mercuryScribe vs Simon Says
mercuryScribe
mercuryscribe.comSimon Says
simonsaysai.comSide by side
| Figure | mercuryScribe | Simon Says |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $15/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 14 |
| Spec score · Podcast Transcription Software | 8.8 (#6) | 8.7 (#8) |
| Editing | Users can edit transcripts in a browser and save changes to VTT files. | Users can edit, bookmark, annotate, and share transcripts, then assemble video by ordering text. |
| Support | Professional services include installation help, team training, workshops, and private server setup with GPUs. | Pro+ includes priority support, and Enhanced on-premises includes priority support. |
| Supported media | The processing workflow accepts MP4, MOV, MKV, and MP3 inputs, although browser video display is expected to work best with MP4. | The website supports common production audio and video formats and codecs, with files up to four hours in duration. |
| What it does | mercuryScribe is a browser-based local transcription front end for audio and video files. | Simon Says uses speech recognition AI to transcribe audio and video, and also offers translation and dubbing. |
Plans
Simon Says
- Pay as you go$15 a month
- Starter$180 a year
- Pro$396 a year
- Pro+$1,500 a year
- Pay as you goFree
- Starter$15 a month
- Pro$33 a month
- Trial Simon Says on-prem with 5 hours credit$100, paid once
- Pro+$125 a month
- Simon Says on-prem with 100 hours credit$2,500, paid once
In their own words
mercuryScribe
mercuryScribe is a locally run web interface for transcribing audio and video, with transcript editing and document export. It uses Faster Whisper for speech transcription and pyannote models to distinguish speakers. Users can edit transcripts in a browser, save changes as VTT files, and generate HTML or DOCX files containing speaker names and timestamps. The FAQ says audio, transcripts, and metadata are not sent to external services; the models are obtained from Hugging Face. Users need a Hugging Face access token and must accept terms for the required models. MAXQDA support is included by default, and custom integrations can be developed. The maker documents Docker, Windows package, and Python package installation options. The software is free and open source under the MIT license for personal, academic, or commercial use, and is listed for Linux, macOS, Windows, and web. The maker describes it as built for researchers and also suitable for journalists, podcasters, organizations, educators, accessibility groups, and professionals. Professional services include installation help, training, workshops, and private server setup with GPUs.
Simon Says
Simon Says is a transcription and media workflow product that uses speech recognition to turn audio and video into text, with translation and dubbing also available. Transcription and translation cover 100 languages. In the transcript editor, users can edit, bookmark, annotate, and share transcripts, then arrange text to assemble video. Exports include Word, subtitle formats such as SRT, and applications including Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe Audition, Avid Media Composer, and DaVinci Resolve. The website accepts common production audio and video formats, with files up to four hours long; online import limits vary from 5GB to 40GB across plans. Listed platforms are web, extension, iOS, macOS, Windows, and self-hosted. The free plan includes 120 minutes, and paid pricing starts at $15/user/mo (annual). New users receive 15 minutes of free credit. The company says users own their account data and can delete it.