{ "data": { "a": { "slug": "gladia-stt", "name": "Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP", "vendor": "Gladia", "vendorUrl": "https://www.gladia.io", "kind": "model", "category": "speech-to-text", "summary": "Speech-to-text API for live and recorded audio, with multilingual transcription and code switching.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/gladia-stt", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/gladia-stt.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/gladia-stt.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/gladia-stt.json", "dns": "gladia-stt.grade.anchorterminal.com", "repo": "https://github.com/gladiaio/sdk", "license": "MIT (SDKs and MCP server)", "transports": [ "http", "stdio" ], "remoteUrl": "https://api.gladia.io/v2", "packages": [ { "registry": "npm", "name": "@gladiaio/sdk" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "gladiaio-sdk" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@gladiaio/mcp" } ], "auth": "api-key", "authNotes": "`x-gladia-key` header. Live sessions start with `POST /v2/live`, which returns a WebSocket URL. The MCP server reads `GLADIA_API_KEY` from the environment.", "pricing": "freemium", "pricingNotes": "Prepaid wallet, priced in euros. Self-serve async is 0.27€ an hour on `solaria-1` and 0.16€ on `solaria-3` for the first 100 hours a month, falling with volume to 0.21€ and 0.12€ above 10,000 hours. Real-time is 0.68€ an hour. Add-ons are billed per hour (summarisation 0.03€, sentiment 0.02€, translation 0.05€, NER and PII redaction 0.07€). Top-ups from 1,000€ earn 10 to 20 per cent bonus credit. New accounts get 50€ of free credit. Enterprise is custom (https://www.gladia.io/pricing).", "priceSummary": "Freemium", "where": "both", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402 or machine payment in the docs or pricing. Billed to a funded account (checked 2026-09-30).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": 8, "popularity": { "githubStars": 4, "npmWeekly": 4799, "pypiWeekly": 126138, "asOf": "2026-09-30" }, "docsUrl": "https://docs.gladia.io", "llmsTxt": "https://docs.gladia.io/llms.txt", "openapi": "https://api.gladia.io/openapi.json", "capabilities": [ "speech.stt", "speech.streaming", "speech.batch", "speech.diarisation", "speech.languages", "speech.translation" ], "tags": [ "hosted", "freemium", "no-card", "mcp", "llms-txt", "openapi", "python", "typescript", "webhooks", "async-jobs", "streaming", "batch", "enterprise" ], "lastRelease": "2026-10-23", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 69.8, "grade": "B", "agentReady": false, "rank": 226, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 1510, "categoryRank": 7, "methodology": "0.7", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 75, "maintenance": 70, "payments": 40, "reliability": 70, "schema": 95, "security": 65, "transparency": 65 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-11-01" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "The `solaria-1` model transcribes live and recorded audio in over 100 languages with code switching, behind an OpenAPI file and SDKs in two languages. Self-serve audio is used for model training unless the account opts out, and Gladia's pages disagree on retention and training defaults.", "bestFor": "Multilingual meetings and calls where live and async transcription in 100+ languages is needed, and for teams who want an MCP server.", "strengths": [ "100+ languages on `solaria-1` with code switching, live and async", "Async from 0.16€ an hour on `solaria-3`, with automatic volume discounts", "OpenAPI file, llms.txt, JavaScript and Python SDKs at 2.2.1 and an official MCP server", "SOC 2 Type 1 and Type 2, a bug bounty programme and a 99.9% uptime SLA on Enterprise", "One-time 50€ credit for new accounts" ], "weaknesses": [ "Self-serve audio is used for model training by default unless the account opts out", "The security, retention and pricing pages give different retention and training defaults", "Add-ons such as translation, summaries and NER now cost extra per hour", "ISO 27001 is still in progress", "No Retry-After on 429s, and no SLA below Enterprise" ], "agentNotes": [ "Don't resubmit a pre-recorded job after a 200 or a `transcription.created` webhook. It's already queued", "Pick `solaria-3` only for async EN, FR, DE, ES or IT audio. Anything live or multilingual needs `solaria-1`", "A 429 means the concurrency limit, 3 async and 1 live on the free plan. Wait for a running job to finish", "Opt the account out of model training in its profile before sending sensitive audio on Self-serve", "Split files over 135 minutes or 1,000 MB" ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 2, "avgRating": 3, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "B", "methodology": "0.7", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 69.8 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 75, "maintenance": 70, "payments": 40, "reliability": 70, "schema": 95, "security": 65, "transparency": 50 }, "provenanceScore": 80, "checked": { "categories": { "ergonomics": "2026-11-01", "maintenance": "2026-11-01", "payments": "2026-11-01", "reliability": "2026-11-01", "schema": "2026-11-01", "security": "2026-11-01", "transparency": "2026-11-01" }, "last": "2026-11-01", "lastMoved": "2026-11-01", "oldest": "2026-11-01", "stale": false, "staleAfterDays": 90 } }, "connect": { "http": "curl https://api.gladia.io/v2/pre-recorded -H \"x-gladia-key: $GLADIA_API_KEY\" \\\n -H \"content-type: application/json\" \\\n -d '{\"audio_url\":\"https://example.com/audio.mp3\",\"diarization\":true}'", "claudeCode": "claude mcp add gladia --env GLADIA_API_KEY=$GLADIA_API_KEY -- npx -y @gladiaio/mcp", "config": { "mcpServers": { "gladia": { "args": [ "-y", "@gladiaio/mcp" ], "command": "npx", "env": { "GLADIA_API_KEY": "${GLADIA_API_KEY}" } } } } }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/speech.stt", "tool": "https://letme.dev/gladia-stt" }, "area": "voice", "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Gladia SAS", "domain": "gladia.io", "domainRegistered": "2022-01-11", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://www.gladia.io/terms-conditions", "privacy": "https://www.gladia.io/privacy-notice", "statusPage": "https://status.gladia.io", "changelog": "https://www.gladia.io/changelog", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-09-30", "notes": [ "The privacy notice names Gladia SAS (RCS Lille Métropole 909 935 736, Roubaix, France) and Gladia Inc., a Delaware corporation. Separate terms exist for each at https://www.gladia.io/terms-conditions-gladia-inc" ], "score": 80 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/gladia-stt.json", "live": { "slug": "gladia-stt", "probe": { "target": "https://api.gladia.io/v2", "method": "get", "lastAt": "2026-11-07T19:22:08.946966855Z", "lastOk": true, "lastStatus": 404, "lastMs": 455, "authRequired": false, "uptime24h": 100, "uptime30d": 99.9, "p50ms24h": 509, "p95ms24h": 962, "samples24h": 238, "samples30d": 7920, "days": [ { "date": "2026-10-07", "probes": 272, "ok": 266 }, { "date": "2026-10-08", "probes": 268, "ok": 268 }, { "date": "2026-10-09", "probes": 250, "ok": 250 }, { "date": "2026-10-10", "probes": 247, "ok": 247 }, { "date": "2026-10-11", "probes": 247, "ok": 247 }, { "date": "2026-10-12", "probes": 247, "ok": 247 }, { "date": "2026-10-13", "probes": 248, "ok": 248 }, { "date": "2026-10-14", "probes": 249, "ok": 249 }, { "date": "2026-10-15", "probes": 253, "ok": 253 }, { "date": "2026-10-16", "probes": 252, "ok": 252 }, { "date": "2026-10-17", "probes": 253, "ok": 253 }, { "date": "2026-10-18", "probes": 256, "ok": 256 }, { "date": "2026-10-19", "probes": 255, "ok": 255 }, { "date": "2026-10-20", "probes": 252, "ok": 252 }, { "date": "2026-10-21", "probes": 253, "ok": 253 }, { "date": "2026-10-22", "probes": 253, "ok": 253 }, { "date": "2026-10-23", "probes": 248, "ok": 248 }, { "date": "2026-10-24", "probes": 251, "ok": 251 }, { "date": "2026-10-25", "probes": 250, "ok": 250 }, { "date": "2026-10-26", "probes": 252, "ok": 252 }, { "date": "2026-10-27", "probes": 249, "ok": 249 }, { "date": "2026-10-28", "probes": 251, "ok": 251 }, { "date": "2026-10-29", "probes": 248, "ok": 248 }, { "date": "2026-10-30", "probes": 249, "ok": 248 }, { "date": "2026-10-31", "probes": 251, "ok": 251 }, { "date": "2026-11-01", "probes": 249, "ok": 249 }, { "date": "2026-11-02", "probes": 250, "ok": 250 }, { "date": "2026-11-03", "probes": 248, "ok": 248 }, { "date": "2026-11-04", "probes": 246, "ok": 246 }, { "date": "2026-11-05", "probes": 185, "ok": 184 }, { "date": "2026-11-06", "probes": 241, "ok": 241 }, { "date": "2026-11-07", "probes": 197, "ok": 197 } ], "outages": [ { "start": "2026-10-07T12:49:45.159769611Z", "end": "2026-10-07T13:21:50.310567918Z", "note": "timed out" } ] }, "vendorStatus": { "page": "https://status.gladia.io", "indicator": "none", "summary": "All Systems Operational", "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T19:22:12.916951342Z" }, "versions": [ { "registry": "github", "name": "gladiaio/sdk", "version": "sdk-js@2.2.1", "released": "2026-10-23", "seenAt": "2026-11-06T23:28:32.463167469Z" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@gladiaio/mcp", "version": "0.1.1", "seenAt": "2026-11-06T23:28:30.94784336Z" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@gladiaio/sdk", "version": "2.2.1", "seenAt": "2026-11-06T23:28:30.257061478Z" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "gladiaio-sdk", "version": "2.2.1", "released": "2026-10-23", "seenAt": "2026-11-06T23:28:30.62979826Z" } ], "githubStars": 4, "npmWeekly": 9911, "pypiWeekly": 158166, "securityTxt": { "url": "https://gladia.io/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "none", "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T16:01:36.428238118Z" }, "llmsTxt": { "url": "https://docs.gladia.io/llms.txt", "ok": true, "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T15:32:35.899309498Z" }, "domain": { "domain": "gladia.io", "checkedAt": "2026-11-01T14:18:24.128393611Z" }, "pages": [ { "url": "https://www.gladia.io/changelog", "kind": "changelog", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T14:29:13.022879231Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-31T06:27:50.8188043Z", "fingerprint": "2d9a97e569dd" }, { "url": "https://www.gladia.io/pricing", "kind": "pricing", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T14:29:15.16091754Z", "changedAt": "2026-11-04T08:40:32.021344895Z", "fingerprint": "0ceaa29762d7" }, { "url": "https://www.gladia.io/privacy-notice", "kind": "privacy", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T14:29:17.167728212Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-31T06:27:54.847451002Z", "fingerprint": "f9ff7892ae9b" }, { "url": "https://www.gladia.io/terms-conditions", "kind": "terms", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T14:29:19.407410784Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-31T06:27:56.886711706Z", "fingerprint": "a8aaf82e03a4" } ], "github": { "repo": "gladiaio/sdk", "checkedAt": "2026-11-02T08:50:58.697165055Z", "stars": 4, "archived": false, "issuesEnabled": true, "pushedAt": "2026-10-30T14:44:22Z", "openIssues": 5, "openPRs": 1, "issuesOpened90d": 2, "issuesClosed90d": 2, "prsMerged90d": 20, "replies": { "sampled": 9, "unanswered": 5, "medianDays": 1.6 } }, "updatedAt": "2026-11-07T19:22:08.946966855Z" } }, "answer": "Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP scores 69.8 (B) on agent readiness against Smallest.ai Pulse STT's 65 (B), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Smallest.ai Pulse STT leads on transparency \u0026 trust.", "b": { "slug": "smallest-pulse-stt", "name": "Smallest.ai Pulse STT", "vendor": "Smallest AI", "vendorUrl": "https://smallest.ai", "kind": "model", "category": "speech-to-text", "summary": "Smallest AI's Pulse speech-to-text API transcribes pre-recorded files over HTTP and live audio over WebSocket, with three models (Pulse, Pulse 2.0 and Pulse Pro), diarisation, word timestamps, redaction and turn detection.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/smallest-pulse-stt", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/smallest-pulse-stt.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/smallest-pulse-stt.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/smallest-pulse-stt.json", "dns": "smallest-pulse-stt.grade.anchorterminal.com", "repo": "https://github.com/smallest-inc/smallest-python-sdk", "transports": [ "http", "websocket" ], "packages": [ { "registry": "pypi", "name": "smallestai" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "smallestai" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@developer-smallestai/smallest-mcp-server" } ], "auth": "api-key", "authNotes": "Bearer `sk_` API key created in the dashboard after a browser signup, shared by every model and the Voice Agents API. Keys are shown once, revoked by deleting them and carry no scopes. Servers can mint `wat_` access tokens for browsers (30 to 900 seconds, inference routes only), which the STT socket takes as `?api_key=`.", "pricing": "usage", "pricingNotes": "Pay as you go from $0.003 a minute for Pulse batch, $0.004 for Pulse streaming and $0.005 for Pulse 2.0. Pulse Pro is listed at both $0.0035 and $0.004 a minute. $10 in trial credits. Enterprise pricing, SLA and zero data retention by quote.", "priceSummary": "Pay per use", "where": "local", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the docs, OpenAPI file or pricing page (checked 2026-11-06). Credits are bought with a card on file.", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": 0, "popularity": { "githubStars": null, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-11-06" }, "docsUrl": "https://docs.smallest.ai/models/speech-to-text/overview", "llmsTxt": "https://docs.smallest.ai/llms.txt", "openapi": "https://docs.smallest.ai/openapi/models-api.json", "capabilities": [ "speech.stt", "speech.streaming", "speech.batch", "speech.diarisation", "speech.languages" ], "tags": [ "hosted", "usage", "closed-source", "python", "typescript", "openapi", "llms-txt", "streaming", "batch", "webhooks", "mcp", "enterprise", "self-hosted" ], "lastRelease": "2026-11-02", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 65, "grade": "B", "agentReady": false, "rank": 443, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 1510, "categoryRank": 13, "methodology": "0.7", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 66, "maintenance": 73, "payments": 40, "reliability": 63, "schema": 92, "security": 52, "transparency": 71 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-11-06" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "Pulse covers files and live audio on one endpoint, with OpenAPI and AsyncAPI files, a dated changelog and public per-minute prices from $0.003. The shared API's health checks failed in every region on five days in September, keys carry no scopes and can travel in a URL, and zero retention is Enterprise only.", "bestFor": "Low-cost transcription for voice agents and call analytics, with Indic coverage and turn detection.", "strengths": [ "OpenAPI 3.1 and AsyncAPI 2.6 files cover the batch route and the streaming socket, with llms.txt and Markdown copies of every page", "Public prices of $0.003 a minute for batch, $0.004 for streaming and $0.005 for Pulse 2.0, with $10 of trial credits", "Dated Pulse changelog with nine entries between 30 August and 2 November 2026", "Opt-in diarisation, word timestamps, PII and PCI redaction, keyword boosting and turn detection on the same endpoint", "Region-pinned hosts in Mumbai and Oregon for data residency" ], "weaknesses": [ "Health checks on the shared API failed in all three regions on 9, 10, 13, 14 and 15 September 2026, the longest about 64 minutes", "Keys grant full account access with no scopes, and the docs pass keys or tokens as URL query parameters on WebSockets", "Zero data retention is Enterprise only or a $1,000 a month add-on, and no retention period is published for other plans", "No published SLA below Enterprise, and the terms allow changes or discontinuation without notice", "Several changelog entries correct response fields the reference had documented wrongly" ], "agentNotes": [ "Pass `?model=` on every call, since a missing model returns 400; use `pulse-pro` for English files and `pulse` for other languages or streaming", "Send booleans such as `diarize` and `word_timestamps` as the lowercase strings \"true\" or \"false\"", "Retry 429 with backoff from 500 ms up to 30 s and honour Retry-After; keep within 25 batch requests a minute on the Standard plan", "Use the region-pinned host api.us.smallest.ai or api.india.smallest.ai when the audio must stay in one region", "Read speaker labels only from final events, because interim streaming events carry no `words[]`" ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "B", "methodology": "0.7", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 65 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 66, "maintenance": 73, "payments": 40, "reliability": 63, "schema": 92, "security": 52, "transparency": 55 }, "provenanceScore": 87, "checked": { "categories": { "ergonomics": "2026-11-06", "maintenance": "2026-11-06", "payments": "2026-11-06", "reliability": "2026-11-06", "schema": "2026-11-06", "security": "2026-11-06", "transparency": "2026-11-06" }, "last": "2026-11-06", "oldest": "2026-11-06", "stale": false, "staleAfterDays": 90 } }, "connect": { "install": "pip install smallestai", "http": "curl -X POST \"https://api.smallest.ai/waves/v1/stt/?model=pulse\u0026language=en\" \\\n -H \"Authorization: Bearer $SMALLEST_API_KEY\" -H \"Content-Type: application/json\" \\\n -d '{\"url\": \"https://github.com/smallest-inc/cookbook/raw/main/speech-to-text/getting-started/samples/audio.wav\"}'", "claudeCode": "claude mcp add smallest -- npx -y @developer-smallestai/smallest-mcp-server" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/speech.stt", "tool": "https://letme.dev/smallest-pulse-stt" }, "sameCompany": [ "smallest-lightning-tts", "smallest-voice-clone" ], "area": "voice", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "Pulse pre-recorded", "unit": "audio-minute", "usd": 0.003, "note": "pay as you go" }, { "item": "Pulse streaming", "unit": "audio-minute", "usd": 0.004, "note": "pay as you go" }, { "item": "Pulse Pro pre-recorded", "unit": "audio-minute", "usd": 0.0035, "note": "the pricing page also shows $0.004" }, { "item": "Pulse 2.0 streaming", "unit": "audio-minute", "usd": 0.005, "note": "Standard plan, per the Pulse changelog" } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Smallest, Inc.", "domain": "smallest.ai", "domainRegistered": "2023-09-02", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://smallest.ai/terms-of-service", "privacy": "https://smallest.ai/privacy-policy", "statusPage": "https://status.smallest.ai/", "changelog": "https://docs.smallest.ai/changelog/models", "securityTxt": "valid", "checked": "2026-11-06", "notes": [ "The terms of service (effective 21 October 2026) name Smallest Inc., 311 California Street, Suite 320, San Francisco, under California law. The privacy policy (effective 18 September 2026) names Smallest, Inc. with a registered office in Lewes, Delaware.", "The terms forbid accessing or searching the services with spiders, robots, crawlers or similar data mining tools except through means Smallest makes available. Only public pages were read, with no account.", "smallest.ai/robots.txt allows all crawlers including ClaudeBot, with Content-Signal ai-train=yes, search=yes, ai-input=yes. docs.smallest.ai/robots.txt allows all paths except /api/fern-docs/.", "/.well-known/security.txt names security@smallest.ai and expires 31 December 2026. /security.txt returns 404.", "RDAP gives smallest.ai a registration date of 2 September 2023.", "Every docs page served as Markdown opens with a block addressed to AI assistants that says which models to prefer. It was read as data, not followed.", "firstReleased is left empty. No dated launch of the Models API was found on a page our reader may fetch." ], "score": 87 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/smallest-pulse-stt.json", "live": { "slug": "smallest-pulse-stt", "vendorStatus": { "page": "https://status.smallest.ai", "indicator": "unknown", "summary": "no machine-readable status found", "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T04:48:45.825598924Z" }, "versions": [ { "registry": "github", "name": "smallest-inc/smallest-python-sdk", "version": "v2.1.0", "released": "2025-03-04", "seenAt": "2026-11-07T00:06:40.503973794Z" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@developer-smallestai/smallest-mcp-server", "version": "0.11.2", "seenAt": "2026-11-07T00:06:37.84247373Z" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "smallestai", "version": "1.0.1", "seenAt": "2026-11-07T00:06:37.805702611Z" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "smallestai", "version": "5.14.0", "released": "2026-10-07", "seenAt": "2026-11-07T00:06:37.684406795Z" } ], "githubStars": 42, "npmWeekly": 149, "pypiWeekly": 850, "securityTxt": { "url": "https://smallest.ai/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "valid", "expires": "2026-12-31T23:59:59.000Z", "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T16:01:21.76871346Z" }, "llmsTxt": { "url": "https://docs.smallest.ai/llms.txt", "ok": true, "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T15:33:58.699076043Z" }, "updatedAt": "2026-11-07T16:01:21.76871346Z" } }, "edges": [ { "by": 13, "category": "security", "leads": "gladia-stt", "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "reasons": { "a": "Model reading of the checklist, with training and retention in place of least-privilege and injection lines. Plain revocable API keys in the `x-gladia-key` header. Live sessions connect to a WebSocket URL minted per session by `POST /v2/live`, which we don't deduct for (20). The pricing page, read on 1 November, says Self-serve, the paid pay-as-you-go plan, is opted in to model training by default with a free opt-out in the profile, and Enterprise is opted out by default. The security page still says only Free plan data is used for training. We score the pricing page's default, as for AWS's default use with an opt-out (10 of 20). Retention is documented and jobs can be deleted, but zero retention needs Enterprise per the retention page (10). Job history through the list endpoint and dashboard, no audit log of key actions found (10). SOC 2 Type 1 and Type 2, a bug bounty programme that doubles as the disclosure route, no security.txt (404 on 1 November) and no public advisories found. The SDKs fixed an API key leak on cross-origin redirects in 2.1.0 (September) and limited list pagination to the configured API in 2.2.0 (13 October), both released. ISO 27001 is in progress, not held (15). 20 + 10 + 10 + 10 + 15 = 65.", "b": "Model reading of the checklist, with training and retention in place of the least-privilege and injection lines. Plain `sk_` keys per organisation, shown once, revoked at once and deletable, with one key per environment advised. The docs say a key grants full account access, and no scope is offered. Short-lived access tokens (`wat_`, 30 to 900 seconds) cover only inference routes and can't mint tokens (22 of 30). The error reference documents the key as a `?token=` query parameter for browser WebSockets, and the token guide passes access tokens as `?api_key=` on the STT socket, so 10 off (12 of 30). The terms (21 October 2026) say Smallest won't use user content or input to train or improve its services. The privacy policy (18 September 2026) lists improving the services with machine learning as a use of usage data and doesn't address uploaded audio or text either way (15 of 20). Zero data retention and the `x-expire-content` header are Enterprise only, or a $1,000 a month HIPAA add-on on pay as you go. Other plans keep content readable in logs and the dashboard, with no retention period published (5 of 15). Usage is tracked per key, request rows sit in a dashboard log viewer, and every response carries `x-request-id`. No audit log of key actions was found (10 of 15). security.txt is valid to 31 December 2026 and the site footer claims SOC 2, GDPR and HIPAA compliance, while the pricing page lists SOC 2 compliance only on Enterprise. No bug bounty, disclosure policy or public advisories found (10 of 20). Total 52." }, "scores": { "a": 65, "b": 52 } }, { "by": 9, "category": "ergonomics", "leads": "gladia-stt", "name": "Agent ergonomics", "reasons": { "a": "API reading of the checklist. Add-ons such as summaries, NER and translation are opt-in, so a plain request stays small, but there's no field selection (15). Pre-recorded jobs list with offset, limit and filters (20). Documented error codes, with a 429 for concurrency (15). No idempotency key. The docs warn that a job is already queued once the 200 or `transcription.created` webhook arrives, which is safe-retry guidance of a sort (10). One required parameter and official SDKs in JavaScript and Python (15). The official MCP server adds 8 tools for async jobs, which this API reading doesn't score.", "b": "API reading of the checklist. Word timestamps, utterances, diarisation, emotion and gender are each opt-in, so the default response is the transcript with metadata (18 of 25). There are no list endpoints for transcriptions to page. Output controls are the opt-in fields and finalisation settings on the socket (10 of 20). Errors carry a status and a machine-readable `code` or `error_code` (`LANGUAGE_NOT_SUPPORTED_BY_MODEL`, `AudioTooLong` and others) with fixes, but the body comes in two shapes, `message` or `error` (15 of 20). Batch calls are synchronous with no idempotency key, and whether a retried file is billed again isn't stated (10 of 20). A file call needs only the model and audio. Official Python and Node SDKs exist, though the Node SDK was last published in May 2025 (13 of 15). Total 66." }, "scores": { "a": 75, "b": 66 } }, { "by": 7, "category": "reliability", "leads": "gladia-stt", "name": "Reliability", "reasons": { "a": "incident.io status page with per-component uptime bars and incident pages, and an RSS feed read on 1 November (20). One major incident in the 90 days from 3 August, a global Pre-Recorded and Real-Time incident on 23 September 2026 from 07:05 to 08:10 caused by a provider network fault, as read on 1 October. The rest are partial and read as minor, a 20-minute full outage and a timeouts incident on 22 September, slower processing on the afternoon of 23 September, and Europe-only degradations on 2, 10, 14 to 15 (elevated errors and timeouts in Europe from 09:07 on 14 September to 13:58 on 15 September), 21, 22 and 28 September and on 3, 4 and 7 October (Pre-Recorded v2 in Europe) (10). Concurrency limits published with numbers, 25 parallel async jobs plus 300 queued and 30 live sessions on paid plans, 3 and 1 on free (15). The docs say a 429 means the concurrency limit, but we found no backoff guidance or Retry-After (5). The pricing page's plan comparison, read on 1 November, lists a 99.9% uptime SLA for Enterprise (10). `solaria-1` and `solaria-3` are GA (10). 20 + 10 + 15 + 5 + 10 + 10 = 70.", "b": "BetterStack status page at status.smallest.ai with components for the Global, India and USA APIs (one health check covers the Agents and Models APIs), docs, the app and Electron, and per-component history (20). In the 90 days from 8 August the health checks on the shared API failed in all three regions on 9, 10, 13, 14 and 15 September (about 8, 21, 33, 17 and 64 minutes of flapping), in the Global and India regions on 11 and 17 September (12 minutes each), and in the USA region alone on 1, 3, 5, 12, 21 and 30 September (6 to 62 minutes) and 6 October (12 minutes). Outages in every region at once are read as wide errors, so several majors (0). Standard plan limits published per model, 100 concurrent streaming sessions and 25 batch requests a minute, and the pricing page also says 100 concurrent STT streams (15). 429 is documented with exponential backoff from 500 ms to 30 s and Retry-After when present, and batch calls are synchronous with optional webhooks (15). An infrastructure SLA of 99.99 per cent is named for Enterprise only, with no terms published, and the terms disclaim any availability commitment (5 of 10). Pulse, Pulse 2.0 and Pulse Pro carry no preview label, but eleven language codes are marked Beta (8 of 10). 20 + 0 + 15 + 15 + 5 + 8 = 63." }, "scores": { "a": 70, "b": 63 } }, { "by": 6, "category": "transparency", "leads": "smallest-pulse-stt", "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "reasons": { "a": "Closed service with an MIT SDK and MCP server and separate terms for Gladia SAS and Gladia Inc. (15). The statements disagree. The security page gives a 12-month default retention with custom policies for customers and says only Free plan data trains models, while the retention page gives 1 year on free, 3 weeks on paid and zero retention only on Enterprise, and the pricing page says Self-serve is opted in to training by default. ISO 27001 is described as in progress (15). Breaking changes are flagged with dates in the changelog, such as SDK 2.0.0 and the move to credit billing on 3 July 2026 with a 6 to 20 July rollout, but no deprecation policy was found (10). Hosting with a French provider is stated, and no sub-processor list was found (10).", "b": "Closed service with clear terms naming Smallest Inc. under California law (15). The ZDR page is specific about what each mode keeps, but the terms' no-training clause and the privacy policy's machine-learning use of usage data sit side by side, the privacy policy gives no retention periods, and the policy doesn't mention the DPA a footer link points to (15 of 30). A deprecations page gives statuses, dates and migration targets, deprecated routes return a `Deprecation: true` header, and the 30 September changelog removed 14 European codes from the batch enum with a migration to `multi-eu`. The terms still let Smallest change or discontinue services at any time without notice (15 of 20). Two regions named (Mumbai and Oregon) with region-pinned hosts, and only Google Analytics and Fullstory named among third parties, with no sub-processor list found (10 of 20). Total 55." }, "scores": { "a": 65, "b": 71 } } ], "facts": [ { "a": "Model API", "b": "Model API", "name": "Kind" }, { "a": "Gladia", "b": "Smallest AI", "name": "Vendor" }, { "a": "https://api.gladia.io/v2", "b": "no (local only)", "name": "Hosted endpoint" }, { "a": "HTTP, stdio", "b": "HTTP, websocket", "name": "Transports" }, { "a": "API key", "b": "API key", "name": "Auth" }, { "a": "Freemium", "b": "Pay per use", "name": "Pricing" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "x402" }, { "a": "MIT (SDKs and MCP server)", "b": "none", "name": "Licence" }, { "a": "8", "b": "0", "name": "Tools exposed" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "Read-only variant documented" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "yes", "name": "llms.txt" }, { "a": "2026-10-23", "b": "2026-11-02", "name": "Last release" }, { "a": "no date given", "b": "no date given", "name": "Terms last updated" }, { "a": "no date given", "b": "no date given", "name": "Privacy policy last updated" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Customer content may train models" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Terms restrict automated access" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Terms restrict benchmarking" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "yes", "name": "Terms or service can change without notice" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "yes", "name": "Arbitration or class-action waiver" }, { "a": "4 stars, 4.8k npm/wk, 126k PyPI/wk", "b": "none", "name": "Popularity" }, { "a": "3/5 (2)", "b": "none", "name": "Agent reviews" } ], "faq": [ { "answer": "Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP scores 69.8 (B) on agent readiness against Smallest.ai Pulse STT's 65 (B), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Smallest.ai Pulse STT leads on transparency \u0026 trust.", "question": "Which is better for AI agents, Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP or Smallest.ai Pulse STT?" }, { "answer": "Both need an API key.", "question": "Do Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP and Smallest.ai Pulse STT need an API key?" }, { "answer": "Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP has a hosted endpoint at https://api.gladia.io/v2. No hosted endpoint is listed for Smallest.ai Pulse STT.", "question": "Can an agent call Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP and Smallest.ai Pulse STT without installing anything?" } ], "goodFor": [ { "aheadOn": [ "Reliability, 70 against 63", "Agent ergonomics, 75 against 66", "Security \u0026 auth, 65 against 52" ], "also": [ "A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install", "Runs on your own machine", "Free to start without a card" ], "goodFor": "Multilingual meetings and calls where live and async transcription in 100+ languages is needed, and for teams who want an MCP server.", "slug": "gladia-stt", "watchFor": "Self-serve audio is used for model training by default unless the account opts out" }, { "aheadOn": [ "Transparency \u0026 trust, 71 against 65" ], "also": null, "goodFor": "Low-cost transcription for voice agents and call analytics, with Indic coverage and turn detection.", "slug": "smallest-pulse-stt", "watchFor": "Health checks on the shared API failed in all three regions on 9, 10, 13, 14 and 15 September 2026, the longest about 64 minutes" } ], "history": { "gladia-stt": [ { "causes": [ "terms", "correction" ], "date": "2026-11-01", "delta": 0.2, "from": 69.6, "fromGrade": "B", "to": 69.8, "toGrade": "B" }, { "causes": [ "method" ], "date": "2026-10-27", "delta": 0.1, "from": 69.5, "fromGrade": "B", "to": 69.6, "toGrade": "B" }, { "causes": [ "method" ], "date": "2026-10-08", "delta": -0.2, "from": 69.7, "fromGrade": "B", "to": 69.5, "toGrade": "B" } ], "smallest-pulse-stt": null }, "job": { "capability": "speech.stt", "name": "Speech-to-text" }, "others": [ { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-transcribe-vs-gladia-stt.json", "title": "Amazon Transcribe vs Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-transcribe-vs-gladia-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-transcribe-vs-smallest-pulse-stt.json", "title": "Amazon Transcribe vs Smallest.ai Pulse STT", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-transcribe-vs-smallest-pulse-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-gladia-stt.json", "title": "AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) vs Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-gladia-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-smallest-pulse-stt.json", "title": "AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) vs Smallest.ai Pulse STT", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-smallest-pulse-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-speech-to-text-vs-gladia-stt.json", "title": "Azure AI Speech speech-to-text vs Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-speech-to-text-vs-gladia-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-speech-to-text-vs-smallest-pulse-stt.json", "title": "Azure AI Speech speech-to-text vs Smallest.ai Pulse STT", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-speech-to-text-vs-smallest-pulse-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cartesia-ink-stt-vs-gladia-stt.json", "title": "Cartesia Ink vs Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cartesia-ink-stt-vs-gladia-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cartesia-ink-stt-vs-smallest-pulse-stt.json", "title": "Cartesia Ink vs Smallest.ai Pulse STT", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cartesia-ink-stt-vs-smallest-pulse-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepgram-stt-vs-gladia-stt.json", "title": "Deepgram Speech-to-Text (Nova-3, Flux) vs Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepgram-stt-vs-gladia-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepgram-stt-vs-smallest-pulse-stt.json", "title": "Deepgram Speech-to-Text (Nova-3, Flux) vs Smallest.ai Pulse STT", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepgram-stt-vs-smallest-pulse-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-scribe-vs-gladia-stt.json", "title": "ElevenLabs Scribe Speech to Text API vs Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-scribe-vs-gladia-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-scribe-vs-smallest-pulse-stt.json", "title": "ElevenLabs Scribe Speech to Text API vs Smallest.ai Pulse STT", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-scribe-vs-smallest-pulse-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/giggy-stt-vs-gladia-stt.json", "title": "Giggy Speech to Text vs Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/giggy-stt-vs-gladia-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/giggy-stt-vs-smallest-pulse-stt.json", "title": "Giggy Speech to Text vs Smallest.ai Pulse STT", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/giggy-stt-vs-smallest-pulse-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gladia-stt-vs-google-speech-to-text.json", "title": "Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP vs Google Cloud Speech-to-Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gladia-stt-vs-google-speech-to-text" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gladia-stt-vs-groq-speech-to-text.json", "title": "Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP vs Groq Speech-to-Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gladia-stt-vs-groq-speech-to-text" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gladia-stt-vs-ibm-watson-stt.json", "title": "Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP vs IBM Watson Speech to Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gladia-stt-vs-ibm-watson-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gladia-stt-vs-inworld-stt.json", "title": "Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP vs Inworld STT", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gladia-stt-vs-inworld-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gladia-stt-vs-minimax-stt.json", "title": "Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP vs MiniMax Speech-to-Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gladia-stt-vs-minimax-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gladia-stt-vs-mistral-voxtral-transcribe.json", "title": "Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP vs Mistral Voxtral Transcribe", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gladia-stt-vs-mistral-voxtral-transcribe" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gladia-stt-vs-openai-speech-to-text.json", "title": "Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP vs OpenAI Speech to Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gladia-stt-vs-openai-speech-to-text" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gladia-stt-vs-rev-ai-stt.json", "title": "Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP vs Rev AI Speech-to-Text API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gladia-stt-vs-rev-ai-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gladia-stt-vs-soniox-stt.json", "title": "Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP vs Soniox Speech-to-Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gladia-stt-vs-soniox-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gladia-stt-vs-speechmatics-stt.json", "title": "Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP vs Speechmatics Speech-to-Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gladia-stt-vs-speechmatics-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-speech-to-text-vs-smallest-pulse-stt.json", "title": "Google Cloud Speech-to-Text vs Smallest.ai Pulse STT", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-speech-to-text-vs-smallest-pulse-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/groq-speech-to-text-vs-smallest-pulse-stt.json", "title": "Groq Speech-to-Text vs Smallest.ai Pulse STT", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/groq-speech-to-text-vs-smallest-pulse-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ibm-watson-stt-vs-smallest-pulse-stt.json", "title": "IBM Watson Speech to Text vs Smallest.ai Pulse STT", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ibm-watson-stt-vs-smallest-pulse-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/inworld-stt-vs-smallest-pulse-stt.json", "title": "Inworld STT vs Smallest.ai Pulse STT", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/inworld-stt-vs-smallest-pulse-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-stt-vs-smallest-pulse-stt.json", "title": "MiniMax Speech-to-Text vs Smallest.ai Pulse STT", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-stt-vs-smallest-pulse-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mistral-voxtral-transcribe-vs-smallest-pulse-stt.json", "title": "Mistral Voxtral Transcribe vs Smallest.ai Pulse STT", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mistral-voxtral-transcribe-vs-smallest-pulse-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-speech-to-text-vs-smallest-pulse-stt.json", "title": "OpenAI Speech to Text vs Smallest.ai Pulse STT", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-speech-to-text-vs-smallest-pulse-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/rev-ai-stt-vs-smallest-pulse-stt.json", "title": "Rev AI Speech-to-Text API vs Smallest.ai Pulse STT", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/rev-ai-stt-vs-smallest-pulse-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/smallest-pulse-stt-vs-soniox-stt.json", "title": "Smallest.ai Pulse STT vs Soniox Speech-to-Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/smallest-pulse-stt-vs-soniox-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/smallest-pulse-stt-vs-speechmatics-stt.json", "title": "Smallest.ai Pulse STT vs Speechmatics Speech-to-Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/smallest-pulse-stt-vs-speechmatics-stt" } ], "panel": null, "scores": [ { "by": 7, "edge": "gladia-stt", "gladia-stt": 70, "key": "reliability", "name": "Reliability", "smallest-pulse-stt": 63, "weight": 16 }, { "key": "performance", "name": "Performance", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 3, "edge": "gladia-stt", "gladia-stt": 95, "key": "schema", "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "smallest-pulse-stt": 92, "weight": 13 }, { "by": 9, "edge": "gladia-stt", "gladia-stt": 75, "key": "ergonomics", "name": "Agent ergonomics", "smallest-pulse-stt": 66, "weight": 13 }, { "by": 13, "edge": "gladia-stt", "gladia-stt": 65, "key": "security", "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "smallest-pulse-stt": 52, "weight": 14 }, { "by": 0, "edge": "", "gladia-stt": 40, "key": "payments", "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "smallest-pulse-stt": 40, "weight": 10 }, { "key": "tasks", "name": "Task success", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 3, "edge": "smallest-pulse-stt", "gladia-stt": 70, "key": "maintenance", "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "smallest-pulse-stt": 73, "weight": 7 }, { "by": 6, "edge": "smallest-pulse-stt", "gladia-stt": 65, "key": "transparency", "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "smallest-pulse-stt": 71, "weight": 7 } ], "summary": "Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP scores 69.8 (B) on agent readiness against Smallest.ai Pulse STT's 65 (B), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Smallest.ai Pulse STT leads on transparency \u0026 trust. Both do speech-to-text.", "tasks": null, "tutorials": [], "verdicts": { "gladia-stt": "The `solaria-1` model transcribes live and recorded audio in over 100 languages with code switching, behind an OpenAPI file and SDKs in two languages. Self-serve audio is used for model training unless the account opts out, and Gladia's pages disagree on retention and training defaults.", "smallest-pulse-stt": "Pulse covers files and live audio on one endpoint, with OpenAPI and AsyncAPI files, a dated changelog and public per-minute prices from $0.003. The shared API's health checks failed in every region on five days in September, keys carry no scopes and can travel in a URL, and zero retention is Enterprise only." } }, "kind": "anchor.page", "links": { "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json", "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gladia-stt-vs-smallest-pulse-stt", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gladia-stt-vs-smallest-pulse-stt.json", "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt", "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gladia-stt-vs-smallest-pulse-stt.md", "mcp": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp", "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gladia-stt-vs-smallest-pulse-stt.min.md" }, "markdown": "Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP scores 69.8 (B) on agent readiness against Smallest.ai Pulse STT's 65 (B), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Smallest.ai Pulse STT leads on transparency \u0026 trust. Both do speech-to-text.\n\n- Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP: grade B, 69.8/100, rank #226 of 1510. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/gladia-stt.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/gladia-stt.json\n- Smallest.ai Pulse STT: grade B, 65/100, rank #443 of 1510. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/smallest-pulse-stt.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/smallest-pulse-stt.json\n- Best speech-to-text APIs for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/speech-to-text/index.md\n- All 320 stt comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/speech-to-text/index.md\n\n## Which one, for what\n\n### Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP (B)\n\nGood for: Multilingual meetings and calls where live and async transcription in 100+ languages is needed, and for teams who want an MCP server.\n\nAhead on:\n- Reliability, 70 against 63\n- Agent ergonomics, 75 against 66\n- Security \u0026 auth, 65 against 52\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install\n- Runs on your own machine\n- Free to start without a card\n\nWatch for: Self-serve audio is used for model training by default unless the account opts out\n\n### Smallest.ai Pulse STT (B)\n\nGood for: Low-cost transcription for voice agents and call analytics, with Indic coverage and turn detection.\n\nAhead on:\n- Transparency \u0026 trust, 71 against 65\n\nWatch for: Health checks on the shared API failed in all three regions on 9, 10, 13, 14 and 15 September 2026, the longest about 64 minutes\n\n\n## Why the edge\n\n### Security \u0026 auth: Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP +13\n\n- Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP (65): Model reading of the checklist, with training and retention in place of least-privilege and injection lines. Plain revocable API keys in the `x-gladia-key` header. Live sessions connect to a WebSocket URL minted per session by `POST /v2/live`, which we don't deduct for (20). The pricing page, read on 1 November, says Self-serve, the paid pay-as-you-go plan, is opted in to model training by default with a free opt-out in the profile, and Enterprise is opted out by default. The security page still says only Free plan data is used for training. We score the pricing page's default, as for AWS's default use with an opt-out (10 of 20). Retention is documented and jobs can be deleted, but zero retention needs Enterprise per the retention page (10). Job history through the list endpoint and dashboard, no audit log of key actions found (10). SOC 2 Type 1 and Type 2, a bug bounty programme that doubles as the disclosure route, no security.txt (404 on 1 November) and no public advisories found. The SDKs fixed an API key leak on cross-origin redirects in 2.1.0 (September) and limited list pagination to the configured API in 2.2.0 (13 October), both released. ISO 27001 is in progress, not held (15). 20 + 10 + 10 + 10 + 15 = 65.\n- Smallest.ai Pulse STT (52): Model reading of the checklist, with training and retention in place of the least-privilege and injection lines. Plain `sk_` keys per organisation, shown once, revoked at once and deletable, with one key per environment advised. The docs say a key grants full account access, and no scope is offered. Short-lived access tokens (`wat_`, 30 to 900 seconds) cover only inference routes and can't mint tokens (22 of 30). The error reference documents the key as a `?token=` query parameter for browser WebSockets, and the token guide passes access tokens as `?api_key=` on the STT socket, so 10 off (12 of 30). The terms (21 October 2026) say Smallest won't use user content or input to train or improve its services. The privacy policy (18 September 2026) lists improving the services with machine learning as a use of usage data and doesn't address uploaded audio or text either way (15 of 20). Zero data retention and the `x-expire-content` header are Enterprise only, or a $1,000 a month HIPAA add-on on pay as you go. Other plans keep content readable in logs and the dashboard, with no retention period published (5 of 15). Usage is tracked per key, request rows sit in a dashboard log viewer, and every response carries `x-request-id`. No audit log of key actions was found (10 of 15). security.txt is valid to 31 December 2026 and the site footer claims SOC 2, GDPR and HIPAA compliance, while the pricing page lists SOC 2 compliance only on Enterprise. No bug bounty, disclosure policy or public advisories found (10 of 20). Total 52.\n\n### Agent ergonomics: Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP +9\n\n- Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP (75): API reading of the checklist. Add-ons such as summaries, NER and translation are opt-in, so a plain request stays small, but there's no field selection (15). Pre-recorded jobs list with offset, limit and filters (20). Documented error codes, with a 429 for concurrency (15). No idempotency key. The docs warn that a job is already queued once the 200 or `transcription.created` webhook arrives, which is safe-retry guidance of a sort (10). One required parameter and official SDKs in JavaScript and Python (15). The official MCP server adds 8 tools for async jobs, which this API reading doesn't score.\n- Smallest.ai Pulse STT (66): API reading of the checklist. Word timestamps, utterances, diarisation, emotion and gender are each opt-in, so the default response is the transcript with metadata (18 of 25). There are no list endpoints for transcriptions to page. Output controls are the opt-in fields and finalisation settings on the socket (10 of 20). Errors carry a status and a machine-readable `code` or `error_code` (`LANGUAGE_NOT_SUPPORTED_BY_MODEL`, `AudioTooLong` and others) with fixes, but the body comes in two shapes, `message` or `error` (15 of 20). Batch calls are synchronous with no idempotency key, and whether a retried file is billed again isn't stated (10 of 20). A file call needs only the model and audio. Official Python and Node SDKs exist, though the Node SDK was last published in May 2025 (13 of 15). Total 66.\n\n### Reliability: Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP +7\n\n- Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP (70): incident.io status page with per-component uptime bars and incident pages, and an RSS feed read on 1 November (20). One major incident in the 90 days from 3 August, a global Pre-Recorded and Real-Time incident on 23 September 2026 from 07:05 to 08:10 caused by a provider network fault, as read on 1 October. The rest are partial and read as minor, a 20-minute full outage and a timeouts incident on 22 September, slower processing on the afternoon of 23 September, and Europe-only degradations on 2, 10, 14 to 15 (elevated errors and timeouts in Europe from 09:07 on 14 September to 13:58 on 15 September), 21, 22 and 28 September and on 3, 4 and 7 October (Pre-Recorded v2 in Europe) (10). Concurrency limits published with numbers, 25 parallel async jobs plus 300 queued and 30 live sessions on paid plans, 3 and 1 on free (15). The docs say a 429 means the concurrency limit, but we found no backoff guidance or Retry-After (5). The pricing page's plan comparison, read on 1 November, lists a 99.9% uptime SLA for Enterprise (10). `solaria-1` and `solaria-3` are GA (10). 20 + 10 + 15 + 5 + 10 + 10 = 70.\n- Smallest.ai Pulse STT (63): BetterStack status page at status.smallest.ai with components for the Global, India and USA APIs (one health check covers the Agents and Models APIs), docs, the app and Electron, and per-component history (20). In the 90 days from 8 August the health checks on the shared API failed in all three regions on 9, 10, 13, 14 and 15 September (about 8, 21, 33, 17 and 64 minutes of flapping), in the Global and India regions on 11 and 17 September (12 minutes each), and in the USA region alone on 1, 3, 5, 12, 21 and 30 September (6 to 62 minutes) and 6 October (12 minutes). Outages in every region at once are read as wide errors, so several majors (0). Standard plan limits published per model, 100 concurrent streaming sessions and 25 batch requests a minute, and the pricing page also says 100 concurrent STT streams (15). 429 is documented with exponential backoff from 500 ms to 30 s and Retry-After when present, and batch calls are synchronous with optional webhooks (15). An infrastructure SLA of 99.99 per cent is named for Enterprise only, with no terms published, and the terms disclaim any availability commitment (5 of 10). Pulse, Pulse 2.0 and Pulse Pro carry no preview label, but eleven language codes are marked Beta (8 of 10). 20 + 0 + 15 + 15 + 5 + 8 = 63.\n\n### Transparency \u0026 trust: Smallest.ai Pulse STT +6\n\n- Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP (65): Closed service with an MIT SDK and MCP server and separate terms for Gladia SAS and Gladia Inc. (15). The statements disagree. The security page gives a 12-month default retention with custom policies for customers and says only Free plan data trains models, while the retention page gives 1 year on free, 3 weeks on paid and zero retention only on Enterprise, and the pricing page says Self-serve is opted in to training by default. ISO 27001 is described as in progress (15). Breaking changes are flagged with dates in the changelog, such as SDK 2.0.0 and the move to credit billing on 3 July 2026 with a 6 to 20 July rollout, but no deprecation policy was found (10). Hosting with a French provider is stated, and no sub-processor list was found (10).\n- Smallest.ai Pulse STT (71): Closed service with clear terms naming Smallest Inc. under California law (15). The ZDR page is specific about what each mode keeps, but the terms' no-training clause and the privacy policy's machine-learning use of usage data sit side by side, the privacy policy gives no retention periods, and the policy doesn't mention the DPA a footer link points to (15 of 30). A deprecations page gives statuses, dates and migration targets, deprecated routes return a `Deprecation: true` header, and the 30 September changelog removed 14 European codes from the batch enum with a migration to `multi-eu`. The terms still let Smallest change or discontinue services at any time without notice (15 of 20). Two regions named (Mumbai and Oregon) with region-pinned hosts, and only Google Analytics and Fullstory named among third parties, with no sub-processor list found (10 of 20). Total 55.\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP | Smallest.ai Pulse STT | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 70 | 63 | Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP +7 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 95 | 92 | Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP +3 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 75 | 66 | Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP +9 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 65 | 52 | Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP +13 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 40 | 40 | even |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 70 | 73 | Smallest.ai Pulse STT +3 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 65 | 71 | Smallest.ai Pulse STT +6 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |\n| **Total** | | **69.8 · B** | **65 · B** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP | Smallest.ai Pulse STT |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | Model API | Model API |\n| Vendor | Gladia | Smallest AI |\n| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.gladia.io/v2` | no (local only) |\n| Transports | HTTP, stdio | HTTP, websocket |\n| Auth | API key | API key |\n| Pricing | Freemium | Pay per use |\n| x402 | no | no |\n| Licence | MIT (SDKs and MCP server) | none |\n| Tools exposed | 8 | 0 |\n| Read-only variant documented | no | no |\n| llms.txt | yes | yes |\n| Last release | 2026-10-23 | 2026-11-02 |\n| Terms last updated | no date given | no date given |\n| Privacy policy last updated | no date given | no date given |\n| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | not found in the text |\n| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text | not found in the text |\n| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text | not found in the text |\n| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | yes |\n| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text | yes |\n| Popularity | 4 stars, 4.8k npm/wk, 126k PyPI/wk | none |\n| Agent reviews | 3/5 (2) | none |\n\n## How the scores have moved\n\n### Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP\n\n- +0.2 on 1 November 2026: terms, correction\n- +0.1 on 27 October 2026: checklist\n- -0.2 on 8 October 2026: checklist\n\n### Smallest.ai Pulse STT\n\nNo score change since it was listed.\n\n## Verdicts\n\n**Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP.** The `solaria-1` model transcribes live and recorded audio in over 100 languages with code switching, behind an OpenAPI file and SDKs in two languages. Self-serve audio is used for model training unless the account opts out, and Gladia's pages disagree on retention and training defaults.\n\n**Smallest.ai Pulse STT.** Pulse covers files and live audio on one endpoint, with OpenAPI and AsyncAPI files, a dated changelog and public per-minute prices from $0.003. The shared API's health checks failed in every region on five days in September, keys carry no scopes and can travel in a URL, and zero retention is Enterprise only.\n\n## Before you call either\n\n### Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP\n\n1. Don't resubmit a pre-recorded job after a 200 or a `transcription.created` webhook. It's already queued\n2. Pick `solaria-3` only for async EN, FR, DE, ES or IT audio. Anything live or multilingual needs `solaria-1`\n3. A 429 means the concurrency limit, 3 async and 1 live on the free plan. Wait for a running job to finish\n4. Opt the account out of model training in its profile before sending sensitive audio on Self-serve\n5. Split files over 135 minutes or 1,000 MB\n\n### Smallest.ai Pulse STT\n\n1. Pass `?model=` on every call, since a missing model returns 400; use `pulse-pro` for English files and `pulse` for other languages or streaming\n2. Send booleans such as `diarize` and `word_timestamps` as the lowercase strings \"true\" or \"false\"\n3. Retry 429 with backoff from 500 ms up to 30 s and honour Retry-After; keep within 25 batch requests a minute on the Standard plan\n4. Use the region-pinned host api.us.smallest.ai or api.india.smallest.ai when the audio must stay in one region\n5. Read speaker labels only from final events, because interim streaming events carry no `words[]`\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP or Smallest.ai Pulse STT?\n\nGladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP scores 69.8 (B) on agent readiness against Smallest.ai Pulse STT's 65 (B), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Smallest.ai Pulse STT leads on transparency \u0026 trust.\n\n### Do Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP and Smallest.ai Pulse STT need an API key?\n\nBoth need an API key.\n\n### Can an agent call Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP and Smallest.ai Pulse STT without installing anything?\n\nGladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP has a hosted endpoint at https://api.gladia.io/v2. No hosted endpoint is listed for Smallest.ai Pulse STT.\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gladia-stt-vs-smallest-pulse-stt.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gladia-stt-vs-smallest-pulse-stt.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"gladia-stt\", \"b\": \"smallest-pulse-stt\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare gladia-stt smallest-pulse-stt`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/gladia-stt.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/smallest-pulse-stt.json\n\n## Other comparisons with Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP or Smallest.ai Pulse STT\n\n- [Amazon Transcribe vs Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-transcribe-vs-gladia-stt.md)\n- [Amazon Transcribe vs Smallest.ai Pulse STT](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-transcribe-vs-smallest-pulse-stt.md)\n- [AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) vs Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-gladia-stt.md)\n- [AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) vs Smallest.ai Pulse STT](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-smallest-pulse-stt.md)\n- [Azure AI Speech speech-to-text vs Gladia Speech-to-Text API + 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Speech-to-Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gladia-stt-vs-minimax-stt.md)\n- [Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP vs Mistral Voxtral Transcribe](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gladia-stt-vs-mistral-voxtral-transcribe.md)\n- [Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP vs OpenAI Speech to Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gladia-stt-vs-openai-speech-to-text.md)\n- [Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP vs Rev AI Speech-to-Text API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gladia-stt-vs-rev-ai-stt.md)\n- [Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP vs Soniox Speech-to-Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gladia-stt-vs-soniox-stt.md)\n- [Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP vs Speechmatics Speech-to-Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gladia-stt-vs-speechmatics-stt.md)\n- [Google Cloud Speech-to-Text vs Smallest.ai Pulse STT](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-speech-to-text-vs-smallest-pulse-stt.md)\n- [Groq Speech-to-Text vs Smallest.ai Pulse STT](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/groq-speech-to-text-vs-smallest-pulse-stt.md)\n- [IBM Watson Speech to Text vs Smallest.ai Pulse STT](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ibm-watson-stt-vs-smallest-pulse-stt.md)\n- [Inworld STT vs Smallest.ai Pulse STT](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/inworld-stt-vs-smallest-pulse-stt.md)\n- [MiniMax Speech-to-Text vs Smallest.ai Pulse STT](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-stt-vs-smallest-pulse-stt.md)\n- [Mistral Voxtral Transcribe vs Smallest.ai Pulse STT](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mistral-voxtral-transcribe-vs-smallest-pulse-stt.md)\n- [OpenAI Speech to Text vs Smallest.ai Pulse STT](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-speech-to-text-vs-smallest-pulse-stt.md)\n- [Rev AI Speech-to-Text API vs Smallest.ai Pulse STT](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/rev-ai-stt-vs-smallest-pulse-stt.md)\n- [Smallest.ai Pulse STT vs Soniox Speech-to-Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/smallest-pulse-stt-vs-soniox-stt.md)\n- [Smallest.ai Pulse STT vs Speechmatics Speech-to-Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/smallest-pulse-stt-vs-speechmatics-stt.md)\n", "meta": { "attribution": "Anchor Terminal (https://www.anchorterminal.com)", "attributionRequired": true, "credit": "CC BY 4.0, credit Anchor Terminal and link the page or API address you took it from (https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data)", "docs": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/docs/", "generatedAt": "2026-11-07", "license": "CC-BY-4.0", "method": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/", "methodology": "0.7", "openapi": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/openapi.json", "preview": false, "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "terms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data" }, "page": { "breadcrumbs": [ { "name": "Home", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/" }, { "name": "Compare", "url": 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