CallHome English

by LDC

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.

60h of unscripted home-telephone conversations — diarization + ASR benchmark.

LDC  ·  paid

TL;DR

Best for conversational diarization + ASR with informal-register telephone speech. Pricing: paid.

Category
Open source
Pricing
paid
Platforms
LDC

What it is

The CallHome series is 30-minute spontaneous calls between family/friends across 6 languages. Standard conversational-diarization benchmark. LDC paid.

Best for: Conversational diarization + ASR with informal-register telephone speech.
Watch out for: LDC license · paid · CallHome ships in English / Mandarin / Spanish / Japanese / German / Arabic. Cite: Canavan et al., 1997.

Install / use

Go to CallHome English catalog.ldc.upenn.edu

What people actually do with CallHome English-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 supported6
HIPAA eligibleNo

CallHome English vs Whipscribe

FeatureCallHome EnglishWhipscribe
CategoryOpen sourceTranscription APIs
Pricingpaid$6–$24 one-time packs (credits never expire) · first 20 minutes free
Speaker identificationYesNamed in the summary, key quotes and chapters
Word timestampsNoYes
StreamingNoNo
Languages699
PlatformsLDCWeb, API, MCP

Alternatives to CallHome English

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 CallHome English

How much does CallHome English cost?

CallHome English is a paid product. Pricing changes; verify on the vendor's own page before budgeting.

Does CallHome English work on Mac, Windows and Linux?

CallHome English runs on LDC. It is not listed for other platforms; check the vendor for anything beyond LDC.

How do I install CallHome English?

Download the installer for your platform from https://catalog.ldc.upenn.edu/LDC97S42 # LDC membership. No terminal needed.

How many languages does CallHome English support?

CallHome English lists 6 languages.

Does CallHome English identify different speakers?

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

Does CallHome English give word-level timestamps?

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

Can CallHome English transcribe live audio?

No — CallHome English works on finished files, not a live stream.

Is CallHome English HIPAA compliant?

CallHome English 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 CallHome English?

LDC license · paid · CallHome ships in English / Mandarin / Spanish / Japanese / German / Arabic. Cite: Canavan et al., 1997.

Who is CallHome English best for?

Conversational diarization + ASR with informal-register telephone speech.

Does CallHome English run offline?

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

Can I use CallHome English in the browser?

No — CallHome English is a LDC application, not a web app. You install it rather than sign in to it.

Who makes CallHome English?

CallHome English is made by LDC.

What kind of tool is CallHome English?

In this directory CallHome English is filed under dataset as a open-source tool.

What are the alternatives to CallHome English?

There is a side-by-side page at /tools/callhome-alternatives comparing CallHome English 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 CallHome English 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 transcribing a long MP3 or M4A, a podcast episode as text from its link and an SRT subtitle file from any recording.

Rather have it done for you?

Free tools cost setup time. When you want a finished transcript instead: see the best transcription services side by side, cheap transcription services and the real cost per hour and how our transcription services work.