The ready-to-use OpenAI Whisper alternative
Get diarized, timestamped transcripts with summaries and exports – no Python, PyTorch or GPU to manage. Upload a file or paste a link, and pay once for credits that never expire.
60 min free · no card required · we never train on your audio
Is Pepys a good OpenAI Whisper alternative?
Pepys is a ready-to-use alternative to OpenAI Whisper for anyone who'd rather not self-host. Whisper is an open-source model you run yourself with Python, PyTorch and ideally a GPU; Pepys is a web app with diarization, summaries and exports built in. Buy credits once and they never expire. 60 minutes free, no card.
OpenAI Whisper is one of the most accurate open speech models you can self-host. The large-v3 checkpoint and the faster large-v3-turbo variant are both MIT-licensed for code and weights, so you can run them almost anywhere. The catch is that Whisper is a model, not an app: you install Python, PyTorch and ffmpeg, drive it from the CLI, and ideally point it at a GPU. Diarization isn't built in, so speaker labels mean bolting on a separate tool like pyannote. And the hosted API caps uploads at 25 MB per request.
Pepys is what you reach for when you just want the transcript. You get the same kind of accurate, timestamped output across ~99 languages, but as a web app with speaker labels, AI summaries, chapters, chat and one-click exports already built in. Upload a file or paste a YouTube or podcast link – long files are chunked and stitched automatically, with no per-request size cap. You buy credits once, they never expire, and we never train on your audio or text. Start with 60 minutes free, no card.
Pepys vs OpenAI Whisper, side by side
OpenAI Whisper vs Pepys, head to head
Public, verifiable facts only. Where something isn't publicly stated, we leave it blank rather than guess.
| Feature | Pepys | OpenAI Whisper |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Ready-to-use web app – nothing to install | Open-source speech-to-text model, plus OpenAI's hosted API |
| Setup required | None – sign up and transcribe in your browser | Self-host: Python 3.8–3.11, PyTorch and ffmpeg (rust may also be needed) |
| Consumer app / interface | Full web app, works on any device (no install) | No official GUI – CLI and Python only (open-source) |
| Hardware / GPU | None – runs in the cloud on any device | Runs on CPU; a GPU is recommended for speed |
| Pricing model | Pay-as-you-go credits, bought once – they never expire | Open-source model free to self-host (MIT); hosted API billed per minute/token |
| Cost per minute | About $1/hour (from $0.85/hr at volume), everything included | Self-host: free. API: whisper-1 $0.006/min; gpt-4o-mini-transcribe ~$0.003/min (est., token-billed) |
| Speaker labels / diarization | Yes – on every transcript, automatically | Not built into the open-source model (add pyannote); OpenAI's hosted API now offers built-in diarization |
| Languages | 99+, auto-detected | ~99 (English plus 98 other languages) |
| Paste a link to transcribe | Yes – YouTube, podcasts, social, and more | No – local audio files only, no built-in URL / YouTube ingestion |
| Max file size per upload | No limit – long files chunked and stitched automatically | Hosted API: 25 MB per request; self-host limited by your own hardware |
| Built-in AI summaries & chat | Yes – summaries, chapters, and chat with the transcript | Transcription only |
| Trains AI on your data? | Never – we don't train on your audio or text | Self-host: stays on your machine. API: not used for training by default (opt-in only) |
Why people switch to Pepys
No setup – there's nothing to install. No Python, PyTorch, ffmpeg or GPU; you sign up and transcribe in your browser on any device.
Diarization, summaries, chapters and chat come built in. With open-source Whisper you'd assemble those from separate tools like pyannote.
Paste a YouTube, podcast or social link, or upload files of any length – long files are chunked and stitched automatically, with no 25 MB per-request limit.
Pay once for credits that never expire, and we never train on your audio or text.
Any language – 99+ detected automatically
- English
- 中文
- Español
- العربية
- हिन्दी
- Français
- 日本語
- Português
- Русский
- Deutsch
- 한국어
- Italiano
- বাংলা
- Türkçe
- فارسی
- Tiếng Việt
- தமிழ்
- Polski
- ไทย
- Українська
- Nederlands
- עברית
- Ελληνικά
- తెలుగు
- Bahasa Indonesia
- اردو
- Svenska
- मराठी
- Română
- Magyar
- Čeština
- ગુજરાતી
- Kiswahili
- ქართული
- Tagalog
- አማርኛ
Common questions about OpenAI Whisper and Pepys
Is Pepys better than OpenAI Whisper?
For most people who'd rather not run Python, PyTorch and a GPU, yes – Pepys gives you speaker labels, AI summaries and one-click exports in the browser, with pay-once credits that never expire. But open-source Whisper is genuinely the better choice when you want a free, MIT-licensed model to fine-tune, or to run fully offline on your own hardware.
Do I need a GPU or any coding to use Pepys?
No. Whisper's open-source models run best with Python, PyTorch, ffmpeg and ideally a GPU. Pepys is a web app – you sign up, upload a file or paste a link, and transcription runs in the cloud. It works on any device with no install and nothing to configure.
Can Pepys label speakers like Whisper plus pyannote?
Yes, and it's built in. Open-source Whisper doesn't diarize on its own, so speaker labels usually mean adding a separate tool like pyannote. Pepys puts speaker labels on every transcript automatically, alongside timestamps, summaries and exports, with no extra pipeline to assemble.
Is the OpenAI Whisper API cheaper than Pepys?
Per minute, often yes – whisper-1 is about $0.006 a minute, and gpt-4o-mini-transcribe works out to roughly $0.003 a minute (an estimate, since it's billed per token). But that's the raw model only, with a 25 MB per-request limit and no app around it. Pepys bundles speaker labels, summaries, link ingestion and exports for about $1 an hour, and your credits never expire.
Can I export transcripts in the same formats as Whisper?
Yes, and more. Whisper's CLI writes TXT, VTT, SRT, TSV and JSON. Pepys exports TXT, Markdown, DOCX, PDF, SRT, VTT and open JSON, so subtitles, documents and developer-friendly output are all one click away.
Is it free to try?
Yes. Your first 60 minutes are free with no card required, so you can compare Pepys' transcripts against your own Whisper output before you pay. After that you buy credits once – 1 credit is 1 minute, and they never expire.
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Pay as you go – credits never expire, nothing to cancel. Compare the transcript against OpenAI Whisper with 60 free minutes.