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For researchers

Interview transcription your methods section can stand on

Upload an interview or a focus group. Akoé transcribes it automatically, labels who said what, and opens an editor built for checking every word against the recording — because analysis is only as good as the transcript under it.

First 5 minutes free. No card, no subscription. After the trial, we charge €5 per hour of audio pro-rated, starting from a €1 minimum charge.
EU-owned infrastructurenot just EU regions of overseas cloudsDeleted on your scheduleaudio and transcript togetherNever used to train modelsno third-party AI touches your filesExact price before you pay€5 per hour of audio, to the second

From recording to citable transcript

Your recording comes back as a draft with speaker labels and a timestamp on every word. The first minutes appear while the rest is still transcribing, and we email you when it's done.

Then the real work is fast: the audio plays from the word you're checking, find & replace clears a repeated mistake everywhere, and words the AI is unsure about stay flagged until you've looked at them — so you know what you've checked, and what you haven't.

Export Word in an interview layout, plain text, CSV for your analysis software, or TEI XML — your corrections and timings carry into every format.

Made to pass an ethics committee

Recordings of research participants are exactly the kind of data an ethics application has to account for. The answers are ready:

EU-only processing

Every company that touches your audio is EU-owned and EU-based — the whole list is public. Files are encrypted at rest with per-workspace keys.

Paperwork for your DPIA

An Art. 28 data-processing agreement on request, with the full process concept for an ethics application or DPIA — plain-language summary here.

Deletion you can promise

Audio and transcript are deleted together on the schedule you choose — 7, 30 or 90 days, or keep until you delete. Immediate deletion is always one click away.

Never used for training

Your recordings never train models — ours or anyone else's. No third-party AI service touches them. It's a written commitment in the DPA, not a toggle.

From recording to research tool

This is where a transcription platform for researchers becomes the research tool itself. An automatic index shows the people, places, organisations and dates mentioned in each interview — plus labels you define yourself; click a mention to jump to it.

Across a project, search finds moments by meaning, not just exact words: every result is a real snippet with its timestamp, and it plays. Your searches are never logged, and projects are private to you by default — sharing is explicit.

Focus groups: tell the wizard how many people are speaking and the speaker separation gets sharper. Where it slips, renaming, reassigning, splitting or merging a speaker is one click each.

Frequently Asked Questions

Fair questions before your first upload

Does it work for focus groups?
Yes. Automatic speaker separation labels each voice, and telling the wizard how many participants are speaking makes it sharper. Wrong voice, missed change of speaker, two people merged — each is a one-click repair in the editor.
Will my ethics committee or DPO accept it?
We give you what they'll ask for: EU-only processing on publicly listed EU-owned infrastructure, retention schedules with joint deletion of audio and transcript, and — on request — an Art. 28 data-processing agreement with the full process concept for the application itself.
Which languages does it transcribe?
About 100, auto-detected or set by you. Translations open side by side, into 28 languages, so a colleague can read interviews they couldn't listen to.
What does a one-hour interview cost?
€5 — the rate is €5 per hour of audio, pro-rated to the second, and the exact price is shown before you pay. A 90-minute interview is €7.50. Your first 5 minutes are free, no card needed.

Your first 5 minutes are free

A real recording or just your voice—see how it works. No card details needed.

Upload a recording Start dictating