Zoom Meeting Transcription: Complete Guide for 2025

Zoom meetings generate valuable conversations, decisions, and action items that need documentation. Whether you're recording team meetings, client consultations, or training sessions, getting accurate transcripts helps maintain records, improve accessibility, and enable searchable meeting archives.

This guide explains every method for transcribing Zoom meetings in 2025, including Zoom's built-in transcription features, third-party service integrations, and alternative AI transcription approaches. Understanding the trade-offs between cost, accuracy, and access control helps you choose the right transcription solution for your needs.

Quick Navigation

• Zoom's Built-In Transcription: Free but Limited
• Zoom Transcription Pricing by Plan
• Accuracy Expectations: Zoom vs AI Services
• Access Control Problem: Who Can View Transcripts
• Method 1: Enable Zoom Built-In Transcription
• Method 2: Third-Party Transcription Services
• Method 3: AI Transcription from Zoom Recordings
• Zoom Transcription vs BrassTranscripts Comparison
• Best Practices for Zoom Meeting Transcription

Zoom's Built-In Transcription: Free but Limited

Zoom offers automatic transcription as a built-in feature for paid plans, processing meeting audio in real-time or from recordings.

What Zoom provides:

• Automatic transcription during live meetings (English only)
• Post-meeting transcription from cloud recordings
• Basic speaker identification
• VTT format transcript files
• Cloud storage integration

Key limitations:

• Available only on paid plans (Pro, Business, Enterprise)
• English language only for automatic transcription
• Real-time processing trades accuracy for speed
• Access restricted to meeting host/account admin
• No offline processing of local recordings

When Zoom's built-in transcription works well:

• Your organization already has Zoom Business or Enterprise plan
• Meetings are primarily in English
• Adequate accuracy tolerance for internal documentation
• Host controls are acceptable for your workflow

Zoom Transcription Pricing by Plan

Pricing Disclaimer: All prices mentioned in this guide are as of the publication date (November 5, 2025) and are provided for informational purposes only. Pricing, features, and plan availability are subject to change without notice. Please check directly with Zoom for current pricing and feature details.

Zoom's transcription availability varies by subscription tier.

Zoom Plan	Monthly Cost	Transcription Available	Language Support	Storage
Basic (Free)	$0	❌ Not available	N/A	N/A
Pro	$149.90/year per user	✅ Manual audio transcription	English only	5GB cloud
Business	$199.90/year per user	✅ Auto & manual transcription	English only	Unlimited cloud
Enterprise	Custom pricing	✅ Auto & manual transcription	English only	Unlimited cloud

Hidden costs to consider:

• User license fees (per participant with recording access)
• Cloud storage overages on Pro plan
• Third-party integration costs
• Time spent managing access controls

Cost comparison:

• Zoom Business plan: $199.90/year/user (~$16.66/month/user)
• BrassTranscripts AI transcription: $0.15/minute ($9/hour) pay-per-use
• For organizations transcribing 10+ hours monthly: dedicated AI service often more cost-effective

Accuracy Expectations: Zoom vs AI Services

Transcription accuracy varies significantly between Zoom's built-in feature and dedicated AI transcription services.

Zoom's built-in transcription:

• Real-time processing architecture
• Optimized for speed over accuracy
• Performance varies by audio conditions
• Limited speaker diarization capability

Dedicated AI transcription (WhisperX, Google Cloud Speech, AWS Transcribe):

• Batch processing with full context analysis
• Larger models trained on diverse audio
• Professional-grade speaker identification
• Word-level timestamp precision

According to peer-reviewed research (Interspeech 2023, 2025), professional AI transcription models achieve:

• 88-93% on clean benchmark audio
• 88% on multi-speaker meetings (AMI corpus)
• 71-77% on accented speech
• 74-83% on spontaneous conversational audio

Factors that impact Zoom transcription accuracy:

• Audio quality (microphone, environment)
• Number of speakers and overlapping speech
• Accents and speaking pace
• Technical terminology and proper nouns
• Background noise levels

Access Control Problem: Who Can View Transcripts

Zoom's transcript access model creates challenges for organizations requiring flexible sharing.

Zoom's access restrictions:

• Only meeting host can access transcripts by default
• Account administrators have full access
• Participants cannot access transcripts without host sharing
• No granular permission controls

This creates issues when:

• Meeting host leaves organization (transcript access lost)
• Multiple stakeholders need transcript access
• External clients require meeting records
• Team members join late and need context

Workarounds:

1. Host manually shares VTT files via email/cloud storage
2. Change ownership of recordings before host departure
3. Use third-party tools that export transcripts
4. Understand Microsoft Teams has similar restrictions

Alternative approach: Using independent transcription services (BrassTranscripts, Rev, Otter) provides direct file access without platform permission dependencies.

Method 1: Enable Zoom Built-In Transcription

For Zoom Business or Enterprise users wanting to enable built-in transcription.

Enable Account-Wide Transcription

Requirements:

• Zoom Business or Enterprise plan
• Account administrator access
• Cloud recording enabled

Steps:

1. Sign in to Zoom Web Portal at zoom.us
2. Navigate to Account Management → Settings
3. Locate Recording section in left navigation
4. Find "Audio transcript" setting
5. Toggle ON the audio transcript option
6. Save changes

Configure transcript options:

• Enable/disable automatic transcription for all recordings
• Set default language (English only)
• Configure cloud storage settings
• Set access permissions for account

Enable Transcription Per-Meeting

For meeting hosts:

1. Schedule meeting in Zoom client
2. Click "Advanced Options"
3. Check "Record meeting automatically" (cloud recording)
4. Enable "Audio transcript" option
5. Start meeting and transcription begins automatically

During live meetings:

• Transcription processes audio in real-time
• View live transcript via "Show Captions" button
• Transcript saves automatically to cloud after meeting ends

Access Zoom Transcripts

After meeting ends:

1. Navigate to zoom.us/recording
2. Find recorded meeting in list
3. Click meeting title to expand details
4. Locate "Audio Transcript" file (VTT format)
5. Download VTT file to local computer

VTT file format:

• Plain text file with timestamps
• Compatible with video players
• Can be converted to TXT or other formats
• Includes speaker labels when available

Method 2: Third-Party Transcription Services

Several third-party services integrate directly with Zoom for automatic transcription.

Otter.ai Zoom Integration

How it works:

• Otter bot joins Zoom meetings automatically
• Records and transcribes in real-time
• Stores transcripts in Otter workspace
• Provides collaborative editing features

Pricing:

• Free tier: 600 minutes/month
• Pro: $10/month per user (6,000 minutes/month)
• Business: $20/month per user (unlimited minutes)

Benefits:

• Real-time collaboration on transcripts
• Integration with Zoom, Teams, Meet
• Live captions during meetings
• Searchable transcript archive

Limitations:

• Bot attendance visible to all participants
• Requires Otter account for access
• Subscription required for regular use
• Accuracy comparable to Zoom's built-in

Fireflies.ai Zoom Integration

How it works:

• Fireflies bot joins meetings when scheduled
• Records audio and generates transcript
• Provides AI-powered meeting insights
• Integrates with CRM and productivity tools

Pricing:

• Free tier: 800 minutes storage
• Pro: $10/month per user
• Business: $19/month per user
• Enterprise: Custom pricing

Features:

• Automatic meeting capture
• Speaker identification
• Action item extraction
• CRM integration (Salesforce, HubSpot)

Grain.com Zoom Integration

How it works:

• Grain records specific Zoom meetings
• Creates shareable highlight clips
• Generates full meeting transcripts
• Stores in Grain workspace

Pricing:

• Free tier: 5 hours recording/month
• Starter: $15/month per user
• Business: $29/month per user

Best for:

• Customer research teams
• Sales call analysis
• Training and coaching
• Meeting highlight sharing

Method 3: AI Transcription from Zoom Recordings

Alternative approach: record Zoom meetings and transcribe with dedicated AI services.

Process Overview

Step 1: Record Zoom Meeting

Two recording options:

• Cloud recording (saves to Zoom cloud, accessible via zoom.us/recording)
• Local recording (saves to computer, immediate access)

Step 2: Download Audio File

For cloud recordings:

1. Navigate to zoom.us/recording
2. Locate meeting in list
3. Click "More" → Download → Audio (M4A format)
4. Save file to computer

For local recordings:

• Audio file automatically saved to computer
• Default location: Documents/Zoom/[date]-[meeting-name]
• Format: M4A audio file

Step 3: Upload to AI Transcription Service

Upload M4A file to transcription service:

• BrassTranscripts: Upload → 2-3 minutes → Download transcript
• Rev: Upload → 5 minutes → Receive transcript
• Other services: Follow provider-specific upload process

Advantages of This Approach

Cost efficiency:

• Pay only for transcription needed (no subscriptions)
• Free Zoom Basic plan sufficient (no paid Zoom plan required)
• Typical cost: $0.15/minute ($9/hour)

Better accuracy:

• Batch processing with full context analysis
• Professional-grade AI models (1.5B+ parameters)
• Superior speaker identification
• Word-level timestamp precision

Flexible access:

• Anyone with file can access transcript
• No platform permission dependencies
• Multiple format exports (TXT, SRT, VTT, JSON)
• Permanent offline storage

Privacy control:

• Process sensitive meetings separately
• No third-party bots visible in meeting
• Control over recording storage
• GDPR/compliance friendly

Supported Audio Formats

Most AI transcription services accept multiple Zoom audio formats:

Zoom recording formats:

• M4A (default Zoom audio format)
• MP4 (video with audio extraction)
• WAV (uncompressed, large file size)

BrassTranscripts accepted formats:

• M4A, MP3, WAV, AAC, FLAC, OGG, Opus, WebM, MPGA (audio)
• MP4, MPEG (video - audio auto-extracted)
• Maximum file size: 250MB (2+ hours of audio)

Zoom Transcription vs BrassTranscripts Comparison

Direct comparison of Zoom's built-in transcription and dedicated AI transcription service.

Feature	Zoom Built-In	BrassTranscripts (WhisperX)
Cost	$199.90/year per user	$0.15/min pay-per-use ($9/hour)
Zoom Plan Required	Business or Enterprise	Free Basic plan sufficient
Accuracy	Real-time processing	88-93% on clean audio (Interspeech benchmarks)
Speaker ID	Basic labels	Professional diarization (automatic)
Processing Time	Real-time during meeting	2-3 minutes per hour of audio
Language Support	English only	99+ languages with auto-detection
Access Control	Host/admin only	Direct file access (no restrictions)
Export Formats	VTT only	TXT, SRT, VTT, JSON
File Size Limit	N/A (processes live)	250MB (2+ hours)
Offline Processing	No (cloud only)	Yes (upload any audio file)

Recommendation by use case:

Choose Zoom built-in if:

• Already have Zoom Business/Enterprise plan
• Need real-time captions during meetings
• Meetings are English-only
• Internal-only documentation sufficient

Choose BrassTranscripts if:

• Want highest accuracy transcription
• Need flexible access control
• Process meetings in multiple languages
• Prefer pay-per-use vs subscriptions
• Free Zoom Basic plan user
• Require professional speaker identification

Best Practices for Zoom Meeting Transcription

Maximize transcription accuracy regardless of method used.

Audio Quality Optimization

Microphone selection:

• Use dedicated USB microphone (vs laptop built-in)
• Position microphone 6-8 inches from mouth
• Use headset microphone for individual speakers
• Consider conference room microphone for group meetings

Environment control:

• Choose quiet room with minimal background noise
• Close windows to reduce exterior noise
• Turn off fans, HVAC during recording
• Use soft furnishings to reduce echo

Zoom audio settings:

1. Open Zoom → Settings → Audio
2. Enable "Suppress background noise" → High
3. Check "Show in-meeting option to 'Enable Original Sound'"
4. Test microphone levels before important meetings

For more comprehensive audio recording guidance, see 7 Pro Tips for Perfect AI Transcription.

Speaking Techniques for Better Transcription

Individual speakers:

• Speak clearly at moderate pace
• Avoid excessive filler words ("um," "uh")
• Articulate technical terms and proper nouns
• Pause briefly between thoughts

Multi-speaker meetings:

• Introduce yourself when speaking ("This is Sarah")
• Avoid talking over other participants
• Wait 1-2 seconds after speaker finishes before responding
• Use "raise hand" feature to organize turn-taking

Meeting facilitation:

• Have participants introduce themselves at start
• Use participant names when addressing people
• Encourage one speaker at a time
• Recap decisions and action items clearly

Recording Configuration

Cloud vs local recording decision:

Use cloud recording when:

• Need automatic Zoom transcription
• Multiple people require recording access
• Large file sizes (limited local storage)
• Want automatic retention policies

Use local recording when:

• Free Zoom Basic plan user
• Want immediate file access
• Prefer offline storage control
• Plan to use third-party transcription

Recording quality settings:

1. Open Zoom → Settings → Recording
2. Set "Record a separate audio file for each participant" → ON (improves speaker separation)
3. Set recording quality → High (1080p for video, 128kbps for audio)
4. Enable "Optimize for 3rd party video editor" if editing planned

Post-Meeting Transcript Review

Verification checklist:

• Check speaker labels accuracy (verify names vs "Speaker 1")
• Review technical terminology and proper nouns
• Verify numbers, dates, and statistics
• Confirm key decisions and action items
• Note sections with low confidence/unclear audio

Common correction patterns:

• Homophones ("their" vs "there" vs "they're")
• Company names and product names
• Industry-specific terminology
• Participant names (especially uncommon names)
• URLs and email addresses

Efficient editing approach:

1. Search transcript for participant names
2. Correct all instances of misspelled names first
3. Use find-and-replace for repeated terminology errors
4. Focus review on critical sections (decisions, action items)
5. Add timestamps for important moments

Choosing the Right Zoom Transcription Method

Decision framework based on organizational needs.

For Small Teams (2-10 people)

Recommended: AI transcription from Zoom recordings

Why this works:

• No Zoom paid plan required (save $200/user/year)
• Pay only for meetings that need transcription
• Professional accuracy for important meetings
• Flexible file access for all team members

Process:

1. Record Zoom meetings locally (free Zoom Basic)
2. Upload important meetings to BrassTranscripts
3. Download transcripts in preferred format
4. Store in team shared drive or project management tool

Cost example:

• 5 hours transcription/month × $9/hour = $45/month
• vs Zoom Business plan: $16.66/month × 5 users = $83.30/month
• Savings: $38.30/month ($459.60/year)

For Medium Organizations (10-50 people)

Recommended: Hybrid approach

Strategy:

• Use Zoom built-in transcription for routine internal meetings
• Use dedicated AI transcription for critical/external meetings
• Evaluate based on meeting importance and required accuracy

When to use Zoom built-in:

• Daily standup meetings
• Internal team syncs
• Routine project updates
• Adequate accuracy acceptable

When to use AI transcription:

• Client meetings and consultations
• Board meetings and executive sessions
• Training sessions for documentation
• Meetings requiring high accuracy

Cost optimization:

• Leverage existing Zoom Business/Enterprise plan
• Pay-per-use AI transcription for 10-20% of meetings
• Reduces overall transcription costs while maintaining quality where needed

For Large Enterprises (50+ people)

Recommended: Integrated third-party solution

Options:

• Otter.ai Enterprise: CRM integration, collaboration features
• Fireflies.ai Business: Automated workflows, analytics
• Custom AI transcription API: Bulk processing, automation

Evaluation criteria:

• Integration with existing tools (Salesforce, Microsoft 365, Slack)
• Security and compliance requirements (SOC 2, HIPAA)
• Scalability for thousands of meetings
• Custom vocabulary and terminology training
• Admin controls and user management

Typical enterprise approach:

1. Standardize on single transcription platform
2. Automate transcription for meeting categories
3. Integrate with CRM for sales calls
4. Connect to knowledge management for searchable archive
5. Set retention and access policies

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Solutions to frequent Zoom transcription problems.

"Audio Transcript Not Available"

Possible causes:

• Free Zoom Basic plan (transcription unavailable)
• Local recording instead of cloud recording
• Account administrator disabled transcription feature
• Meeting recording failed or corrupted

Solutions:

1. Verify Zoom plan (Business or Enterprise required)
2. Check Account Settings → Recording → Audio Transcript enabled
3. Ensure cloud recording was used (not local)
4. Re-record meeting if recording failed
5. Use alternative transcription method (upload audio file to AI service)

Poor Transcription Accuracy

Possible causes:

• Low audio quality (poor microphone, background noise)
• Multiple overlapping speakers
• Heavy accents or fast speech
• Technical terminology not recognized

Solutions:

1. Improve audio setup for future meetings (see Audio Quality Optimization section)
2. Download audio file and use professional AI transcription
3. Edit transcript manually for critical sections
4. Consider human transcription for extremely poor audio quality

For comprehensive troubleshooting guidance, see Transcription Keeps Getting Words Wrong - 2026 Solutions.

Can't Access Transcript (Not Meeting Host)

Problem: Zoom restricts transcript access to meeting host and account administrators.

Workarounds:

1. Ask host to share: Request VTT file via email
2. Change ownership: Host transfers recording ownership before leaving organization
3. Alternative recording: Record meeting separately using OBS Studio or similar
4. Use independent service: Use AI transcription service for direct file access

Long-term solution:

• Establish organizational policy for transcript sharing
• Use third-party integration (Otter, Fireflies) for automatic distribution
• Switch to AI transcription approach (Method 3) for direct access

Zoom Recording File Too Large

Problem: Cloud storage full or file exceeds third-party transcription service limits.

Solutions:

1. Extract audio only: Download audio (M4A) instead of video (MP4)
2. Compress audio: Use Audacity or similar to reduce bitrate
3. Split recording: Upload meeting in segments if over 250MB
4. Upgrade storage: Increase Zoom cloud storage allocation

File size reference:

• 1-hour Zoom audio (M4A): 30-60MB typical
• BrassTranscripts maximum: 250MB (handles 2+ hours)
• If exceeding limits: split recording into multiple files

Conclusion

Zoom meeting transcription in 2025 offers multiple approaches with different trade-offs between cost, accuracy, and access control.

Key takeaways:

Zoom built-in transcription:

• Available on Business/Enterprise plans ($199.90/year/user)
• English-only, real-time processing
• Restricted access (host/admin only)
• Adequate for routine internal meetings

Third-party integrations (Otter, Fireflies, Grain):

• Subscription-based monthly fees
• Automated meeting capture
• Collaborative features and integrations
• Bot attendance visible to participants

AI transcription from recordings (BrassTranscripts):

• Pay-per-use ($0.15/minute)
• Professional accuracy (88-93% on clean audio)
• No Zoom paid plan required
• Flexible access and multiple format exports
• Best accuracy-to-cost ratio

Recommended approach: For most organizations, using Zoom's free Basic plan and uploading important meeting recordings to dedicated AI transcription services provides the best combination of cost efficiency and transcription accuracy without access control limitations.

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Ready to transcribe your Zoom meetings with professional accuracy? Upload your Zoom recording to BrassTranscripts for fast, accurate transcription with automatic speaker identification.