While SpeakWrite might be a viable online side hustle for some, being a transcriptionist is not for everyone. Transcriptionists must be fluid in typing, word processing and copywriting.
Additionally, SpeakWrite encourages its transcriptionists to not treat the work as a side hustle, but instead as a full-time career.
Find out if becoming a transcriptionist on SpeakWrite is the side hustle for you.
Table of Contents
What is SpeakWrite?
By their own definition, SpeakWrite is a human-powered transcription service. Human transcriptions are used to type out audio into written words.
SpeakWrite employs expert typists to translate audio into written words and pays them for it. Users can either sign up to be clients or transcriptionists. If you’re looking for an online side hustle or full-time job from home, being a SpeakWrite transcriptionist is an option.
Is SpeakWrite legitimate?
Yes, SpeakWrite is legitimate. It pays transcriptionists and helps paying clients transcribe their audio files.
How much do transcriptionists make on SpeakWrite?
SpeakWrite claims their transcriptionist hourly pay is around $22 an hour and $450 per month. The site also claims high-earners are pulling in around $3,400 every month, or about $41,000 each year.
Transcriptionists can also earn bonuses, receive incentives and get extra rewards, according to SpeakWrite.
New transcriptionists should not expect to earn close to the average that SpeakWrite claims their writers make. Since this kind of skill is something that takes time to perfect, it’s expected that new transcriptionists will not reach the projected average at first.
Can you make a living doing transcription?
The top earners on SpeakWrite, which are the ones earning around $41,000 a year, could be making a living depending on the cost of living where they are at. However, transcriptionists usually do not make a living from their transcribing work alone.
Is SpeakWrite a good online side hustle?
According to SpeakWrite’s website, no it is not a good online side hustle. Instead, it’s a work-from-home career. The company wants its transcriptionists to think of the work as a full-time job, not a side gig.
In our opinion, SpeakWrite is probably a perfect side hustle for someone who wants to work from home and has advanced typing skills. All you need is Wi-Fi and a computer to sign up and start earning. Additionally, no college education or traditional experience is required to start as a transcriptionist.
Many websites discourage employees from treating their work as a side gig because they want their workers’ full attention. But as the side hustler, identifying great side hustle opportunities is part of the game we play. SpeakWrite definitely seems like a great online side hustle opportunity to our team.
Scribie vs SpeakWrite
In our opinion, SpeakWrite is a better transcription platform than Scribie because of its ease of use and large client pool. You will likely always have work, which means you’ll always be making money, and the platform is easy enough to sign up for and use.
However, in general, it seems like Rev is the best transcription platform out there for writers looking to make money. This article by Millennial Money shows just how amazing Rev can be for transcriptionists looking to earn money online.
Of course, if you check SpeakWrite’s website, the company deems themselves as the “clear winner” over Scribie and GoTranscript (another transcription provider). We found this information to be extremely biased and misleading.
Takeaways
If you’re a new transcriptionist looking to earn money online, SpeakWrite is a legitimate option. You’ll earn money, it’s easy to sign up for and their client pool is large.
But we predict you’ll eventually grow tiresome of using the SpeakWrite platform and look for alternatives. When you do this, we suggest starting your search with platforms like Rev and Daily Transcription first.
