CMU LTI
Don’t want to install CMU LTI? 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.
Carnegie Mellon Language Technologies Institute — Sphinx + ESPnet + YODAS origins.
Best for speech + NLP foundational research; multilingual ASR. Pricing: free.
What it is
CMU LTI shipped CMU Sphinx in 1986, co-founded ESPnet, and built YODAS / WAVLab in 2023-2024. One of the four foundational US speech-research institutions.
Watch out for: Academic.
Install / use
Go to CMU LTI lti.cs.cmu.eduWhat people actually do with CMU LTI-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 | 0 |
| HIPAA eligible | No |
Links
CMU LTI vs Whipscribe
| Feature | CMU LTI | 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 | 0 | 99 |
| Platforms | Web | Web, API, MCP |
Alternatives to CMU LTI
Frequently asked about CMU LTI
Is CMU LTI free?
Yes. CMU LTI is free and open source.
Does CMU LTI work on Mac, Windows and Linux?
CMU LTI runs in the browser, so it works on any desktop OS with a modern browser, and on phones and tablets.
How do I get started with CMU LTI?
There is nothing to install — CMU LTI is used in the browser. Create an account on the vendor's site and upload or connect your audio.
Does CMU LTI identify different speakers?
No. CMU LTI 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 CMU LTI give word-level timestamps?
No — CMU LTI produces segment or sentence timing only, so subtitle cues can land mid-word.
Can CMU LTI transcribe live audio?
No — CMU LTI works on finished files, not a live stream.
Is CMU LTI HIPAA compliant?
CMU LTI 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 CMU LTI?
Academic.
Who is CMU LTI best for?
Speech + NLP foundational research; multilingual ASR.
Does CMU LTI run offline?
CMU LTI runs on your own machine — it is open source, so nothing leaves the computer unless you configure it to.
Is there a CMU LTI desktop app?
No — CMU LTI is browser-only. There is nothing to install and nothing runs on your machine.
Who maintains CMU LTI?
CMU LTI is open source on GitHub, maintained by Carnegie Mellon University.
What kind of tool is CMU LTI?
In this directory CMU LTI is filed under research lab as a open-source tool.
What are the alternatives to CMU LTI?
There is a side-by-side page at /tools/cmu-lti-alternatives comparing CMU LTI with the closest tools in the same category on price, platform and features.
Can I automate CMU LTI-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 CMU LTI 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, how to transcribe a podcast and the SRT file generator.
Comparing tools before you pay?
If you would rather pay a service than run software yourself: see an honest roundup of the best transcription services, the cheapest way to transcribe an hour of audio and our transcription service with prices and turnaround.