Stop Overpaying OpenAI for Whisper
OpenAI charges $0.36/hr for the same Whisper model. We charge $0.20. You're subsidizing ChatGPT. Same SDK, same code — 44% cheaper, plus speaker diarization and async processing they don't even offer.
Feature-by-feature comparison
Everything OpenAI offers, plus more — at a fraction of the cost.
| Feature | SpeakEasy | OpenAI |
|---|---|---|
| STT Price per Hour | $0.20 | $0.36 |
| TTS Price per 1M chars | $2.50 | $15.00 |
| Monthly Plan | $10/mo (50 hrs included) | Pay-as-you-go only |
| Free Tier | $1 first month | $5 free credits |
| Languages | 99+ | 97 |
| Speaker Diarization | Yes | No |
| Word-level Timestamps | Yes | Yes |
| Async Processing | Yes (callback URL) | No |
| OpenAI SDK Compatible | Yes | Yes (native) |
| Streaming | Yes | Yes |
| Max File Size (upload) | 100MB | 25MB |
| Max File Size (URL) | 1GB | N/A |
Pricing breakdown
See how much you save by switching to SpeakEasy.
SpeakEasy
- ✓STT at $0.20/hour (50 hrs included)
- ✓TTS at $2.50/1M characters
- ✓$1 first month — full 50 hours included
- ✓Speaker diarization included
- ✓Async processing with callbacks
OpenAI
- ✕Pay-as-you-go only
- ✕TTS at $15.00/1M characters
- ✓$5 free credits (one-time)
- ✕No speaker diarization
- ✕No async processing
Save 44% on Speech-to-Text and 80% less on Text-to-Speech
A team transcribing 100 hours/month saves $11/month on STT alone.
Switch in 2 lines of code
SpeakEasy is fully compatible with the OpenAI SDK. Just change your API key and base URL.
from openai import OpenAI
# Before: OpenAI Whisper
client = OpenAI(
api_key="YOUR_OPENAI_KEY"
)
# After: SpeakEasy (just change 2 lines)
client = OpenAI(
api_key="YOUR_SPEAKEASY_KEY",
base_url="https://api.tryspeakeasy.io/v1"
)
# Your existing code works as-is
transcript = client.audio.transcriptions.create(
model="whisper-large-v3",
file=open("meeting.mp3", "rb")
)
print(transcript.text)The verdict
Same API format. Same Whisper model. 44% cheaper. Change one line of code.
OpenAI charges $0.36/hr for Whisper. SpeakEasy charges $0.20. That is not a rounding error — it is 44% less for STT and 80% less for TTS. Plus you get speaker diarization and async processing that OpenAI does not offer at any price.
No lock-in. No migration headache. Change your base URL, swap your API key, and your bill drops immediately. Your existing code, error handling, and retry logic all keep working.
$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.