2026 Comparison of 3 Free Cantonese Speech-to-Text Tools: Free Quotas, Cantonese Recognition, and Post-Meeting Organization

The word "free" makes people sign up quickly, but problems only appear when you actually use it: some tools only give you the first 15 minutes per file and then block you; some only recognize English, so Cantonese input produces a bunch of errors; and some free quotas are tied to APIs, so setup alone can take an entire afternoon.

When I look for these tools myself, I usually first confirm three things: how the free quota is calculated, whether Cantonese (especially mixed Chinese-English) is transcribed correctly, and whether the transcript can be used directly afterward.

This article starts from these common pitfalls and compares Tinrec and Subanana, which specializes in Cantonese transcription, item by item. At the end, I will also mention the free route of Google AI Studio to see whether free plans are actually sufficient.

Tinrec vs Subanana | Quick Overview

Tinrec is an AI meeting notes and collaboration tool for individuals and teams. Its focus is not just converting sound to text, but turning meetings into searchable, summarizable, queryable, and exportable data. Subanana, on the other hand, is a speech-to-text service centered on Cantonese. Upload an audio file or video, or paste a public link, and the AI outputs a transcript with speaker separation and punctuation.

Item	Tinrec	Subanana
One-line positioning	AI meeting notes and collaboration tool for individuals and teams	Free speech-to-text app focused on Cantonese
Free plan	Free version offers basic quota to experience recording, import, summary, and transcription	First 15 minutes of each file can be previewed for free
Core difference	Summary, to-dos, AI Q&A, and team space after transcription	Cantonese spoken/written language × Traditional/Simplified Chinese, 4 output combinations

Below, I will compare five dimensions in order: free quota, Cantonese and mixed Chinese-English recognition, post-meeting organization, online meetings and cross-platform use, and team collaboration.

Dimension 1 | How Is the Free Quota Calculated, and Whose Free Plan Can Last Through a Meeting?

Subanana's free method is "the first 15 minutes of each file can be previewed for free." That means short clips are comfortable to try, but for a 50-minute meeting recording, you can only see the first part for free.

Tinrec's free version provides a basic quota for experience, with recording, import, summary, and transcription all in the same workflow, so you do not have to first think about whether a segment exceeds the free length.

Note that neither free quota is unlimited. For actual numbers, refer to the current announcement on the official website.

→ This dimension: If your recordings often exceed 15 minutes, Tinrec's free experience lets you go through the entire workflow more completely.

Dimension 2 | Cantonese and Mixed Chinese-English: Which Transcribes More Smoothly?

In Subanana's public description, what attracts Cantonese users most is that "mixed Chinese-English remains reliable." When outputting, you can also choose spoken or written language, plus Traditional and Simplified Chinese, for a total of 4 combinations. This is very thoughtful for people who need to convert spoken language into written Chinese.

On Tinrec's side, the focus is transcription and meeting minutes for Chinese meetings. It supports organizing mixed Chinese-English content, multilingual meeting transcription, and maintaining common terminology with team hotwords, making professional vocabulary recognition closer to team habits.

Keep in mind that regardless of the tool, actual results are affected by recording quality, background noise, accent, overlapping speakers, and professional terminology. No tool can guarantee 100% accuracy.

→ This dimension: A tie. For pure transcript language output flexibility, Subanana is very detailed; Tinrec integrates Cantonese and mixed Chinese-English into the meeting organization workflow.

Dimension 3 | Can You Use It Directly After Transcription? Post-Meeting Organization and Export

Subanana's output is a transcript with speaker separation and punctuation. It can export SRT, VTT, TXT, DOCX, XLSX, and Markdown, making subtitles or archiving convenient.

In addition to the transcript, Tinrec automatically generates AI summaries, chapters, key points, and to-dos. It supports AI Q&A around meeting content, and can use Agent post-processing to produce reports, tables, and documents, and export to Notion, Google Docs, OneNote, Dropbox, and other tools for further processing.

Simply put, Subanana does the "transcript" part well; Tinrec tries to make it so you do not need to open another tool for organization.

→ This dimension: Tinrec wins.

Dimension 4 | Online Meetings and Cross-Platform Use Cases

Subanana's operation is intuitive: upload MP3, M4A, WAV, or MP4, or paste YouTube, Instagram, or Facebook links. You can also record directly in the browser without installing additional software.

Tinrec's desktop version directly captures computer system audio, so it can handle Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and Webex meetings played on the computer without inviting a meeting bot to join. It also has a web version and mobile app. Note that Tinrec currently requires the user to actively start and initiate recording; it does not automatically join all meetings on the calendar.

If you have already-recorded files or public video links, Subanana's import method is very convenient; but if you need to record an ongoing online meeting, Tinrec's bot-free workflow is closer to actual needs.

→ This dimension: Tinrec wins for online meeting scenarios.

Dimension 5 | Team Collaboration and Data Accumulation

Subanana's public description mainly focuses on the individual upload, transcription, and export workflow. If what you want is for a team to jointly accumulate meeting data, Tinrec's team version offers something at another level.

The team version is not multiple people sharing one personal account, but an independent team space: you can create and switch between multiple teams, invite members with a join link, set owner/admin/regular member roles, and assign, reclaim, or transfer seats. Meeting data belongs to the team. When a member leaves, resources can be handed over to other active members and will not disappear with the individual.

Also, distinguish roles and seats: roles determine who can manage the team, members, audit, and team settings; seats determine whether a member can record, upload, edit, import, and export. Active members without seats can still view, play, and read team data.

Admins can also view team usage trends, member rankings, and details, query and export audit logs, manage team hotwords, and restore accidentally deleted recordings through the audio recycle bin.

For pricing, the team monthly plan is USD 29.80 per paid seat per month, and the annual plan is USD 199 per paid seat per year (equivalent to about USD 16.58 per month). Each paid seat provides 2,000 minutes of shared team import quota per month; the first eligible team trial is 7 days, 1 free seat, and 300 minutes of shared import quota. Actual prices and promotional content are subject to the official purchase page.

→ This dimension: Tinrec wins.

What Unique Advantages Does Each Have?

Tinrec's advantages are concentrated in the end-to-end workflow before and after meetings:

• Bot-free online meeting recording: the desktop version captures system audio, so you do not need to pull another bot into the meeting room.
• Complete post-meeting workflow: in addition to the transcript, there are summaries, chapters, to-dos, mind maps, and AI Q&A.
• Consistent across platforms: usable on web, desktop, and mobile, with real-time translation and bilingual viewing.
• Team governance in place: space, roles, seats, usage, audit, and recycle bin all in one.

Subanana's advantages are very focused:

• Flexible Cantonese output: spoken/written language × Traditional/Simplified Chinese, 4 combinations, and mixed Chinese-English is handled well.
• Easy import: paste a public link or record directly in the browser to start.

Conclusion: Which One Should You Choose?

• If you need to record online meetings and want summaries and to-dos right after transcription → Tinrec
• If you need meeting data to stay with the team and not be taken away when members leave → Tinrec team version
• If you often switch between phone, computer, and web → Tinrec
• If you only occasionally need a transcript of a short Cantonese recording, or want to turn a YouTube video into subtitles → Subanana's free preview is enough

In one sentence: for most people who want to turn "recordings into usable data," Tinrec is the more complete choice. It is recommended to first use the free version with one of your own Cantonese recordings, and also confirm whether the free quota and recognition results match your use case.

FAQ

What can Tinrec's free version do? The free version provides a basic quota to experience recording, import, summary, and transcription. Actual quota is subject to the official website. If you need short-term intensive use, consider a weekly card; for long-term stable use, evaluate the Pro monthly or annual card.

What is the approximate accuracy of Cantonese speech-to-text? No tool should promise a fixed number. Actual performance is affected by recording quality, noise, accent, overlapping speakers, and professional terminology. For important content, it is recommended to verify with transcript timestamps and recording playback.

What is the difference between the team version and the personal version? Personal version data is managed by the individual account; the team version provides an independent team space, meeting data belongs to the team, and it adds members, roles, seats, shared benefits, usage analysis, audit logs, and recycle bin.

Can team members without seats see meeting data? Active members can still view, play, and read team data even without a seat, but they need a seat to record, upload, edit, import, and export.

What should I pay attention to before recording? When recording and transcribing involve other people's conversations, please comply with local laws and obtain participants' consent when necessary.

What are the limitations of Subanana's free version? The first 15 minutes of each file can be previewed for free; the part beyond that requires a paid plan.

What about the free route of Google AI Studio? Using Gemini for Cantonese transcription is a free method recommended by many. Its advantages are no extra cost and a low barrier to operation; its disadvantages are that you have to handle upload, segmentation, and subsequent organization yourself, and there is no team space or post-meeting workflow.

References

• Free Cantonese speech-to-text app 2026 | Subanana
• Traditional Chinese text-to-speech software | Ondoku
• Free Cantonese speech reading! Confirm pronunciation and reading with AI voice [2026 edition] | Text-to-speech software Ondoku
• "Free + Cantonese OK: How to use Google AI Studio to turn your recording into text" Finding a good transcript app is painful; I do not know if you have tried different recording-to-text apps. Either fake free, charging a big price after a few dozen minutes of trial, or only supporting English and not Cantonese, or requiring a whole round of API setup before use // Recently I found that Google Gemini is world-class in this area: - [Truly free] No subscription fee after a few uses - [Cantonese friendly] Gemini accurate
• Text-to-speech Cantonese - ToolBaz