4 Speech-to-Text Apps Compared in 2026: Free Tiers, AI Summaries, and Chinese Recognition

Honestly, I get asked "which speech-to-text app do you recommend?" by readers every few weeks.

But I've noticed that most people aren't really trying to figure out "which one is most accurate." They're trying to answer three questions: Is the free version enough? Is the AI summary worth paying extra for? Can it handle Chinese meetings well?

This article won't just throw a spec sheet at you. I'll first walk through the key decision points, then go through the positioning and limitations of Tinrec, Otter.ai, Notta, and Granola one by one, and finally help you decide based on real-world scenarios. All plans and prices mentioned are based on what's published on each tool's official page.

Two-hour meeting, two more hours writing notes—the problem was never typing speed

The meeting room discussion is lively, but the pain starts after everyone leaves. You have a 90-minute recording, and you have to listen from the beginning, type as you go, and figure out which part is the conclusion and which part is just small talk.

Online meetings are even trickier. Your colleagues are on Zoom, the client is on Teams, and another group uses Google Meet. If you have to drag a "meeting bot" into the room every time, you also have to explain to external clients what that is.

Add in mixed Chinese and English, product codes, and internal jargon flying around—if the transcript still needs a lot of editing, it's basically useless.

If you've experienced these situations, this article is for you.

Before choosing a speech-to-text app, understand these 4 key points

1. How free tiers are calculated matters more than the number

Many tools say "300 free minutes," but you need to check whether those 300 minutes are for "live recording" or "file import"—these are often counted separately.

Some plans also limit the length of a single file, for example, the free version can only process a few minutes at a time. The rules behind the free tier are more important than the number itself.

2. Is AI a bonus or a necessity?

Turning recordings into text saves typing time. What really takes time is "organizing": pulling out summaries, highlighting key points, and listing action items.

So you need to decide: do you just need a transcript, or do you need a tool that can help you organize and even let you ask follow-up questions later?

3. Chinese, mixed Chinese-English, and multilingual meetings

Meetings in Taiwan are rarely pure Chinese or pure English—they're usually a mix, with product codes and internal jargon thrown in.

Note that no tool can promise a fixed accuracy rate. Actual performance depends on recording quality, background noise, accents, and overlapping speakers. Instead of looking at marketing numbers, try a segment with your own recording.

4. Cross-platform and team collaboration

Record on your phone today, organize on your computer tomorrow, share with colleagues next week—if your tool doesn't support these scenarios, you'll be miserable.

If meeting data needs to be shared, ask one more question: does the data belong to an individual account or the team? If a member leaves, will the data disappear with them?

Tinrec—the most complete for Chinese meetings and team knowledge retention

Tinrec is an AI meeting notes and collaboration tool for individuals and teams, covering iOS, Android, and web, while online meetings on your computer are handled by the desktop version.

No need to drag a bot into the meeting room. Tinrec's desktop version directly captures your computer's system audio, handling Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Webex, and other online meetings without an extra "participant" joining. For external client meetings, this makes a big difference.

It's not just a transcript. After the meeting, it automatically generates summaries, chapters, key points, and action items, so you can quickly grasp conclusions from long meetings. Even better is AI Q&A: you can directly ask "Who mentioned the budget last meeting? What was the conclusion?" without manually scrubbing through the timeline. For cross-language meetings, you can view the original, translation, or bilingual content while recording.

Post-meeting outputs are ready to go. It supports export to Notion, Google Docs, OneNote, Dropbox, and other tools, and you can use Agent to further generate reports, tables, and documents, saving time on re-organization.

Team version keeps data within the team. Meeting data belongs to the team, and members are divided into two layers: "roles" and "seats." Roles determine who can manage the team and audit, while seats determine who can record, upload, edit, and export. Admins can view usage trends, member details, and audit logs; accidentally deleted audio has a 30-day recycle bin; team hotwords make internal terminology recognition more consistent.

Plans and limitations should also be clear:

• The personal version has a free version, weekly pass, Pro monthly, and Pro annual, so you can choose based on usage frequency. The free version provides a basic quota, enough for occasional recording organization, but heavy users will need a paid plan.
• The team version offers a 7-day trial for first-time eligible users, including 1 free seat and 300 minutes of shared team import quota; monthly is USD 29.80 per paid seat per month, annual is USD 199 per paid seat per year, about USD 16.58 per month. Paid seats provide 2,000 minutes of shared team import quota per month; live recording is currently not deducted by minutes.
• Note that the team version is primarily team-level sharing, not a file-level permission system. Members without a seat can view, play, and read data but cannot upload, edit, or export.
• Prices, currencies, and promotions are subject to the official purchase page.

If you regularly hold meetings in Chinese, don't want an extra bot in the room, and need to retain meeting content for your team, Tinrec is currently the closest fit for these needs.

Besides Tinrec, what other options are there?

Otter.ai: A mature choice for English business meetings. Basic is free with 300 minutes per month, Pro annual is about USD 8.49 per user per month with 1,200 minutes per month. If you almost always record in English and only care about transcripts and summaries for online meetings, it's sufficient. But Chinese meeting experience and team seat governance are not its strong suits; Tinrec is more complete in these two areas.

Notta: Excels at multi-platform transcription and translation, and also offers team plans. Free is 120 minutes per month, max 3 minutes per session; Pro annual is about USD 8.17 per month with 1,800 minutes per month; Business annual is about USD 16.67 per seat per month. Suitable for those focused on file transcription, subtitles, and translation. If you want bot-free online meeting recording plus AI Q&A, Tinrec's workflow is smoother.

Granola: Also bot-free, focusing on "user notes + AI enhancement." Basic is free, Business is USD 14 per user per month. Note that it does not support uploading pre-recorded audio files and does not save meeting audio. If you only need live meeting notes, it's worth considering; but if you need to keep recordings, import historical files, or manage team data, Tinrec is more suitable.

Pitfall guide: 4 most common mistakes when choosing a speech-to-text app

Pitfall 1: Only looking at minutes, not the quota rules. "300 free minutes" and "300 minutes for file import" are often two different things, and some plans limit single file length. First confirm whether your usage will be deducted from a different quota.

Pitfall 2: Thinking a transcript is enough. A transcript is just raw material. What really saves time is summaries, action items, and AI Q&A you can follow up with—if the tool only gives you text, you still have to organize it yourself.

Pitfall 3: Ignoring the presence of a meeting bot. Some tools must join the meeting as a participant. For internal meetings it's fine, but for external meetings you have to ask if the other party accepts it. Using a desktop version that captures system audio avoids this awkwardness.

Pitfall 4: Using a personal account as a team account. Sharing one set of credentials among multiple people is convenient short-term, but data ownership, usage quotas, and offboarding will become problems. For team use, choose a solution with independent team space, member and seat management.

Conclusion: Which one should you choose?

In one sentence: If you mainly hold Chinese meetings and care about post-meeting organization and team knowledge retention, Tinrec is the best fit among these four.

• Mainly Chinese meetings, need summaries and action items → Tinrec
• Don't want an extra bot in the meeting room → Tinrec (desktop captures system audio)
• Want to use AI to ask follow-up questions after recording → Tinrec (AI Q&A)
• Need to keep meeting data for the team, manage seats and usage → Tinrec team version
• Often switch between phone and computer → Tinrec (iOS, Android, web)
• Almost only record in English, only need online meeting transcripts → Otter.ai

I suggest starting with a free version or trial. Try recording one of your own meetings and see if the output is directly usable—that's more accurate than any spec sheet.

FAQ

Q1: Is the free version of a speech-to-text app enough? It depends on how often you use it. For occasional interview or lecture recordings, the free quota is usually enough; if you have regular weekly meetings, most people will eventually need a paid plan. Before buying, check whether the free quota is for live recording or file import.

Q2: Does Tinrec support Chinese? It supports Chinese and multilingual meeting scenarios, and also provides live translation and original/translation/bilingual views. Actual recognition performance depends on recording quality, noise, accents, and overlapping speakers.

Q3: What's the difference between Tinrec and a meeting bot? A meeting bot joins the online meeting as a participant; Tinrec's desktop version directly captures the computer's system audio, so no extra member joins the meeting. Note that the user still needs to initiate recording.

Q4: What's the difference between the team version and personal version? Personal version data belongs to the individual account; the team version has an independent team space, data belongs to the team, and adds members, roles, seats, shared benefits, usage analytics, audit logs, and recycle bin. Members without a seat can still view and read but cannot upload, edit, or export.

Q5: Can accuracy be guaranteed? It's not recommended to think that way. Performance is usually good with clear audio and common scenarios, but no tool can promise a fixed number. For important content, verify against the transcript timestamps and recording.

Q6: What should I pay attention to before recording? Different regions have different regulations on recording and transcription. Follow local laws and, if necessary, get consent from participants before recording.

References

• Speech-to-Text: AI Transcript · Voice Memo Recco - App Store
• Speech-to-Text App Recommendations - iPhone/iPad Notes App
• Tested 4 Best Online Speech-to-Text Tools
• AI Voice Notes: 5 Recommended AI Transcription Tools
• Speech-to-Text - Google Play App