How much does OpenAI transcription cost?

OpenAI transcription cost depends on whether you use ChatGPT features or the OpenAI API.

ChatGPT subscriptions and API billing are separate, so paying for ChatGPT does not automatically mean unlimited API transcription. For developers, OpenAI offers speech-to-text models with different pricing styles.

Some transcription models are priced by tokens, while real-time speech-to-text models may be priced by audio minutes. As of June 2026, OpenAI lists GPT-Realtime-Whisper at a per-minute rate and lists GPT-4o transcription models with audio input and text output token pricing.

The final cost for a recording depends on length, model choice, audio quality, retries, summaries, storage, and any extra application features. A short voice note may cost very little through an API, while large-scale transcription for a product or archive needs budget planning.

If you only need occasional personal transcription, a consumer tool may be simpler. If you are building an app, use OpenAI's current pricing page and test with real files before estimating production cost.