Free Speech-to-Text APIs
Which speech-to-text APIs a startup can transcribe audio with for free today, how many hours the free allowance covers and whether it renews, whether it includes real-time transcription, whether a card is needed and what paid usage costs, read from each provider's own page.
Free allowances read on each provider's own pages, all checked on or after . Speech-to-text providers change their free allowances often: confirm the terms on the provider's page before you build on one.
Speech-to-text APIs a startup can use for free today include Google Cloud Speech-to-Text (60 minutes a month per account), AssemblyAI (185 hours pre-recorded, 333 streaming), Amazon Transcribe (60 minutes a month for 12 months), Speechmatics ($100 in free credits), and Gladia (50 EUR in free credits, valid one year). Each of the 8 free allowances below links to the provider's page that states it, with its main limit, whether it covers real-time transcription, whether a card is needed and what paid usage costs.
Transcription sits under meeting notes, voice agents, call analytics and subtitles. Every major speech-to-text API gives free hours or credits to start, enough to build and test a product before the first invoice.
The headline rarely tells you how far it goes. Free minutes can renew every month or come once, cover pre-recorded files but not real-time streaming, or expire after a year. Each API below shows what is free, its main limit, whether it covers real-time transcription, whether a card is needed and what paid usage costs, quoted from the provider's own page with the date we read it.
Which APIs we picked and the order they appear in are our editorial choices; the terms are the providers'. Some of these providers pay us a referral commission when someone signs up through our link: those links are labeled, and they play no part in which APIs are listed or where.
Speech-to-text APIs with free hours every month
Transcription APIs whose free allowance renews each month.
- 1
Google Cloud Speech-to-Text
Small monthly volumes on Google Cloud
Google Cloud gives 60 minutes of Speech-to-Text a month per account at no charge. After 60 minutes the Standard model costs $0.016 a minute, and the free minutes apply again each month.
Start free at Google CloudTerms read on cloud.google.com on Google Cloud Speech-to-Text: the free allowance and how to start - 2
Amazon Transcribe
AWS builds that need 12 months of free minutes
Amazon Transcribe gives 60 audio minutes a month free for the first 12 months after signup. Unused monthly usage does not roll over, and usage past the free tier is billed per second.
Start free at Amazon Web ServicesTerms read on aws.amazon.com on Amazon Transcribe: the free allowance and how to start
Speech-to-text APIs with free credits or a trial
Transcription APIs that give free credits once, or a trial, before you pay per hour.
- 1
AssemblyAI
Developers who need the most free audio hours
AssemblyAI gives up to 185 hours of pre-recorded and 333 hours of streaming transcription with no credit card. Its free plan allows 5 new streaming connections a minute, and Universal-2 is $0.15 an hour after that.
- Payment card
- No card needed (source: assemblyai.com)
Start free at AssemblyAITerms read on assemblyai.com on AssemblyAI: the free allowance and how to start AssemblyAI Startup Program: what startups get - 2
Speechmatics
Teams that want the largest starting credit
Speechmatics gives $100 in credits with no card required. The free plan allows 2 concurrent real-time sessions, against 50 on Self-serve, and Speech to Text starts from $0.12 an hour.
- Payment card
- No card needed (source: speechmatics.com)
- Paid usage
- From $0.12/hr (source: speechmatics.com)
Start free at SpeechmaticsTerms read on speechmatics.com on Speechmatics: the free allowance and how to start Speechmatics Startup Program: what startups get - 3
Gladia
Real-time transcription on a one-year credit
Gladia gives 50 EUR in credits valid for one year, which the page says is roughly 73 hours of real-time transcription or about 312 hours of async on solaria-3. The self-serve plan includes 25 concurrent requests.
- 4
Voicegain
Telephony and call audio on a small credit
Voicegain gives $50 of platform credit at signup with no credit card required. Its Cloud rate is $0.00020 per second of audio, with a 6-second minimum per request.
- Payment card
- No card needed (source: voicegain.ai)
- 5
Rev AI
A quick test of English transcription
Rev AI gives free credits equal to 5 hours of Reverb ASR, usable on all products, with no credit card. Streaming is limited to 10 concurrent streams, and Reverb transcription is $0.20 per hour after the credits.
- What's free
- 5 hours of Reverb ASR (source: rev.ai)
- Payment card
- No card needed (source: rev.ai)
- Paid usage
- Reverb: $0.20 per hour (source: rev.ai)
- 6
Picovoice
Teams evaluating on-device speech-to-text
Picovoice offers a free trial to evaluate its platform before a paid plan, with no credit card and no auto-renewal. The page does not state how much speech the trial covers or how long it runs.
- Payment card
- No card needed (source: picovoice.ai)
Speech AI startup programs
Programs from speech AI companies that give startups credits on paid usage.
Also useful for voice, speech and communications APIs
Referral links, picked for fit and ordered by fit (70%) and what a signup earns us (30%), at no cost to you. They never change this page's ranking.
How this comparison is built
The list covers speech-to-text APIs a founder can use for free today without applying to a program. The order and the "best for" notes are our editorial reading of each API's terms. Every term comes from the API's own pricing or help page on the date shown, never from a third-party list; follow each link for the full conditions. Whether free hours renew every month or come once, and whether they cover real-time transcription, can matter more than the headline, so the comparison quotes them wherever the provider states them. Some of these APIs pay StartupPerks a referral commission, and their links are labeled as referral links; that decides neither whether nor where a API appears, and no API pays for a placement on this page.
Read the full methodologyCommon questions
What is the best free speech-to-text API?
It depends on volume. By the terms each provider states, AssemblyAI's free credits cover 185 hours of pre-recorded or 333 hours of streaming audio, Speechmatics gives $100 in free credits, Voicegain $50 and Rev AI 5 hours, while Google Cloud Speech-to-Text includes 60 minutes a month.
Is there a speech-to-text API with free minutes every month?
Google Cloud Speech-to-Text includes 60 minutes a month per account, and Amazon Transcribe 60 minutes a month for the first 12 months; unused minutes do not roll over.
Which free speech-to-text APIs support real-time transcription?
AssemblyAI's credits cover up to 333 hours of streaming, Speechmatics allows 2 concurrent real-time sessions on its free plan, Gladia's credits cover about 73 hours of real-time, and Rev AI's and Voicegain's credits work on their streaming APIs too.
Is AssemblyAI free?
AssemblyAI gives free credits with no card needed, enough for 185 hours of pre-recorded or 333 hours of streaming audio. Universal-2 then costs $0.15 an hour.
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