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Speech-to-text APIs platforms

47 platforms tracked · 983 facts verified · pricing re-checked weekly. Transcription and streaming STT APIs: batch vs realtime cost, accuracy claims with sources, and what diarization actually adds to the bill.

Last verified Jul 24, 2026
Amazon Transcribe logoAmazon Transcribe
AWS-native STT API with deep AWS ecosystem integration and compliance coverage
Alternatives →See pricing
AssemblyAI logoAssemblyAI
Accuracy-led voice AI API for developers and voice agents
Alternatives →See pricing
Azure AI Speech (STT) logoAzure AI Speech (STT)
Enterprise-grade STT inside the Azure cloud ecosystem
Alternatives →From$1,600/mo
Deepgram logoDeepgram
Developer-first realtime STT API for voice agents and transcription at scale
Alternatives →See pricing
ElevenLabs Scribe logoElevenLabs Scribe
Accuracy-led STT API from the leading AI audio company
Alternatives →From$6/mo
Gladia logoGladia
EU-based real-time and batch STT API built on the Solaria models
Alternatives →See pricing
Google Cloud Speech-to-Text logoGoogle Cloud Speech-to-Text
Hyperscaler STT API with Chirp foundation models and enterprise compliance
Alternatives →See pricing
OpenAI gpt-4o-transcribe logoOpenAI gpt-4o-transcribe
Flagship GPT-4o based transcription API from OpenAI
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Speechmatics logoSpeechmatics
Accuracy-first enterprise STT with flexible deployment (SaaS, container, on-prem)
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Mistral Voxtral Transcribe logoMistral Voxtral Transcribe
Low-cost EU-based transcription API with Apache-2.0 open-weight models
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OpenAI Whisper (API) logoOpenAI Whisper (API)
Low-cost pay-as-you-go file transcription from OpenAI; no first-party streaming or diarization
Alternatives →See pricing
Cartesia Ink logoCartesia Ink
Streaming STT for voice agents with native turn detection
Alternatives →From$5/mo
Cohere Transcribe logoCohere Transcribe
Enterprise-grade open ASR for accurate batch transcription
Alternatives →See pricing
xAI Grok Speech-to-Text logoxAI Grok Speech-to-Text
Low-cost hosted STT API on the Grok stack
Alternatives →See pricing
Groq (hosted Whisper) logoGroq (hosted Whisper)
Ultra-fast, low-cost hosted Whisper transcription API (no realtime streaming)
Alternatives →See pricing
IBM watsonx Speech to Text logoIBM watsonx Speech to Text
Enterprise cloud STT API
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Microsoft MAI-Transcribe logoMicrosoft MAI-Transcribe
Frontier-lab accuracy STT delivered through Azure Speech
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NVIDIA Parakeet / Riva logoNVIDIA Parakeet / Riva
Open-weights, GPU-accelerated self-hosted STT stack
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Picovoice (Leopard / Cheetah) logoPicovoice (Leopard / Cheetah)
Private, on-device STT SDK for apps and edge devices
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Rev AI logoRev AI
Transcription-heritage STT API with low per-hour pricing and open (non-commercial) Reverb models
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Soniox logoSoniox
Ultra-low-cost multilingual STT + real-time translation API
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Aqua Voice logoAqua Voice
AI-native system-wide dictation (YC W24) with a developer speech API (Avalon)
Alternatives →From$8/mo
DeepInfra (ASR) logoDeepInfra (ASR)
Low-cost hosted ASR inference
Alternatives →See pricing
Distil-Whisper logoDistil-Whisper
Distilled Whisper: near-Whisper accuracy at a fraction of the size and up to 6x the speed, English-only, MIT-licensed
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faster-whisper / whisper.cpp logofaster-whisper / whisper.cpp
The de facto local Whisper runtimes: faster-whisper (Python/CTranslate2) and whisper.cpp (C/C++)
Alternatives →See pricing
FunASR / SenseVoice (Alibaba) logoFunASR / SenseVoice (Alibaba)
Open-source industrial ASR toolkit
Alternatives →See pricing
Gradium Speech-to-Text logoGradium Speech-to-Text
Low-latency STT for voice agents
Alternatives →From$13/mo
Handy logoHandy
Private local-first open-source dictation
Alternatives →See pricing
JigsawStack Speech-to-Text logoJigsawStack Speech-to-Text
Whisper-based STT endpoint inside an indie all-in-one small-model AI API platform
Alternatives →From$27/mo
Kyutai STT logoKyutai STT
Streaming-first open STT for self-hosted voice agents
Alternatives →See pricing
Lemonfox.ai logoLemonfox.ai
Cheapest hosted Whisper large-v3 API for batch transcription
Alternatives →From$5/mo
MacWhisper logoMacWhisper
Local-first macOS transcription and dictation app with one-time Pro pricing
Alternatives →See pricing
Monologue logoMonologue
Context-aware Apple dictation by Every
Alternatives →From$14.99/mo
Moonshine logoMoonshine
On-device streaming STT for live voice interfaces, from tiny edge models to Whisper Large v3-beating accuracy
Alternatives →See pricing
Qwen3-ASR logoQwen3-ASR
Open-weights multilingual ASR models
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Salad Transcription API logoSalad Transcription API
Ultra-low-cost batch transcription on a community GPU cloud
Alternatives →See pricing
Sarvam AI (Saarika / Saaras) logoSarvam AI (Saarika / Saaras)
Indian-language sovereign speech-to-text API
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sherpa-onnx logosherpa-onnx
On-device ASR/TTS runtime for edge and embedded
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Smallest.ai Pulse logoSmallest.ai Pulse
Ultra-low-latency multilingual STT for voice agents
Alternatives →See pricing
Superwhisper logoSuperwhisper
AI voice-to-text dictation with context-aware formatting modes
Alternatives →From$8.49/mo
Together AI Transcribe logoTogether AI Transcribe
Low-cost hosted Whisper STT API
Alternatives →See pricing
VoiceInk logoVoiceInk
Open-source, local-first Superwhisper / Wispr Flow alternative with one-time pricing
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Vosk logoVosk
Lightweight offline STT toolkit for edge and embedded devices
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WhisperKit (Argmax) logoWhisperKit (Argmax)
On-device Apple Silicon STT (Whisper)
Alternatives →From$1,330/mo
WhisperX logoWhisperX
Whisper + forced alignment + diarization pipeline for accurate word timestamps
Alternatives →See pricing
Willow Voice logoWillow Voice
Cross-platform AI dictation with smart formatting and enterprise-grade privacy
Alternatives →From$15/mo
Wispr Flow logoWispr Flow
System-wide AI voice dictation with auto-editing
Alternatives →From$12/mo

Popular comparisons

AssemblyAI logoAssemblyAIvsDeepgram logoDeepgram→Deepgram logoDeepgramvsOpenAI Whisper (API) logoOpenAI Whisper (API)→AssemblyAI logoAssemblyAIvsOpenAI Whisper (API) logoOpenAI Whisper (API)→Deepgram logoDeepgramvsElevenLabs Scribe logoElevenLabs Scribe→AssemblyAI logoAssemblyAIvsElevenLabs Scribe logoElevenLabs Scribe→ElevenLabs Scribe logoElevenLabs ScribevsOpenAI Whisper (API) logoOpenAI Whisper (API)→Mistral Voxtral Transcribe logoMistral Voxtral TranscribevsOpenAI Whisper (API) logoOpenAI Whisper (API)→Deepgram logoDeepgramvsMistral Voxtral Transcribe logoMistral Voxtral Transcribe→ElevenLabs Scribe logoElevenLabs ScribevsMistral Voxtral Transcribe logoMistral Voxtral Transcribe→OpenAI gpt-4o-transcribe logoOpenAI gpt-4o-transcribevsOpenAI Whisper (API) logoOpenAI Whisper (API)→Deepgram logoDeepgramvsSpeechmatics logoSpeechmatics→AssemblyAI logoAssemblyAIvsSpeechmatics logoSpeechmatics→Deepgram logoDeepgramvsGladia logoGladia→AssemblyAI logoAssemblyAIvsGladia logoGladia→Deepgram logoDeepgramvsSoniox logoSoniox→Azure AI Speech (STT) logoAzure AI Speech (STT)vsGoogle Cloud Speech-to-Text logoGoogle Cloud Speech-to-Text→Amazon Transcribe logoAmazon TranscribevsGoogle Cloud Speech-to-Text logoGoogle Cloud Speech-to-Text→Amazon Transcribe logoAmazon TranscribevsDeepgram logoDeepgram→Azure AI Speech (STT) logoAzure AI Speech (STT)vsDeepgram logoDeepgram→AssemblyAI logoAssemblyAIvsRev AI logoRev AI→Groq (hosted Whisper) logoGroq (hosted Whisper)vsOpenAI Whisper (API) logoOpenAI Whisper (API)→Cartesia Ink logoCartesia InkvsDeepgram logoDeepgram→NVIDIA Parakeet / Riva logoNVIDIA Parakeet / RivavsOpenAI Whisper (API) logoOpenAI Whisper (API)→AssemblyAI logoAssemblyAIvsSoniox logoSoniox→Deepgram logoDeepgramvsGoogle Cloud Speech-to-Text logoGoogle Cloud Speech-to-Text→Gladia logoGladiavsOpenAI Whisper (API) logoOpenAI Whisper (API)→Deepgram logoDeepgramvsRev AI logoRev AI→Deepgram logoDeepgramvsNVIDIA Parakeet / Riva logoNVIDIA Parakeet / Riva→Moonshine logoMoonshinevsOpenAI Whisper (API) logoOpenAI Whisper (API)→Qwen3-ASR logoQwen3-ASRvsOpenAI Whisper (API) logoOpenAI Whisper (API)→Cohere Transcribe logoCohere TranscribevsDeepgram logoDeepgram→Deepgram logoDeepgramvsxAI Grok Speech-to-Text logoxAI Grok Speech-to-Text→Deepgram logoDeepgramvsSmallest.ai Pulse logoSmallest.ai Pulse→

Best for…

Call CentersAzure AI Speech (STT)DevelopersAzure AI Speech (STT)DictationMoonshineMedicalAssemblyAIMeetingsAssemblyAISelf-HostedMistral Voxtral TranscribeVoice AgentsCartesia Ink
Voice stack cost calculator →See the real combined cost per minute of a platform, an STT API, and a TTS voice from Speech-to-text APIs and its sibling categories.

More verified comparisons

Voice AI →Voice AI platforms that make and answer phone calls: verified pricing, real production cost per minute, and a verdict per use case.Text-to-speech APIs →APIs and platforms that turn text into speech: real per-minute cost, latency, cloning rights, and a verdict per use case.