Whisper API

What is Whisper API?

Whisper API (whisper-api.com) is a transcription service that converts audio and video files into text using its own hosted copy of the open-source Whisper model. Developers send a file or a remote URL to a single endpoint with an API key, choosing language, output format and model size, while non-developers can drag files into a browser dashboard, watch progress and download the result as JSON, text, VTT, DOCX or PDF. It detects the spoken language automatically across 98+ languages and accepts files up to 10GB with a Pro subscription. Uploaded files are deleted after 24 hours, only the transcript is kept, and the vendor says your content is never used to train models or sent to OpenAI. You pay with credits rather than a subscription: 40 credits cost $10 at $0.25 per credit, larger bundles lower the per-credit rate, and new accounts get 5 free credits to test.

Use cases

• Transcribe interviews and podcasts
• Generate subtitles in SRT or VTT
• Convert meeting recordings to text
• Add transcription to an app through the API
• Transcribe video files and remote URLs
• Detect language in multilingual audio

Who it's for

• Developers
• Podcasters
• Video editors
• Researchers
• Journalists

Why use Whisper API

• No subscription: buy credits when you need them, and the credits never expire.
• No OpenAI API key is required because the service hosts its own copy of Whisper and issues you a key.
• Uploads are removed after 24 hours and are not used to train any model, which suits privacy-minded projects.
• The same service works from code or from a no-code dashboard, so developers and non-developers can share one account.
• You can see the exact credit cost for a chosen model size before confirming a job.

Whisper API features

• Transcription API with file upload or remote URL input
• Browser dashboard with drag and drop
• Choice of Whisper model sizes from tiny to large-v3
• Automatic language detection across 98+ languages
• Export to JSON, text, VTT, DOCX and PDF
• Speaker diarization option
• Beam size, best-of and patience tuning parameters
• Files up to 10GB with Pro
• Automatic deletion of uploads after 24 hours

How to get started with Whisper API

1. Create an account and claim the 5 free credits; an API key is generated for you.
2. Upload an audio or video file in the dashboard, or POST a file or URL to the transcribe endpoint.
3. Pick the model size, language and output format, and review the credit cost shown before confirming.
4. Wait for processing, then fetch the result from the API response or preview it in the dashboard.
5. Download the transcript as text, subtitles or a document; the uploaded media is deleted after 24 hours.

Whisper API limitations

• New accounts get only 5 free credits to test the service
• Tiny, small and medium models are free tier; base and the large models need paid credits
• Credit cost depends on model size, length (billed per started hour), diarization and file size
• The documentation lists only text and srt as API output formats
• Uploaded files are deleted after 24 hours, so keep your own copies

Whisper API pricing

Whisper API has no free plan, but it offers a free trial.

Whisper API plans

• 40 API Credits

  $10

  one-time, $0.25 per credit

  • Suited to small projects and testing
  • Credits never expire

• 100 API Credits

  $0.20/credit

  • Suited to medium-sized projects
  • Credits never expire

• 200 API Credits

  Price on vendor site

  • Suited to larger projects
  • Credits never expire

• Custom

  Custom

  • Tailored plans for high volume
  • Enterprise pricing

Plans as listed on the official pricing page on 24 Oct 2026. Prices can change and may vary by country or exclude tax. Check the official pricing page.

Whisper API alternatives

The main Whisper API alternatives listed on Debuly are Deepgram, EKHOS AI, Transgate, Murf AI, MusicGPT and ElevenLabs. The table compares pricing and platforms; order is A–Z.

1. 

   Deepgram

   Voice AI platform with speech-to-text, text-to-speech and Voice Agent APIs, available as a managed API, in-VPC or self-hosted.

   Audio and voiceDeveloper platformsAutomation and agents
   FreemiumVisit Deepgram (official site)
2. 

   EKHOS AI

   Offline Windows app that transcribes audio and video on your own PC in 98 languages, with speaker labels and no cloud upload.

   Audio and voiceProductivityResearch and search
   FreemiumVisit EKHOS AI (official site)
3. 

   ElevenLabs

   AI audio platform for text to speech, voice cloning, dubbing, transcription, music and conversational voice agents, via app or API.

   Audio and voiceAutomation and agentsVideoDeveloper platforms
   FreemiumVisit ElevenLabs (official site)
4. 

   Murf AI

   Text-to-speech platform with a voice API, Studio and Dub products, and voice agents, billed per character on the API.

   Audio and voiceDeveloper platformsVideo
   FreemiumVisit Murf AI (official site)
5. MG

   MusicGPT

   AI music and audio platform with song generation, voice tools, stem splitting and a pay-per-request API.

   Audio and voiceDeveloper platforms
   FreemiumVisit MusicGPT (official site)
6. 

   Transgate

   AI transcription and translation for audio and video in 50+ languages, with summaries, highlights and chat, sold by the hour or month.

   Audio and voiceProductivity
   PaidVisit Transgate (official site)

Whisper API FAQ

Sources & verification

Facts on this page come from the official sources below, each with the date we read it. Written by Debuly; the vendor did not review this page.

Image credits

• Logo: from whisper-api.com · fetched 24 Oct 2026 · Vendor trademark, used only to identify the product; removed on request
• Cover: none collected yet, so a generated tile is shown.

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