It seems to be the goal of many nowadays to freelance and have home based jobs. Over the past decade, with the advances in technology, this has become more realistic than ever. However, one of the problems that is faced by many people is determining whether an opportunity is a work from home scam or not. Many TranscribeMe reviews can leave you wondering, but this one won’t.
It’s widely known that online transcription jobs can offer some of the best solutions to make money online from home every month. TranscribeMe is a company that many people look to for this purpose if they enjoy typing. You won’t be interested in this job if transcription work can become repetitive and dull at times.
While there are plenty of resources out there, it’s best to conduct your own research to see if a job is legitimate or not. Read this comprehensive TranscribeMe review to determine if TranscribeMe is an appropriate side hustle for you.
Table of Contents
What is TranscribeMe?
TranscribeMe is simply a company that outsources transcription and translation to people interested in working from home. Those interested in transcribing audio are asked to do the following:
- Listen to audio and video files and,
- Produce text to match what they are hearing.
Each step of the process is completed right on their website.
Once you gain experience in their transcribing roles, you can apply for proofreading and editing jobs as well. All of these data entry transcribers are hired in a freelancer / independent contractor capacity.
How Does TranscribeMe Work?
First, the audio or video files are received by the TranscribeMe site moderators. The moderators will examine the audio files through advanced speech recognition software that primarily uses the Nuance engine.
Once the audio files are carefully examined, they are divided and split into sections that will depend on the overall length of the original audio file. The smaller split audio files are then posted onto the TranscribeMe job board called “Workhub,” and this is where the transcriber comes in.
All of the transcriptions are crowdsourced to humans, and it will be their job to type everything they hear as accurately as possible. Everything you listen to is played through the onsite transcription software, and once this task is complete, you submit your work.
The transcriptions you provide will be manually compared to the audio file to ensure accuracy. Once each of the split sections are transcribed, they will be combined together to match the original audio source before distributing it back to the client.
Is TranscribeMe Legit?
One factor that people cannot seem to find from most TranscribeMe reviews is just how legitimate TranscribeMe is. Online reviews seem to vary and provide different stories. However, TranscribeMe is legit.
In fact, as far as work from home companies go, TranscribeMe is possibly one of the most popular transcription companies out there due to it’s straightforward nature.
When it comes to working for TranscribeMe, there is one thing you should not underestimate — how tough transcription can be. It’s quite a tricky skill to master, so if you want to earn some cash, it’s worth honing this skill before you consider working with TranscribeMe.
If, however, you want to enhance your skills on the job, TranscribeMe is also open to working with beginners, and there are no arduous tests to pass before joining.
We couldn’t find any reviews suggesting this was a work at home scam or claims of any other scams relating to TranscribeMe for that matter.
What is the TranscribeMe Application Process?
The hiring process for TranscribeMe is a simple one, and you don’t need any prior experience or to live in a certain location. The barrier of entry is very low also because of no equipment requirements. However, you must have a high school diploma, speak and write fluently in English, have access to internet (high speed internet helps), and have fast typing skills.
Apply for the Job. The first step you need to take is to register online. You will need to fill in some basic information — there is nothing intrusive and no need to fill out work history.
TranscribeMe Overview. The next step is watching a short explanation video that will guide you through the whole application process. You’ll also learn how the transcription process works and how to navigate the TranscribeMe website.
Entrance Exam. The final step is the entrance exam. While the word “exam” may strike fear into some, this one is rather easy. You will only need to answer two multiple-choice quizzes on their styling guide. Just be sure to review their style guides before testing to give yourself the best chance. You must score 100% on this portion.
Then you also have to transcribe three audio clips that are around six minutes long. You have three attempts to retest, if needed. You need to score at least 98% on this portion in order to get accepted.
Should your transcription pass the accuracy requirements, you are accepted into the program. Then, you can start making money online each month all while working from home!
If you want to hit it out of the park, try out the best Headphones and Foot Pedals to ensure precision and typing speed.
What Does TranscribeMe Pay?
So, now that you know that TranscribeMe is legit, you may also wonder how much they pay.
There are a ton of TranscribeMe reviews out there, and every one of them says different things about what TranscribeMe pays. Well, here are the real figures!
When looking at TranscribeMe pay, you can expect 33 cents for every audio minute you transcribe.
When you work basic calculations on this, you can earn up to $15-$20 per audio hour.
However, if you are very accurate, there is a $2 bonus per hour that will boost your maximum earnings as a newcomer to $22.
With little to no experience and having the ability to work at home, the pay rate is fairly decent.
Please note that the industry standards say that it takes 4 minutes to transcribe 1 minute of audio. This is why it’s so important to be efficient. The more quickly you can decipher and transcribe the audio, the more you will get paid. For those who don’t know, a foot pedal may increase your audio transcription speed.
TranscribeMe does offer the occasional opportunity for special requirement files as well, which will require that you speak another language. This means that if you’re multilingual, you can potentially begin earning money above the normal rate.
You can also make more if you are able to translate medical and legal audio files due to their complexity and uncommon terminology. Legal transcription and medical transcription services also have the potential to earn extra cash.
TranscribeMe makes payments weekly via PayPal. Providing you have a minimum of $20 in your account, you can request a payment. You should know that they do not offer other payment methods at this time.
On average, you could make between $150 – $250 in extra income per month.
TranscribeMe Review: Boost Your Income as a Transcriptionist
Overall, TranscribeMe is legit and can be a great addition to your existing income as a part time job where you have a flexible work at home job. You probably would not be able to use TranscribeMe as a full time job, though. The availability of jobs would not provide a sufficient income, unlike what some TranscribeMe reviews may say.
Glassdoor gives TranscribeMe a 4.1 star overall review, among other work at home jobs.
There are many higher-paying jobs out there, or you can build up your own business.
However, if you are looking for something to add to your portfolio of work from home jobs and jobs where you work alone, TranscribeMe could be one of the better options available. It’s easy to sign up for, flexible to your schedule, and available all over the world.
Depending on your typist skills and how many words per minute you’re able to write – TranscribeMe may be a good option for a stay at home mom.
Start making extra money with TranscribeMe today!
Check out the video review below from NoScamReviews talking about TranscribeMe if you want to learn more.
Have you ever used TranscribeMe to make extra money? If not, will you start after reading this TranscribeMe review? Let us know in the comments!
Samantha uses her BS in Finance and MBA to help others get control of their finances through budgeting, saving, investing, side hustles, and travel hacking. Due to following the FIRE Movement’s principles, she was able to quit her high-stress job in the financial services industry in July 2019 to pursue her side hustles. She is now a full-time entrepreneur and blogger. When not working, she enjoys spending time with her dog “Simba” and traveling with her husband, John.
Thanks for sharing! I saw your review on the ChooseFI blog. I looked into TranscribeMe, but I think the income is not worth it. While you site it takes 4 minutes to transcribe 1 minute of audio, that makes the pay seem very minimal and not worth the time. I operate my own LLC transcribing files for clients and charge $22/per hour of my time minimum for my work. That equates to about $88 per hour of audio. Sadly it can be hard to find clients, so sites like this can help others make use of their time. – Ashley, Pleasant Grove Homestead
Hi, I’ve worked at TranscribeMe for almost 2 years.
As for the pay, beginners start out at $15 per audio hour. As they advance and gain more experience, they can apply to join special teams that have higher pay rates and work on different kinds of files. There are some special projects that have pay rates of up to $100 per audio hour, but they aren’t always available.
In my case, it was very slow in the beginning and hard to make enough per week to justify working there, but I stuck it out. Now I make much more and am on several different teams with access to a large variety of files, transcription styles and guidelines, and am part of the quality assurance team. Yes, it can be hard. Yes, it can be frustrating at times, but what job isn’t?
For me, it’s definitely been worth it to stick it out and move up in the ranks, so to speak. That said, it’s not for everyone. Patience, practice, and perseverance are a must.
How much were you make averagely in the beginning Jennifer?
Thank you so much for sharing, I was wondering if this job was worth it in the long run. To me it’s not all about the money, I actually really enjoy the work. I love transcribing and it’s a skill I want to get better at. So after seeing a million bad reviews seeing this one made me smile!
Hi, just a couple of comments. I’ve worked at TranscribeMe for a while. The exam is currently a multiple choice section based on the style guide and then you have to transcribe 2 audios (aprox. 4 minutes each, I think… it’s been a while since I took the exam).
$15 per audio hour is just the beginning pay rate for new transcribers who are starting out with the company. This is the same for people with or without previous experience. Once you’re in, you can advance by taking exams to join other teams/have access to other styles where the pay is higher ($22 – $50, depending on the type of file). You set the pace for how little or how much work you want to do, so your earnings totally depend on you.
Hi. I’m having trouble trying to sign up and create an active account with TranscribeMe since I can’t pass the tests. I’m really dieing for that pay rate. A $15 per audio hour for me will be super fine. Can you guide me on how I can manage to open an account by passing the tests?
Hi Kelvin, make sure you’re using google chrome while trying to access the work hub. That’s the only supported browser. As far as passing the tests, they are required as part of the onboarding process – you can also check our some youtube videos on how to get through them.
I want to join transcribeme
Thanks for this great article! I hope this TranscribeMe application will help me to earn some extra money as a Transcriptionist. I think $15 per audio hour for me is good enough.