OpenAI Realtime API (STT)
Don’t want to wire up OpenAI Realtime API? 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.
OpenAI's Realtime API streaming speech-in (whisper-1 / gpt-4o-transcribe family).
Best for voice-agent products needing streaming STT tightly coupled with GPT-4o reasoning. Pricing: per-minute audio in (model-dependent).
What it is
OpenAI's Realtime API provides bidirectional streaming voice in/voice out against the gpt-4o-realtime models, alongside dedicated transcription models (gpt-4o-transcribe, gpt-4o-mini-transcribe). It is the canonical pick for voice-agent applications that need extremely tight loop between STT, LLM, and TTS. Pricing is per-minute of audio input and output. See also the separate /audio/transcriptions endpoint for batch transcription. Best fit: voice-agent products needing streaming stt tightly coupled with gpt-4o reasoning. Caveats: no native speaker diarization; cost rises rapidly with bidirectional audio. Pricing as listed: per-minute audio in (model-dependent). Feature flags from vendor docs: streaming. Directory tags: commercial-api, voice-agent. Last vendor-page check: 2026-05-12.
Watch out for: No native speaker diarization; cost rises rapidly with bidirectional audio.
Install / use
WebSocket: wss://api.openai.com/v1/realtime?model=gpt-4o-realtime
What people actually do with OpenAI Realtime API (STT)-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 | Yes |
| Languages supported | 99 |
| HIPAA eligible | No |
OpenAI Realtime API (STT) vs Whipscribe
| Feature | OpenAI Realtime API (STT) | Whipscribe |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Transcription APIs | Transcription APIs |
| Pricing | Not verified | $6–$24 one-time packs (credits never expire) · first 20 minutes free |
| Speaker identification | Not verified | Named in the summary, key quotes and chapters |
| Word timestamps | Not verified | Yes |
| Streaming | Not verified | No |
| Languages | 99 | 99 |
| Platforms | API | Web, API, MCP |
Alternatives to OpenAI Realtime API (STT)
Frequently asked about OpenAI Realtime API (STT)
How much does OpenAI Realtime API (STT) cost?
OpenAI Realtime API (STT) is a paid product — published pricing: per-minute audio in (model-dependent). Pricing changes; verify on the vendor's own page before budgeting.
What platforms does OpenAI Realtime API (STT) support?
OpenAI Realtime API (STT) is an API — you call it from whatever you build, on any platform with an HTTP client.
How do I get started with OpenAI Realtime API (STT)?
OpenAI Realtime API (STT) is used through its API: get a key from the vendor, then call it from your own code. There is no desktop app to install.
How many languages does OpenAI Realtime API (STT) support?
OpenAI Realtime API (STT) lists 99 languages. That is the Whisper-family multilingual set, so quality varies by language — English and the large European languages are strongest.
What are the limitations of OpenAI Realtime API (STT)?
No native speaker diarization; cost rises rapidly with bidirectional audio.
Who is OpenAI Realtime API (STT) best for?
Voice-agent products needing streaming STT tightly coupled with GPT-4o reasoning.
Is OpenAI Realtime API (STT) open source?
No. OpenAI Realtime API (STT) is a proprietary API. If you need source you can read and run yourself, the open-source tools in this directory are the place to look.
What kind of tool is OpenAI Realtime API (STT)?
In this directory OpenAI Realtime API (STT) is filed under commercial api, voice agent as a API.
What are the alternatives to OpenAI Realtime API (STT)?
There is a side-by-side page at /tools/openai-realtime-stt-alternatives comparing OpenAI Realtime API (STT) with the closest tools in the same category on price, platform and features.
Can I automate OpenAI Realtime API (STT)-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.
How is Whipscribe different from OpenAI Realtime API (STT)?
OpenAI Realtime API (STT) is another vendor's product; Whipscribe is a per-minute transcription service. Recordings are transcribed on our own servers and never used for training, and every job returns five formats plus an AI summary, quotes and topics. The first 20 minutes of any recording are transcribed free, and a pack from $6 (500 minutes) transcribes the rest and opens every export.
What does transcription cost if I use Whipscribe instead of OpenAI Realtime API (STT)?
$0.012 a minute — about $0.72 an audio hour — bought as credits that never expire. There is no subscription and no monthly minimum: a 3-hour recording is about $2.16, a thousand-hour archive is about $720 once. The first 20 minutes of any recording are transcribed free, and a pack from $6 (500 minutes) transcribes the rest and opens every export, so you can see what your recording holds before paying anything.
Where is the OpenAI Realtime API (STT) category heading?
Three things are moving across the whole speech-to-text market right now: summaries, action items and speaker insights generated on top of the transcript rather than sold separately; private, secured deployment where the audio never leaves a boundary you control; and agent access — transcription exposed as a tool that Claude, Cursor or a workflow runner can call directly. Whipscribe ships all three today: per-job insights, our own servers, and an MCP server.
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
Using OpenAI Realtime API (STT) today? Send your next recording 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 how to transcribe an MP3 of any length, 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 the best transcription services side by side, affordable transcription priced per hour and our transcription service with prices and turnaround.