Sogou ASR
Sogou (Tencent-owned) speech-to-text — input-method-grade Mandarin recognition.
Sogou (Tencent-owned) speech-to-text — input-method-grade Mandarin recognition.
Best for mobile keyboard voice input and short-form Mandarin dictation in consumer apps. Pricing: enterprise · contact sales.
What it is
Sogou's speech stack powers one of the most-used Chinese mobile input methods, giving it billions of hours of in-domain training audio. Since Tencent's acquisition the offering has been progressively folded into Tencent Cloud, but the dedicated AI subsite is still reachable. Best understood as an embedded ASR for OEMs and app vendors rather than a standalone developer product. Best fit when the buyer is mobile keyboard voice input and short-form mandarin dictation in consumer apps. The honest caveat: less self-serve developer access since the tencent acquisition; treat as enterprise-only. Procurement is via direct sales rather than a developer signup, so plan for a discovery call and a written proposal before the first transcript runs.
Watch out for: Less self-serve developer access since the Tencent acquisition; treat as enterprise-only.
Install / use
ai.sogou.com — partner inquiryFeatures
| Speaker diarization | No |
| Word-level timestamps | No |
| Streaming / real-time | Yes |
| Languages supported | None |
| HIPAA eligible | No |
Sogou ASR vs Whipscribe
| Feature | Sogou ASR | Whipscribe |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Transcription APIs | Transcription APIs |
| Pricing | enterprise · contact sales | free beta |
| Speaker diarization | — | Yes |
| Word timestamps | — | Yes |
| Streaming | Yes | No |
| Languages | — | 99 |
| Platforms | Android, iOS, Windows | Web, API, MCP |
Alternatives to Sogou ASR
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.