HappyScribe vs Turboscribe: comparing AI transcription in 2025

Choosing a transcription tool isn’t just about speed. It also needs to be accurate, secure, offer multilingual support, and allow collaboration with your team to achieve the best performance for professional use.

If you’re debating between HappyScribe and TurboScribe, here’s what you should consider as you’re making your decision.

What is HappyScribe?

HappyScribe is an AI-powered tool that helps with transcription, translation, and subtitles. It’s a great option for speech-heavy content, such as podcasts, interviews, and lectures.

HappyScribe has over 6M users, including 40K+ content creators, media teams, marketers, and e-learning providers who trust it for high-level professional content production.

Some of the standout features of HappyScribe include:

• AI transcription with outputs in minutes in 120+ languages
• AI and AI + expert proofread options, performing at 95% and 99% accuracy rates respectively
• Add captions right into your videos and customize their style to your needs
• Translation and translated subtitles for global content production
• Auto-syncing for translated subtitles in videos
• A secure option that’s GDPR and SOC 2 Type 2 compliant

All these features and more make HappyScribe a trusted tool for professional content needs.

What is TurboScribe?

TurboScribe is an AI transcription and translation tool. Its two main features are:

1. Quickly transcribing audio or video files
2. Translating content in several supported languages

Overall, the platform is basic and easy to use. However, it lacks advanced features necessary for professional content creation, such as advanced editing, team collaboration tools, and high-level adherence to security standards. It also has unverified accuracy rates and performs better in some languages than others, leaving some questions about its capabilities.

Essential differences between HappyScribe and TurboScribe

1. HappyScribe vs. TurboScribe: user experience

HappyScribe: user experience

HappyScribe offers several advanced features that create an organized and accessible user experience. Those include:

• Fast results: You can generate AI-only transcripts and translations in minutes with 95% accuracy.
• Interactive editor: It offers an efficient editing space where you can review outputs while listening to the audio and compare translations with the original text side-by-side.
• Proofreading helper: Identifies any sections where HappyScribe may have struggled with accuracy for efficient proofreading.
• Integrations: HappyScribe integrates with platforms like Google Drive, YouTube, and Vimeo to fit into your workflow and manage different content needs.
• Advanced settings: Provides options for automatic speaker detection and labeling, subtitle customization, and custom glossaries and style guides.

The overall layout of HappyScribe’s interface creates an organized professional workspace. Upon logging in, you can easily figure out where to go to upload files, generate different types of outputs, and adjust settings as needed with a low learning curve in the process.

TurboScribe: user experience

After logging in, you’ll notice TurboScribe's platform is more basic and lacks the advanced features that HappyScribe offers.

One of the big issues with TurboScribe’s UX is that the editing interface feels clunky and hard to use. The outputs are organized and broken up with timestamps. However, you have to:

• Click a button to start editing
• Then, hover over a short, timestamped section of text and click another button to edit that section
• Finally, you’ll click another button to save your changes to that section

It adds a lot of extra steps to make changes to the output. Most content creators will end up wanting to just export the text to edit it elsewhere.

You also won’t be able to edit while playing the audio file back in the editor to make the review easier. Plus, it’s missing a lot of other advanced features that HappyScribe offers, like custom glossaries and style guides to create a more consistent output.

2. HappyScribe vs. TurboScribe: accuracy

HappyScribe: accuracy

HappyScribe is a tested, trusted, and accurate solution for professional content. AI-only outputs through HappyScribe achieve 95% accuracy for transcriptions, captions, and subtitles. You can also opt for HappyScribe’s expert proofreading services to achieve 99% accuracy on important content.

You can receive accurate AI-only outputs in minutes and expert proofreading within 24 hours. Rush orders for expert proofreading are also available at an additional fee to help when you’re approaching a deadline.

HappyScribe performs well because it’s rigorously tested and continuously trained to achieve the best possible results. It’s trained and tested daily on 12,000+ hours of media content each year.

It also offers a Glossaries feature to improve performance and consistency on transcriptions, translations, and subtitles. All you have to do is add any commonly misspelled or mistranslated words or phrases to your glossary, and HappyScribe will ensure it outputs those terms correctly. Many companies appreciate this when they have product names or features with unique spellings that they need to transcribe accurately.

“Happy Scribe was the only platform that could handle our volume and deliver consistent results.”

- Diane Grandchamp, Assistant Editor, Skydance Sports

TurboScribe: accuracy

TurboScribe’s accuracy rates are unverified, so it’s difficult to give a precise number on how it’ll perform for different types of content.

One of the main elements to consider with TurboScribe’s accuracy is that it’s built using OpenAI’s Whisper speech recognition model. That means while TurboScribe is providing a simple platform for transcription, the team behind it isn’t testing and optimizing the transcription model for top performance like HappyScribe is doing. Instead, it relies on a model created by a different organization.

Additionally, while TurboScribe promotes its fast outputs, its accuracy varies based on the output speed you choose. It has three options for this:

1. Cheetah: Provides the fastest outputs, but sacrifices accuracy.
2. Dolphin: Balances speed and accuracy.
3. Whale: The slowest option, but the highest accuracy rates.

Based on this, those who want the most accurate outputs won’t gain much or anything in speed when they opt for TurboScribe.

Finally, TurboScribe lacks features that help with accuracy, such as an option for expert proofreading or glossaries that can improve consistency.

3. HappyScribe vs. TurboScribe: language support

HappyScribe: language support

HappyScribe is committed to supporting as many languages as possible, and is continuously testing to provide more language support for better worldwide content production capabilities. It can transcribe and subtitle in 120+ languages and translate in 65+ languages with AI-only outputs. You can also opt for human subtitle translations in 85+ languages at 99% accuracy.

HappyScribe also provides several features that help create an organized and efficient translation experience. The platform allows you to:

• Efficiently edit translations: The interactive editor is easy to use for translations and translated subtitles, allowing you to compare the translated and original text side-by-side for easy review.
• Use glossaries for consistency: The glossaries feature will help you keep translations consistent, such as names that you don’t want changed.
• Sync translated subtitles with videos: HappyScribe offers AI-powered video syncing that detects shot changes and syncs subtitles accordingly for a good viewer experience. You can also manually edit subtitle timing as needed.
• Maintain compliance: HappyScribe’s localization features will help you meet accessibility standards, such as Subtitles for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing (SDH).

All these features work together to help content teams produce high-quality global content at scale while still ensuring a great viewer or reader experience.

TurboScribe: language support

TurboScribe supports 98+ languages, but the quality of transcription and translation varies by language.

They state that audio-to-text transcription is the most accurate in 22 of their supported languages, focusing on commonly spoken languages like English, German, Spanish, and French. While the other supported languages have lower accuracy rates and the outputs aren’t as reliable.

The limited accuracy for different languages presents challenges for content teams that want to produce at a high level on a global scale. Plus, there aren’t verified accuracy rates for any languages that TurboScribe supports, so it’s hard to tell what the overall performance looks like.

TurboScribe also doesn’t include some important languages that are heavily spoken by worldwide audiences. Some examples of major languages that TurboScribe doesn’t transcribe or translate in are:

• Mandarin: The second most spoken language in the world.
• Cantonese: Spoken as a primary language by over 85 million people worldwide, specifically in Southern China.
• Swiss German: The most spoken dialect in Switzerland.

Lastly, TurboScribe’s platform has some limitations when it comes to language capabilities:

• You’ll have to manually add and sync translated subtitles to videos since TurboScribe doesn’t have that on the platform. That can take up a lot of time when you’re producing videos in many different languages.
• There isn’t a human translated subtitling option for higher accuracy rates.
• You don’t get the localization and compliance features that you do with HappyScribe.

Overall, this leads to TurboScribe’s language capabilities feeling a lot more limited.

HappyScribe vs. TurboScribe’s Language Support Comparison Table:

4. HappyScribe vs. TurboScribe: workflows

HappyScribe: workflow

HappyScribe provides several features that contribute to a smooth and organized workflow:

• Multi-user collaboration: You can share project access with your team.
• Project organization: Create folders with clear labels for organization across your team.
• Custom subtitle styling: Adjust fonts, colors, appearance, and weight of subtitles added to videos for a cohesive feel that aligns with your brand.
• Tag speakers and add timestamps: Make outputs easy to review by adding automatic speaker labels and timestamps to transcriptions, translations, and subtitles.

These features will help your team work efficiently while producing a high volume of content.

"Happy Scribe has completely transformed our workflow. What used to take over an hour now takes us 20 minutes at most. The time savings are huge, especially given the number of videos we process every month."

- Geoffroy, Channel Manager at Logicomix

TurboScribe: workflow

TurboScribe’s workflow is more basic. You can create project folders within the platform and add automatic timestamps and speaker labels to outputs. However, it isn’t as easy to collaborate with team members, and there isn’t a feature to automatically add subtitles to your video, so that’s a task you’ll have to perform manually off the platform.

Those limitations, on top of the clunky editing interface mentioned earlier, can slow down content production.

5. HappyScribe vs. TurboScribe: security

HappyScribe: security

HappyScribe is a top choice for businesses and enterprises concerned about security while using a transcription tool.

HappyScribe is a European-based company that’s fully GDPR compliant. All data is stored, managed, and processed with high privacy standards.

Additionally, it’s SOC Type 2 compliant and offers secure single sign-on (SSO) login.

TurboScribe: security

TurboScribe doesn’t mention if they’re GDPR compliant or SOC 2 compliant, so it’s likely they don’t meet the requirements for those security standards. They also don’t mention if SSO login is available.

TurboScribe’s statement on security and privacy does say that they use encryption when handling and transferring data, so there are at least some measures in place to keep user data protected. However, the lack of GDPR and SOC 2 compliance is a concern for businesses that need to take security seriously.

6. HappyScribe vs. TurboScribe: pricing

HappyScribe: pricing

HappyScribe offers pricing options at different tiers to satisfy varying usage needs. The options include:

• Lite: $9 per month
• Pro: $29 per month
• Business: $89 per month

Users who sign up for an annual plan can get a 33-34% discount on these prices. You can also start with a limited free trial to test HappyScribe before paying.

TurboScribe: pricing

TurboScribe’s pricing starts at $20 per month. You can also get a 50% discount with an annual plan or sign up for a Teams plan at $240 per year.

Additionally, users who want to try TurboScribe before paying can start with their limited free plan.

7. HappyScribe vs. TurboScribe: use cases

HappyScribe: best use cases

HappyScribe is the ideal choice for businesses, content creators, and media teams that need a reliable transcription, translation, and subtitling tool. It’s a professional choice that’s tested daily to continuously provide high-quality results.

Best use cases for HappyScribe include:

• Quickly adding and editing subtitles to videos. (Read how Welcome to the Jungle used it to decrease editing times by 50%)
• Increasing your content’s reach with accurate translation and translated subtitles. (See how Logicomix increased viewership by 44%)
• Accurately transcribing audio for text-based content creation. (Read how Biola University used it for educational materials)
• Repurposing marketing materials or training content
• Creating podcast or interview summaries
• Scaling production across several departments with full team support

TurboScribe: best use cases

TurboScribe offers a more basic option with fewer advanced features. It’s best for limited personal use and small projects where accuracy and functionality in fast-paced content production aren’t as crucial.

The verdict on HappyScribe vs. TurboScribe: which comes out on top?

HappyScribe is the AI transcription tool that comes out on top for professional business use. Some essential features that make it the top choice for professional needs are:

• Multilingual support in 120+ languages
• Verified accuracy rates of 95% for AI-only outputs and 99% with expert proofreading
• Collaboration to share files across your team
• Security with GDPR and SOC 2 Type 2 compliance
• An interactive editing interface that allows you to play audio back and compare translations side-by-side
• Custom subtitling options that you can add right to your videos

TurboScribe provides fast outputs and can be an option for limited personal use. However, it falls short in collaboration, security, performance across languages, and the editing interface when professional teams need a scalable solution.