Onsei
Onsei — Japanese-language web transcription for individual professionals and researchers.
Onsei — Japanese-language web transcription for individual professionals and researchers.
Best for japanese professionals — journalists, lawyers, researchers — who want a JPY-priced web tool. Pricing: tiered · per-minute pricing in JPY.
What it is
Onsei is a small Japanese transcription tool aimed at individual professionals — journalists, lawyers, qualitative researchers — who want Japanese-language UI, JPY billing, and Japanese-language support. Web-only with diarization and exportable transcripts. Realistic alternative to routing Japanese audio through US-cloud transcription products. Best fit when the buyer is japanese professionals — journalists, lawyers, researchers — who want a jpy-priced web tool. The honest caveat: japanese-first; web upload only, no developer api by default. Useful entry in any directory of regional STT options because the differentiator is language coverage that the global cloud incumbents under-serve.
Watch out for: Japanese-first; web upload only, no developer API by default.
Install / use
onsei.app — sign up and uploadFeatures
| Speaker diarization | Yes |
| Word-level timestamps | Yes |
| Streaming / real-time | No |
| Languages supported | None |
| HIPAA eligible | No |
Onsei vs Whipscribe
| Feature | Onsei | Whipscribe |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Products | Transcription APIs |
| Pricing | tiered · per-minute pricing in JPY | free beta |
| Speaker diarization | Yes | Yes |
| Word timestamps | Yes | Yes |
| Streaming | — | No |
| Languages | — | 99 |
| Platforms | Web | Web, API, MCP |
Alternatives to Onsei
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.