Speech is Cheap is a Rev AI alternative for recurring recorded-audio workloads. Its $20 subscription includes 21,600 base minutes, and one job can handle a compatible recording up to 1,440 minutes. Add speakers, word timing and sound labels as needed. Use Rev AI when human transcription or its deployment options are part of your workflow.
21,600 Audio Minutes per Month
$20
Speech is Cheap subscription, base transcription
Rev AI prices English and other languages differently. This comparison uses its current default machine transcriber and includes standard word timing and speaker labels.
Rev AI Pricing ; Rev AI ChangelogChoose the cost and workflow that fit your product.
At 100,000 base minutes, Speech is Cheap Subscription costs $92.60, compared with $333.33 for Reverb English and $500 for the listed other-language rate.
Speech is Cheap Pricing ; Rev AI PricingSpeech is Cheap accepts compatible recordings up to 1,440 minutes. Rev AI documents a 1,020-minute limit, with a 360-minute Telugu limit in its changelog. Keep longer sessions in one job when they fit our file-size limit.
Speech is Cheap Product Facts ; Rev AI Asynchronous API Overview ; Rev AI ChangelogEnable 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 PricingRev AI offers human transcription for eligible English recordings through its API, at a separate price and turnaround. Choose it when your process needs a human transcription service as well as automation.
Rev AI Transcription Options ; Rev AI PricingRev AI documents US and EU deployments with feature differences. Use those deployment choices when location requirements decide which transcription service you can use.
Rev AI Global DeploymentsRev AI bills by the second with a 15-second minimum and includes standard word timing and speakers. That can suit short clips and lower-volume structured transcripts. Compare it with Speech is Cheap rounding each file to a whole minute.
Rev AI Pricing ; Rev AI Transcript Features ; Speech is Cheap PricingCompare base transcription and the add-ons your product needs.
| Audio Volume | Speech is Cheap PAYG | Speech is Cheap Subscription | Rev AI Reverb English | Rev AI Reverb Other Languages |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12,500 minutes | $25.00 | $20.00 | $41.67 | $62.50 |
| 25,000 minutes | $50.00 | $23.15 | $83.33 | $125.00 |
| 50,000 minutes | $100.00 | $46.30 | $166.67 | $250.00 |
| 100,000 minutes | $200.00 | $92.60 | $333.33 | $500.00 |
| Audio and Features | Speech is Cheap PAYG | Speech is Cheap Subscription | Rev AI Reverb English | Rev AI Reverb Other Languages |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12,500 minutes + words | $37.50 | $26.25 | $41.67 | $62.50 |
| 12,500 minutes + speakers | $50.00 | $32.50 | $41.67 | $62.50 |
| 12,500 minutes + both | $62.50 | $38.75 | $41.67 | $62.50 |
| 25,000 minutes + words | $75.00 | $35.65 | $83.33 | $125.00 |
| 25,000 minutes + speakers | $100.00 | $48.15 | $83.33 | $125.00 |
| 25,000 minutes + both | $125.00 | $60.65 | $83.33 | $125.00 |
| 50,000 minutes + words | $150.00 | $71.30 | $166.67 | $250.00 |
| 50,000 minutes + speakers | $200.00 | $96.30 | $166.67 | $250.00 |
| 50,000 minutes + both | $250.00 | $121.30 | $166.67 | $250.00 |
| 100,000 minutes + words | $300.00 | $142.60 | $333.33 | $500.00 |
| 100,000 minutes + speakers | $400.00 | $192.60 | $333.33 | $500.00 |
| 100,000 minutes + both | $500.00 | $242.60 | $333.33 | $500.00 |
Choose your volume and add-ons. Each step doubles the audio minutes.
$92.60
per month
$200.00
per month
$333.33
per month
$500.00
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 | Rev AI |
|---|---|---|
| Audio Input | Recorded audio and video. Progress SSE returns results for an existing recording. Speech is Cheap Job Requests | Asynchronous recorded transcription, separate streaming API and eligible human transcription jobs. Rev AI Asynchronous API Overview ; Rev AI Transcription Options |
| File Limits | 0.1 to 1,440 minutes per recording. Direct uploads: under 2 GiB. Speech is Cheap Product Facts | Up to 1,020 minutes, with a 360-minute Telugu limit. Multipart uploads: approximately 1.86 GiB. URL submissions have a separately documented larger limit. Rev AI Asynchronous API Overview ; Rev AI Changelog |
| Languages | 100 supported languages; optional detection per speech segment. Speech is Cheap Product Facts ; Speech is Cheap Job Requests | 58+ asynchronous languages. English Reverb and non-English transcription have different pricing; streaming supports a smaller language set. Rev AI Frequently Asked Questions ; Rev AI Pricing |
| 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 monologues with speaker labels and timed elements, plain text, and SRT/VTT captions through the captions endpoint. Human transcription is a separate service. Rev AI Job Submission and Results ; Rev AI SRT and VTT Captions ; Rev AI Transcription Options |
| Integration | URL or multipart upload, REST, polling, completion webhooks and progress SSE. Speech is Cheap Job Requests ; Speech is Cheap Job Responses | URL through source_config or multipart upload. Poll job status or receive a notification, then retrieve the transcript. Rev AI Asynchronous API Overview ; Rev AI Job Submission and Results |
| 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 | Vocal annotations such as laughter can appear in text. These are distinct from a structured label on every segment, including music and silence. Rev AI Changelog |
| Progress While Processing | Progress updates and chronological transcript segments over SSE from the same recorded job. Speech is Cheap Job Requests | Asynchronous jobs report status and completion notifications. The live streaming API is a separate integration. Rev AI Job Submission and Results ; Rev AI Asynchronous API Overview |
| 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 | PAYG includes email and chat support. Enterprise plans add an account manager and priority technical support. Rev AI 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.
Map Rev AI monologues and timed elements into Speech is Cheap segments. The job-based workflow stays familiar while the request flags and result structure change.
| Compare | Rev AI | Speech is Cheap |
|---|---|---|
| Submit | POST /speechtotext/v1/jobs source_config.url or multipart Authorization: Bearer KEYRev AI Job Submission and Results ; Rev AI Asynchronous API Overview | POST <api|upload>/v2/jobs/ api: JSON input_url upload: multipart input_file Authorization: Bearer KEYSpeech is Cheap Job Requests |
| Speaker Labels | Standard diarization monologues[].speakerRev AI Transcript Features | can_parse_speakers: true output.segments[].speaker_idSpeech is Cheap Job Requests ; Speech is Cheap Job Responses |
| Word Timing | monologues[].elements[] ts / end_ts in seconds IncludedRev AI Transcript Features ; Rev AI Job Submission and Results | can_parse_words: true output.segments[].words[] start / end in secondsSpeech is Cheap Job Requests ; Speech is Cheap Job Responses |
| Status and Text | in_progress / transcribed / failed monologues[].elements[].valueRev AI Job Submission and Results ; Rev AI Asynchronous API Overview | PENDING / COMPLETED / FAILED CANCELED / UNKNOWN output.segments[].textSpeech is Cheap Job Responses |
| Completion | Notification, then retrieve: GET /jobs/:id/transcript Accept: vendor JSON or textRev AI Job Submission and Results | 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.
Group Rev AI text elements by monologue for your current parser, then read output.segments from Speech is Cheap. Enable Parse Words when the UI needs word timing. Both APIs use seconds for those word boundaries.
Rev AI Transcript Features ; Speech is Cheap Job Requests ; Speech is Cheap Job ResponsesHandle completed and failed jobs explicitly. For an existing Rev AI integration, retain its results while testing the Speech is Cheap webhook payload and output parser.
Rev AI Job Submission and Results ; Speech is Cheap Job ResponsesChoose the request flags you need instead of carrying over a transcriber setting. Rev AI has deprecated low_cost and fusion. Its default machine recommendation and Speech is Cheap job options are different API contracts.
Rev AI Changelog ; 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."
Start with the subscription allowance and your enabled features. At 100,000 base minutes, Speech is Cheap Subscription is $92.60. Add words or speakers in the calculator to compare the full bill with the appropriate Rev AI language rate.
Rev AI has deprecated Turbo and Whisper Fusion and recommends its default machine transcriber for new jobs. Use the API mapping to evaluate Speech is Cheap with representative recordings before changing your production routing.
Yes. Enable Parse Speakers and Parse Words, then map speaker_id and word start/end values from output.segments. Test the speakers and timing against the source audio, since output structures and recognition results differ.
The API accepts compatible recordings up to 1,440 minutes, with direct uploads under 2 GiB. Choose an audio format and bitrate that meet both limits. This lets you preserve a long session in one job.
The linked sources support the prices, product boundaries and migration details on this page.
Rev AI says short automatic jobs are often ready within five minutes, with longer jobs generally returned within 15 minutes. That guidance does not specify a matched audio cohort or percentile distribution. Use your own recordings to compare completion time, transcript quality and cost.
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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 PricingRev AI lists Reverb English at $0.20 per audio hour and other supported languages at $0.30, equivalent to approximately $0.003333 and $0.005 per minute. Calculations divide the exact hourly rates by 60. Each job is rounded up to the next second with a 15-second minimum. Standard word timing and diarization are included; premium diarization and human transcription are excluded.
Rev AI Pricing ; Rev AI Transcript Features ; Rev AI ChangelogThe Rev AI multipart limit is 2 GB, approximately 1.86 GiB using decimal units. The documentation separately lists 5 TB for source_config or dashboard submissions. A larger byte limit does not waive the duration limit.
Rev AI Asynchronous API OverviewRev AI can retain vocal annotations such as laughter, but a matching structured sound-label configuration and price have not been verified.
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