Speech-to-Text Shortlists
Best Speech‑to‑Text Models and APIs
Run models on your own hardware, or connect hosted APIs for your application using recorded and live providers. Use free options for rapid prototyping.
Find Your Shortlist
Models to Run Yourself
Evaluate Whisper, Parakeet, Canary, Qwen3-ASR, and Vosk by language, license, and hardware needs. Review self-hosting trade-offs before you deploy.
APIs to Build With
Compare six speech-to-text APIs by workload: live audio, transcript analysis, cloud batch jobs, audio events, and high-volume recorded transcription.
Free and Free-to-Start Options
Compare recurring free API tiers, one-time developer credits, self-hosted software, and browser demos from Google, Azure, Deepgram, AssemblyAI, and Whisper.
Find a Plan for Your Recordings
Compare Speech is Cheap subscription plans and pay-as-you-go pricing for recorded audio. Review included monthly minutes, overage rates, and optional add-on features like speaker separation and word timestamps.