Descript✔
Freemium
Edit audio and video by editing the transcript like a doc.
Best Whisper alternatives in 2026
Whisper is a free Transcription & Notes tool — OpenAI's open-source speech recognition that developers build on. If you need a different price, a free plan or another approach, here are the 15 closest alternatives, ranked by the aixplor.in editors.
Pricing at a glance: 3 free · 10 freemium · 2 paid — 13 with a free plan.
About Whisper →Top 15 Whisper alternatives
Granola
Freemium
Notepad that blends your meeting notes with an AI transcript.
tl;dv
Freemium
Record, transcribe and clip Zoom and Meet calls with AI summaries.
AssemblyAI✔
Paid
Speech-to-text API with diarization and audio intelligence.
Rev AI
Paid
Human-grade transcription APIs and services for media teams.
Deepgram
Freemium
Fast, accurate speech recognition for developers.
Riverside
Freemium
Studio-quality remote recording with AI transcripts and clips.
Notta
Freemium
Transcribe and summarize meetings in 58 languages.
MacWhisper
Freemium
Local, private Whisper transcription on your Mac.
WhisperTranscribe
Freemium
WhisperTranscribe turns your audio into text.
Transcribe Video AI
Free
Convert videos and YouTube links to text with subtitles and summaries
CopyFish
Free
Extract and translate text from images, PDFs and videos instantly.
Saveto AI
Free
Transcribe, translate, and summarize audio and video from URLs
VoicePen
Freemium
This artificial intelligence transcribes your audios into text (blog format for example).
AudioPen
Freemium
Transcription tool converting speech to text while eliminating redundancies
Compare at a glance
| Tool | Pricing | Free plan | Category |
| Whisper (original) | Free | ✔ Yes | Transcription & Notes |
| Descript | Freemium | ✔ Yes | Transcription & Notes |
| Granola | Freemium | ✔ Yes | Transcription & Notes |
| tl;dv | Freemium | ✔ Yes | Transcription & Notes |
| AssemblyAI | Paid | — | Transcription & Notes |
| Rev AI | Paid | — | Transcription & Notes |
| Deepgram | Freemium | ✔ Yes | Transcription & Notes |
| Riverside | Freemium | ✔ Yes | Transcription & Notes |
| Notta | Freemium | ✔ Yes | Transcription & Notes |
| MacWhisper | Freemium | ✔ Yes | Transcription & Notes |
| WhisperTranscribe | Freemium | ✔ Yes | Transcription & Notes |
| Transcribe Video AI | Free | ✔ Yes | Transcription & Notes |
| CopyFish | Free | ✔ Yes | Transcription & Notes |
| Saveto AI | Free | ✔ Yes | Transcription & Notes |
| VoicePen | Freemium | ✔ Yes | Transcription & Notes |
| AudioPen | Freemium | ✔ Yes | Transcription & Notes |
Free Whisper alternatives
Descript, Granola, tl;dv, Deepgram, Riverside, Notta, MacWhisper, WhisperTranscribe, Transcribe Video AI, CopyFish, Saveto AI, VoicePen and AudioPen have a free plans — a good place to start if you don't want to pay for Whisper.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best alternative to Whisper?
Based on aixplor.in's editorial ranking, the most popular Whisper alternatives are Descript, Granola and tl;dv. The best choice depends on your budget and what you use Whisper for.
Is there a free alternative to Whisper?
Yes. Descript (freemium), Granola (freemium), tl;dv (freemium) and Deepgram (freemium) are free or have a free plan.
How many Whisper alternatives are there?
aixplor.in lists 15 close alternatives to Whisper in the Transcription & Notes category, 2 of them verified by our editors.
Explore related categories
Rankings reflect aixplor.in's editorial judgement and are not paid placements. Product names and logos belong to their owners.