py-webrtcvad

by wiseman

Python bindings for Google's WebRTC VAD.

TL;DR

Python bindings for Google's WebRTC VAD.

Best for ultra-cheap VAD on low-power devices. Pricing: free.

Category
Open source
License
—
Stars
—
Last push
—
Pricing
free
Platforms
Linux, macOS, Windows

What it is

A thin wrapper over the WebRTC VAD C library. MIT.

Best for: Ultra-cheap VAD on low-power devices.
Watch out for: GMM-era accuracy — Silero VAD is generally better today.

Install / use

pip install webrtcvad

Features

Speaker diarizationNo
Word-level timestampsNo
Streaming / real-timeYes
Languages supported99
HIPAA eligibleNo

py-webrtcvad vs Whipscribe

Featurepy-webrtcvadWhipscribe
CategoryOpen sourceTranscription APIs
Pricingfreefree beta
Speaker diarizationNoYes
Word timestampsNoYes
StreamingYesNo
Languages9999
PlatformsLinux, macOS, WindowsWeb, API, MCP

Alternatives to py-webrtcvad

OpenAI Whisper
OpenAI

The reference open-source multilingual ASR model from OpenAI.

OSS · MIT ★ 98.1k
whisper.cpp
Georgi Gerganov

C/C++ port of Whisper — runs on anything, from a Raspberry Pi to Apple Silicon.

OSS · MIT ★ 48.8k
faster-whisper
SYSTRAN

4× faster than reference Whisper using CTranslate2 — production sweet spot.

OSS · MIT ★ 22.3k

Whipscribe is a managed faster-whisper + whisperX 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.