Speech is Cheap is a Deepgram alternative for developers building products around recorded audio. The $20 subscription includes 21,600 base transcription minutes, with optional word timing, speakers and sound labels. Choose it for recurring volume and native caption output. Use Deepgram when live voice applications or a self-hosted deployment drive your requirements.
21,600 Audio Minutes per Month
$20
Speech is Cheap subscription, base transcription
Nova-3 recorded prices include word timestamps and speaker diarization. Enable the same features in the calculator to compare your full bill.
Deepgram Pricing ; Deepgram Recorded Audio APIChoose the cost and workflow that fit your product.
At 100,000 base minutes, the Speech is Cheap subscription costs $92.60. Deepgram Nova-3 Monolingual PAYG costs $430. Add the features your app uses below to see the total.
Speech is Cheap Pricing ; Deepgram PricingRequest SRT or VTT directly from Speech is Cheap. Deepgram returns timestamped JSON and provides a separate captions library to format it. Native caption output removes that formatting step from your application.
Speech is Cheap Job Requests ; Speech is Cheap Job Responses ; Deepgram Caption Formatting LibraryEnable Label Audio to classify each segment, including music and silence. Use those labels in JSON or add non-speech cues to SRT and VTT captions from the same job.
Speech is Cheap Job Requests ; Speech is Cheap Job Responses ; Speech is Cheap PricingDeepgram offers live speech recognition and a voice-agent API for conversations happening now. Use those when your product needs microphone ingestion, turn detection or interactive spoken responses.
Deepgram Pricing ; Deepgram Models and LanguagesDeepgram offers self-hosted deployments for teams that need to operate transcription in their own environment. Speech is Cheap provides a hosted API.
Deepgram Self-Hosted Deployments ; Speech is Cheap Product FactsNova-3 includes word timestamps and recorded diarization in its base price. For shorter workloads with both features, that bundle can cost less than Speech is Cheap. The tables preserve those outcomes.
Deepgram Pricing ; Deepgram Recorded Audio API ; Speech is Cheap PricingCompare base transcription and the add-ons your product needs.
| Audio Volume | Speech is Cheap PAYG | Speech is Cheap Subscription | Deepgram Nova-3 Monolingual PAYG | Deepgram Nova-3 Multilingual PAYG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12,500 minutes | $25.00 | $20.00 | $53.75 | $65.00 |
| 25,000 minutes | $50.00 | $23.15 | $107.50 | $130.00 |
| 50,000 minutes | $100.00 | $46.30 | $215.00 | $260.00 |
| 100,000 minutes | $200.00 | $92.60 | $430.00 | $520.00 |
| Audio and Features | Speech is Cheap PAYG | Speech is Cheap Subscription | Deepgram Nova-3 Monolingual PAYG | Deepgram Nova-3 Multilingual PAYG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12,500 minutes + words | $37.50 | $26.25 | $53.75 | $65.00 |
| 12,500 minutes + speakers | $50.00 | $32.50 | $53.75 | $65.00 |
| 12,500 minutes + both | $62.50 | $38.75 | $53.75 | $65.00 |
| 25,000 minutes + words | $75.00 | $35.65 | $107.50 | $130.00 |
| 25,000 minutes + speakers | $100.00 | $48.15 | $107.50 | $130.00 |
| 25,000 minutes + both | $125.00 | $60.65 | $107.50 | $130.00 |
| 50,000 minutes + words | $150.00 | $71.30 | $215.00 | $260.00 |
| 50,000 minutes + speakers | $200.00 | $96.30 | $215.00 | $260.00 |
| 50,000 minutes + both | $250.00 | $121.30 | $215.00 | $260.00 |
| 100,000 minutes + words | $300.00 | $142.60 | $430.00 | $520.00 |
| 100,000 minutes + speakers | $400.00 | $192.60 | $430.00 | $520.00 |
| 100,000 minutes + both | $500.00 | $242.60 | $430.00 | $520.00 |
Choose your volume and add-ons. Each step doubles the audio minutes.
$92.60
per month
$200.00
per month
$430.00
per month
$520.00
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 | Deepgram |
|---|---|---|
| Audio Input | Recorded audio and video. Progress SSE returns results for an existing recording. Speech is Cheap Job Requests | Recorded file transcription and separate live speech and voice-agent APIs. Deepgram Recorded Audio Guide ; Deepgram Pricing |
| File Limits | 0.1 to 1,440 minutes per recording. Direct uploads: under 2 GiB. Speech is Cheap Product Facts | Recorded input up to approximately 1.86 GiB. Nova requests have a 10-minute processing timeout; that is not an audio-duration limit. Deepgram Recorded Audio Guide |
| Languages | 100 supported languages; optional detection per speech segment. Speech is Cheap Product Facts ; Speech is Cheap Job Requests | Nova-3 has language-specific modes and a multilingual mode covering 10 listed languages. Check the model table for your language and dialect. Deepgram Models and Languages |
| 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 word timing, confidence and optional speaker IDs. SRT and VTT are generated with a captions library. Deepgram Recorded Audio API ; Deepgram Caption Formatting Library |
| Integration | URL or multipart upload, REST, polling, completion webhooks and progress SSE. Speech is Cheap Job Requests ; Speech is Cheap Job Responses | URL or binary upload. Receive the result in the response or send it to a callback URL. Deepgram Recorded Audio API ; Deepgram Callbacks |
| 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 | The recorded API offers text-derived understanding features. An equivalent per-segment sound classification option is not verified for Nova-3. Deepgram Recorded Audio API |
| Progress While Processing | Progress updates and chronological transcript segments over SSE from the same recorded job. Speech is Cheap Job Requests | Recorded requests return a finished result or callback. Live streaming and its WebSocket callbacks are separate workflows. Deepgram Callbacks ; Deepgram Recorded Audio Guide |
| 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 | Developer documentation, community and account support. Enterprise support terms depend on the agreement. Deepgram Support ; Deepgram 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 a completed Deepgram response to a Speech is Cheap job. Keep your transcript parser focused on the word and segment fields your product uses.
| Compare | Deepgram | Speech is Cheap |
|---|---|---|
| Submit | POST /v1/listen?model=nova-3 url or binary audio Authorization: Token KEYDeepgram Recorded Audio API | POST <api|upload>/v2/jobs/ api: JSON input_url upload: multipart input_file Authorization: Bearer KEYSpeech is Cheap Job Requests |
| Speaker Labels | diarize=true words[].speaker utterances=true for turnsDeepgram Recorded Audio API ; Deepgram Timestamps, Utterances and Diarization | can_parse_speakers: true output.segments[].speaker_idSpeech is Cheap Job Requests ; Speech is Cheap Job Responses |
| Word Timing | results.channels[].alternatives[] words[].start / end Seconds; includedDeepgram Recorded Audio API | can_parse_words: true output.segments[].words[] start / end in secondsSpeech is Cheap Job Requests ; Speech is Cheap Job Responses |
| Status and Text | Final response: results Callback: request_id first No recorded job polling flowDeepgram Recorded Audio Guide ; Deepgram Callbacks | PENDING / COMPLETED / FAILED CANCELED / UNKNOWN output.segments[].textSpeech is Cheap Job Responses |
| Completion | callback=https://your-app/... Callback contains the resultDeepgram Callbacks | 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 |
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.
Map each channel and alternative into the transcript your app displays, then adapt to output.segments. Both APIs use seconds for JSON word times, so preserve that unit and update the nesting.
Deepgram Recorded Audio API ; Speech is Cheap Job ResponsesIf you use Deepgram smart formatting, keyterm prompting or multichannel output, review those settings separately. They do not transfer by renaming the endpoint.
Deepgram Recorded Audio API ; Speech is Cheap Job RequestsReplace your caption-library step with output_format when you want native SRT or VTT. Use can_stream_output for progress on a recorded job; live microphone input still needs a live API.
Deepgram Caption Formatting Library ; Speech is Cheap Job RequestsReview 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."
At 100,000 base minutes, Speech is Cheap Subscription is $92.60 and Deepgram Nova-3 Monolingual PAYG is $430. Word and speaker add-ons change the Speech is Cheap total, while Nova-3 includes them. Select your actual features in the calculator.
Yes. Both APIs express JSON word timing in seconds. Update the response path to output.segments[].words[] and enable Parse Words. Check alignment against a representative recording before sending production traffic.
Request SRT or VTT and enable Label Audio. Speech is Cheap generates the caption format and adds non-speech sound cues. This replaces a separate formatting step while retaining a JSON option for custom interfaces.
Choose a short sample from your real workload, including the accents, background sound and speaker changes your product handles. The free browser demo accepts 6 seconds to 3 minutes. Review the result, then choose an API plan for larger files.
The linked sources support the prices, product boundaries and migration details on this page.
Deepgram documents a processing timeout for recorded requests and describes quick responses for its sample files. A timeout is a limit, not a speed benchmark. Compare its results on your recordings with Speech is Cheap job timings before choosing a latency target.
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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 PricingDeepgram Nova-3 PAYG costs $0.0043 per minute for monolingual audio and $0.0052 for multilingual audio, with word timing and speaker diarization included. Billing is per second. Growth pricing requires an upfront commitment and is excluded.
Deepgram Pricing ; Deepgram Recorded Audio APIDeepgram publishes its input limit as 2 GB, approximately 1.86 GiB using decimal units. One GiB is 1,073,741,824 bytes.
Deepgram Recorded Audio GuideTopic and sentiment analysis do not establish support for equivalent structured sound labels in Nova-3.
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