AI4Bharat
Don’t want to install AI4Bharat? Drop the file here.
The first 20 minutes of any recording are transcribed free: a recording up to 20 minutes transcribes in full, a longer one is previewed, and a pack from $6 (500 minutes) transcribes the rest and opens every export, and credits never expire.
IIT Madras Indic AI lab — IndicVoices + Kathbath + IndicSUPERB + IndicWav2Vec.
Best for indic-language speech + NLP research, training data, and models. Pricing: free.
What it is
AI4Bharat at IIT Madras built the canonical Indic speech stack: IndicVoices (16kh), Kathbath, Shrutilipi, IndicWav2Vec, IndicSUPERB. License: CC BY 4.0 across most releases.
Watch out for: Academic; models + corpora CC BY 4.0 (most).
Install / use
Go to AI4Bharat ai4bharat.iitm.ac.inWhat people actually do with AI4Bharat-style transcription
The tool is the means. These are the jobs — each one priced at published rates, each one wired up on its own page.
Features
| Speaker diarization | No |
| Word-level timestamps | No |
| Streaming / real-time | No |
| Languages supported | 22 |
| HIPAA eligible | No |
AI4Bharat vs Whipscribe
| Feature | AI4Bharat | Whipscribe |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Open source | Transcription APIs |
| Pricing | free | $6–$24 one-time packs (credits never expire) · first 20 minutes free |
| Speaker identification | No | Named in the summary, key quotes and chapters |
| Word timestamps | No | Yes |
| Streaming | No | No |
| Languages | 22 | 99 |
| Platforms | Web, GitHub | Web, API, MCP |
Alternatives to AI4Bharat
Frequently asked about AI4Bharat
Is AI4Bharat free?
Yes. AI4Bharat is free and open source.
Does AI4Bharat work on Mac, Windows and Linux?
AI4Bharat runs on Web and GitHub. It is not listed for other platforms; check the vendor for anything beyond Web and GitHub.
How do I get started with AI4Bharat?
There is nothing to install — AI4Bharat is used in the browser. Create an account on the vendor's site and upload or connect your audio.
How many languages does AI4Bharat support?
AI4Bharat lists 22 languages.
Does AI4Bharat identify different speakers?
No. AI4Bharat does not label speakers; a conversation comes back as one continuous text. If you need speaker labels, that is a separate tool or a different service.
Does AI4Bharat give word-level timestamps?
No — AI4Bharat produces segment or sentence timing only, so subtitle cues can land mid-word.
Can AI4Bharat transcribe live audio?
No — AI4Bharat works on finished files, not a live stream.
Is AI4Bharat HIPAA compliant?
AI4Bharat does not claim HIPAA compliance. For PHI, run it on infrastructure you control or choose a service that will sign a BAA.
What are the limitations of AI4Bharat?
Academic; models + corpora CC BY 4.0 (most).
Who is AI4Bharat best for?
Indic-language speech + NLP research, training data, and models.
Does AI4Bharat run offline?
AI4Bharat runs on your own machine — it is open source, so nothing leaves the computer unless you configure it to.
Who maintains AI4Bharat?
AI4Bharat is open source on GitHub, maintained by IIT Madras.
What kind of tool is AI4Bharat?
In this directory AI4Bharat is filed under research lab as a open-source tool.
What are the alternatives to AI4Bharat?
There is a side-by-side page at /tools/ai4bharat-alternatives comparing AI4Bharat with the closest tools in the same category on price, platform and features.
Can I automate AI4Bharat-style transcription without running it myself?
Yes. If what you want is transcripts rather than the tool itself, Whipscribe does the same job as a hosted API: submit a file or URL, poll a job id, pull the result as txt, json, srt, vtt or docx. $0.012 a minute — about $0.72 an audio hour — bought as credits that never expire. The automation recipes on this site show it wired to Drive folders, Zoom recordings, S3 buckets and no-code platforms.
Whipscribe is a hosted transcription service. If you want transcripts without running infrastructure, paste a URL or drop a file in the form below — you'll have a transcript in seconds.
Transcribe your recordings
Running AI4Bharat yourself? Send the same file here and compare the transcript. Transcribe any language, any recording · Transcription services from $0.29 an hour · Transcribe from any meeting or recording platform · How to transcribe, step by step
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Long recording to get through?
One file up to 10 hours, as an upload or a link: see MP3 to text for long recordings, transcribing a podcast episode and the SRT generator.
Comparing tools before you pay?
If you would rather pay a service than run software yourself: see the best transcription services side by side, the cheapest way to transcribe an hour of audio and transcription services from $6.