From €19 per month🇳🇱
Transcription and subtitles from Amsterdam, by machine or by humans, with data kept in Europe and ISO 27001 certification.
Speechmatics AI features, pricing and GDPR (October 2026)
Speech recognition API from Cambridge for realtime and batch, 55+ languages, speaker diarization, cloud or self-hosted.
Usage-basedFree plan
from $0.13 usage-based
Pricing details
Free tier with $100 starting credit and no card required. Pro is billed per hour of audio with no commitment, with a 20 percent discount above 500 hours per month. Enterprise volume pricing and on-premises deployment on request, as of September 2026.
What is Speechmatics?
Speechmatics is a British speech recognition API that turns live or recorded speech into text in more than 55 languages. Product and data teams build it into meeting tools, contact center analytics, captioning and voice agents.
Speechmatics, legally Cantab Research Limited in Cambridge, sells realtime and batch speech to text through an API, with speaker diarization, custom vocabulary, a medical model and English text to speech. Use cases named by the vendor include healthcare, voice agents, live captioning, contact centers, legal transcription and meeting platforms.
Customers can use SaaS endpoints in Europe, the US or Australia, or run the software on premises or on devices under an Enterprise agreement. Adobe uses Speechmatics for on-device transcription in Premiere, according to a case study on the vendor's website.
Speechmatics AI features and use cases
- Transcribes live conversationsThe realtime API returns text with sub-second latency while people are speaking, including speaker labels. Product teams use it for live captions, meeting notes or voice agents, so users see or act on what was said immediately.
- Processes recorded audio in bulkBatch jobs transcribe stored calls, interviews or media files and handle accents, background noise and switches between languages. Content and research teams get searchable text archives without manual typing and can quote from them directly.
- Recognizes domain termsCustom vocabulary and a dedicated medical model improve recognition of product names and clinical terms. Teams in specialized fields get fewer corrections on the words that matter most to them.
What sets Speechmatics apart
- SaaS endpoints in the EU, US and Australia let customers pick where audio is processed.
- Enterprise customers can deploy on premises or on devices in addition to the cloud API.
- The privacy policy lists its processors and subprocessors by name.
Where Speechmatics is strongest
United Kingdom Available internationally
Speechmatics trades as Cantab Research Limited, headquartered in Cambridge, United Kingdom, where it is registered under company number 05697423.
Questions to ask before you buy Speechmatics
Choose the regional endpoint deliberately: batch jobs stay in the region of the endpoint you call, and besides the EU, US and Australian realtime endpoints there is a global one. The vendor states that data is not logged as standard, that realtime audio is not stored and that batch data is deleted after seven days unless you opt in to its training discount programme. It lists ISO/IEC 27001, SOC 2 Type II and HIPAA. Costs grow with audio hours, so estimate volume and concurrency limits. Medical transcripts are health data under GDPR Article 9.
Using Speechmatics in the EU: GDPR and AI Act
- Data locationMultiple regions, EU region available (according to the vendor). Hosting regions: EU, United States, Australia.
- Data processing agreementNot published by the vendor: ask for one (Art. 28 GDPR). Subprocessor list (opens in a new tab).
- EU AI ActCheck whether the AI prepares decisions about people. If not, the high-risk rules usually do not apply. The high-risk obligations apply from December 2, 2027 (Digital Omnibus).
General information with sources, not legal advice.
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Questions about Speechmatics
Can Speechmatics process audio only in the EU?
Yes. The documentation lists EU endpoints for batch and realtime transcription. Enterprise customers also get additional EU and US endpoints for high availability.
Is there a free way to test the API?
The pricing page lists a free tier with $100 starting credit and no card required, limited to two concurrent realtime sessions.
Can Speechmatics run on our own servers?
Yes, under an Enterprise agreement. The vendor offers on-premises and on-device deployment alongside its SaaS.
Speechmatics update historyno updates yet
No changes recorded for Speechmatics yet.
Changes the vendor made and confirmed user reports, each checked against the vendor's own pages. We review every tool monthly.
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