MIT SLS
Don’t want to install MIT SLS? 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.
MIT Spoken Language Systems Group — TIMIT + Galaxy + Jupiter origins.
Best for spoken dialogue systems; conversational ASR; speech understanding. Pricing: free.
What it is
MIT SLS co-created TIMIT and ran the Galaxy / Jupiter / Mercury dialogue systems in the 1990s — early conversational AI. Active in low-resource speech today.
Watch out for: Academic.
Install / use
Go to MIT SLS groups.csail.mit.eduWhat people actually do with MIT SLS-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 |
MIT SLS vs Whipscribe
| Feature | MIT SLS | 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 MIT SLS
Frequently asked about MIT SLS
Is MIT SLS free?
Yes. MIT SLS is free and open source.
Does MIT SLS work on Mac, Windows and Linux?
MIT SLS 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 MIT SLS?
There is nothing to install — MIT SLS is used in the browser. Create an account on the vendor's site and upload or connect your audio.
Does MIT SLS identify different speakers?
No. MIT SLS 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 MIT SLS give word-level timestamps?
No — MIT SLS produces segment or sentence timing only, so subtitle cues can land mid-word.
Can MIT SLS transcribe live audio?
No — MIT SLS works on finished files, not a live stream.
Is MIT SLS HIPAA compliant?
MIT SLS 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 MIT SLS?
Academic.
Who is MIT SLS best for?
Spoken dialogue systems; conversational ASR; speech understanding.
Does MIT SLS run offline?
MIT SLS runs on your own machine — it is open source, so nothing leaves the computer unless you configure it to.
Is there a MIT SLS desktop app?
No — MIT SLS is browser-only. There is nothing to install and nothing runs on your machine.
Who makes MIT SLS?
MIT SLS is made by MIT CSAIL.
What kind of tool is MIT SLS?
In this directory MIT SLS is filed under research lab as a open-source tool.
What are the alternatives to MIT SLS?
There is a side-by-side page at /tools/mit-sls-alternatives comparing MIT SLS with the closest tools in the same category on price, platform and features.
Can I automate MIT SLS-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.
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