Introduction

Founded in 2001, Way With Words specializes in three types of transcription: audio transcription, video transcription, and custom transcription. The company focuses exclusively on transcription to give you the best experience.

The video transcription service is really just an extension of the audio transcription service. You can opt for pure audio from a video, or you can upgrade by opting for onscreen text and time coding.

The custom transcription services include closed captioning as well as machine transcription polishing.

We’ve written this review of Way With Words by perusing its own website and testing out the platform for ourselves. Please read our review to get a better idea of how this online transcription company will work for you.

Pricing and turnaround times

Way With Words doesn’t publish lists or matrices of base prices and add-ons. Instead, the company offers its interactive pricing calculator to let you quickly find out what you’ll pay. The calculator is attractive and easy to use.

The first option for using the pricing calculator is to calculate by the length of your file. Whether you want audio or video transcription, simply select your desired turnaround time and indicate the number of audio minutes to be transcribed. You’ll see your rate per minute and your total appear in the box on the right.

You can also choose a couple of extras: time coding and full verbatim. Click the radio buttons next to these add-on services and check your pricing again. Once you’re satisfied, you can proceed with uploading your file.

Another way to use the price calculator is to add your file first and let the system analyze it. You can upload directly from your computer, link to a file, or add a file from Dropbox. Again, choose your turnaround time and extras, and check your pricing to the right.

A third option for discovering your pricing is to ask for a quote. You can do this either by clicking on the Custom tab on the pricing calculator, or by clicking the Download Quote link you’ll find right there on the By Length or By Files tab. This is usually only necessary with complex jobs.

Judging by the prices we’ve seen on the calculator, it’s easy to assume that Way With Words offers human-generated transcription only. Indeed, a little poking around reveals a guarantee of 99%+ accuracy, which certainly indicates human transcription.

Included in the standard prices are:

• Any accent
• Any sound quality
• Any number of speakers
• Two timestamps per page
• Intelligent verbatim format

The lowest price we see in the calculator is $1.30 per audio minutes. This is for a turnaround time of 10 or more days and no extras. The highest price is $7.88 per minute, which is a doozy but includes express turnaround, time coding, full verbatim formatting, and special instructions.

Note that if you’re interested in the custom transcription services, you’ll need to ask for a custom quote.

Web interface / dashboard

The homepage is upbeat. An email contact form is available at the bottom right if you want to use it. Scrolling down takes you to the same information as the tabs at the top.

The company philosophy is presented in a YouTube video, which we found original and modern. And you can probably tell by our review of the pricing calculator above that the web interface is quick and easy to use.

The registration process is simple. Once you’ve registered, your dashboard looks a bit different from what you see on the main website. It’s quite spare and may leave you wondering.

We were a bit frustrated that we needed to enter an invoice or quotation number when making a payment. Still, it’s easy enough to drag and drop your files or upload them when placing an order.

Accuracy

Way With Words guarantees at lesat 99% accuracy on all of its transcription services. That’s all there is to say!

Conclusion

Way With Words doesn’t mess around. There’s no fluff involved in placing your order. However, after all the shopping around we’ve done, we find the pricing is a little high in some cases. And some aspects of ordering were a little unusual.

But if you’re looking for top quality and expert formatting of your transcripts, you may be willing to pay more. Because you get tons of options for your turnaround time, you can use this as a way of moderating your total price. Just be sure you plan ahead!