Free-offer comparison
Free Speech-to-Text APIs
Batch and streaming transcription can have different limits. Check the endpoint, included hours, and concurrent sessions for your workload.
Guide updated Sep 20, 2026 · Offer review and source dates appear below · Methodology
Free-offer ranking
Each row describes the provider’s recorded free offer, which may cover a different product from the category shown here. The table keeps published units separate. “Not confirmed” means we lack evidence for that detail; it does not mean the provider requires a card.
Scroll horizontally to compare every column.
| Rank | Provider | Free-access score | Recorded free offer | Access pattern | Billing/card | Offer note | Full review | Official source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Gradium | 100/100 | 45K credits/mo | Recurring allowance | No card confirmed | Official product material restricts commercial use on the free tier. | Sep 19, 2026 | View pricingAccessed Sep 19, 2026 |
| #2 | Deepgram | 85/100 | $200 credit | One-time balance | No card confirmed | Current concurrency is up to 50 REST and 150 WebSocket STT connections. | Sep 19, 2026 | View pricingAccessed Sep 19, 2026 |
| #3 | Speechmatics | 85/100 | $100 credit | One-time balance | No card confirmed | Without a card on file, API access pauses when the starting credit reaches zero. | Sep 19, 2026 | View pricingAccessed Sep 19, 2026 |
| #4 | Cartesia | 75/100 | Voice-agent prepaid balance: $1 credit per month; Voice model credits: 20,000 credits per month | Recurring allowance | Not confirmed | Free output does not include commercial-use rights; voice-model credits and voice-agent dollars are separate. | Sep 19, 2026 | View pricingAccessed Sep 19, 2026 |
| #5 | Gladia | 75/100 | 10 hours/mo | Recurring allowance | Not confirmed | Free concurrency is one live and three prerecorded transcriptions; higher limits are on paid plans. | Jul 17, 2026 | View documentationAccessed Sep 13, 2026 |
| #6 | ElevenLabs | 75/100 | 10K credits/mo | Recurring allowance | Not confirmed | Startup grant is conditional and separate from the self-serve free plan. | Jul 17, 2026 | View pricingAccessed Sep 13, 2026 |
| #7 | Google Cloud Speech-to-Text | 75/100 | 60 minutes/mo | Recurring allowance | Not confirmed | The general Google Cloud new-customer credit is separate. | Jul 17, 2026 | View pricingAccessed Sep 13, 2026 |
| #8 | IBM Watson Speech-to-Text | 75/100 | 500 minutes/mo | Recurring allowance | Not confirmed | Lite instances are deleted after 30 days of inactivity. | Sep 13, 2026 | View pricingAccessed Sep 13, 2026 |
| #9 | Amazon Transcribe | 75/100 | 60 minutes/mo for 12 months | Introductory quota | Not confirmed | The 60-minute monthly allowance lasts for 12 months starting with the first transcription request. | Jul 17, 2026 | View pricingAccessed Sep 13, 2026 |
| #10 | AssemblyAI | 50/100 | $50 credit | One-time balance | Not confirmed | $50 one-time signup credit with no card; five new streaming sessions per minute. | Jul 17, 2026 | View pricingAccessed Sep 20, 2026 |
| #11 | xAI (Grok) | 30/100 | Free tier | Free offer recorded | Not confirmed | Free Grok plan includes limited access to real-time web and X search, voice mode, and connectors | Jun 24, 2026 | View documentationAccessed Sep 13, 2026 |
| #12 | Vapi | 30/100 | Free tier | Introductory offer | Not confirmed | The startup grant is conditional, and applications are on hold. | Jul 17, 2026 | View pricingAccessed Sep 13, 2026 |
Why these providers appear in this order
We score each provider’s recorded free offer: up to 40 points for recurring or durable access, 20 for a confirmed no-card signup, 15 for a stated allowance, 15 for distinct evidence links, and 10 for documented terms. Missing details earn no points. Ties favor longer-lasting access, then more detailed records, then provider name. The score does not measure product quality or whether the free offer covers this category. Read the full method before treating it as a recommendation.
Which providers are included?
We include active directory records tagged for speech-to-text APIs. A tag describes a provider’s capability; its recorded free offer may cover only part of that provider’s catalog. Check the model or endpoint in the provider’s terms before building on the allowance.
See the full speech-to-text APIs category, including records excluded from this guide.