{"summary":"Good Tape (rated 4/5): Purpose-built for sensitive reporting: best security posture tested (EU servers, deletion by default, no AI training), with a narrower feature set and occasional glitches on noisy audio. Paid plans from $16.85/month. | Otter.ai (rated 4.5/5): Best all-around pick for most journalists: balances accuracy, usability and price better than anything tested; mobile app and summaries linked to the transcript stand out; weaker on privacy than Good Tape. Paid plans from $16.99/month.","tools":[{"id":"good-tape","name":"Good Tape","vendor_url":"https://goodtape.io","price":"Good Tape review: one Individual plan, $16.85/month for 20 hours, 'or €186/year for EU users' (review header: '$16.85/month (or €186/year)'; the review's own comparison table lists annual cost as '$186'). No tiers or overage fees. Roundup: $16.85/month in its pricing table and pros list but $16.95 in its quick comparison table; annual '$186 works out to $15.50 a month'.","price_monthly_usd_entry":16.85,"free_tier":"No free tier and no free trial; 'you can test it with the first month' (Good Tape review). Roundup table: Free Plan 'None'. Discounts for verified nonprofits and educational institutions.","accuracy":"Accuracy 4/5 stars. Strong on clean audio; occasional glitches on noisy audio: on the Air Force One gaggle it wrote 'The Press' 21 consecutive times while missing content about NATO and the war in Ukraine. On difficult audio Otter has a slight edge. Speaker identification good but occasionally misses changes by a sentence or two.","accuracy_pct":null,"privacy":"Strongest security of the tools tested: all servers in the EU, full GDPR compliance, recordings deleted automatically after transcription by default (user can choose to keep), never trains AI on customer files, encryption in transit and at rest. Not SOC 2 Type II per roundup table (marked '—'); GDPR-compliant but not HIPAA-certified.","languages":"Primary support for English and major European languages.","limits":"20 hours of transcription per month; unlimited file uploads; single plan with no overages (upgrade needed beyond 20 hours). No direct Zoom integration, no mobile app, no filler-word removal.","best_for":"Investigative reporters handling confidential sources; newsrooms covering sensitive topics (politics, security, whistleblowers); European journalists needing GDPR compliance; organizations with strict data retention policies.","not_for":"Mobile recording (Otter), top accuracy on noisy audio (Sonix), no subscription budget (Google Pinpoint), professional audio/video editing (Descript), filler-word removal (Otter or Sonix); less suitable for fast-turnaround breaking news.","verdict":"Purpose-built for sensitive reporting: best security posture tested (EU servers, deletion by default, no AI training), with a narrower feature set and occasional glitches on noisy audio.","rating":"4/5","source_url":"https://mediacopilot.ai/good-tape-review-the-transcription-tool-built-for-journalists-who-protect-their-sources/","also_in":["https://mediacopilot.ai/the-best-ai-transcription-tools-for-journalists-hands-on-review/"],"evidence":["Pricing: $16.85/month (or €186/year) for 20 hours","Good Tape got stuck at one point, writing “The Press” 21 times while completely missing what the president was saying.","Good Tape explicitly does not use customer files to train AI models.","All servers sit in the European Union. Recordings are deleted by default."]},{"id":"otter","name":"Otter.ai","vendor_url":"https://otter.ai","price":"Otter review: Free (limited); Basic $16.99/month or $99.96/year (1,200 minutes = 20 hours/month, 10 file uploads/month); Pro $24.99/month (2,400 minutes, 20 uploads/month); 'Higher tiers are available ($24.99/month and up)'. Overage roughly $0.10-0.15 per extra minute. Roundup: $16.99/month, $99.96 annual, 'roughly $8.33 a month billed annually'. Otter review also says annual billing 'saves about 20%' versus monthly.","price_monthly_usd_entry":16.99,"free_tier":"Otter review: 300 minutes (5 hours) per month of live transcription only; only 3 file uploads total, ever; includes mobile app, Zoom/Teams/Meet integration and AI summaries. Roundup table: '5 hrs (live only, 3 uploads max)'.","accuracy":"Accuracy 4/5 stars. 'Near-Sonix accuracy'; on clean audio very similar to Sonix, on difficult audio (multiple speakers, background noise) Sonix edges ahead; no surprise accuracy drops on difficult audio. Speaker identification excellent on two-person interviews and correct on most speaker changes in the multi-speaker gaggle. Sonix review says Otter 'delivers 90% of the accuracy' of Sonix (a relative statement, not a measured rate).","accuracy_pct":null,"privacy":"Uses de-identified customer data to train its AI by default, with an opt-out in account settings; servers not exclusively EU-based (complicates GDPR); encryption in transit and at rest; SOC 2 Type II; does not delete recordings by default; roundup table flags human review as possible (warning). Described as not ideal for sensitive investigative material.","languages":null,"limits":"Free: 3 file uploads total, live transcription only. Basic: 1,200 minutes/month, 10 uploads/month. Pro: 2,400 minutes, 20 uploads/month. Maximum file size 500 MB (one onboarding step in the Otter review says 'up to 100 MB'). Per-minute overage beyond plan minutes. Filler words always removed (no option to keep them).","best_for":"Most journalists: print journalists needing reliable daily transcription, reporters doing fieldwork (only tool with a mobile app), breaking news desks, news organizations on reasonable budgets.","not_for":"Sensitive sources or required EU-based servers (Good Tape), absolute top-tier accuracy (Sonix), no subscription budget (Google Pinpoint), professional audio/video editing (Descript); podcasters/producers who want to keep filler words.","verdict":"Best all-around pick for most journalists: balances accuracy, usability and price better than anything tested; mobile app and summaries linked to the transcript stand out; weaker on privacy than Good Tape.","rating":"4.5/5","source_url":"https://mediacopilot.ai/otter-ai-review-the-all-around-transcription-tool-that-still-hits-the-sweet-spot/","also_in":["https://mediacopilot.ai/the-best-ai-transcription-tools-for-journalists-hands-on-review/"],"evidence":["At $16.99 a month (or $99.96 billed annually), it delivers more useful features per dollar than anything else we tested.","Otter is the transcription tool we recommend for the majority of journalists.","On clean audio, accuracy is very similar. On difficult audio (multiple speakers, background noise), Sonix edges ahead.","Otter uses customer files to train its AI models (data is de-identified, but it’s used nonetheless)."]}],"decision_rules":[{"category":"transcription","if":"you want one tool for most journalism use cases (best balance of accuracy, features and price)","then":"otter","because":"Roundup final verdict: 'For most journalists: Use Otter.'"},{"category":"transcription","if":"you need to record and transcribe in the field on your phone","then":"otter","because":"Only Otter has a dedicated mobile app among the tools tested."},{"category":"transcription","if":"you want clean quotes without manual filler-word cleanup","then":"otter","because":"Otter automatically strips filler words."},{"category":"transcription","if":"you are an investigative reporter handling sensitive or confidential sources","then":"good-tape","because":"EU-based servers, GDPR compliance, deletion by default and no AI training on customer files are 'worth any feature trade-offs'."},{"category":"transcription","if":"you need EU data residency / GDPR compliance","then":"good-tape","because":"Only tool tested with EU-only servers; Otter review says 'choose Good Tape' if you must have EU-based servers."},{"category":"transcription","if":"you transcribe many hours a month (e.g. 20 hours) and cost matters","then":"otter","because":"Roundup: a reporter transcribing 20 hours a month would pay $72 on Sonix compared to Otter's flat $16.99."}],"method_note":["Hands-on test of five tools (Google Pinpoint, Good Tape, Sonix, Otter.ai, Descript) on three recordings, each a 10-minute, 10-20 MB mp3: (1) a clean two-speaker Google Meet interview, (2) a low-fidelity two-speaker phone recording, (3) a press gaggle with President Donald Trump on Air Force One downloaded from YouTube (multiple speakers, significant background noise, many proper nouns and difficult names). Tools were evaluated on accuracy, usability, security posture, pricing and feature set. Accuracy was judged qualitatively (star ratings, observed errors such as misspelled names, skipped words, missed speaker changes); no word-error rate or numeric accuracy is reported. The roundup's key takeaways say 'Six AI transcription tools were tested' while its body says five were tested."],"discrepancies":["Roundup key takeaways say six tools were tested; body says five.","Good Tape monthly price: $16.85 (Good Tape review; roundup pricing table and pros) vs $16.95 (roundup quick comparison table).","Good Tape annual price: '€186/year' (Good Tape review header and pricing section) vs '$186' (Good Tape review table; roundup).","Sonix annual price: $198/year (Sonix review; roundup '$198+') vs $264+/year (Pinpoint review and Good Tape review tables; Sonix review's '10 hours = $22/month ($264/year)'). Sonix review also says 'No annual discount on the subscription' while listing $198/year.","Sonix overage: roundup says '$22 a month plus $5 for every hour you transcribe' in one place and '$22 a month for 10 hours ... then adds $5 for every additional hour' in another; Sonix review says $5/hour beyond 10 included hours.","Sonix pay-as-you-go is described as 'Best for: Occasional users who do a few hours per month', yet the same review's table shows the monthly plan cheaper at 5 hours ($22 vs $50).","Otter annual discount: Otter review says annual saves 'about 20%' / 'roughly 20%', but also lists $99.96/year vs $16.99/month; roundup says annual is 'roughly $8.33 a month'. These figures are not consistent with a 20% discount.","Otter max upload: 'up to 100 MB' (Otter review onboarding step) vs 500 MB (Otter review features section and FAQ).","Descript SOC 2 Type II: roundup security table marks it as held; roundup text says 'Otter and Sonix hold SOC 2 Type II certification'.","Descript Professional plan: 'No annual discount on the highest plan' vs $144/month or $1,152/year.","Conferencing integrations: roundup FAQ says all five tools integrate with Zoom/Teams/Meet; Pinpoint review says Pinpoint does not directly integrate with Zoom and Good Tape review says Good Tape has no direct Zoom integration.","Pinpoint access: 'free for verified journalists' (Pinpoint review key takeaway) vs sign in with any Google account, 'no separate registration' (Pinpoint review setup)."],"data_source":"The Media Copilot (mediacopilot.ai) reviews and comparisons; each record links its article.","docs":"https://www.oasy.ai/api/newsroomtools/dyz2ujfk"}