Whisper
by OpenAI
At a glance
OpenAI's open-source automatic speech recognition model; OpenAI's current transcription models are the gpt-transcribe and gpt-4o-transcribe family, while whisper-1 remains available.
speech-to-text open-weights transcription
- Licence
- MIT
- Category
- Audio, Voice & Music
- Business model
- Open (open weights/source)
- Availability
- Global
- Launched
- 2022-09
Overview
Whisper is OpenAI's open-source automatic speech recognition model, released with open weights under the MIT license and used for transcription and translation across dozens of languages. On OpenAI's API, current general-purpose transcription uses the gpt-transcribe and gpt-4o-transcribe family, while whisper-1 remains available for translation, word and segment timestamps, and subtitle formats. The weights can still be downloaded and self-hosted for free.
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Key features
- Open-source ASR under the MIT license
- Transcription across dozens of languages
- Speech-to-English translation
- Runs locally or via the OpenAI API
Use cases
- Transcribing meetings, podcasts, and interviews
- Building voice features into applications
- Offline transcription where privacy matters
Pricing
The model is free to download and self-host under MIT; OpenAI's hosted transcription models are priced by usage.
Record details
Provenance, dates and links are kept here so the main sections stay about the product itself.
Links, dates and provenance
- Record updated
- 2026-09-10
- Founded
- 2015
- Headquarters
- US
- Canonical URL
- https://globalaiproductindex.com/products/whisper/
Selection profile
Every field says where its value comes from. "Unknown" means we have not confirmed it — it does not mean the product lacks the feature.
Selection profile11 fields2 unknown
- Tasks it fits
- Audio and voice
Derived from the record: category "audio-voice".
Suggest a correction - How you use it
- Model weights
Derived from record tag matching /^open-weights$/.
Suggest a correction - Runs on
- Not recorded
No platform support is stated in the record.
Suggest a correction - Where it runs
- Local machine
Open-weight models are run by the user, not served by the vendor.
Suggest a correction - Works offline
- Partly
Local execution implies the model can run without a network once downloaded, but the vendor does not state this in the record.
Suggest a correction - Official service region
- Global
Mirrors the availability field already on the record ("global").
Suggest a correction - Public API
- Yes
The record mentions an API surface.
Suggest a correction - Licence
- MIT
Mirrors the licence already recorded on the product record; not re-verified against the licence text by this migration.
Suggest a correction - Commercial use
- Permitted
Recorded licence allows commercial use (copyleft obligations may still apply).
Suggest a correction - Interface languages
- Not recorded
No vendor page read in this pass states the product's own interface languages; the key exists so the field can be answered later rather than left absent.
Suggest a correction - Billing
- Open source Free Free allowance: Yes Subscription required: No
Prices are the vendor’s advertised entry price and exclude taxes; always confirm on the vendor’s own page.
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Where each value comes from
- Tasks it fits
- Our inference
- How you use it
- Our inference
- Runs on
- Our inference
- Where it runs
- Our inference
- Works offline
- Our inference
- Official service region
- Our inference
- Public API
- Our inference
- Licence
- Our inference
- Commercial use
- Our inference
- Interface languages
- Unknown
Frequently asked questions
Is Whisper free?
Yes. Whisper is open source under the MIT license and can be run locally at no cost; the hosted API is usage-priced.
Which languages does Whisper support?
Whisper transcribes speech in dozens of languages and can translate speech into English.
Who develops Whisper?
Whisper was developed and open-sourced by OpenAI in 2022.
What does the Whisper record not record?
No public documentation or pricing page is recorded for Whisper, because no same-site page could be confirmed as either; its MIT licence is recorded separately.
Similar products
- AssemblyAI — Speech-to-text API providing transcription and audio intelligence models for developers.
- Deepgram — Speech recognition and voice AI API for real-time transcription and audio understanding.
- Descript — AI-powered audio and video editor that lets you edit recordings by editing their transcript.
- Fireflies.ai — AI notetaker that joins meetings to transcribe, summarize, and search across conversations.
- Granola — AI notepad for meetings that blends your typed notes with an automatic transcript into polished summaries.
- Krisp — AI voice platform for online calls and meetings that combines noise cancellation with transcription, note-taking, accent conversion, and translation.
All Whisper alternatives → · All Audio, Voice & Music products →
Related guides
Sources
This record was last reviewed on 2026-09-10.
Machine-readable record: /api/products/whisper.json · Spot an error? Suggest a correction