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IBM Watson Speech to Text

ibm.com

From $0.02/mo Free plan APISelf-hosted
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Spec score 9.0 #6 of 46 in AI transcription tools

Spec sheet

What it does
The service uses speech recognition APIs to transcribe spoken audio in multiple languages and formats.Read 9 Oct 2026 · cloud.ibm.com
Intended users
IBM identifies customer self-service, agent assistance, and call analytics as use cases, and describes Plus as intended for small businesses and development or testing by larger enterprises.Read 9 Oct 2026 · ibm.com
Free plan
YesRead 22 Sep 2026 · cloud.ibm.com
Integrations
IBM documents a pre-built phone assistant integration combining watsonx Assistant, Speech to Text, and Watson Text to Speech.Read 9 Oct 2026 · cloud.ibm.com
Security
Premium offers data isolation and features including Key Protect, service endpoints, mutual authentication, and HIPAA readiness.Read 9 Oct 2026 · cloud.ibm.com
Headquarters
Armonk, New York, United StatesRead 19 Oct 2026 · ibm.com
Founded
1911Read 19 Oct 2026 · ibm.com
API access
YesRead 22 Sep 2026 · cloud.ibm.com
Call analysis
IBM describes using Speech to Text transcriptions with Watson Natural Language Understanding to analyze customer calls.Read 9 Oct 2026 · cloud.ibm.com
Customization
Paid plans can customize language and acoustic models, and language models can use grammars to restrict recognized phrases.Read 9 Oct 2026 · cloud.ibm.com
Data deletion
Customers can label data with a customer ID and use an API method to delete data associated with that ID.Read 9 Oct 2026 · cloud.ibm.com
Export formats
JSONRead 22 Sep 2026 · cloud.ibm.com
Input limitation
The service accepts audio data only; IBM says audio must be separated from video before transcription.Read 9 Oct 2026 · cloud.ibm.com
Interim results
The product page says applications can use transcription as it is generated before final results are complete.Read 9 Oct 2026 · ibm.com
Languages and audio
IBM lists support for multiple languages and formats including WAV, FLAC, MP3, Ogg, WebM, and PCM.Read 9 Oct 2026 · cloud.ibm.com
Languages supported
14Read 22 Sep 2026 · cloud.ibm.com
Request limits
Synchronous HTTP and WebSocket requests accept up to 100 MB of audio, while asynchronous HTTP accepts up to 1 GB.Read 9 Oct 2026 · cloud.ibm.com
Speaker diarization
IBM’s product page says the service can recognize who said what in a multi-participant voice exchange.Read 9 Oct 2026 · ibm.com
Speaker identification
YesRead 22 Sep 2026 · cloud.ibm.com
Streaming and batch
It supports synchronous and asynchronous HTTP interfaces and a full-duplex WebSocket interface for low-latency communication.Read 9 Oct 2026 · cloud.ibm.com
Support availability
Premium instances require contacting an IBM sales representative before provisioning.Read 9 Oct 2026 · cloud.ibm.com
Timestamp support
YesRead 22 Sep 2026 · cloud.ibm.com

Plans and prices

Lite Priced on request 500 minutes per month Read 22 Sep 2026 · cloud.ibm.com
Plus $0.02 a month $0.02 per minute for 1–999,999 minutes in a month; $0.01 per minute at 1,000,000 or more minutes Unlimited minutes · 100 concurrent transcription requests · custom language and acoustic models Read 9 Oct 2026 · cloud.ibm.com
Plus Priced on request 1 to 999,999 minutes per month · 100 concurrent transcription requests Read 22 Sep 2026 · cloud.ibm.com
Lite Free 500 minutes per month at no cost 500 minutes per month · no customization · services deleted after 30 days of inactivity Read 9 Oct 2026 · cloud.ibm.com
Premium Priced on request Contact an IBM representative; first 150,000 minutes per month at no charge Unlimited minutes · unlimited concurrent transcriptions · data isolation and added security features · HIPAA support available in specified locations Read 9 Oct 2026 · cloud.ibm.com

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