AI Transcription Audio File Size Cost Estimator

Estimate AI transcription costs based on audio/video file size and format. Compare Whisper, Google Cloud, and AWS Transcribe costs instantly.

Mathematical Audit

Audio Duration and Cost Formulas

We convert the binary file size into playing minutes based on the audio bitrate, and then apply per-minute API provider pricing.

Duration (Minutes) = (File Size in MB × 8192) / (Bitrate in kbps × 60)
Transcription Cost = Duration in Minutes × API Rate per Minute

Bitrates are preset based on standard formats: MP3 (128-320 kbps), WAV (768-1411 kbps), AAC (192-256 kbps).

Operational Guide

How to Estimate Transcription Cost by File Size

1

Enter your file size

Input the total size of your audio or video file in Megabytes (MB).

2

Choose your format and bitrate

Select the format preset (e.g. MP3 128kbps for compressed podcasts, WAV for raw recordings) to determine length.

3

Compare API rates

View the calculated cost breakdown for OpenAI Whisper, Google Cloud Speech-to-Text, AWS Transcribe, and Deepgram.

Real-World Scenario Example

"A user has a 100MB MP3 file recorded at 128 kbps. They want to check standard transcription API costs."

Inputs

fileSizeMB:100
formatBitrate:mp3-128
apiProvider:whisper

Result

Estimated audio length is 109.2 minutes. Whisper API transcription cost is $0.66.

Important Disclaimer

File duration conversions are approximations. Actual file headers, metadata, and variable bitrates (VBR) can affect exact audio duration.