ICSI Berkeley
Don’t want to install ICSI Berkeley? 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.
International Computer Science Institute — ICSI Meeting Corpus + Aurora origins.
Best for meeting ASR + diarization research; speech-recognition theoretical work. Pricing: free.
What it is
ICSI hosts UC Berkeley-affiliated speech research and produced the ICSI Meeting Corpus + Aurora noise benchmarks. Notable affiliates: Nelson Morgan, Hervé Bourlard.
Watch out for: Academic.
Install / use
Go to ICSI Berkeley www.icsi.berkeley.eduWhat people actually do with ICSI Berkeley-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 |
ICSI Berkeley vs Whipscribe
| Feature | ICSI Berkeley | 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 ICSI Berkeley
Frequently asked about ICSI Berkeley
Is ICSI Berkeley free?
Yes. ICSI Berkeley is free and open source.
Does ICSI Berkeley work on Mac, Windows and Linux?
ICSI Berkeley 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 ICSI Berkeley?
There is nothing to install — ICSI Berkeley is used in the browser. Create an account on the vendor's site and upload or connect your audio.
Does ICSI Berkeley identify different speakers?
No. ICSI Berkeley 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 ICSI Berkeley give word-level timestamps?
No — ICSI Berkeley produces segment or sentence timing only, so subtitle cues can land mid-word.
Can ICSI Berkeley transcribe live audio?
No — ICSI Berkeley works on finished files, not a live stream.
Is ICSI Berkeley HIPAA compliant?
ICSI Berkeley 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 ICSI Berkeley?
Academic.
Who is ICSI Berkeley best for?
Meeting ASR + diarization research; speech-recognition theoretical work.
Does ICSI Berkeley run offline?
ICSI Berkeley runs on your own machine — it is open source, so nothing leaves the computer unless you configure it to.
Is there a ICSI Berkeley desktop app?
No — ICSI Berkeley is browser-only. There is nothing to install and nothing runs on your machine.
Who makes ICSI Berkeley?
ICSI Berkeley is made by ICSI / UC Berkeley.
What kind of tool is ICSI Berkeley?
In this directory ICSI Berkeley is filed under research lab as a open-source tool.
What are the alternatives to ICSI Berkeley?
There is a side-by-side page at /tools/icsi-berkeley-alternatives comparing ICSI Berkeley with the closest tools in the same category on price, platform and features.
Can I automate ICSI Berkeley-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 ICSI Berkeley 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, a podcast episode as text from its link and the SRT file generator.
Looking at paid options?
Before you choose a transcription tool or service: see the best transcription services side by side, the cheapest way to transcribe an hour of audio and our transcription service with prices and turnaround.