# Amazon Transcribe vs Inworld STT (slim)

> Amazon Transcribe scores 73.6 (BB) to Inworld STT's 54.7 (C) for speech-to-text. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-transcribe-vs-inworld-stt.md (~6,050 tokens) · this version ~3,730 tokens · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-transcribe-vs-inworld-stt.json · canonical https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-transcribe-vs-inworld-stt
- Index: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt · API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json · MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp · Updated: 2026-11-07
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Amazon Transcribe scores 73.6 (BB) on agent readiness against Inworld STT's 54.7 (C), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Inworld STT leads on payments & pricing. Both do speech-to-text.

- Amazon Transcribe: BB 73.6, rank #104 of 1510 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/amazon-transcribe.min.md
- Inworld STT: C 54.7, rank #900 of 1510 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/inworld-stt.min.md
- Amazon Transcribe, good for Teams already on AWS with audio in S3 and IAM in place, especially batch jobs at volume. Ahead on Reliability, 75 against 60; Schema & documentation, 90 against 54; Agent ergonomics, 80 against 56; Security & auth, 83 against 63; Maintenance & community, 60 against 41; Transparency & trust, 85 against 60. Also Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better; A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install.
- Inworld STT, good for Low-cost live transcription for voice agents, with speaker traits. Ahead on Payments & pricing, 40 against 30.

| Category | Amazon Transcribe | Inworld STT |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability (16%) | 75 | 60 |
| Performance (10%) | pending | pending |
| Schema & documentation (13%) | 90 | 54 |
| Agent ergonomics (13%) | 80 | 56 |
| Security & auth (14%) | 83 | 63 |
| Payments & pricing (10%) | 30 | 40 |
| Task success (10%) | pending | pending |
| Maintenance & community (7%) | 60 | 41 |
| Transparency & trust (7%) | 85 | 60 |

| Fact (where they differ) | Amazon Transcribe | Inworld STT |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Vendor | Amazon Web Services | Inworld AI |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://transcribe.us-east-1.amazonaws.com` | no (local only) |
| Transports | HTTP | HTTP, websocket |
| Price for speech-to-text | not published | $0.0017 per minute of audio |
| Licence | Apache-2.0 (SDKs) | none |
| Tools exposed | none | 0 |
| Last release | 2026-09-25 | 2026-10-29 |
| Terms last updated | 2026-10-01 | 2025-06-11 |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-05-18 | 2026-01-18 |
| Customer content may train models | yes, with an opt-out | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | yes | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | yes | not found in the text |
| Terms or service can change without notice | yes | not found in the text |
| Popularity | 185 stars, 506k npm/wk, 201k PyPI/wk | none |
| Agent reviews | 4/5 (2) | none |

Why the edge:
- Schema & documentation, Amazon Transcribe +36: Amazon Transcribe 90 (The service model is public in aws/api-models-aws and the AWS SDKs, a machine-readable contract in the role OpenAPI plays (25). llms.txt for the developer guide, 260 lines on 1 November (10). Action descriptions state purpose and preconditions, such as uploading to S3 first, but not when to pick streaming over batch, re-read on 1 November on the `StartTranscriptionJob` page (15). Inputs are typed with enums (`LanguageCode`, `MediaFormat`), patterns and ranges (`MediaSampleRateHertz` 8,000 to 48,000) and marked required (15). Every action lists its errors with HTTP codes, but the API reference pages have no examples section (the `StartTranscriptionJob` page, re-read on 1 November, gives only inline examples of parameter values), so examples live in the developer guide (10). API version 2017-10-26 and a dated document history, whose newest entry is still 25 September 2026 (15).); Inworld STT 54 (No OpenAPI or other machine-readable file. The usual spec paths redirect, and the reference pages are Markdown (0). llms.txt, Markdown twins and a docs MCP server (10). Guides say when to use sync, streaming or async, how the language hint behaves and that a malformed first frame closes the socket silently (16 of 20). The reference marks types and required fields, with an encoding list and a 16 MB limit, but `modelId` is a free string (12 of 15). Examples in Python, JavaScript and curl, a gRPC code table and WebSocket error frames, with no per-endpoint error list (11 of 15). Versioned `/v1` paths, but the STT release notes path redirects to a Portal login and no public STT changelog was found (5 of 15). Total 54.)
- Transparency & trust, Amazon Transcribe +25: Amazon Transcribe 85 (Closed service under the AWS Service Terms, last updated 30 October 2026 (15). The service terms, privacy notice (last updated 18 May 2026, re-read on 1 November) and job retention agree, and the data processing addendum and a public sub-processor list (last updated 30 October 2026) exist, but the default permission to use content for improvement sits in section 50.3 of the service terms rather than the Transcribe guide. The DPA's text is per the 1 October check (25). The AWS Customer Agreement commits to advance notice before material functionality of a GA service is discontinued, but we found no dated Transcribe deprecation notices. The Python streaming SDK carries a deprecation notice in its README, which isn't the service (15). Sub-processors and regions disclosed, with region choice per request. Section 50.3(c) discloses that content kept for improvement may be stored outside the Region unless the organisation opts out (20). 15 + 25 + 15 + 20 = 75.); Inworld STT 60 (Closed service with clear terms naming Theai, Inc. dba Inworld AI (15). The ZDR page states what STT keeps, but the terms and privacy notice disagree on training, and the docs and the STT page disagree on which plans include zero retention (12 of 30). No dated STT deprecation or change notices are public (8 of 20). US headquarters with EU and India residency on Enterprise, and no sub-processor list in the docs (10 of 20). Total 45.)
- Agent ergonomics, Amazon Transcribe +24: Amazon Transcribe 80 (API reading of the checklist. The transcript is one JSON file with every item and its timings, with SRT and VTT subtitles as the compact alternative and no field selection, per the 1 October check (15). `ListTranscriptionJobs` filters by `Status` and `JobNameContains` and pages with `MaxResults` and `NextToken`, re-read on 1 November (20). Typed exceptions per action, each with a recovery hint (20). A reused job name fails with `ConflictException`, which works as an idempotency key for batch. Streaming has no resume (15). Batch needs a job name, an S3 URI and a language or language ID, and streaming needs event-stream encoding. SDKs in every major language (10).); Inworld STT 56 (API reading of the checklist. Voice Profile, word timestamps and diarisation are opt-in, and responses carry a `usage` block (18 of 25). No lists to page. Async jobs return an operation to poll (8 of 20). Errors carry a numeric gRPC code and message on both endpoints, but a malformed first message closes the socket with 1005 and no frame (12 of 20). Sync calls are stateless and async calls return an operation, with no idempotency key, and empty transcripts and add-ons are billed (10 of 20). A call needs a model, an encoding and the audio. No STT SDK was found, only the CLI and its MCP server and REST examples (8 of 15). Total 56.)
- Security & auth, Amazon Transcribe +20: Amazon Transcribe 83 (Model reading of the checklist, with training and retention in place of least-privilege and injection lines. SigV4 with IAM users, roles and temporary credentials, scoped per action and resource by policy. The streaming presigned URL carries a signature that expires within minutes, which we don't deduct for (30). Section 50.3 of the AWS Service Terms, last updated 30 October 2026 and re-read on 1 November, still lets AWS store and use content processed by Transcribe to improve the service by default, and store it outside the Region for that purpose. Any customer can opt out with an AI services opt-out policy in AWS Organizations (10). Job records go after 90 days, `DeleteTranscriptionJob` removes them sooner and output can go to your own bucket, but audio isn't zero-retention by default (10). Since 18 September 2026 custom vocabularies, vocabulary filters and custom language models can be encrypted with a customer-managed KMS key. CloudTrail logs API calls per caller (15). A vulnerability disclosure programme on HackerOne with a policy at vdp.aws.security, public security bulletins (none of the 39 items in the feed on 1 November, the newest dated 31 October, names Transcribe), and Amazon Transcribe in SOC 1, 2 and 3 scope on AWS's list updated 11 August 2026, re-read on 1 November. The security.txt on aws.amazon.com, re-read on 1 November, expires on 16 October 2027 and points to the VDP. We found no paid public bug bounty, so 18, as on the Polly, S3 and Secrets Manager re-checks of 17 October (18 of 20). 30 + 10 + 10 + 15 + 18 = 83.); Inworld STT 63 (Model reading of the checklist, with training and retention in place of the least-privilege and injection lines. Workspace API keys sent as Basic credentials, deleted to revoke, with separate keys per environment advised. The CLI mints read-only keys unless `--write` is given, but write toggles cover only the Voice and Router APIs, so no key is limited to one product. Browsers use short-lived tokens minted server side, via the `bearer_` WebSocket subprotocol, not the URL (25 of 30). The Terms (11 June 2025) say Inworld won't train generally available models on customers' non-public Materials, except feedback and flagged content, while the Privacy Notice (18 January 2026) lists training AI models among its uses, per the inworld-tts check of 4 November (12 of 20). Zero data retention keeps STT audio and transcripts in memory and out of logs, included on Developer ($300 a month) and above per the docs, while the STT page says Enterprise or a Growth add-on. Async results and audio go after 7 days, and no default period is given for logs (8 of 15). Usage is attributed per key and a Performance page shows errors and throttling (8 of 15). SOC 2 Type II and HIPAA claimed and a vulnerability report form, with no security.txt or bug bounty, per the 4 November reading (10 of 20). Total 63.)
- Maintenance & community, Amazon Transcribe +19: Amazon Transcribe 60 (Read by the listing's own service models (transcribe and transcribe-streaming), as this run's amazon-s3 re-check read models/s3. The newest change is the batch model's `EncryptionConfiguration` on 18 September 2026 (customer-managed KMS keys for custom vocabularies, vocabulary filters and custom language models), announced in the document history on 25 September. The models repository had commits to 30 October with none touching either Transcribe model, so the change is 44 days old on 1 November, past the 30-day line (20, down from 30, cause time). In the 90 days from 3 August the models changed twice, batch on 3 September (18 more PII entity types) and batch on 18 September. The streaming change of 31 July has left the window, so two dated model changes. The listing's own repository, AWS's Python SDK, tagged `aws-sdk-transcribe-streaming` four times in the same 90 days (0.9.0 on 13 August, 0.10.0 on 20 August, 0.11.0 on 24 August and 0.12.0 on 8 October), each a regeneration or dependency update with no change to the service, so they count half, as amazon-location's agent context releases and the Amazon SNS client releases were read (10, down from 20, cause time). Public document history, AWS re:Post and paid support plans (10). Official SDKs are current, `@aws-sdk/client-transcribe` and `-streaming` at 3.1161.0 on 30 October 2026 (version bumps only), and AWS's Python client `aws-sdk-transcribe-streaming` at 0.12.0 on 8 October (15). The awslabs Python streaming SDK the listing named has been deprecated since 11 November 2025, with no release since 0.6.4 in May 2025, and its replacement is marked pre-alpha and needs Python 3.12 or later (5 of 10). 20 + 10 + 10 + 15 + 5 = 60.); Inworld STT 41 (Read as a model. No public STT changelog. The newest dated change touching STT is the Realtime note of 14 September 2026 fixing STT-1 turn detection, 53 days ago (20). The CLI, which carries the STT command and MCP tool, shipped 1.4.0 to 1.5.0 between 13 and 29 October, counted half as client releases, and no dated STT entries were found (5 of 20). Discord and support@inworld.ai, with no evidence of answers read (6 of 15). No official STT SDK; the CLI is current (5 of 15). CLI on npm under MIT, current, CI not read (5 of 10). Total 41.)
- Reliability, Amazon Transcribe +15: Amazon Transcribe 75 (AWS Health Dashboard with per-service, per-region history and RSS feeds (20). The Transcribe feeds for us-east-1, us-west-2 and eu-west-1 carried no events on 1 November 2026 (last built 31 October). The dashboard history file, re-read on 1 November, still lists Amazon Transcribe in the Middle East (Bahrain) me-south-1 multi-service event open since 2 March 2026, at disruption status, with its last update on 15 September 2026, inside the 90-day window from 3 August, saying AWS can't restore resources and data hosted only in that Region. No other event in the file names Transcribe, and the newest event in it is an API Gateway one in us-west-2 posted on 30 October. One major event, read as the Polly, S3 and Secrets Manager re-checks read the same events (10). Default quotas published with numbers, re-read on 1 November, 25 concurrent streams, 250 concurrent batch jobs and 25 `StartTranscriptionJob` calls a second per region (15). Batch throttling returns `LimitExceededException` as an HTTP 400 that says to wait before retrying, with no Retry-After, and unique job names make resubmits safe. Since a 31 July 2026 model update the streaming exception text says to reduce concurrent streams and retry with exponential backoff, which covers streaming only, so the award stands (10). SLA under the Amazon Machine Learning Language agreement, last updated 28 November 2023 and re-read on 1 November, which names Transcribe (10). GA (10). 20 + 10 + 15 + 10 + 10 + 10 = 75.); Inworld STT 60 (Hosted reading of the checklist. status.inworld.ai is a public status page (20), and as on inworld-tts its history draws on GitHub issues we couldn't read, so no readable history (5). Streaming concurrency is published per plan, 10 on On-Demand up to 1,000 on Growth, shared across keys (15). 429 and gRPC code 8 are documented with exponential backoff and jitter, and Retry-After only on longer windows (12 of 15). An SLA appears only in the Enterprise column of the pricing table, with no terms (0). STT-1 carries no preview label, but diarisation is experimental and async jobs poll a `v1alpha` operations route (8 of 10). 20 + 5 + 15 + 12 + 0 + 8 = 60.)

| Task | Amazon Transcribe | Inworld STT |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Transcribe a one-hour meeting | $0.36 to $0.60 | $0.10 to $0.15 |