LiveKit Agents
Don’t want to install LiveKit Agents? 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.
Open-source framework for building realtime AI voice agents on LiveKit's WebRTC stack.
Best for teams already on LiveKit WebRTC that want to add a realtime AI participant. Pricing: free.
What it is
LiveKit Agents is an Apache-2.0 framework that runs an AI participant inside a LiveKit room with realtime audio. It plugs into OpenAI Realtime, Deepgram, Cartesia, ElevenLabs, and Anthropic via provider abstractions, handling turn detection, interruption, and tool calling. OpenAI references LiveKit Agents in its own Realtime API docs.
Watch out for: Tightly coupled to LiveKit transport; you still pay for ASR/LLM/TTS providers.
Install / use
pip install livekit-agentsWhat people actually do with LiveKit Agents-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 | None |
| HIPAA eligible | No |
Links
LiveKit Agents vs Whipscribe
| Feature | LiveKit Agents | Whipscribe |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Open source | Transcription APIs |
| Pricing | free | $6–$24 one-time packs (credits never expire) · first 20 minutes free |
| Speaker identification | — | Named in the summary, key quotes and chapters |
| Word timestamps | — | Yes |
| Streaming | — | No |
| Languages | — | 99 |
| Platforms | Linux, macOS, Windows, Cloud | Web, API, MCP |
Alternatives to LiveKit Agents
Frequently asked about LiveKit Agents
Is LiveKit Agents free?
Yes. LiveKit Agents is free and open source.
Does LiveKit Agents work on Mac, Windows and Linux?
LiveKit Agents runs on Linux, macOS, Windows and Cloud.
How do I install LiveKit Agents?
With pip: `pip install livekit-agents`. You need Python and, for most audio tools, ffmpeg on your PATH first.
Does LiveKit Agents identify different speakers?
No. LiveKit Agents 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 LiveKit Agents give word-level timestamps?
No — LiveKit Agents produces segment or sentence timing only, so subtitle cues can land mid-word.
Can LiveKit Agents transcribe live audio?
No — LiveKit Agents works on finished files, not a live stream.
Is LiveKit Agents HIPAA compliant?
LiveKit Agents 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 LiveKit Agents?
Tightly coupled to LiveKit transport; you still pay for ASR/LLM/TTS providers.
Who is LiveKit Agents best for?
Teams already on LiveKit WebRTC that want to add a realtime AI participant.
Does LiveKit Agents run offline?
LiveKit Agents runs on your own machine — it is open source, so nothing leaves the computer unless you configure it to.
Can I use LiveKit Agents in the browser?
No — LiveKit Agents is a Linux, macOS, Windows and Cloud application, not a web app. You install it rather than sign in to it.
Where is the LiveKit Agents source code?
On GitHub at github.com/livekit/agents.
What kind of tool is LiveKit Agents?
In this directory LiveKit Agents is filed under voice middleware, voice agent, developer framework as a open-source tool.
What are the alternatives to LiveKit Agents?
There is a side-by-side page at /tools/livekit-agents-alternatives comparing LiveKit Agents with the closest tools in the same category on price, platform and features.
Can I automate LiveKit Agents-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 LiveKit Agents 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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Have the recording already?
Skip the setup and send the file or the link: see MP3 to text for long recordings, transcribing a podcast episode and the SRT file 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, cheap transcription services and the real cost per hour and our transcription service with prices and turnaround.