transcription – They require at least 3 years experience in medical transcription and at least 2 years experience in a given specialty.
- Phoenix Medcom, Inc. – They require a minimum of 3 years experience for Acute Care work, and 2 years experience transcribing for a specialty practice, clinic, surgery center, etc. Production environment experience essential.
- Precision Transcription – US only. Hires work from home medical transcribers to work as independent contractors. Must have at least 3 yrs experience in acute care.
- Preferred Transcriptions – A minimum of two year's experience in a hospital or clinical setting, or with another medical transcription service.
- Same Day Transcriptions – They hire for medical, business, and general transcription. Fill out form online to apply.
- SoftScript – Must have three to five years medical transcription experience depending on the particular transcription job you choose (they have several choices). Attractive benefits package. Only hires people residing in the U.S.
- SpectraMedi – Hires experienced medical transcribers to work at home.
- StenTel – US only. Requires past experience or you must be graduated from an AHDI-approved program to apply for these openings.
- Superior Transcribing Service, LLC – They prefer someone who can give at least two years of experience transcribing multi-specialty medical reports or a graduate of a Medical Transcription Program.
- Transdyne – Looking for people with 2 + years of experience in general medical record transcription within a hospital / medical records department or a multi-specialty clinic.
- VIQ Solutions – Openings not always listed. You can check MTJobs.com for their listings when they are hiring.
- Cybernation Infotech – It looks like they may accept new graduates. There is no info listed on how much they pay, but they do have a very informative page explaining the duties of a medical transcriber and what they look for.
- Athreon – US and Canada. To qualify for their home-based transcription jobs, you must show proof of graduation from a formal transcription training program. They also consider professional on-the-job transcription training as a substitute for an academic program.
- Savista – US. Must have at least one year of experience in acute care transcription with some production within the last 18 months.
- SkyWriter MD – US. Prefers at least three years of past medical transcription experience.
CareerStep is the company I would recommend for medical transcription training. They also have programs for medical billing and coding as well.
Other Options
Another way to earn money as a work at home transcriber is to freelance and do work for clients privately. Below is a list of some places you can use to share your transcription services.
- Fiverr – Read Fiverr Review – You've probably heard of this site. You'll find lots and lots of different services there, and many people do use this to share their transcription services. You charge a base rate of $5, but you can make real money by including “add-ons” for extra services for your clients.
- Upwork – Read Upwork Review – You can create a profile on Upwork and list your transcription experience. It's a very popular site many people use to find works for all sorts of online tasks.
- Craigslist – You can find all kinds of people offering various services on Craigslist. Just make a post and keep it going regularly including your experience and rates, and you might get some interest! Just be extra careful with who you provide services to so you do not get ripped off.
Captioning
- AI Media – Read AI Media Review – This company hires freelancers to work on captioning movies, TV shows, YouTube videos, and more. Newbies welcome. However, pay rate is on the low side.
- Rev Captions – Read Rev Review – This company regularly hires captioners to work from home.
- Caption Max – Hires work from home captioners on occasion. You may possibly need to be located in or near Minneapolis, MN.
- Vitac – Occasionally has openings for real time remote captioners. Experience is required.
More Transcription Information
I've written the following blog posts below with more details to help you!
- An overview of general transcription jobs.
- An overview of medical transcription jobs.
- An overview of legal transcription jobs.
- You should also subscribe to our weekly work at home newsletter for transcription job leads and other helpful info. It's free!
Useful Transcription Resources
- MT Stars – An old, established forum for medical transcriptionists.
- Transcription Essentials – Transcription Essentials is a community of transcription professionals who pride themselves on their commitment to excellence.
- AHDI – A listing of reputable schools to consider for medical transcription training.
Useful E-book About Work From Home Transcription
If you want a quick, informative read that will basically sum up transcription, how it works, what sort of person is going to be good at it, and where to get started finding work, I can't recommend this book enough.
It's very inexpensive and will help you wrap your head around it all so you'll feel more confident about getting started!
I hope all of the information above is helpful to you if you are seriously considering an at-home transcription career! Good luck!
If you're read all this and don't feel like transcription is for you at all, there are lots of other work at home options! I have an inexpensive e-book available for just $5 with a huge list of over 150 companies that hire, plus exactly how to find even more.
Post originally published on June 11, 2012. Updated and re-published on April 30, 2021.
Patricia says
I'm very much interested in this
Micah Meshack says
Wow! This is awesome.
Hi, Am Micah Meshack from Kenya, can you please advice me on which transcription job which doesn’t require any experience I can work with? I will really appreciate.
Bree says
Hi! …do you think it’s worth it to take a Medical Transcription course at this point? I’ve heard that the profession is dying as opposed to General and Legal Transcription, but I see that there’s certainly still some medical Transcription companies out there?
alice rodziewicz says
I wonder if you all know that many of us who have done transcription over the years were making $10 an hour back in the 1980s on electric typewriters. What is this with people accepting these jobs in 2019 at $8-$12 an hour? LoL. I truly don’t understand. These IC medical transcription companies are offering $0.07 to type and $0.04 to edit now. You make more in a company with benefits nowadays. IC companies used to pay about 50% more since you have to pay your own taxes. You need a tremendous amount of experience to do medical transcription and I am certainly not doing it for $10-12 an hour. I’m in the US mind you.
Cathy L. Brookshire says
Well, I was to brought to this sad state of transcription when I lost my 20 year career due to big hospital take over. I was Administrative Assistant for an independent pathology lab. Salary was 30 grand a year her in northwest Michigan. Couldn't get hired anywhere doing any sort of secretarial work, it was almost as if I were blackballed and then I just came to realize it was my age. Seems no one wants to hire us old gals here in NW MI —-I thought this because many jobs I had interviewed for I was told "I wasn't the right fit, or I was under qualified, or I was over qualified", only to see the job posted again a couple weeks later. So after a short stint in retail (omg thats awful) I was hired by a company to do pathology transcription at home. $1.05 a minute. Okay, not quite what I had expected but okay, I can deal with this. Only to get screwed about a year later because pays were late and later and later. So since I wasnt getting paid on time any more (sometimes more than a month) I took a job with another company, doing pathology transcription, but now my pay is less. .75 cents a minute. Its awful but what else do I do with myself I asked myself. Well now I'm looking to possibly learn something else that pays an hourly wage and that I can continue to work at home. So here I am back to the work-at home-blogs looking to see what else is out there and what this old bird can learn. That's my story. Have a groovy day and good luck to everyone out there!
Denise Moore says
Allegis actually pays every week. Also, it is not 20 hours per week. You have a contract minimum of 100 pages per week to remain under contract as an independent contractor. the pay per page is the best I have run across in the industry so far. I have worked for them for some time now, and they are very organized and have many resources for their IC’s. Completely happy there.
Anna T. says
Thank you, Denise! I have updated our information.
Bobbie Dearman says
Has anyone heard anything, good or bad, about CrowdSurf? I’m considering trying to get started there, but I’d like to see how people feel about the company.
Erin Vega says
I like doing Crowd Surf, really short media, and general transcriptions. Low pay, but then again you are only transcribing up to like 25 seconds. Sometimes there are a lot of files and then sometimes there a few and not anything to work on. So the recommendation is if you are looking for a side hustle this is the place, it is not a full-time job.
C says
Does anyone know offhand if any of these companies allow you to login and download work 24/7 from what they have available as long as you submit it by their deadlines?
I need something that is literally flexible to work around other obligations. Traditional business hours are out of the question, even to just answer an email.
Lauren says
I know Rev.com does, I think Casting Words, 3Play Media does as long as they have work available, SpeechPad.com does, and there may be a few others. GoTranscribe.com does. If I think of any others I will post them here: https://www.trendytranscriber.com.
Best of luck
Roxanne says
Good Day,
I am based in South Africa looking for an online opportunity. Please advise?
Regards
Anna T. says
Hi Roxanne, this is a US-based site, and as a result most of the jobs we find are as well, although sometimes we find things that are open worldwide. You can do a search on the site for “worldwide” using the search form in the sidebar, and this should help to pull up some opportunities you can apply for. Good luck!
Elna Marais says
Hi Roxanne,
I'm from South Africa too and currently I do work for Rev.com.
For us South Africans the pay is really not too bad and we are used to bad audio and difficult accents.
You will do well there.
Good luck.
Elna