Summary
- Rev lists human transcription and human captions at $1.99 a minute. Its human captions are English and Spanish only. Translated "Global Subtitles" start at $6.49 a minute for Spanish, across 17 languages.
- Happy Scribe lists human proofreading from $2.00 a minute ($1.90 on Business) across 65+ languages, plus self-serve plans from $17 a month with machine minutes included.
- Rev's subscription plans have moved toward legal and investigative work. Happy Scribe's plans are aimed at subtitle and media production.
- If you do the work yourself and only need to check, fix or format files, a third option is covered at the end.
- Every figure comes from each vendor's pricing page, checked October 25, 2026.
Rev and Happy Scribe both sell human-made captions and subtitles alongside self-serve software. Buyers comparing them usually want three answers: the per-minute price for human work, which languages are covered, and which subscription fits the rest of the job.
Human services: per-minute rates
| Service |
Rev |
Happy Scribe |
| Human transcription |
$1.99/min |
Human proofreading from $2.00/min |
| Human captions |
$1.99/min, English and Spanish only |
Covered by its human subtitling services; see vendor page |
| Translated subtitles |
"Global Subtitles" from $6.49/min (Spanish); 17 languages |
Professional subtitling and translation listed; rates on its services page |
| Languages for human work |
17 for Global Subtitles |
65+ for human proofreading |
| Stated delivery |
12 hours or less for transcription and captions; 48 hours or less for Global Subtitles |
"Delivery in 4h+" |
| Subscriber discount |
3%–15% off human services, depending on plan |
5% off human proofreading on Business |
Sources: Rev pricing and Happy Scribe pricing pages, October 25, 2026. Delivery times are each vendor's own statements.
Rev also notes on its page that standard captions can be FCC-compliant when no burned-in visual content appears in the bottom third of the screen.
Self-serve plans
Rev. Its pricing page leads with plans "for legal and investigative work." A Free tier includes 45 machine transcription and caption minutes a month in English, for one user. Paid plans include Essentials and Pro; Pro shows two seat prices, $47.99 and $59.99 a month. Pro covers 37+ languages and 10,000 minutes per user a month for up to 5 users. A custom top tier adds CJIS and HIPAA controls and SSO.
Happy Scribe. Basic is $17 a month ($8.50 billed annually) with 120 minutes a month. Pro is $29 a month ($19 annually) with 600 minutes and 15+ export formats, including VTT, STL, XML, FCPXML and EDL. Business is $89 a month ($59 annually) with 6,000 minutes and five seats. A Free plan offers a 10-minute trial, with TXT and SRT export and watermarked MP4. Our Happy Scribe pricing breakdown goes plan by plan.
Which one fits
| If you… |
Lean toward |
| Need English or Spanish human captions for US accessibility work |
Rev |
| Need translated human subtitles in one of Rev's 17 languages |
Compare both quotes |
| Need human work in a less common language |
Happy Scribe (65+ languages for proofreading) |
| Need broadcast or editing formats like STL, FCPXML or EDL |
Happy Scribe Pro or above |
| Do legal or investigative transcripts and need CJIS/HIPAA controls |
Rev |
| Run a subtitle team that shares style guides and glossaries |
Happy Scribe Business |
Both are established vendors. The better choice depends on language, format and compliance needs rather than on price alone, since their human rates are within a few cents of each other.
A third option: do the QA and formatting yourself
Many buyers comparing Rev and Happy Scribe are freelancers or small studios who do the transcription or subtitling themselves. Their problem is the delivery check, not the draft. For that work:
VideoText Pro is $14.99 a month or $120 a year, covering 30 hours of speech a month and files up to 4 hours. It does not sell human transcription or captioning. If you need people to do the work, Rev or Happy Scribe is the right comparison. Our guide to what professional transcription costs in 2026 covers the wider market.
FAQ
How do Rev and Happy Scribe human caption rates compare?
On their pricing pages, Rev lists $1.99 a minute and Happy Scribe lists human proofreading from $2.00 a minute. Final cost depends on language, turnaround and add-ons, so get a quote for your file.
Does Rev caption in languages other than English and Spanish?
Rev's human captions are listed as English and Spanish only. Its Global Subtitles service covers 17 languages.
Which exports STL subtitles?
Happy Scribe lists STL on its Pro plan and above. Rev's pricing page says "all major file formats supported" but does not list them.
Can I check a Rev or Happy Scribe caption file before delivery?
Yes. Upload the SRT or VTT to the VideoText subtitle validator; it needs no account.
Next step
Whichever vendor you use, run the delivered file through a check before it goes to your client. Check it with Fix Subtitles; no account is needed to see whether it passes.
Sources: Rev pricing, https://www.rev.com/pricing (checked October 25, 2026). Happy Scribe pricing, https://www.happyscribe.com/pricing (checked October 25, 2026). VideoText Subtitle Validator, Fix Subtitles and Pricing pages (checked October 25, 2026).