Pipecat
Don’t want to install Pipecat? 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 voice and multimodal conversational AI agents.
Best for developers building self-hosted voice agents with explicit control over the stack. Pricing: free.
What it is
Pipecat is an open-source Python framework from Daily.co for building realtime voice and multimodal AI agents. It composes pipeline stages — VAD, ASR, LLM, TTS, function calls — over WebRTC or WebSocket transport. Pipecat is the open alternative to Vapi or Retell for teams that want full ownership of the runtime, model choice, and cost model. BSD-2-Clause licensed.
Watch out for: DIY; you operate the media transport, model selection, and scaling.
Install / use
pip install pipecat-aiWhat people actually do with Pipecat-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
Pipecat vs Whipscribe
| Feature | Pipecat | 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 Pipecat
Frequently asked about Pipecat
Is Pipecat free?
Yes. Pipecat is free and open source.
Does Pipecat work on Mac, Windows and Linux?
Pipecat runs on Linux, macOS, Windows and Cloud.
How do I install Pipecat?
With pip: `pip install pipecat-ai`. You need Python and, for most audio tools, ffmpeg on your PATH first.
Does Pipecat identify different speakers?
No. Pipecat 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 Pipecat give word-level timestamps?
No — Pipecat produces segment or sentence timing only, so subtitle cues can land mid-word.
Can Pipecat transcribe live audio?
No — Pipecat works on finished files, not a live stream.
Is Pipecat HIPAA compliant?
Pipecat 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 Pipecat?
DIY; you operate the media transport, model selection, and scaling.
Who is Pipecat best for?
Developers building self-hosted voice agents with explicit control over the stack.
Does Pipecat run offline?
Pipecat runs on your own machine — it is open source, so nothing leaves the computer unless you configure it to.
Can I use Pipecat in the browser?
No — Pipecat is a Linux, macOS, Windows and Cloud application, not a web app. You install it rather than sign in to it.
Where is the Pipecat source code?
On GitHub at github.com/pipecat-ai/pipecat. It is maintained by Daily.co.
What kind of tool is Pipecat?
In this directory Pipecat is filed under voice middleware, voice agent, developer framework as a open-source tool.
What are the alternatives to Pipecat?
There is a side-by-side page at /tools/pipecat-alternatives comparing Pipecat with the closest tools in the same category on price, platform and features.
Can I automate Pipecat-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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