You capture proceedings live
Use a capture platform or your steno CAT software. HeyDonna starts after the recording exists. Verbit Legal Capture, for example, offers real-time capture and live editing.
2026 comparison
Best AI transcript editors for digital court reporters and legal transcriptionists
Honest picks, with sources.
The right tool depends on whether you capture proceedings or edit a draft. Here are five options, who certifies with each, and how they are priced.
HeyDonna is one of the tools compared. Checked against vendor pages on 24 October 2026.
In one sentence
What is HeyDonna?
HeyDonna is an AI transcript editor for digital court reporters and legal transcriptionists. It drafts, proofreads and formats a transcript in your template, tracks every edit, and leaves the review and certification to you.
The short answer
Pick by the job you are doing.
You have audio, a job sheet and a template
HeyDonna fits. It drafts, proofreads and formats in your template, and every edit is tracked for you to accept or reject.
You need a plain draft, cheaply
A general AI transcription service such as Sonix publishes pay-as-you-go pricing. You format and certify the result yourself.
Why this question matters now
The reporter shortage, in numbers.
21%
Fewer stenographers in the US over the last decade, leaving about 23,000.
74%
Drop in enrollment at stenography schools, and about 42% of certification programs or schools closed.
76%
Of end users surveyed report scheduling difficulties because of the shortage, and 55% cite higher costs.
19,900
US court reporter and simultaneous captioner jobs in 2025, with no change projected to 2035. 33% are self-employed.
AAERT is the association for digital reporters and commissioned that study, so read its figures as an advocate's. The size of the shortage is also disputed: see Law360, “A Dire Court Reporter Shortage Depends On Who You Ask”. Flat headcount and fewer stenographers mean more files per reporter, which is the problem an editor can help with.
The comparison
Five options, side by side.
We describe each tool from its own published pages and flag what we could not confirm. Vendors change features and prices, so confirm before you buy.
| Tool | What it does | Who certifies | How it is priced |
|---|---|---|---|
| HeyDonna This site | An editor for a draft built from your recording, job sheet and template: AI proofreading and formatting, tracked edits, audio synced to the text, DOCX and RTF export. It does not capture proceedings live. | You. Nothing is final until you accept it, and Donna never signs off. | Credits: 1 credit = $0.01. 2,500 free credits for new accounts, then $5, $25 or $100 top-ups. No subscription. |
| Verbit Legal Capture | Real-time capture and live editing for courts, agencies and digital reporters, with speaker identification, automatic Q&A labeling and instant rough drafts, powered by Verbit's own ASR. Source. | Verbit describes certified finals delivered by its professional team, with optional human review. | Not published on the product page. It points to a demo or sales contact. |
| Rev | AI and human transcription. Its legal pages list a Legal Rough Draft service (formatted legal transcripts in 3 days or less), a Court Reporting Self-Service product for instant drafts to certify-ready transcripts, and SmartDepo deposition summaries, now part of Rev. Source. | Rev calls the self-service output certify-ready. Confirm certification terms with Rev. | See Rev's pricing pages. We did not verify current rates. |
| Sonix | General AI transcription that positions a legal offering as court-ready transcripts for depositions and hearings. Source. | Not stated on the page we checked. | Pay as you go at $10 an hour, plus monthly plans. Source. |
| Steno CAT software | The established writer-plus-software workflow for stenographers: live capture, translation and editing. Whether a package includes AI editing varies, and we did not evaluate any. | The stenographer. | Varies by vendor and package. Ask for a quote. |
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
Before you choose
Questions reporters ask.
Does an AI editor replace my certification?
No. The reporter stays accountable for the record, the principle AAERT lays out in Preserving the Gold Standard in Court Reporting. In HeyDonna every AI edit is a tracked change you accept or reject, and Donna never signs off.
Will it work with my CAT software?
HeyDonna is not CAT software and does not capture live. It exports DOCX and RTF for court reporting (CAT) software, as the editor menu docs describe. We have not published a compatibility list for specific CAT packages, so test an export on a real file first.
Will my template and line numbers survive?
Legal projects apply your own DOCX template, and DOCX exports include line numbers, typically 25 per page (see the docs FAQ). One pilot transcriptionist still opens the DOCX in Word to update page and line numbers in the index pages, because they can shift slightly after export.
How accurate is the AI?
Treat any vendor's accuracy number, including ours, as a claim to test on your own audio. HeyDonna's docs describe the AI transcript as a working draft you proofread. Our public Record Test benchmarks models on legal transcript editing and says plainly that it does not measure readiness to certify.
Is my audio private?
HeyDonna's docs state that audio and transcripts are encrypted in transit and at rest and are never used to train AI models. Our security page is candid about stage: HeyDonna is in public beta, is not HIPAA compliant, and its SOC 2 audit is in progress. Verbit describes Legal Capture as a SOC 2 Type II-aligned platform. If a client requires a certification today, ask each vendor for evidence.
What does it cost?
HeyDonna uses credits: 1 credit = $0.01, with 2,500 free credits for every new account and no subscription. Sonix publishes $10 an hour on pay as you go. Verbit's page points to a demo rather than a price. Compare on a real file, not a rate card.
From the pilot
What pilot users say.
Self-reported by pilot users, shared with their consent. Not a controlled study.
Starting with a transcript that is already formatted and proofread … cuts my turnaround time in half. HeyDonna allows me to spend less time editing and more time delivering quality work.
HeyDonna puts editing, formatting and proofreading all under one roof. I can proofread the transcript, format sections, swap speakers and run spellcheck without leaving the editor.
HeyDonna has enabled me to finish files much faster than I was able before, increasing my overall workflow. The auto-proofreading and auto-formatting processes have been the greatest help as HeyDonna gives a better and near accurate output than traditional ASR.
Sources
Where the numbers and descriptions come from.
- AAERT, 2025 Court Reporting Industry Trends ReportShortage figures: 21% decline, about 23,000 stenographers, 74% enrollment drop.
- AAERT, 2025 trends executive summary (PDF)Also the 42% program closures, and the 76% and 55% survey results.
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook19,900 jobs in 2025, 0% change projected 2025 to 2035, 33% self-employed.
- Law360, “A Dire Court Reporter Shortage Depends On Who You Ask”On disagreement over the size of the shortage.
- Verbit Legal CaptureVendor description of features, certified finals and SOC 2 Type II alignment. Checked 24 October 2026.
- Rev legal servicesVendor description of legal services. Checked 24 October 2026.
- Sonix pricing$10 an hour pay-as-you-go and legal positioning. Checked 24 October 2026.
- Preserving the Gold Standard in Court ReportingAAERT on professional oversight and the reporter's accountability.
- HeyDonna docs: editor menus and docs FAQExport formats, line numbers, templates, encryption and training statements.
Reviewed 24 October 2026 by the HeyDonna team. We are a vendor, so this is our view, not an independent review. Spot an error or an out-of-date detail? Tell us and we will correct it.