Roundup
Best Speech to Text Tools 2026
A 2026 roundup of speech to text options, with MAI Transcribe 2 as the new Microsoft model to try online.
The 2026 speech to text list is no longer “just Whisper.” Teams now compare hosted models on speed, word error rate, language count, and whether speaker labels come free.
What to score
- Accuracy on noisy calls
- Languages and code switching
- Diarization and timestamps
- Price per hour
- Whether you can try it in a browser
Where MAI Transcribe 2 sits
MAI Transcribe 2 launched as Microsoft AI’s fastest and cheapest transcription model, with 60 languages and built-in diarization. Try it on the MAI Transcribe 2 homepage, then read the vs Whisper page before you rebuild a pipeline.
Other names still in the mix
Whisper remains the local default. GPT-Transcribe, Gemini transcribe, and Scribe-class APIs still show up in vendor bake-offs. Use this article as a map; use the tool pages when you are ready to run a file.