Get a Transcript, With a Live Preview While You Record
Real-time transcription means text appears while you are still speaking, instead of after the recording ends. ScreenApp offers this as a beta: live transcript while recording (beta), a rough running caption you can follow along with as you talk, on top of the full, cleaned-up transcript it produces once you stop. The live transcribe beta is available when you record on a Windows or Mac computer.
The finished transcript, with speaker labels and timestamps, is the reliable part of the product: it is ready a few minutes after a recording ends, whether that recording came from your microphone, a browser tab, an uploaded file, or ScreenApp’s meeting bot joining a Zoom, Google Meet, or Microsoft Teams call. The bot and file uploads do not produce a live view during the call itself; they transcribe once the recording is done. Unlike ChatGPT, which reads text you paste in and cannot listen to live audio at all, ScreenApp records and transcribes spoken audio directly.
What you get:
- A full transcript in 100+ languages, with speaker identification, ready a few minutes after you stop recording
- live transcript while recording (beta) you can watch while you talk
- AI chat with any recording and AI notes on the finished recording
- Export as PDF, DOCX, TXT, SRT and VTT
- Free plan: 2 transcriptions of recordings up to 45 minutes each
How to Get a Transcript From Live Audio
- Record or upload: Use your microphone, record a browser tab, or upload audio you already have (MP3, M4A, MP4A, M4B, AAC, WAV, OGG, OPUS, FLAC, AIFF, WMA, WEBMA, MKA, AC3, EAC3, WV, AMR, DSF, DFF). For a meeting, connect the meeting bot for Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams instead so it joins the call for you.
- Follow the live preview (beta): On a Windows or Mac computer, a rough running caption appears on screen as you talk. It is a preview, not the finished transcript, so expect rougher punctuation and no speaker names yet.
- Read the finished transcript: A few minutes after you stop, the full transcript is ready with speaker labels and timestamps. Search it, ask AI chat with any recording a question, or export as PDF, DOCX, TXT, SRT and VTT.
Accuracy depends on the recording itself, since ScreenApp does not apply noise reduction. A clear microphone close to the speaker transcribes more cleanly than a noisy room with several people talking over each other. See how we measure accuracy.
Real-Time Transcription vs Other Apps
| Feature | ScreenApp | Otter.ai | Fireflies.ai | Maestra AI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free plan | 2 transcriptions, up to 45 min each | 300 min/month | 400 min storage | free basic live transcription, no account required |
| Live preview while recording | live transcript while recording (beta) | Not stated | Not stated | free basic live transcription, no account required, in 125+ languages |
| Meeting platforms | meeting bot for Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams | Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet | Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams | Not stated |
| Speaker labels | Included, speaker identification | Basic plan | Included | Pro plan |
| Paid plan | $19/month annual | $8.33/month annual | $19/month annual | Not stated |
Sources, checked 2026-09-17: Transcription accuracy and languages, ScreenApp pricing, ScreenApp meeting bot repository, otter.ai/pricing, Fireflies pricing, live.maestra.ai/transcribe, otter.ai/otterpilot, fireflies.ai/integrations
- vs Otter.ai: Otter’s free plan is capped at 300 minutes a month and its bot joins Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet, but its own pricing page does not state a live, on-screen preview while recording. ScreenApp’s live transcript while recording (beta) is available on Windows or Mac, and the free plan covers 2 transcriptions of recordings up to 45 minutes each.
- vs Fireflies.ai: Fireflies caps its free plan at 400 minutes of storage and joins Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams, with Chrome extension recording without the Fireflies bot as a bot-free option, but it does not state an on-screen live preview either.
- vs Maestra AI: Maestra offers free basic live transcription, no account required, in 125+ languages, but adding speaker labels needs the Pro plan and it does not connect to meeting platforms. ScreenApp saves the recording, produces a full speaker-labeled transcript afterward, and includes AI notes and chat on top of the live preview.
Who Uses Real-Time Transcription
Remote team members follow the live preview during a call to keep up when audio cuts out or a speaker has an accent they find hard to catch, then read the finished, speaker-labeled transcript afterward.
Students watch the live caption if they’re sitting at the back of a lecture hall, then study from the full transcript and AI notes once class ends.
Interviewers and journalists glance at the live preview to confirm they caught a key quote, then work from the finished transcript with speaker labels when writing up.
People who are deaf or hard of hearing use the live preview to follow speech on their own screen as it happens, then keep the finished, saved transcript for later reference.
Content creators record a solo take or a conversation, watch it transcribe as they go, and use the finished transcript as a script draft or show notes.