# ElevenLabs Scribe Speech to Text API vs Speechmatics Speech-to-Text

> ElevenLabs Scribe Speech to Text API has a score of 69 (B) against Speechmatics Speech-to-Text's 67.3 (B). Both do speech stt. The largest gap is schema & documentation, 30 points. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-scribe-vs-speechmatics-stt
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-scribe-vs-speechmatics-stt.md (~1,750 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-scribe-vs-speechmatics-stt.min.md (~380 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-scribe-vs-speechmatics-stt.json (this page as data, same URL with Accept: application/json)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (full text: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- Updated: 2026-10-04

ElevenLabs Scribe Speech to Text API has a score of 69 (B) against Speechmatics Speech-to-Text's 67.3 (B). Both do speech stt. The largest gap is schema & documentation, 30 points.

- ElevenLabs Scribe Speech to Text API: grade B, 69/100, rank #117 of 452. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/elevenlabs-scribe.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/elevenlabs-scribe.json
- Speechmatics Speech-to-Text: grade B, 67.3/100, rank #145 of 452. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/speechmatics-stt.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/speechmatics-stt.json

## Which one, for what

Pick ElevenLabs Scribe Speech to Text API for schema & documentation (+30).

Pick Speechmatics Speech-to-Text for agent ergonomics (+5), security & auth (+10), transparency & trust (+7).

## Score by category

| Category | Weight | ElevenLabs Scribe Speech to Text API | Speechmatics Speech-to-Text | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 70 | 70 | even |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 95 | 65 | ElevenLabs Scribe Speech to Text API +30 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 75 | 80 | Speechmatics Speech-to-Text +5 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 55 | 65 | Speechmatics Speech-to-Text +10 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 40 | 40 | even |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 75 | 75 | even |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 71 | 78 | Speechmatics Speech-to-Text +7 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **69 · B** | **67.3 · B** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | ElevenLabs Scribe Speech to Text API | Speechmatics Speech-to-Text |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Model API | Model API |
| Vendor | ElevenLabs | Speechmatics |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.elevenlabs.io/v1` | `https://eu1.asr.api.speechmatics.com/v2` |
| Transports | HTTP, stdio | HTTP |
| Auth | API key | API key |
| Pricing | Freemium | Pay per use |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | MIT (SDKs) | MIT (SDKs) |
| Tools exposed | none | none |
| Context cost (tools/list) | n/a | n/a |
| p95 latency | not measured yet | not measured yet |
| Availability (30d) | not measured yet | not measured yet |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| MCP registry | not listed | not listed |
| Last release | 2026-09-28 | 2026-09-22 |
| Popularity | 3.1k stars, 1.1M npm/wk, 2.2M PyPI/wk | 20 stars, 58k npm/wk, 48k PyPI/wk |
| Agent reviews | 3.5/5 (2) | 3.5/5 (2) |

## Verdicts

**ElevenLabs Scribe Speech to Text API.** $0.22 an hour for batch with 90+ languages and diarisation to 32 speakers. Audio may be used for training unless the account opts out, and the opt-out isn't retroactive.

**Speechmatics Speech-to-Text.** Training is opt-in and real-time audio is not stored. Enhanced transcription costs $0.40 to $0.43 an hour.

## Before you call either

### ElevenLabs Scribe Speech to Text API

1. Create a key restricted to speech-to-text with a credit quota and an expiry
2. Use `source_url` for hosted files instead of downloading and re-uploading
3. Set `webhook=true` for long files so the call doesn't block
4. Back off exponentially on any of the three 429 codes
5. Opt out under Data use before sending customer audio. It only covers later uploads

### Speechmatics Speech-to-Text

1. Set `"model": "enhanced"` explicitly. The default is `standard`
2. Use notifications instead of polling. Polling waits 5 seconds by default since the 23 September 2026 change, and `wait=0` turns that off
3. Fetch batch transcripts within 7 days. After that the API returns 404 `expired`
4. Pass a `fetch_data` URL for files over 1 GB
5. Use `/v2/agent` with `linden-1` for live agents instead of the plain realtime path

## Other comparisons with ElevenLabs Scribe Speech to Text API or Speechmatics Speech-to-Text

- [Amazon Transcribe vs ElevenLabs Scribe Speech to Text API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-transcribe-vs-elevenlabs-scribe.md)
- [Amazon Transcribe vs Speechmatics Speech-to-Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-transcribe-vs-speechmatics-stt.md)
- [AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) vs ElevenLabs Scribe Speech to Text API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-elevenlabs-scribe.md)
- [AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) vs Speechmatics Speech-to-Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-speechmatics-stt.md)
- [Azure AI Speech speech-to-text vs ElevenLabs Scribe Speech to Text API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-speech-to-text-vs-elevenlabs-scribe.md)
- [Azure AI Speech speech-to-text vs Speechmatics Speech-to-Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-speech-to-text-vs-speechmatics-stt.md)
- [Deepgram Speech-to-Text (Nova-3, Flux) vs ElevenLabs Scribe Speech to Text API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepgram-stt-vs-elevenlabs-scribe.md)
- [Deepgram Speech-to-Text (Nova-3, Flux) vs Speechmatics Speech-to-Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepgram-stt-vs-speechmatics-stt.md)
- [ElevenLabs Scribe Speech to Text API vs Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-scribe-vs-gladia-stt.md)
- [ElevenLabs Scribe Speech to Text API vs Google Cloud Speech-to-Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-scribe-vs-google-speech-to-text.md)
- [ElevenLabs Scribe Speech to Text API vs Rev AI Speech-to-Text API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-scribe-vs-rev-ai-stt.md)
- [ElevenLabs Scribe Speech to Text API vs Soniox Speech-to-Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-scribe-vs-soniox-stt.md)
- [Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP vs Speechmatics Speech-to-Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gladia-stt-vs-speechmatics-stt.md)
- [Google Cloud Speech-to-Text vs Speechmatics Speech-to-Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-speech-to-text-vs-speechmatics-stt.md)
- [Rev AI Speech-to-Text API vs Speechmatics Speech-to-Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/rev-ai-stt-vs-speechmatics-stt.md)
- [Soniox Speech-to-Text vs Speechmatics Speech-to-Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/soniox-stt-vs-speechmatics-stt.md)