Side by side
Happy Scribe vs Whisper
Both stand on ai transcription tools. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.
Free plan AndroidAPIiPhone+1
Happy Scribe combines transcription, translation, meeting connections, and AI-assisted tools, with support for individual and team workflows. Check the free recording limits and plan allowances against your expected volume before choosing a paid option.
Visit Happy Scribe
Free plan Open source APILinuxMac+2
Whisper provides multilingual speech-processing capabilities as locally installable, MIT-licensed code and model weights. Performance varies by language, and the turbo model is not intended for translation.
Visit WhisperThe facts
| Happy Scribe | Whisper | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Not published | Yes |
| Runs on | Android, API, iPhone, Mac | API, Linux, Mac, Self-hosted, Windows |
| Lowest paid plan | Basic: $8.50 a month | See the plans |
| Plans published | 7 | 3 |
| Maker | Not published | Not published |
| Website | happyscribe.com | github.com |
| On ai transcription tools | #4 of 46 | #1 of 46 |
Happy Scribe: what it does well
- Supports transcription, subtitling, and translation in 150+ languages.
- Identifies speakers and adds timestamps.
- Exports to DOCX, TXT, SRT, and MP4.
- Mobile apps include offline recording.
- Optional human services offer 99%+ accuracy.
What to know first
- Free recordings are limited to 45 minutes each.
- Free plan has limited history and a 10-minute AI trial.
- Mac desktop app is described as coming soon.
Whisper: what it does well
- Supports transcription, translation and language identification
- Includes six model sizes with different tradeoffs
- Code and weights are MIT-licensed
- Offers command-line and Python interfaces
- Exports TXT, VTT, SRT, TSV, JSON and JSONL
What to know first
- Requires ffmpeg for installation
- Rust may be needed if a prebuilt wheel is unavailable
- VRAM needs range from approximately 1 GB to 10 GB
- Turbo is not trained for translation
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