Speech is Cheap is an Amazon Transcribe alternative for recorded files when you want lower recurring costs and a direct URL-to-transcript workflow. The $20 subscription includes 21,600 base minutes and supports recordings up to 1,440 minutes. Use Amazon Transcribe when S3, IAM, EventBridge or AWS-specific speech features are central to your application.
21,600 Audio Minutes per Month
$20
Speech is Cheap subscription, base transcription
The comparison uses current standard batch pricing in US East, Northern Virginia, with included word timing and diarization.
Amazon Transcribe Pricing ; Amazon Transcribe US East Price ListChoose the cost and workflow that fit your product.
At 100,000 base minutes, Speech is Cheap Subscription costs $92.60 and Amazon Transcribe standard batch in US East costs $600. Select words and speakers below to include the features your product uses.
Speech is Cheap Pricing ; Amazon Transcribe Pricing ; Amazon Transcribe US East Price ListSpeech is Cheap accepts compatible recordings up to 1,440 minutes. Amazon Transcribe standard batch has a 240-minute maximum. One longer job can save your application from splitting and stitching an all-day recording.
Speech is Cheap Product Facts ; Amazon Transcribe LimitsUse an existing recording URL or multipart upload with a bearer API key. Amazon Transcribe batch requires media in S3 and AWS request authentication. Speech is Cheap removes that S3 staging requirement from your transcription integration.
Speech is Cheap Job Requests ; Amazon Transcribe Job RequestsGive users progress updates while their recorded file is processed. Progress SSE returns chronological transcript segments from the job, so your app can show useful output before the final result.
Speech is Cheap Job RequestsIf recordings already live in S3, Amazon Transcribe can fit your IAM permissions, storage policies and EventBridge automation. That can matter more than changing the transcription provider alone.
Amazon Transcribe Job Requests ; Amazon Transcribe Input and Output ; Amazon Transcribe EventBridge NotificationsAmazon Transcribe offers custom vocabularies and separately priced custom language models and content redaction. Choose those when your application requires the specific AWS feature and language combination.
Amazon Transcribe Custom Vocabularies ; Amazon Transcribe Pricing ; Amazon Transcribe Languages and FeaturesAWS offers a separate streaming API for audio arriving as a call happens. Choose it when your product needs live ingestion. Speech is Cheap processes existing recordings, including files with separate speaker channels.
Amazon Transcribe Pricing ; Amazon Transcribe Input and OutputCompare base transcription and the add-ons your product needs.
| Audio Volume | Speech is Cheap PAYG | Speech is Cheap Subscription | Amazon Transcribe Standard Batch, US East |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12,500 minutes | $25.00 | $20.00 | $75.00 |
| 25,000 minutes | $50.00 | $23.15 | $150.00 |
| 50,000 minutes | $100.00 | $46.30 | $300.00 |
| 100,000 minutes | $200.00 | $92.60 | $600.00 |
| Audio and Features | Speech is Cheap PAYG | Speech is Cheap Subscription | Amazon Transcribe Standard Batch, US East |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12,500 minutes + words | $37.50 | $26.25 | $75.00 |
| 12,500 minutes + speakers | $50.00 | $32.50 | $75.00 |
| 12,500 minutes + both | $62.50 | $38.75 | $75.00 |
| 25,000 minutes + words | $75.00 | $35.65 | $150.00 |
| 25,000 minutes + speakers | $100.00 | $48.15 | $150.00 |
| 25,000 minutes + both | $125.00 | $60.65 | $150.00 |
| 50,000 minutes + words | $150.00 | $71.30 | $300.00 |
| 50,000 minutes + speakers | $200.00 | $96.30 | $300.00 |
| 50,000 minutes + both | $250.00 | $121.30 | $300.00 |
| 100,000 minutes + words | $300.00 | $142.60 | $600.00 |
| 100,000 minutes + speakers | $400.00 | $192.60 | $600.00 |
| 100,000 minutes + both | $500.00 | $242.60 | $600.00 |
Choose your volume and add-ons. Each step doubles the audio minutes.
$92.60
per month
$200.00
per month
$600.00
per month
-- means no verified price for the selected feature combination in the tables and calculator.
Put long recordings, sound labels and progress updates to work in your app.
| Compare | Speech is Cheap | Amazon Transcribe |
|---|---|---|
| Audio Input | Recorded audio and video. Progress SSE returns results for an existing recording. Speech is Cheap Job Requests | Standard batch from S3 plus separate live streaming. Call Analytics and medical products are distinct offerings. Amazon Transcribe Pricing ; Amazon Transcribe Input and Output |
| File Limits | 0.1 to 1,440 minutes per recording. Direct uploads: under 2 GiB. Speech is Cheap Product Facts | Standard batch: up to 240 minutes and approximately 1.86 GiB per file. Amazon Transcribe Limits |
| Languages | 100 supported languages; optional detection per speech segment. Speech is Cheap Product Facts ; Speech is Cheap Job Requests | An extensive language and dialect matrix with feature-specific availability. Check diarization, redaction and customization for the chosen language. Amazon Transcribe Languages and Features |
| Outputs | JSON, SRT and VTT. Word timestamps and voice-based speaker labels are paid add-ons. Speech is Cheap Job Responses ; Speech is Cheap Pricing | JSON with timed items and speaker labels. Optional SRT and VTT subtitles are available. Amazon Transcribe Input and Output ; Amazon Transcribe Subtitles |
| Integration | URL or multipart upload, REST, polling, completion webhooks and progress SSE. Speech is Cheap Job Requests ; Speech is Cheap Job Responses | Upload to S3, submit an AWS-authenticated job, then retrieve its output. EventBridge can notify your application on completion or failure. Amazon Transcribe Job Requests ; Amazon Transcribe EventBridge Notifications |
| Audio Labels | Label Audio adds a structured label to each segment, including music and silence. Non-speech sounds appear as caption cues in SRT and VTT. Speech is Cheap Job Requests ; Speech is Cheap Pricing | Standard batch does not document a matching structured sound label for every segment. Content redaction and toxicity detection solve different problems. Amazon Transcribe Job Requests ; Amazon Transcribe Pricing |
| Progress While Processing | Progress updates and chronological transcript segments over SSE from the same recorded job. Speech is Cheap Job Requests | Batch jobs expose status changes and completion events. Live transcript events use the separate streaming service. Amazon Transcribe EventBridge Notifications ; Amazon Transcribe Input and Output |
| Support | Initial email response within one business day for subscribers, three for pay as you go. Resolution time is not guaranteed. Speech is Cheap Service Commitments | AWS documentation and account support. Include any required AWS support plan in your broader platform budget. Amazon Transcribe Pricing |
| Channel Separation | Set is_split_channel to assign one speaker per audio channel at no extra charge. Voice-based Parse Speakers is a separate paid option. Speech is Cheap Job Requests ; Speech is Cheap Pricing | Channel identification separates speakers recorded on different channels. Standard pricing includes up to two channels without doubling the duration charge. Amazon Transcribe Input and Output ; Amazon Transcribe Pricing |
Use public timing data to plan your recording workflow.
Speech is Cheap's public Benchmarks lets you inspect processing times by recording length and selected add-ons, with sample counts. Use those cohorts to evaluate the kind of audio your product processes.
Move from S3-backed AWS jobs to URL or multipart submission. Update authentication, status handling and the transcript parser, then choose webhooks or progress SSE for delivery.
| Compare | Amazon Transcribe | Speech is Cheap |
|---|---|---|
| Submit | StartTranscriptionJob Media.MediaFileUri: S3 URI AWS request signing / SDKAmazon Transcribe Job Requests | POST <api|upload>/v2/jobs/ api: JSON input_url upload: multipart input_file Authorization: Bearer KEYSpeech is Cheap Job Requests |
| Speaker Labels | Settings.ShowSpeakerLabels Settings.MaxSpeakerLabels results.speaker_labelsAmazon Transcribe Job Requests ; Amazon Transcribe Input and Output | can_parse_speakers: true output.segments[].speaker_idSpeech is Cheap Job Requests ; Speech is Cheap Job Responses |
| Word Timing | results.items[] start_time / end_time Seconds encoded as stringsAmazon Transcribe Input and Output | can_parse_words: true output.segments[].words[] start / end in secondsSpeech is Cheap Job Requests ; Speech is Cheap Job Responses |
| Status and Text | QUEUED / IN_PROGRESS COMPLETED / FAILED Transcript.TranscriptFileUriAmazon Transcribe Job Requests ; Amazon Transcribe EventBridge Notifications | PENDING / COMPLETED / FAILED CANCELED / UNKNOWN output.segments[].textSpeech is Cheap Job Responses |
| Completion | EventBridge status event Get job, then fetch transcriptAmazon Transcribe EventBridge Notifications ; Amazon Transcribe Job Requests | Webhook: job output Poll GET /v2/jobs/:id Or monitor progress SSE: can_stream_output: trueSpeech is Cheap Job Requests ; Speech is Cheap Job Responses |
| Channel Separation | Settings.ChannelIdentification: true results.channel_labelsAmazon Transcribe Job Requests ; Amazon Transcribe Input and Output | is_split_channel: true output.segments[].speaker_id No channel surchargeSpeech is Cheap Job Requests ; Speech is Cheap Job Responses ; Speech is Cheap Pricing |
api means https://api.speechischeap.com with JSON input_url. upload means https://upload.speechischeap.com with multipart input_file.
A successful upload always returns an SSE stream with text/event-stream, even with can_stream_output: false. In that mode, the final event contains the asynchronous job response.
curl --request POST \
--url https://api.speechischeap.com/v2/jobs/ \
--header 'Authorization: Bearer KEY' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--data '{
"input_url": "https://example.com/recording.mp3",
"webhook_url": "https://your-domain.com/transcription-webhook",
"can_parse_speakers": true,
"can_parse_words": true
}'Example request. Replace the URLs and API key. Both add-ons are billed.
If an S3 object is private, supply a fetchable URL with an appropriate lifetime or upload the audio directly. Speech is Cheap cannot use an AWS IAM role supplied as a replacement for its bearer API key.
Amazon Transcribe Job Requests ; Speech is Cheap Job RequestsRead output.segments and optional words instead of results.items and speaker-label groups. Keep seconds as the timing unit while adapting string values, nesting and punctuation handling.
Amazon Transcribe Input and Output ; Speech is Cheap Job ResponsesReplace EventBridge job notifications with a Speech is Cheap completion webhook, polling or recorded progress SSE. Preserve failure handling and validate subtitle output if your application consumes SRT or VTT.
Amazon Transcribe EventBridge Notifications ; Amazon Transcribe Subtitles ; Speech is Cheap Job Requests ; Speech is Cheap Job ResponsesReview retention and private mode when saving transcripts. Speech is Cheap results are retrievable by job ID, so treat those IDs as sensitive.
A Production Migration
Metacast
Metacast's result versus its previous, unnamed provider
Podcast Transcription
When Metacast's previous provider stopped completing transcription jobs, its team moved production to Speech is Cheap over a weekend. The new API became its primary transcription engine.
Read the Case Study"It's now our primary transcription engine."
Yes. Set is_split_channel to true when each speaker has a separate audio channel. Speech is Cheap assigns one speaker per channel with no extra charge. Leave Parse Speakers off unless you also need voice-based diarization, which is billed separately. The Parse Speakers checkbox prices voice-based diarization.
No. Submit an accessible recording URL or upload the file directly. If your audio is already private in S3, use a suitable fetchable URL or a direct upload. The request uses a Speech is Cheap bearer API key.
At 100,000 base minutes, the Speech is Cheap subscription costs $92.60. Amazon Transcribe standard batch in US East, Northern Virginia, costs $600 at the current listed rate. Add word timing and speaker labels in the calculator to compare the full feature set.
Speech is Cheap accepts compatible recordings up to 1,440 minutes, with direct uploads under 2 GiB. Amazon Transcribe standard batch is limited to 240 minutes per file. Both duration and file size must fit the chosen service.
Yes. Both services offer SRT and VTT. Request the needed output format from Speech is Cheap and check caption boundaries against your player. Enable Label Audio when you also want non-speech sound cues.
The linked sources support the prices, product boundaries and migration details on this page.
Amazon Transcribe exposes asynchronous job status and EventBridge events, which you can use to measure submit-to-result time. Those timestamps are not interchangeable with live-stream latency or Speech is Cheap production cohorts. A same-audio run is needed for a speed comparison.
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Select Subscription or PAYG on the pricing page. Check included minutes, overage and add-ons for the workload you compared above.
All prices are in USD. Examples use single-channel, whole-minute files no longer than 10 minutes, with selected features on every file. Audio must meet each model's format and size requirements. These are calculated prices, not a claim of equal accuracy or throughput. Totals are rounded to cents.
Speech is Cheap PAYG costs $0.002 per billed minute. Subscription costs $20 per month for 21,600 base minutes, then $0.000926 per extra minute. Unused included minutes expire each month.
Speech is Cheap rounds every file up to a whole minute for base transcription and all enabled add-ons. Subscription totals include the monthly fee, base overage and add-ons on all enabled-job minutes. Partial-minute files increase its billed minutes.
Parse Speakers adds $0.002 per PAYG minute or $0.001 on subscription. Word-Level Timestamps adds $0.001 per PAYG minute or $0.0005 on subscription. Label Audio adds $0.0002 per PAYG minute or $0.0001 on subscription.
Speech is Cheap PricingAWS standard batch in US East, Northern Virginia, costs $0.0001 per second, equivalent to $0.006 per minute, with one-second billing and no job minimum. The public price list published 2026-09-11 has a single base tier. Standard word timing and speaker diarization are included.
Amazon Transcribe Pricing ; Amazon Transcribe US East Price List ; Amazon Transcribe Input and OutputChannel separation has no extra charge in either service. Speech is Cheap assigns one speaker per channel with is_split_channel; AWS standard pricing covers up to two channels. This is separate from identifying voices with Parse Speakers. S3 requests and additional AWS services are outside these totals.
Amazon Transcribe Pricing ; Amazon Transcribe Input and Output ; Speech is Cheap Job Requests ; Speech is Cheap PricingAWS lists a 14,400-second duration limit and a 2 GB file-size limit for standard transcription, equivalent to 240 minutes and approximately 1.86 GiB. Call Analytics and medical transcription have separate prices and limits.
Amazon Transcribe LimitsAWS features such as toxicity detection analyze speech content; equivalent structured sound labels are unverified in standard batch.
Estimates exclude tax, trial credits, negotiated discounts, multichannel charges, storage and network charges, and unselected features. Published automatic volume discounts and explicitly labeled promotions are included where stated. Paid Speech is Cheap API access requires a payment method; the free browser demo requires neither an account nor a card.
Speech is Cheap Pricing See All Speech is Cheap Prices