AISHELL-4

by Beijing Shell Shell Technology

Need a transcript, not a dataset? 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.

120h Mandarin meeting corpus — multi-speaker conference-room scenarios.

OpenSLR  ·  free

TL;DR

Best for mandarin meeting transcription + diarization with 8-mic linear array. Pricing: free.

Category
Open source
Pricing
free
Platforms
OpenSLR

What it is

AISHELL-4 (OpenSLR-111) is 120 hours of Mandarin meeting recordings from a real conference room with an 8-channel linear microphone array. License: CC BY 4.0.

Best for: Mandarin meeting transcription + diarization with 8-mic linear array.
Watch out for: CC BY 4.0 · ~120h · 8-mic linear array recordings of 4–8-person meetings. Cite: Fu et al., Interspeech 2021.

Install / use

Go to AISHELL-4 www.openslr.org

What people actually do with AISHELL-4-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.

Turn recorded calls into searchable notesThe recording exists, the answer is in it, and nobody will scrub an hour to find the ninety seconds that matter.…200 calls a month ≈ $48Write SOPs from how-we-do-it recordingsProcess knowledge lives in someone's screen recording and leaves when they do.…40 recordings ≈ $6.40Transcribe every new file in a Drive folderFiles accumulate in a folder nobody opens, and the knowledge in them is invisible to search.…≈ $0.29 per audio hour on the $24 pack

Wire it into ZoomSlackNotionAirtableLoomMake.com

Features

Speaker diarizationYes
Word-level timestampsNo
Streaming / real-timeNo
Languages supported1
HIPAA eligibleNo

AISHELL-4 vs Whipscribe

FeatureAISHELL-4Whipscribe
CategoryOpen sourceTranscription APIs
Pricingfree$6–$24 one-time packs (credits never expire) · first 20 minutes free
Speaker identificationYesNamed in the summary, key quotes and chapters
Word timestampsNoYes
StreamingNoNo
Languages199
PlatformsOpenSLRWeb, API, MCP

Alternatives to AISHELL-4

OpenAI Whisper
OpenAI

The reference open-source multilingual ASR model from OpenAI.

OSS · MIT ★ 108.7k
whisper.cpp
Georgi Gerganov

C/C++ port of Whisper — runs on anything, from a Raspberry Pi to Apple Silicon.

OSS · MIT ★ 53.5k
faster-whisper
SYSTRAN

4× faster than reference Whisper using CTranslate2 — production sweet spot.

OSS · MIT ★ 25.3k

Frequently asked about AISHELL-4

Is AISHELL-4 free?

Yes. AISHELL-4 is free and open source.

Does AISHELL-4 work on Mac, Windows and Linux?

AISHELL-4 runs on OpenSLR. It is not listed for other platforms; check the vendor for anything beyond OpenSLR.

How do I install AISHELL-4?

Download the installer for your platform from https://www.openslr.org/111/. No terminal needed.

How many languages does AISHELL-4 support?

AISHELL-4 lists 1 languages.

Does AISHELL-4 identify different speakers?

Yes — AISHELL-4 has speaker diarization, so a two-person interview comes back with each speaker labelled.

Does AISHELL-4 give word-level timestamps?

No — AISHELL-4 produces segment or sentence timing only, so subtitle cues can land mid-word.

Can AISHELL-4 transcribe live audio?

No — AISHELL-4 works on finished files, not a live stream.

Is AISHELL-4 HIPAA compliant?

AISHELL-4 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 AISHELL-4?

CC BY 4.0 · ~120h · 8-mic linear array recordings of 4–8-person meetings. Cite: Fu et al., Interspeech 2021.

Who is AISHELL-4 best for?

Mandarin meeting transcription + diarization with 8-mic linear array.

Does AISHELL-4 run offline?

AISHELL-4 runs on your own machine — it is open source, so nothing leaves the computer unless you configure it to.

Can I use AISHELL-4 in the browser?

No — AISHELL-4 is a OpenSLR application, not a web app. You install it rather than sign in to it.

Who makes AISHELL-4?

AISHELL-4 is made by Beijing Shell Shell Technology.

What kind of tool is AISHELL-4?

In this directory AISHELL-4 is filed under dataset as a open-source tool.

What are the alternatives to AISHELL-4?

There is a side-by-side page at /tools/aishell-4-alternatives comparing AISHELL-4 with the closest tools in the same category on price, platform and features.

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 AISHELL-4 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

Explore

All transcription tools · By language · By platform · By file format · How-to guides · Transcription services · Transcription API · Pricing

Long recording to get through?

One file up to 10 hours, as an upload or a link: see transcribing a long MP3 or M4A, how to transcribe a podcast and the SRT file generator.

Looking at paid options?

Before you choose a transcription tool or service: see how the best transcription services compare, affordable transcription priced per hour and transcription services from $6.