OpenAI Whisper / GPT-4o Transcribe API pricing
Transcription endpoints (whisper-1, gpt-4o-transcribe, gpt-4o-mini-transcribe) bundled into the broader OpenAI API; simple flat per-minute pricing, no STT-specific free tier.
No free tierBilled per minute (per-second billed)·Verified Jun 27, 2026
Free tier
None (pay-per-use)
Plans and prices
| Plan | Price | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| whisper-1 | $0.006 / min | Original hosted Whisper model; billed per second of audio duration, ~$0.36/hour. |
| gpt-4o-transcribe | $0.006 / min (~$6.00 / 1M audio input tokens) | Flagship GPT-4o speech-to-text; lower WER and better multilingual accuracy than Whisper. |
| gpt-4o-mini-transcribe | $0.003 / min (~$3.00 / 1M audio input tokens) | Cost-efficient smaller model, half the price of the flagship. |
| gpt-4o-transcribe-diarize | Usage-based (audio token pricing) | Adds built-in speaker diarization; Transcription API only, returns diarized_json with A:/B: speaker labels. |
What to watch for on the bill
- Token-based GPT-4o billing can produce less predictable costs on long audio than flat per-minute pricing
The pricing page, as we saw it
Source: https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/pricing. Prices change. Confirm on the vendor page before you commit.
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Other Speech-to-Text APIs
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