STT Provider Comparison
Compare 6 speech-to-text providers for voice typing. See accuracy, latency, pricing, and language support side by side.
Provider Overview
Key specs at a glance
| Provider | Type | Latency | Accuracy | Price/min | Languages | Offline |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deepgram | Cloud (Streaming) | ~300ms | Excellent | $0.0036/min (Pay-as-you-go) | 36+ | No |
| Whisper (OpenAI) | Cloud or Local | ~1-5s (cloud), ~2-10s (local) | Excellent | $0.006/min (API) or Free (local) | 99 | Yes |
| Groq | Cloud (Batch) | ~1-2s | Excellent | $0.0034/min | 99 | No |
| AssemblyAI | Cloud (Streaming) | ~500ms | Very Good | $0.0065/min | 20+ | No |
| Rev AI | Cloud (Batch) | ~3-10s | Very Good | $0.02/min | 38+ | No |
| Ollama (Local) | Local (Offline) | ~2-10s | Good (model dependent) | Free (compute only) | 99 (via Whisper) | Yes |
Detailed Breakdown
Pros, cons, and best use cases for each provider
Deepgram
Real-time streaming, lowest latencyFree tier: $200 trial credit
Pros
- + Fastest streaming latency
- + Good accuracy for English
- + Generous free tier
- + WebSocket streaming
Cons
- - Fewer languages than Whisper
- - Cloud only — no offline
Whisper (OpenAI)
Highest accuracy, most languagesFree tier: Free via Ollama/local
Pros
- + Best multilingual accuracy
- + 99 languages
- + Can run locally via Ollama
- + Free offline option
Cons
- - Slower than streaming providers
- - Higher latency for real-time use
Groq
Fast Whisper inference, good accuracyFree tier: Free tier available
Pros
- + Very fast Whisper inference
- + Uses Whisper models on fast hardware
- + Good pricing
- + 99 languages
Cons
- - Cloud only
- - Batch processing — not true streaming
AssemblyAI
Streaming with good accuracyFree tier: 100 hours/month free
Pros
- + Real-time streaming
- + Good accuracy
- + Free tier generous
- + Speaker diarization
Cons
- - Fewer languages
- - Slightly higher cost per minute
Rev AI
High-accuracy batch transcriptionFree tier: Limited trial
Pros
- + Good accuracy
- + Speaker diarization
- + Custom vocabulary
- + Timestamps
Cons
- - Higher cost
- - Slower latency
- - No streaming
Ollama (Local)
Privacy, offline use, zero costFree tier: Completely free
Pros
- + Completely free
- + Fully offline — audio never leaves your machine
- + Privacy-first
- + No API key needed
Cons
- - Requires local GPU/CPU
- - Slower without GPU
- - Accuracy depends on hardware
FAQ
Which STT provider is best for real-time voice typing?
Deepgram offers the lowest latency (~300ms) with streaming support, making it the best choice for real-time voice typing.
Can I use STT providers offline?
Yes. Ollama runs Whisper models locally, providing fully offline speech-to-text. Your audio never leaves your device.
Which STT provider is cheapest?
Ollama (local Whisper) is completely free. Among cloud providers, Groq ($0.0034/min) and Deepgram ($0.0036/min) are the most affordable.
Can I switch providers for different use cases?
Yes. OpenTypeless lets you switch STT providers on the fly. Use Deepgram for real-time chat and Whisper for high-accuracy document dictation.
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