If you’ve just completed research interviews, a series of focus groups, or are looking for a transcription company in Canada, there are a few things you may or may not have considered in your search that are important to consider. This article will guide you in finding a Canadian company that meets your particular needs, whether your concerns are primarily data security, price, or company culture. We will examine where our competitors store client data and whether the company outsources that storage, along with their overall Google reviews based on customer feedback. Customers who want to share their opinion about a business — good or bad — can write a Google review with details of their experience. They can include photos, and select a star rating for any business or location listed on the platform.

To get a feel for each company’s culture, we researched each company on Glassdoor, a worldwide leader for insights about jobs and companies. Glassdoor increases workplace transparency, and provides insights into employee experience. The Glassdoor website is powered by millions of company ratings and reviews, CEO approval ratings, salary reports, interview reviews and questions, benefits reviews, office photos, and more, combined with the latest job vacancies. We have also compared transcription rates in Canada and abroad, along with the conversion to USD (accurate as of the date of publishing) for those seeking the best transcription rates outside of Canada.

Questions When Seeking a Canadian Provider

Before we review each company, here are some questions you should consider when searching for a transcription company:

• Are you seeking a local transcription company?
• Is data security and confidentiality a concern?
• Does your data leave the country?
• Do the company employees reside in the country?

All of these factors are critical to ensure the safety and integrity of company data. Many of our customers are specifically looking for a Canada-based transcription services provider that uses Canadian servers, and that does not outsource data storage and/or employees outside of the country. In order to understand what our customers face when making a decision about selecting a transcription service, we searched Google for “transcription services” which revealed six key competitors located in Canada, the U.S., and the U.K.

The results of our research are as follows:

Rev Transcription

The top-ranking website is Rev Transcription, a U.S.-based company with remote freelance transcribers who are located globally.  All of the company’s Amazon AWS servers are located in the USA.

Google  3.9

Glassdoor 4.9

Per minute: $1.94 CAD / $1.50 USD

Transcript Heroes

Transcript Heroes is formerly known as Transcript Divas.  It’s headquartered in Toronto, with servers located in Canada.

Google  4.8

Glassdoor 2.0

Per minute: $1.79 CAD /$1.40 USD

Transcription Canada

Canadian-based transcription services company is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario and boasts the highest standards, with data stored on Canadian servers.

Google  4.8

Glassdoor NR

Per minute: $1.69 CAD /$1.33 USD

Way With Words

U.K. based company with transcribers located around the world.  Servers are all in the U.K., which is the company’s primary base for business.

Google  5.0

Glassdoor 3.9

Per minute: $1.90 CAD /$1.49 USD

Go Transcript

A U.K. company in Harrow, Middlesex with servers located in Edinburgh, Scotland.  Transcribers are located around the world.

Google  4.2

Glassdoor NR

Per minute: $1.26 CAD /$0.99 USD.

Transcribe Me

TranscribeMe is a USA company with transcribers located globally offering fast, accurate and secure medical and legal transcription.

Google  NR
Glassdoor 3.7

Per minute: $1.34 CAD /$2.00 USD.

Deciding whether data security is an issue will have a significant impact on the choice you make when choosing a transcription company.  Other factors to consider may include:

• Security:  If your data is confidential, then it is important to understand data security is an issue.
• Accuracy: The second most important factor to consider is whether the company you choose has a high accuracy rate.  If you choose a company that has employees out-of-country, there may be small nuances that will be incorrectly captured due to accents, grammar, and punctuation.
• Price: Secondary to accuracy when relying on the data within the transcripts to accurately reflect what was said, but also an important consideration. Based on our research, the lowest transcription rate in Canada is offered by Transcription Canada.

Tips for Hiring a Transcription Company

• Ask questions to ensure the integrity and security of your data.
• Research the company and look at Google Reviews, along with Glassdoor entries to ensure you’re dealing with a reputable company.
• Send a test file (especially for larger projects) to see how the transcription provider does before committing.
• Once you’ve selected a transcription company, request a Confidentiality Agreement from the provider, along with a Service Agreement that outlines the details of the contract