Best Speech Recognition Software in 2026
Updated
In short: AssemblyAI is ranked #1 of 28 as of 4 October 2026, ahead of Google Cloud Speech-to-Text and Amazon Transcribe. The best-ranked option with a free plan is Google Cloud Speech-to-Text. The lowest first paid tier on this page is Amazon Transcribe at $0.01/mo.
When choosing speech recognition software, start with the demands of your audio workflow: do you need real-time recognition, offline recognition, or both, and which deployment options and supported languages fit? Google Cloud Speech-to-Text, Amazon Transcribe, and AssemblyAI appear among the first entries. Compare API access and command control for integration and operation, and check speaker labeling where distinguishing speakers matters. Free-plan availability and “Paid from” pricing provide additional decision points. The ranking also includes Speechmatics, Rev AI, Soniox, ElevenLabs, and Vosk; use the stated criteria to assess which capabilities suit the way your team handles speech.
28 speech recognition software ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
| # | Platform | Score | Why | From | Free plan | Paid from | Real-time recognition | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AssemblyAI | 7.4 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | $0.15/mo | No | — | — | View |
| 2 |  Google Cloud Speech-to-Text | 7.4 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | $0.02/mo | No | — | — | View |
| 3 | Amazon Transcribe | 7.3 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | $0.01/mo | No | — | — | View |
| 4 | Rev AI | 7.3 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | $0.01/mo | No | — | — | View |
| 5 | Speechmatics | 7.3 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | — | View |
| 6 | Yandex SpeechKit | 7.3 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | — | — | View |
| 7 | Soniox | 7.1 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | $19.99/mo | Yes | — | — | View |
| 8 | ESPnet | 6.6 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | — | View |
| 9 | Gladia | 6.6 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | $0.20/mo | No | — | — | View |
| 10 |  Vosk | 6.5 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | — | — | View |
| 11 |  Trint | 6.4 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | No | — | — | View |
| 12 |  Picovoice Leopard | 6.3 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | No | — | — | View |
| 13 | Notta | 6.0 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | $8.17/mo | Yes | 8.17 /user/mo | — | View |
| 14 | Otter.ai | 6.0 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | 8.33 /user/mo | — | View |
| 15 | Superwhisper | 5.9 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | $7.08/mo | Yes | — | — | View |
| 16 | MacWhisper | 5.7 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | €64/mo | Yes | — | — | View |
| 17 |  Talon Voice | 5.7 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | — | View |
| 18 |  Voice In | 5.7 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | — | View |
| 19 | sherpa | 5.5 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | Yes | View |
| 20 |  SpeechRecognition | 5.5 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | — | View |
| 21 |  Dragon Professional | 5.4 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | — | — | View |
| 22 | NVIDIA Riva | 5.4 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | — | View |
| 23 | Whisper | 5.3 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | — | — | View |
| 24 | Alibaba Cloud Intelligent Speech Interaction | 5.1 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | No | — | Yes | View |
| 25 |  CMU Sphinx | 5.1 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | — | Yes | View |
Is your platform on this list?
Numbered spots on this list can be sponsored. They are labelled, and the editorial order and scores never change for payment.
Questions about this list
Which speech recognition software is ranked first on Inferse?
AssemblyAI is ranked #1 of 28 with a score of 7.4. Google Cloud Speech-to-Text is second and Amazon Transcribe third.
How many of these have a free plan?
10 of the 25 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
Which is the cheapest paid option?
On this page, Amazon Transcribe has the lowest first paid tier we found: $0.01/mo.
How is this list ranked?
Ranked on what each maker publishes, open and connectable first: a public API, open-source code, the depth of its documentation and a free tier to try it on. Model lists are sorted by the figure in their title, exactly as each provider publishes it. Paid placements never change a rank.