oTranscribe suits people who transcribe interviews by hand, for free, in a browser, with nothing leaving their computer. Dalm is for Mac users: speech is recognised on the Mac and no audio is sent, while the text syncs to our servers.
Dalm and oTranscribe at a glance
| oTranscribe | Dalm | |
|---|---|---|
| How the transcript is made | You type it while the recording plays | Speech is recognised automatically; a file brought in as a meeting is split by voice |
| Platforms | A web app for desktop computers | Mac with Apple Silicon · macOS 15.0 or later |
| Where the audio is | On your computer, by its own description | On your Mac; a dropped-in file stays where it was |
| Where the transcript is | In the browser’s storage on your computer | Synced to our servers automatically |
| Files | Audio and video, with a built-in player | Audio or video from 0.3 seconds to four hours, on the Free plan |
| Export | Markdown, plain text, Google Docs | Documents as Markdown, Word or PDF |
| Languages | Whatever you type; it does not recognise speech | Over a hundred, with the wider language coverage chosen once |
| Meetings and dictation | Not part of it | Records meetings and types dictation into any app |
| Price | Free and open source (MIT) | Free plan; Pro $16 a month, or $12 a month billed annually (paid plans are not open yet) |
What oTranscribe does is taken from its home page, checked on .
When oTranscribe is the better choice
- Nothing may leave your computer. oTranscribe keeps the audio and the transcript on your computer, in the browser. Dalm keeps the audio on your Mac but syncs the transcript to our servers, and no setting turns that off.
- You want to type every word yourself. Keyboard controls to pause, rewind and fast-forward and clickable timestamps help with manual work; Dalm writes the first version for you.
- You are not on a Mac. oTranscribe runs in a browser on a desktop computer. Dalm is a Mac app for Apple Silicon · macOS 15.0 or later.
- It has to cost nothing and be open. oTranscribe is free and open source under the MIT license.
When Dalm is the better choice
- The transcript is written for you. Drop in an interview or a call — audio or video from 0.3 seconds to four hours, on the Free plan — and Dalm recognises the speech on your Mac: “The file is processed on this Mac · the original stays where it was”. No audio is sent anywhere. The transcript made from it syncs to our servers automatically. How local and cloud recognition differ.
- Voices kept apart. Bring a recording with several voices in as a meeting and the transcript is split by voice; you can correct any line.
- Meetings and dictation in the same app. Dalm records calls and conversations across a table and types what you dictate into any app. Everything you say lands in one archive you can search: meetings, phone calls, conversations in the room, and what you dictate to a model.
- Quotes that lead back. In each summary, every point keeps a word-for-word quote. Every quote shows you where it was said — open it and the transcript opens at that place.
When manual transcription still makes sense
Typing a transcript yourself is slow, but it is the right choice in a few cases. When a recording is short and you need every pause and false start, listening and typing gives you full control of what lands on the page. When the audio is too poor for any recognition, a person can still guess from context. And when the transcript itself is the work — a close reading of an interview for research — typing it is part of reading it. For everything else, you can start from an automatic draft and correct it.
Looking for an oTranscribe alternative?
If you are tired of typing transcripts and work on a Mac, Dalm writes them for you from your files and meetings, with the speech recognised on the Mac. The text still syncs to our servers, so it is not an app that keeps everything on one machine. If that matters more than the time, oTranscribe keeps it all on your computer. For interviews in particular, see transcribing an interview; transcription apps compared by name are on the transcription software page. Paid plans are on the pricing page.
Questions
- Is there an automatic alternative to oTranscribe?
- Dalm is one, on a Mac with Apple Silicon · macOS 15.0 or later. You drop in an audio or video file and the speech is recognised on the Mac, with the original left where it was; no audio is sent anywhere. The transcript made from it syncs to our servers automatically.
- Does oTranscribe transcribe automatically?
- No. oTranscribe is a player and an editor side by side: you listen and type, with keyboard controls to pause, rewind and fast-forward and timestamps you can click. Dalm writes the transcript for you; a recording with several voices, brought in as a meeting, is split by voice.
- Is oTranscribe free?
- Yes. oTranscribe is a free web app and open source under the MIT license. Dalm's Free plan includes importing files, recording meetings and dictation, and Pro is $16 a month, or $12 a month billed annually.
- Where does oTranscribe keep my audio and transcript?
- On your computer: it saves the transcript to the browser's storage and says it keeps the audio and the transcript on your computer. With Dalm the audio stays on your Mac too, but the transcript syncs to our servers automatically, and no setting turns that off.
- Can I export like oTranscribe?
- oTranscribe exports to Markdown, plain text and Google Docs. Dalm saves documents as Markdown, Word or PDF.