Comparison

Google Cloud is 4.8x more expensive for the same model class

Google Cloud STT starts at $0.96/hrand charges extra for diarization, word timestamps, and the "enhanced" model tier. SpeakEasy is $0.20/hr flat, everything included.

Feature-by-feature comparison

Enterprise pricing with a bolt-on fee for every feature, or flat pricing with everything included.

FeatureSpeakEasyGoogle Cloud
STT Price per Hour$0.20$0.96 (standard)
Diarization surchargeIncluded+$0.06/15s
Monthly Plan$10/mo (50 hrs included)Pay-as-you-go
Free Tier$1 first month60 min/month free
Languages99+125+
Speaker DiarizationYes (included)Yes (extra fee)
Word-level TimestampsYesYes
OpenAI SDK CompatibleYesNo (gRPC / custom)
Setup requiredAPI key onlyGCP project + IAM + billing acct
Max file size100 MB~10 MB sync / bigger async
StreamingYesYes (bidirectional gRPC)
Pricing ModelSimple flat ratePer-feature surcharges

Pricing breakdown

Flat-rate pricing vs enterprise-style per-feature billing.

Recommended

SpeakEasy

$10/month
  • STT at $0.20/hour (50 hrs included)
  • Diarization, timestamps, translation all included
  • Single API key — no IAM, no GCP project
  • OpenAI SDK — no vendor lock-in
  • $1 first month to try it

Google Cloud

$0.96/hour
  • Separate fees for diarization, enhanced models
  • GCP project + IAM setup required
  • Bills as fractional-second micro-charges
  • Proprietary gRPC SDK
  • 60 minutes/month free tier

Save ~80% on every hour of audio

100 hrs/month: Google Cloud ≈ $96. SpeakEasy = $10 plan + $12.50 overage = $22.50. That is $73.50/month back in your pocket, without a finance-approval email.

Skip the GCP project

Google Cloud STT needs a GCP project, billing account, IAM role, and their custom SDK. SpeakEasy needs an API key.

google_cloud_stt.py (requires GCP setup)
# Google Cloud STT requires their SDK + GCP auth
from google.cloud import speech

client = speech.SpeechClient()

with open("meeting.mp3", "rb") as audio_file:
    content = audio_file.read()

audio = speech.RecognitionAudio(content=content)
config = speech.RecognitionConfig(
    encoding=speech.RecognitionConfig.AudioEncoding.MP3,
    sample_rate_hertz=16000,
    language_code="en-US",
    enable_speaker_diarization=True,
)

response = client.recognize(config=config, audio=audio)
for result in response.results:
    print(result.alternatives[0].transcript)
Switch to SpeakEasy — no GCP project required
speakeasy.py (standard OpenAI SDK)
# SpeakEasy uses the standard OpenAI SDK
from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(
    api_key="YOUR_SPEAKEASY_KEY",
    base_url="https://www.tryspeakeasy.io/api/v1"
)

transcript = client.audio.transcriptions.create(
    model="whisper-large-v3",
    file=open("meeting.mp3", "rb")
)
print(transcript.text)

The verdict

Google Cloud STT is priced for enterprise procurement, not for you. $0.96/hr for the standard model, more for the enhanced tier, separate charges for diarization — by the time you add it up, you're paying 4-5x what SpeakEasy charges for the same output.

The other cost is onboarding. Spinning up a GCP project, attaching a billing account, creating a service account with the right IAM role, downloading a JSON key — you burn an afternoon before the first transcript returns. SpeakEasy ships a key; you ship an integration.

If you're already deeply inside GCP (BigQuery, Pub/Sub, Vertex) and every service is in the same project, Google STT may make sense for co-location. For everyone else — indie devs, startups, most mid-market teams — the math doesn't come close.

Start for $1 →

$1 for your first month. Full 50 hours included.

Also compare SpeakEasy with:

$1. 50 hours. Both STT and TTS.

Your current speech API provider is charging you too much. Switch in one line of code.