How to Transcribe Zoom Meetings: Built-In Options and Better Alternatives

Have you been on a Zoom call recently, and after the call realized you had forgotten about half of the meeting discussion? If so, do not worry, you are part of the majority. According to a Harvard Business Review study, 71% of senior managers believe that meetings are unproductive. Transcripts help with solving this issue because they give you a searchable record of all the discussion made during your meeting.

Having Zoom record a meeting allows you to participate in your conversations as opposed to constantly trying to type down notes. In addition it is a huge time-saver for those that may have missed the meeting as they will be able to access what was said in a matter of minutes.

The thing that a lot of folks don't know about transcriptions in Zoom is that they only work when there are certain circumstances met. How well or if you can get them will depend on what type of plan you have with Zoom (if you have one), how you set up your account or the way that you record.

How Zoom's Built-In Transcription Works

Zoom has two methods for transcription. Live captions that occur while you are in a meeting, and post-meeting transcripts generated by cloud recordings. Both serve different purposes and each has its own limitations.

Live Captions (Subtitle Mode)

Zoom will show you live subtitles of what is being said on the bottom part of your screen while in a meeting. To turn it on for yourself or anyone else, just click on the "Show Captions" button in the meeting toolbar.

Live captions will work with both free and paid plans. Also, as of 2026 live captions are available in over 35 languages. Unfortunately, it does appear you can't save or download those live captions for use outside the confines of the meeting.

Live captioning is beneficial for access purposes, however it does not lend itself to a permanent transcript.

Cloud Recording Transcription

The more useful of the two is Zoom's audio transcription option available for cloud recordings. With this feature turned on, you have the ability to automatically create a text document as soon as a cloud recording has finished processing.

Here is how to set it up:

1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal
2. Go to Settings and click the Recording tab
3. Enable "Cloud recording" if it is not already on
4. Toggle on "Audio transcript" under the cloud recording settings
5. Start your next meeting and record to the cloud
6. After the meeting, Zoom processes the recording and generates a transcript (this takes a few minutes to a few hours depending on length)

The transcription is shown on the same page as your cloud recording. It's searchable and editable and you are able to save it in a .vtt format for download.

The Catch: What You Need for Cloud Transcription

Transcription of Zoom cloud recordings is available only on paid plans. Local recording, available on free accounts, saves as an MP4 file directly onto your device with no transcript. To enable both cloud recording of meetings and the transcription of those recordings you will have to have at least a Pro plan ($13.33 per month billed annually).

Even when using paid options for your transcripts, you can expect varying degrees of accuracy. The level of accuracy that can be expected from Zoom's automatic transcription feature will depend largely on the quality of the audio (clear, one person at a time) as it does not do well with crosstalk or heavy accents or technical terms. Additionally, there are no speakers identified in the basic version of the transcript, making it more difficult to tell who said what.

The average professional spends a total of 31 hours each month in non-productive meeting time, according to a 2024 report from Otter.ai. That's why you'll want a reliable solution if you're going to take back some of that lost time by using meeting transcripts.

Common Problems With Zoom Transcription

Accuracy Issues

The transcription accuracy of Zoom is about 80-85% for standard English conversation. This seems adequate, however, it equates to roughly a 15% error rate per hour of discussion. That works out to dozens of misheard words and missed names per meeting, and if your team has a need to discuss specific product details, code or any other form of business-specific jargon then the error percentage will climb.

No Local Recording Transcription

The main constraint of using Zoom to capture audio or video for transcription is that, if your account has a free plan and thus records all meetings locally, there is no automatic transcription provided by Zoom of local recordings. When you record a meeting you receive a raw video file as the result, and that's it. A common assumption made about Zoom is that they will provide some kind of transcription of all recorded material. However, this service is available only for cloud-based recordings, which are accessible only to those who have paid accounts.

Privacy Concerns

Cloud recordings work by uploading your meeting audio into Zoom's servers to be processed. Teams that are working on confidential client data, financial transactions, or HR related issues find cloud recordings as a major privacy threat. A lot of organizations do not feel comfortable with Zoom's use of their data in order to improve products, as stated in the privacy policy.

Processing Delays

Transcripts of cloud conversations are not instantaneous. It is possible to get the transcription of short meetings quickly (minutes), however it will generally take hours to receive a complete transcription of longer recordings. A long delay could hinder your ability to create an immediate response by way of an email or action items list based on what was discussed during the call.

Better Alternatives for Zoom Transcription

If you feel that Zoom's native automatic transcription feature fails to support your needs, there are a number of solutions available which can help with each of these issues.

Third-Party Cloud Transcription Tools

Otter.ai, Fireflies.ai, and Tactiq are some of the services that integrate with Zoom. They provide better quality of speech recognition, they can identify who is speaking at all times, and generate an AI summary of what was discussed. Many of these services have monthly subscription fees and you will need to allow them to process your recorded Zoom meetings on their remote servers.

These tools will perform well for you when your primary concern is accuracy and you're fine with utilizing a cloud based solution. They can reach an average of 90-95% accuracy and provide additional functions such as action item extraction and keyword search.

Local Transcription Software

To avoid having audio sent to the cloud, local transcription tools run completely in a local environment. They work with all Zoom plans, including the free account, as you are simply transcribing the local recording file made during each meeting.

Shmeetings is one such application that processes audio locally on your machine utilizing AI models running as a local application. Since all of your meeting audio remains on your machine there are no privacy concerns associated with using a cloud based service. Shmeetings can be used on both Mac and Windows machines and performs the entire processing task offline.

This is local transcription, so it doesn't cost anything by the minute. Once you purchase a license for the software, there are no limits to how much audio you can transcribe. Teams with large numbers of daily Zoom sessions will save money compared to cloud-based per-minute pricing.

Recording Locally and Transcribing After

The most basic process to use for free Zoom users:

1. Start your Zoom meeting
2. Click Record and choose "Record on this Computer"
3. After the meeting, locate the MP4 file in your Documents/Zoom folder
4. Open the file in a local transcription tool
5. Get your transcript in minutes

With this method, you are in complete control of how your files are stored and handled, regardless of what Zoom plan you have. More information on offline transcription approaches is available through a blog post on our site.

How to Get Better Transcripts From Any Method

Regardless of whether you use one transcription technique or another, there are some best practices that will help your accuracy.

Audio Quality Matters Most

Use a dedicated microphone instead of your laptop's built-in mic. A $30 USB microphone will help you reduce background noise and provide better clean audio for transcription engines. According to Microsoft Research, the quality of audio is the most significant contributor to transcription accuracy, more important than the type of AI model used.

Encourage all participants to use their mute button whenever they are not speaking. Crosstalk (speakers talking at the same time) is usually the main cause of transcribing errors followed by other types of background noise from participants who have left their microphones on.

Speak Clearly and Use Names

Start each statement with your name (or how you address someone), this will help both a human reader and an AI transcription tool keep track of who said what. For example, instead of just going directly into your idea and stating it, add a couple of words prior to that. For instance, "This is Sarah, I think we should…"

Set Up Your Environment

Close all doors, turn off the fans and other background noise, and keep hands away from keyboards when talking so that keyboard clacking does not interfere with speech. If you are working at home, inform those around you of your meetings so they do not interrupt you.

Choosing the Right Transcription Method

Here is a quick comparison to help you decide:

We have a separate guide which will show you a detailed breakdown on how to compare other transcription tool options in terms of their handling of meeting recordings for Teams users.

When to Use Which Option

Use Zoom's automatic transcription feature if you already have a paid Zoom subscription, your meetings are predominantly conducted in English, and no confidential information will be discussed.

Use a third party cloud service if you require better accuracy of results, speaker labeling or to have an AI summary created for you, and your organization's data policies allow cloud based processing.

Use local transcription if you're using a free Zoom plan, working with confidential information, need total control of all meeting data, or usually lack stable internet connections for meetings. We created an entire article about when local AI transcription makes sense as well.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can Zoom transcribe a meeting on a free plan?

Zoom offers live captioning in its free version of the service, but live captions disappear once the call is over. To get a permanent transcript you need to upgrade to one of its premium plans for cloud-based recording transcription. Alternatively, users on a free Zoom account can record locally and then upload those recordings into a separate transcription tool to create a transcript.

How accurate is Zoom's meeting transcription?

Zoom's transcription is generally in the range of 80 to 85 percent accurate when using one speaker and good-quality English language recordings. Accuracy can be significantly reduced if there are several people speaking, if there is significant background noise, if speakers have heavy accents, or when technical terms are used. Many third-party tools or local transcription software products can provide better transcription.

Does Zoom transcription work in languages other than English?

There are more than 35 languages supported by the live caption feature in Zoom. The number of languages supported by cloud recording is fewer. Please check with Zoom for their most recent and complete listing of the languages that are currently supported, as they add languages to this service on an ongoing basis.

Can I edit a Zoom transcript after the meeting?

Yes. When using cloud recording transcription, you may edit the transcript directly from within the Zoom web portal. Open a recording, click into the transcript link and begin editing. Those edits will be permanently stored as part of the transcript file.

Is Zoom transcription secure for confidential meetings?

Zoom uses encryption to protect recordings while they are being transferred (in-transit) as well as when they are stored (at-rest), however, you still send your audio over Zoom's servers for processing. For highly confidential meetings, consider local transcription tools that keep all audio on your machine.

How long does it take for Zoom to generate a transcript?

Processing time will depend upon the length of the recording as well as server load. Meetings under thirty minutes will be processed in fifteen to thirty minutes or less. Recordings that are longer may require several hours to process. You receive an email notification when the transcript is ready.