{ "data": { "a": { "slug": "ibm-watson-stt", "name": "IBM Watson Speech to Text", "vendor": "IBM", "vendorUrl": "https://www.ibm.com/products/speech-to-text", "kind": "model", "category": "speech-to-text", "summary": "IBM Watson Speech to Text transcribes audio over synchronous and asynchronous HTTP and a WebSocket interface on IBM Cloud, with large speech models, next-generation models, custom language and acoustic models, speaker labels and language identification.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/ibm-watson-stt", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/ibm-watson-stt.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/ibm-watson-stt.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/ibm-watson-stt.json", "dns": "ibm-watson-stt.grade.anchorterminal.com", "transports": [ "http", "websocket" ], "packages": [ { "registry": "pypi", "name": "ibm-watson" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "ibm-watson" } ], "auth": "api-key", "authNotes": "An IBM Cloud IAM API key per service instance, exchanged for a bearer token or sent with Basic auth as `apikey:\u003ckey\u003e`. Service credentials carry IAM roles. The WebSocket interface takes the IAM token as an `access_token` query parameter.", "pricing": "freemium", "pricingNotes": "Lite plan free for 500 minutes a month, deleted after 30 days of inactivity. Plus plan $0.02 a minute up to 999,999 minutes a month and $0.01 above, with up to 100 concurrent requests. Premium by quote.", "priceSummary": "Freemium", "where": "local", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the docs or API reference (checked 2026-11-06). Billing runs through an IBM Cloud account.", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": 0, "popularity": { "githubStars": null, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-11-06" }, "docsUrl": "https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/speech-to-text", "capabilities": [ "speech.stt", "speech.streaming", "speech.batch", "speech.diarisation", "speech.languages" ], "tags": [ "hosted", "freemium", "closed-source", "python", "typescript", "enterprise", "streaming", "batch", "async-jobs", "webhooks" ], "lastRelease": "2026-06-29", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 54.5, "grade": "C", "agentReady": false, "rank": 904, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 1486, "categoryRank": 18, "methodology": "0.7", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 66, "maintenance": 33, "payments": 40, "reliability": 40, "schema": 55, "security": 68, "transparency": 80 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-11-06" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "Watson STT covers sync, async and WebSocket transcription in ten locations, with custom models, $0.02 a minute on Plus and 500 free minutes. There is no machine-readable spec or readable status history, requests are logged for improvement unless opted out, the WebSocket token goes in the URL, and the last release note is from June 2026.", "bestFor": "Enterprises on IBM Cloud needing custom acoustic models, HIPAA on Premium and many locations.", "strengths": [ "Sync, async with callbacks and WebSocket streaming on one service", "500 free minutes a month on Lite and $0.02 a minute on Plus", "Custom language and acoustic models on paid plans", "Dated deprecation of previous-generation models with over a year of notice", "`DELETE /v1/user_data` removes data by customer ID" ], "weaknesses": [ "No public OpenAPI file or llms.txt", "The WebSocket interface takes the IAM token as a URL query parameter", "Requests are logged by default to improve the service unless the account or request opts out", "The status page is drawn by script and no SLA was read", "No release note since 29 June 2026" ], "agentNotes": [ "Send `X-Watson-Learning-Opt-Out: true` or opt out at account level before sending sensitive audio", "Use the async `/v1/recognitions` interface with a callback for files over 100 MB, up to 1 GB", "Pass a large speech or next-generation model name in `model`, since previous-generation models were removed", "Tag requests with `X-Watson-Metadata: customer_id=...` so the data can be deleted later", "Keep within 100 concurrent requests on Plus across HTTP and WebSocket" ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "C", "methodology": "0.7", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 54.5 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 66, "maintenance": 33, "payments": 40, "reliability": 40, "schema": 55, "security": 68, "transparency": 65 }, "provenanceScore": 94, "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 ibm-watson" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/speech.stt", "tool": "https://letme.dev/ibm-watson-stt" }, "sameCompany": [ "granite-embedding-small-english-r2", "granite-guardian", "granite-switch", "granite-4-2-3b" ], "area": "voice", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "Plus plan, first 999,999 minutes a month", "unit": "audio-minute", "usd": 0.02 }, { "item": "Plus plan, from 1,000,000 minutes a month", "unit": "audio-minute", "usd": 0.01 } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "International Business Machines Corporation", "domain": "ibm.com", "domainRegistered": "1986-03-19", "domainNote": "The endpoints are on watson.cloud.ibm.com, under ibm.com.", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/overview?topic=overview-terms", "privacy": "https://www.ibm.com/privacy", "statusPage": "https://cloud.ibm.com/status", "changelog": "https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/speech-to-text?topic=speech-to-text-release-notes", "securityTxt": "valid", "checked": "2026-11-06", "notes": [ "cloud.ibm.com/robots.txt disallows only /docs/search?q= and sets Content-Signal ai-train=yes, search=yes, ai-input=yes.", "www.ibm.com/.well-known/security.txt names IBM PSIRT, HackerOne and psirt@us.ibm.com and expires on 6 December 2026.", "cloud.ibm.com/status returns a page drawn by script, so its incident history wasn't read.", "The IBM Cloud terms page was found but its text wasn't read, so no clause is quoted.", "RDAP gives ibm.com a registration date of 19 March 1986." ], "score": 94 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/ibm-watson-stt.json", "live": { "slug": "ibm-watson-stt", "vendorStatus": { "page": "https://cloud.ibm.com/status", "indicator": "unknown", "summary": "no machine-readable status found", "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T04:47:55.897466786Z" }, "versions": [ { "registry": "npm", "name": "ibm-watson", "version": "12.2.0", "seenAt": "2026-11-06T23:34:06.712780272Z" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "ibm-watson", "version": "11.2.0", "released": "2026-01-26", "seenAt": "2026-11-06T23:34:06.544738844Z" } ], "npmWeekly": 12367, "pypiWeekly": 10209, "securityTxt": { "url": "https://ibm.com/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "valid", "expires": "2026-12-07T00:00:00+00:00", "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T16:00:08.596796331Z" }, "pages": [ { "url": "https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/speech-to-text?topic=speech-to-text-release-notes", "kind": "changelog", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T14:01:17.694727718Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "8dcf87213e78" }, { "url": "https://www.ibm.com/privacy", "kind": "privacy", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T14:30:01.132495816Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "cf480cd7bcca" }, { "url": "https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/overview?topic=overview-terms", "kind": "terms", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T14:01:13.338724324Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "a0514cb0ed80" } ], "updatedAt": "2026-11-07T16:00:08.596796331Z" } }, "answer": "IBM Watson Speech to Text scores 54.5 (C) on agent readiness against MiniMax Speech-to-Text's 48.4 (D), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. MiniMax Speech-to-Text leads on reliability and schema \u0026 documentation.", "b": { "slug": "minimax-stt", "name": "MiniMax Speech-to-Text", "vendor": "MiniMax", "vendorUrl": "https://www.minimax.io", "kind": "model", "category": "speech-to-text", "summary": "MiniMax's speech-to-text API transcribes audio files of up to 500 seconds with its `asr-1.0` model in 20 languages, with optional streamed text output, speaker diarisation, segment timestamps and SRT or VTT subtitles.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/minimax-stt", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/minimax-stt.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/minimax-stt.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/minimax-stt.json", "dns": "minimax-stt.grade.anchorterminal.com", "transports": [ "http" ], "packages": [], "auth": "api-key", "authNotes": "Bearer API key created in the platform console under Account, API Keys. No scopes were found in the docs. Mainland China accounts use `https://api.minimaxi.com`.", "pricing": "usage", "pricingNotes": "$0.38 an hour of audio, pay as you go from a prepaid balance or through an M Plan subscription. Speech to text is for paid accounts only, with no free allowance.", "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). An empty balance returns 402 insufficient_balance_error with no payment requirements.", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": 0, "popularity": { "githubStars": null, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-11-06" }, "docsUrl": "https://platform.minimax.io/docs/guides/speech-to-text", "llmsTxt": "https://platform.minimax.io/docs/llms.txt", "openapi": "https://platform.minimax.io/docs/api-reference/speech/speech-to-text/api/openapi.json", "capabilities": [ "speech.stt", "speech.diarisation", "speech.languages" ], "tags": [ "official", "hosted", "usage-priced", "prepaid", "openapi", "llms-txt", "status-page" ], "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 48.4, "grade": "D", "agentReady": false, "rank": 1114, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 1486, "categoryRank": 19, "methodology": "0.7", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 70, "maintenance": 6, "payments": 20, "reliability": 47, "schema": 82, "security": 33, "transparency": 63 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-11-06" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "MiniMax's ASR API has an OpenAPI file, typed error envelopes and a public price of $0.38 an hour, with diarisation and subtitle output. It takes files of up to 500 seconds only, allows 2 concurrent connections, has no free tier or status component, and no dated release.", "bestFor": "Cheap file transcription with diarisation and subtitles, strongest on Chinese and code-switched audio by the vendor's account.", "strengths": [ "OpenAPI 3.1 file with eight documented responses, and an error table with HTTP status, type and trigger", "$0.38 an hour of audio, published without a login", "Speaker diarisation, segment timestamps and SRT or VTT output from one call", "Automatic language detection with Chinese-English code-switching across 20 languages" ], "weaknesses": [ "Files only, up to 500 seconds and 50 MB; live audio input isn't supported", "2 concurrent connections and paid accounts only, with no free allowance", "No status page component and no dated release of `asr-1.0`", "Terms let MiniMax use inputs to improve its services, and no retention period for audio was found" ], "agentNotes": [ "Split recordings into pieces under 500 seconds before uploading, since longer audio returns 400", "Convert to mono 16 kHz or a compressed format to stay under 50 MB", "Use `verbose_json` for speakers and timestamps, and `json` only when streaming", "Treat 402 `insufficient_balance_error` as final and ask the user to top up", "Use `https://api.minimaxi.com` for a mainland China account" ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "D", "methodology": "0.7", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 48.4 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 70, "maintenance": 6, "payments": 20, "reliability": 47, "schema": 82, "security": 33, "transparency": 43 }, "provenanceScore": 82, "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": { "http": "curl -X POST https://api.minimax.io/v1/speech_to_text \\\n -H \"Authorization: Bearer $MINIMAX_API_KEY\" \\\n -F model=asr-1.0 -F file=@meeting.mp3 -F response_format=verbose_json" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/speech.stt", "tool": "https://letme.dev/minimax-stt" }, "sameCompany": [ "minimax-api", "minimax-video", "minimax-speech", "minimax-voice-cloning", "minimax-code", "minimax-m2-5", "minimax-m2-7", "minimax-m3-1-flash" ], "area": "voice", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "asr-1.0", "unit": "audio-minute", "usd": 0.00633, "note": "$0.38 an hour, paid accounts only" } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Nanonoble Pte. Ltd.", "domain": "minimax.io", "domainRegistered": "2021-03-27", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://platform.minimax.io/protocol/terms-of-service", "privacy": "https://platform.minimax.io/protocol/privacy-policy", "statusPage": "https://status.minimax.io", "changelog": "https://platform.minimax.io/docs/release-notes/apis", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-11-06", "notes": [ "Nanonoble Pte. Ltd., 152 Beach Road, #14-02 Gateway East, Singapore, is named in the terms (effective 30 March 2026) and the privacy policy (updated 30 March 2026), read on 4 November 2026 from the document text the pages carry for the browser, as on the minimax-api listing. The 8 October reader recorded both pages as unreadable.", "RDAP for minimax.io gives a registration date of 2021-03-27 and a transfer on 2025-01-31, as recorded on 8 October.", "platform.minimax.io/.well-known/security.txt returns 404 (per the 8 October check), and www.minimax.io/.well-known/security.txt redirects to the home page.", "The API release notes page has no entry after 28 October 2025 on 4 November. Model releases are dated on a separate page, whose newest speech model is Speech 2.8 (23 January 2026).", "status.minimax.io/robots.txt disallows /api/, so incidents were read from the /history pages only.", "firstReleased and lastRelease are left empty, since no dated release of `asr-1.0` was found." ], "score": 82 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/minimax-stt.json", "live": { "slug": "minimax-stt", "vendorStatus": { "page": "https://status.minimax.io", "indicator": "none", "summary": "All Systems Operational", "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T18:21:22.959559855Z" }, "securityTxt": { "url": "https://minimax.io/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "none", "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T16:00:57.120551174Z" }, "llmsTxt": { "url": "https://platform.minimax.io/docs/llms.txt", "ok": true, "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T15:33:06.549207563Z" }, "updatedAt": "2026-11-07T18:21:22.959559855Z" } }, "edges": [ { "by": 35, "category": "security", "leads": "ibm-watson-stt", "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "reasons": { "a": "Model reading of the checklist, with training and retention in place of the least-privilege and injection lines. IAM API keys per instance with Reader, Writer and Manager roles and short-lived bearer tokens (30). The WebSocket interface takes the token as an `access_token` query parameter, so 10 off (20 of 30). Request and response data are logged by default to improve the service, and any account can opt out per account or per request (10 of 20). Async results expire after a week by default (`results_ttl` shortens it), a delete method exists, and `DELETE /v1/user_data` removes data by customer ID (10 of 15). Activity Tracker events record changes to the service's state (10 of 15). Valid security.txt to 6 December 2026, PSIRT and HackerOne, HIPAA readiness on Premium. Certifications weren't read (18 of 20). Total 68.", "b": "Model reading of the checklist, with training and retention in place of the least-privilege and injection lines. Plain API keys from the console with no scopes found, and the docs say publicly leaked keys may be disabled, as on minimax-voice-cloning (20 of 30). The terms (effective 30 March 2026), as read for minimax-voice-cloning on 4 November, let MiniMax use input and generated content to operate, maintain, develop and improve its services, with no opt-out found, and the privacy policy rules out only training to profile or target consumers (5 of 20). No retention period for uploaded audio or transcripts was found (3 of 15). Each response carries a trace ID, with no audit log found (5 of 15). No security.txt, disclosure policy, bug bounty or certification found, as on the other MiniMax listings (0 of 20). Total 33." }, "scores": { "a": 68, "b": 33 } }, { "by": 27, "category": "schema", "leads": "minimax-stt", "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "reasons": { "a": "No public OpenAPI or other machine-readable definition was found (0). No llms.txt (0). The reference says which parameters each model family supports and the docs cover each feature (15 of 20). Typed parameters with defaults, ranges and enums (13 of 15). curl and SDK examples on every method, and errors with `error`, `code`, `code_description` and `warnings`, with invalid arguments reported as warnings (12 of 15). Versioned `/v1` paths and dated release notes back to 2015 (15). Total 55.", "b": "OpenAPI 3.1 for `/v1/speech_to_text`, with eight documented responses (25). llms.txt and a Markdown copy of every page (10). The guide says when to stream, when to use `verbose_json`, and that subtitles and diarisation can't be combined with streaming (15 of 20). Typed multipart fields with an enum for `response_format`, and file limits stated in prose (12 of 15). Python examples and an error table giving HTTP status, `error.type` and trigger for 400, 401, 402, 413, 422, 429 and 500 (15). Versioned `/v1` path, but neither release notes page mentions the ASR API, and the API notes stop at 28 October 2025 (5 of 15). Total 82." }, "scores": { "a": 55, "b": 82 } }, { "by": 27, "category": "maintenance", "leads": "ibm-watson-stt", "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "reasons": { "a": "Read as a model. The newest release note is 29 June 2026 (`parameter_set` for large speech models), 130 days ago (10). No dated entries in the 90 days from 8 August (0). Release notes, IBM support and a public docs repository last changed 30 June 2026 (8 of 15). Official SDKs, `ibm-watson` 11.2.0 on PyPI (26 January 2026) and 12.2.0 on npm (January 2026) (10 of 15). CI not read (5 of 10). Total 33.", "b": "Read as a model. No dated release or change of `asr-1.0` was found on the model or API release notes or the status page (0). No dated ASR entries in the last 90 days (0). Support by email and Discord, not tested (6 of 15). No official SDK, and the MCP servers have no transcription tool (0 of 15). No package to judge (0 of 10). Total 6." }, "scores": { "a": 33, "b": 6 } }, { "by": 20, "category": "payments", "leads": "ibm-watson-stt", "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "reasons": { "a": "No x402, MPP or L402 (0). Per-minute Plus prices published in the docs without a login (20). The Lite plan gives 500 free minutes a month, and no page read says a card is needed (20). A person creates an IBM Cloud account and service instance in a browser (0). Total 40.", "b": "No x402, MPP or L402 (0). $0.38 an hour published without a login (20). Speech to text is for paid accounts only (0). A person signs up in a browser and funds a balance (0). Total 20." }, "scores": { "a": 40, "b": 20 } }, { "by": 17, "category": "transparency", "leads": "ibm-watson-stt", "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "reasons": { "a": "Closed service under the IBM Cloud terms (15). The data security page states default logging for improvement with an opt-out, async retention, GDPR deletion by customer ID and plan-level separation, and they agree with each other. The DPA wasn't read (20 of 30). Previous-generation models carried a dated deprecation of 15 March 2022 and removal on 31 July 2023, and release notes say changes are compatible unless noted (18 of 20). Ten locations are named, with sub-processors not read (12 of 20). Total 65.", "b": "Closed API with clear terms under Singapore law naming Nanonoble Pte. Ltd., as on the other MiniMax listings (15 of 30). The terms and privacy policy agree that inputs may be used to improve services and that data sits in a United States data centre, with no retention period for audio (8 of 30). No deprecation notice or policy touches the ASR API (10 of 20, for the dated notices elsewhere on the API release notes). Data location stated as the United States and an EU representative named, with third parties only by category (10 of 20). Total 43." }, "scores": { "a": 80, "b": 63 } }, { "by": 7, "category": "reliability", "leads": "minimax-stt", "name": "Reliability", "reasons": { "a": "IBM Cloud has a status page at cloud.ibm.com/status, but it is drawn by script and showed no components or history to our reader, read as gemini-live's script-shell page was (10 of 20, and 5 for no readable history). Plus allows up to 100 concurrent transcription requests across WebSocket and HTTP (15). No 429 or backoff guidance was found in the API reference or the docs repository (0). No SLA was read for the service (0, unchecked). Next-generation and large speech models are GA, language by language (10). 10 + 5 + 15 + 0 + 0 + 10 = 40.", "b": "Atlassian Statuspage at status.minimax.io with component history, but its components are LLM, Text-to-Speech and Video Generation, with none for speech to text (10 of 20). With no component, the history holds no record for transcription (5). Limits published with numbers, 2 concurrent connections and 30,000 audio seconds a minute (15). 429 is documented as `rate_limit_error`, and the general error code page says to retry later, with no backoff figures or Retry-After (7 of 15). No SLA in the terms or docs (0). `asr-1.0` is called the current public model with no beta label (10). 10 + 5 + 15 + 7 + 0 + 10 = 47." }, "scores": { "a": 40, "b": 47 } } ], "facts": [ { "a": "Model API", "b": "Model API", "name": "Kind" }, { "a": "IBM", "b": "MiniMax", "name": "Vendor" }, { "a": "no (local only)", "b": "no (local only)", "name": "Hosted endpoint" }, { "a": "HTTP, websocket", "b": "HTTP", "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": "0", "b": "0", "name": "Tools exposed" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "Read-only variant documented" }, { "a": "no", "b": "yes", "name": "llms.txt" }, { "a": "2026-06-29", "b": "none", "name": "Last release" }, { "a": "no date given", "b": "couldn't be read", "name": "Terms last updated" }, { "a": "2026-08-25", "b": "couldn't be read", "name": "Privacy policy last updated" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "couldn't be read", "name": "Customer content may train models" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "couldn't be read", "name": "Terms restrict automated access" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "couldn't be read", "name": "Terms restrict benchmarking" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "couldn't be read", "name": "Terms or service can change without notice" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "couldn't be read", "name": "Arbitration or class-action waiver" } ], "faq": [ { "answer": "IBM Watson Speech to Text scores 54.5 (C) on agent readiness against MiniMax Speech-to-Text's 48.4 (D), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. MiniMax Speech-to-Text leads on reliability and schema \u0026 documentation.", "question": "Which is better for AI agents, IBM Watson Speech to Text or MiniMax Speech-to-Text?" }, { "answer": "Both need an API key.", "question": "Do IBM Watson Speech to Text and MiniMax Speech-to-Text need an API key?" }, { "answer": "No hosted endpoint is listed for IBM Watson Speech to Text. No hosted endpoint is listed for MiniMax Speech-to-Text.", "question": "Can an agent call IBM Watson Speech to Text and MiniMax Speech-to-Text without installing anything?" } ], "goodFor": [ { "aheadOn": [ "Security \u0026 auth, 68 against 33", "Payments \u0026 pricing, 40 against 20", "Maintenance \u0026 community, 33 against 6", "Transparency \u0026 trust, 80 against 63" ], "also": null, "goodFor": "Enterprises on IBM Cloud needing custom acoustic models, HIPAA on Premium and many locations.", "slug": "ibm-watson-stt", "watchFor": "No public OpenAPI file or llms.txt" }, { "aheadOn": [ "Reliability, 47 against 40", "Schema \u0026 documentation, 82 against 55" ], "also": null, "goodFor": "Cheap file transcription with diarisation and subtitles, strongest on Chinese and code-switched audio by the vendor's account.", "slug": "minimax-stt", "watchFor": "Files only, up to 500 seconds and 50 MB; live audio input isn't supported" } ], "history": null, "job": { "capability": "speech.stt", "name": "Speech-to-text" }, "others": [ { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-transcribe-vs-ibm-watson-stt.json", "title": "Amazon Transcribe vs IBM Watson Speech to Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-transcribe-vs-ibm-watson-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-transcribe-vs-minimax-stt.json", "title": "Amazon Transcribe vs MiniMax Speech-to-Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-transcribe-vs-minimax-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-ibm-watson-stt.json", "title": "AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) vs IBM Watson Speech to Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-ibm-watson-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-minimax-stt.json", "title": "AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) vs MiniMax Speech-to-Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-minimax-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-speech-to-text-vs-ibm-watson-stt.json", "title": "Azure AI Speech speech-to-text vs IBM Watson Speech to Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-speech-to-text-vs-ibm-watson-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-speech-to-text-vs-minimax-stt.json", "title": "Azure AI Speech speech-to-text vs MiniMax Speech-to-Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-speech-to-text-vs-minimax-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cartesia-ink-stt-vs-ibm-watson-stt.json", "title": "Cartesia Ink vs IBM Watson Speech to Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cartesia-ink-stt-vs-ibm-watson-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cartesia-ink-stt-vs-minimax-stt.json", "title": "Cartesia Ink vs MiniMax Speech-to-Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cartesia-ink-stt-vs-minimax-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepgram-stt-vs-ibm-watson-stt.json", "title": "Deepgram Speech-to-Text (Nova-3, Flux) vs IBM Watson Speech to Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepgram-stt-vs-ibm-watson-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepgram-stt-vs-minimax-stt.json", "title": "Deepgram Speech-to-Text (Nova-3, Flux) vs MiniMax Speech-to-Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepgram-stt-vs-minimax-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-scribe-vs-ibm-watson-stt.json", "title": "ElevenLabs Scribe Speech to Text API vs IBM Watson Speech to Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-scribe-vs-ibm-watson-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-scribe-vs-minimax-stt.json", "title": "ElevenLabs Scribe Speech to Text API vs MiniMax Speech-to-Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-scribe-vs-minimax-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/giggy-stt-vs-ibm-watson-stt.json", "title": "Giggy Speech to Text vs IBM Watson Speech to Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/giggy-stt-vs-ibm-watson-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/giggy-stt-vs-minimax-stt.json", "title": "Giggy Speech to Text vs MiniMax Speech-to-Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/giggy-stt-vs-minimax-stt" }, { "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-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/google-speech-to-text-vs-ibm-watson-stt.json", "title": "Google Cloud Speech-to-Text vs IBM Watson Speech to Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-speech-to-text-vs-ibm-watson-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-speech-to-text-vs-minimax-stt.json", "title": "Google Cloud Speech-to-Text vs MiniMax Speech-to-Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-speech-to-text-vs-minimax-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/groq-speech-to-text-vs-ibm-watson-stt.json", "title": "Groq Speech-to-Text vs IBM Watson Speech to Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/groq-speech-to-text-vs-ibm-watson-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/groq-speech-to-text-vs-minimax-stt.json", "title": "Groq Speech-to-Text vs MiniMax Speech-to-Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/groq-speech-to-text-vs-minimax-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ibm-watson-stt-vs-inworld-stt.json", "title": "IBM Watson Speech to Text vs Inworld STT", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ibm-watson-stt-vs-inworld-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ibm-watson-stt-vs-mistral-voxtral-transcribe.json", "title": "IBM Watson Speech to Text vs Mistral Voxtral Transcribe", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ibm-watson-stt-vs-mistral-voxtral-transcribe" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ibm-watson-stt-vs-openai-speech-to-text.json", "title": "IBM Watson Speech to Text vs OpenAI Speech to Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ibm-watson-stt-vs-openai-speech-to-text" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ibm-watson-stt-vs-rev-ai-stt.json", "title": "IBM Watson Speech to Text vs Rev AI Speech-to-Text API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ibm-watson-stt-vs-rev-ai-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/ibm-watson-stt-vs-soniox-stt.json", "title": "IBM Watson Speech to Text vs Soniox Speech-to-Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ibm-watson-stt-vs-soniox-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ibm-watson-stt-vs-speechmatics-stt.json", "title": "IBM Watson Speech to Text vs Speechmatics Speech-to-Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ibm-watson-stt-vs-speechmatics-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/inworld-stt-vs-minimax-stt.json", "title": "Inworld STT vs MiniMax Speech-to-Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/inworld-stt-vs-minimax-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-stt-vs-mistral-voxtral-transcribe.json", "title": "MiniMax Speech-to-Text vs Mistral Voxtral Transcribe", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-stt-vs-mistral-voxtral-transcribe" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-stt-vs-openai-speech-to-text.json", "title": "MiniMax Speech-to-Text vs OpenAI Speech to Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-stt-vs-openai-speech-to-text" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-stt-vs-rev-ai-stt.json", "title": "MiniMax Speech-to-Text vs Rev AI Speech-to-Text API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-stt-vs-rev-ai-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/minimax-stt-vs-soniox-stt.json", "title": "MiniMax Speech-to-Text vs Soniox Speech-to-Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-stt-vs-soniox-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-stt-vs-speechmatics-stt.json", "title": "MiniMax Speech-to-Text vs Speechmatics Speech-to-Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-stt-vs-speechmatics-stt" } ], "panel": null, "scores": [ { "by": 7, "edge": "minimax-stt", "ibm-watson-stt": 40, "key": "reliability", "minimax-stt": 47, "name": "Reliability", "weight": 16 }, { "key": "performance", "name": "Performance", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 27, "edge": "minimax-stt", "ibm-watson-stt": 55, "key": "schema", "minimax-stt": 82, "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "weight": 13 }, { "by": 4, "edge": "minimax-stt", "ibm-watson-stt": 66, "key": "ergonomics", "minimax-stt": 70, "name": "Agent ergonomics", "weight": 13 }, { "by": 35, "edge": "ibm-watson-stt", "ibm-watson-stt": 68, "key": "security", "minimax-stt": 33, "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "weight": 14 }, { "by": 20, "edge": "ibm-watson-stt", "ibm-watson-stt": 40, "key": "payments", "minimax-stt": 20, "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "weight": 10 }, { "key": "tasks", "name": "Task success", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 27, "edge": "ibm-watson-stt", "ibm-watson-stt": 33, "key": "maintenance", "minimax-stt": 6, "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "weight": 7 }, { "by": 17, "edge": "ibm-watson-stt", "ibm-watson-stt": 80, "key": "transparency", "minimax-stt": 63, "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "weight": 7 } ], "summary": "IBM Watson Speech to Text scores 54.5 (C) on agent readiness against MiniMax Speech-to-Text's 48.4 (D), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. MiniMax Speech-to-Text leads on reliability and schema \u0026 documentation. Both do speech-to-text.", "tasks": [ { "a": "$0.60 to $1.20", "b": "$0.38", "cheaper": "minimax-stt", "task": "Transcribe a one-hour meeting", "what": "60 minutes of recorded audio" } ], "tutorials": [], "verdicts": { "ibm-watson-stt": "Watson STT covers sync, async and WebSocket transcription in ten locations, with custom models, $0.02 a minute on Plus and 500 free minutes. There is no machine-readable spec or readable status history, requests are logged for improvement unless opted out, the WebSocket token goes in the URL, and the last release note is from June 2026.", "minimax-stt": "MiniMax's ASR API has an OpenAPI file, typed error envelopes and a public price of $0.38 an hour, with diarisation and subtitle output. It takes files of up to 500 seconds only, allows 2 concurrent connections, has no free tier or status component, and no dated release." } }, "kind": "anchor.page", "links": { "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json", "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ibm-watson-stt-vs-minimax-stt", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ibm-watson-stt-vs-minimax-stt.json", "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt", "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ibm-watson-stt-vs-minimax-stt.md", "mcp": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp", "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ibm-watson-stt-vs-minimax-stt.min.md" }, "markdown": "IBM Watson Speech to Text scores 54.5 (C) on agent readiness against MiniMax Speech-to-Text's 48.4 (D), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. MiniMax Speech-to-Text leads on reliability and schema \u0026 documentation. Both do speech-to-text.\n\n- IBM Watson Speech to Text: grade C, 54.5/100, rank #904 of 1486. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/ibm-watson-stt.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/ibm-watson-stt.json\n- MiniMax Speech-to-Text: grade D, 48.4/100, rank #1114 of 1486. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/minimax-stt.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/minimax-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### IBM Watson Speech to Text (C)\n\nGood for: Enterprises on IBM Cloud needing custom acoustic models, HIPAA on Premium and many locations.\n\nAhead on:\n- Security \u0026 auth, 68 against 33\n- Payments \u0026 pricing, 40 against 20\n- Maintenance \u0026 community, 33 against 6\n- Transparency \u0026 trust, 80 against 63\n\nWatch for: No public OpenAPI file or llms.txt\n\n### MiniMax Speech-to-Text (D)\n\nGood for: Cheap file transcription with diarisation and subtitles, strongest on Chinese and code-switched audio by the vendor's account.\n\nAhead on:\n- Reliability, 47 against 40\n- Schema \u0026 documentation, 82 against 55\n\nWatch for: Files only, up to 500 seconds and 50 MB; live audio input isn't supported\n\n\n## Why the edge\n\n### Security \u0026 auth: IBM Watson Speech to Text +35\n\n- IBM Watson Speech to Text (68): Model reading of the checklist, with training and retention in place of the least-privilege and injection lines. IAM API keys per instance with Reader, Writer and Manager roles and short-lived bearer tokens (30). The WebSocket interface takes the token as an `access_token` query parameter, so 10 off (20 of 30). Request and response data are logged by default to improve the service, and any account can opt out per account or per request (10 of 20). Async results expire after a week by default (`results_ttl` shortens it), a delete method exists, and `DELETE /v1/user_data` removes data by customer ID (10 of 15). Activity Tracker events record changes to the service's state (10 of 15). Valid security.txt to 6 December 2026, PSIRT and HackerOne, HIPAA readiness on Premium. Certifications weren't read (18 of 20). Total 68.\n- MiniMax Speech-to-Text (33): Model reading of the checklist, with training and retention in place of the least-privilege and injection lines. Plain API keys from the console with no scopes found, and the docs say publicly leaked keys may be disabled, as on minimax-voice-cloning (20 of 30). The terms (effective 30 March 2026), as read for minimax-voice-cloning on 4 November, let MiniMax use input and generated content to operate, maintain, develop and improve its services, with no opt-out found, and the privacy policy rules out only training to profile or target consumers (5 of 20). No retention period for uploaded audio or transcripts was found (3 of 15). Each response carries a trace ID, with no audit log found (5 of 15). No security.txt, disclosure policy, bug bounty or certification found, as on the other MiniMax listings (0 of 20). Total 33.\n\n### Schema \u0026 documentation: MiniMax Speech-to-Text +27\n\n- IBM Watson Speech to Text (55): No public OpenAPI or other machine-readable definition was found (0). No llms.txt (0). The reference says which parameters each model family supports and the docs cover each feature (15 of 20). Typed parameters with defaults, ranges and enums (13 of 15). curl and SDK examples on every method, and errors with `error`, `code`, `code_description` and `warnings`, with invalid arguments reported as warnings (12 of 15). Versioned `/v1` paths and dated release notes back to 2015 (15). Total 55.\n- MiniMax Speech-to-Text (82): OpenAPI 3.1 for `/v1/speech_to_text`, with eight documented responses (25). llms.txt and a Markdown copy of every page (10). The guide says when to stream, when to use `verbose_json`, and that subtitles and diarisation can't be combined with streaming (15 of 20). Typed multipart fields with an enum for `response_format`, and file limits stated in prose (12 of 15). Python examples and an error table giving HTTP status, `error.type` and trigger for 400, 401, 402, 413, 422, 429 and 500 (15). Versioned `/v1` path, but neither release notes page mentions the ASR API, and the API notes stop at 28 October 2025 (5 of 15). Total 82.\n\n### Maintenance \u0026 community: IBM Watson Speech to Text +27\n\n- IBM Watson Speech to Text (33): Read as a model. The newest release note is 29 June 2026 (`parameter_set` for large speech models), 130 days ago (10). No dated entries in the 90 days from 8 August (0). Release notes, IBM support and a public docs repository last changed 30 June 2026 (8 of 15). Official SDKs, `ibm-watson` 11.2.0 on PyPI (26 January 2026) and 12.2.0 on npm (January 2026) (10 of 15). CI not read (5 of 10). Total 33.\n- MiniMax Speech-to-Text (6): Read as a model. No dated release or change of `asr-1.0` was found on the model or API release notes or the status page (0). No dated ASR entries in the last 90 days (0). Support by email and Discord, not tested (6 of 15). No official SDK, and the MCP servers have no transcription tool (0 of 15). No package to judge (0 of 10). Total 6.\n\n### Payments \u0026 pricing: IBM Watson Speech to Text +20\n\n- IBM Watson Speech to Text (40): No x402, MPP or L402 (0). Per-minute Plus prices published in the docs without a login (20). The Lite plan gives 500 free minutes a month, and no page read says a card is needed (20). A person creates an IBM Cloud account and service instance in a browser (0). Total 40.\n- MiniMax Speech-to-Text (20): No x402, MPP or L402 (0). $0.38 an hour published without a login (20). Speech to text is for paid accounts only (0). A person signs up in a browser and funds a balance (0). Total 20.\n\n### Transparency \u0026 trust: IBM Watson Speech to Text +17\n\n- IBM Watson Speech to Text (80): Closed service under the IBM Cloud terms (15). The data security page states default logging for improvement with an opt-out, async retention, GDPR deletion by customer ID and plan-level separation, and they agree with each other. The DPA wasn't read (20 of 30). Previous-generation models carried a dated deprecation of 15 March 2022 and removal on 31 July 2023, and release notes say changes are compatible unless noted (18 of 20). Ten locations are named, with sub-processors not read (12 of 20). Total 65.\n- MiniMax Speech-to-Text (63): Closed API with clear terms under Singapore law naming Nanonoble Pte. Ltd., as on the other MiniMax listings (15 of 30). The terms and privacy policy agree that inputs may be used to improve services and that data sits in a United States data centre, with no retention period for audio (8 of 30). No deprecation notice or policy touches the ASR API (10 of 20, for the dated notices elsewhere on the API release notes). Data location stated as the United States and an EU representative named, with third parties only by category (10 of 20). Total 43.\n\n### Reliability: MiniMax Speech-to-Text +7\n\n- IBM Watson Speech to Text (40): IBM Cloud has a status page at cloud.ibm.com/status, but it is drawn by script and showed no components or history to our reader, read as gemini-live's script-shell page was (10 of 20, and 5 for no readable history). Plus allows up to 100 concurrent transcription requests across WebSocket and HTTP (15). No 429 or backoff guidance was found in the API reference or the docs repository (0). No SLA was read for the service (0, unchecked). Next-generation and large speech models are GA, language by language (10). 10 + 5 + 15 + 0 + 0 + 10 = 40.\n- MiniMax Speech-to-Text (47): Atlassian Statuspage at status.minimax.io with component history, but its components are LLM, Text-to-Speech and Video Generation, with none for speech to text (10 of 20). With no component, the history holds no record for transcription (5). Limits published with numbers, 2 concurrent connections and 30,000 audio seconds a minute (15). 429 is documented as `rate_limit_error`, and the general error code page says to retry later, with no backoff figures or Retry-After (7 of 15). No SLA in the terms or docs (0). `asr-1.0` is called the current public model with no beta label (10). 10 + 5 + 15 + 7 + 0 + 10 = 47.\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | IBM Watson Speech to Text | MiniMax Speech-to-Text | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 40 | 47 | MiniMax Speech-to-Text +7 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 55 | 82 | MiniMax Speech-to-Text +27 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 66 | 70 | MiniMax Speech-to-Text +4 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 68 | 33 | IBM Watson Speech to Text +35 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 40 | 20 | IBM Watson Speech to Text +20 |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 33 | 6 | IBM Watson Speech to Text +27 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 80 | 63 | IBM Watson Speech to Text +17 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |\n| **Total** | | **54.5 · C** | **48.4 · D** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | IBM Watson Speech to Text | MiniMax Speech-to-Text |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | Model API | Model API |\n| Vendor | IBM | MiniMax |\n| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |\n| Transports | HTTP, websocket | HTTP |\n| Auth | API key | API key |\n| Pricing | Freemium | Pay per use |\n| x402 | no | no |\n| Tools exposed | 0 | 0 |\n| Read-only variant documented | no | no |\n| llms.txt | no | yes |\n| Last release | 2026-06-29 | none |\n| Terms last updated | no date given | couldn't be read |\n| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-08-25 | couldn't be read |\n| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | couldn't be read |\n| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text | couldn't be read |\n| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text | couldn't be read |\n| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | couldn't be read |\n| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text | couldn't be read |\n\n## What the same task costs\n\n| Task | IBM Watson Speech to Text | MiniMax Speech-to-Text |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Transcribe a one-hour meeting | $0.60 to $1.20 | $0.38 |\n\n## Verdicts\n\n**IBM Watson Speech to Text.** Watson STT covers sync, async and WebSocket transcription in ten locations, with custom models, $0.02 a minute on Plus and 500 free minutes. There is no machine-readable spec or readable status history, requests are logged for improvement unless opted out, the WebSocket token goes in the URL, and the last release note is from June 2026.\n\n**MiniMax Speech-to-Text.** MiniMax's ASR API has an OpenAPI file, typed error envelopes and a public price of $0.38 an hour, with diarisation and subtitle output. It takes files of up to 500 seconds only, allows 2 concurrent connections, has no free tier or status component, and no dated release.\n\n## Before you call either\n\n### IBM Watson Speech to Text\n\n1. Send `X-Watson-Learning-Opt-Out: true` or opt out at account level before sending sensitive audio\n2. Use the async `/v1/recognitions` interface with a callback for files over 100 MB, up to 1 GB\n3. Pass a large speech or next-generation model name in `model`, since previous-generation models were removed\n4. Tag requests with `X-Watson-Metadata: customer_id=...` so the data can be deleted later\n5. Keep within 100 concurrent requests on Plus across HTTP and WebSocket\n\n### MiniMax Speech-to-Text\n\n1. Split recordings into pieces under 500 seconds before uploading, since longer audio returns 400\n2. Convert to mono 16 kHz or a compressed format to stay under 50 MB\n3. Use `verbose_json` for speakers and timestamps, and `json` only when streaming\n4. Treat 402 `insufficient_balance_error` as final and ask the user to top up\n5. Use `https://api.minimaxi.com` for a mainland China account\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, IBM Watson Speech to Text or MiniMax Speech-to-Text?\n\nIBM Watson Speech to Text scores 54.5 (C) on agent readiness against MiniMax Speech-to-Text's 48.4 (D), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. MiniMax Speech-to-Text leads on reliability and schema \u0026 documentation.\n\n### Do IBM Watson Speech to Text and MiniMax Speech-to-Text need an API key?\n\nBoth need an API key.\n\n### Can an agent call IBM Watson Speech to Text and MiniMax Speech-to-Text without installing anything?\n\nNo hosted endpoint is listed for IBM Watson Speech to Text. No hosted endpoint is listed for MiniMax Speech-to-Text.\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ibm-watson-stt-vs-minimax-stt.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ibm-watson-stt-vs-minimax-stt.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"ibm-watson-stt\", \"b\": \"minimax-stt\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare ibm-watson-stt minimax-stt`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/ibm-watson-stt.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/minimax-stt.json\n\n## Other comparisons with IBM Watson Speech to Text or MiniMax Speech-to-Text\n\n- [Amazon Transcribe vs IBM Watson Speech to Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-transcribe-vs-ibm-watson-stt.md)\n- [Amazon Transcribe vs MiniMax Speech-to-Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-transcribe-vs-minimax-stt.md)\n- [AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) vs IBM Watson Speech to Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-ibm-watson-stt.md)\n- [AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) vs MiniMax Speech-to-Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-minimax-stt.md)\n- [Azure AI Speech speech-to-text vs IBM Watson Speech to Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-speech-to-text-vs-ibm-watson-stt.md)\n- [Azure AI Speech speech-to-text vs MiniMax Speech-to-Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-speech-to-text-vs-minimax-stt.md)\n- [Cartesia Ink vs IBM Watson Speech to Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cartesia-ink-stt-vs-ibm-watson-stt.md)\n- [Cartesia Ink vs MiniMax Speech-to-Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cartesia-ink-stt-vs-minimax-stt.md)\n- [Deepgram Speech-to-Text (Nova-3, Flux) vs IBM Watson Speech to Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepgram-stt-vs-ibm-watson-stt.md)\n- [Deepgram Speech-to-Text (Nova-3, Flux) vs MiniMax Speech-to-Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepgram-stt-vs-minimax-stt.md)\n- [ElevenLabs Scribe Speech to Text API vs IBM Watson Speech to Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-scribe-vs-ibm-watson-stt.md)\n- [ElevenLabs Scribe Speech to Text API vs MiniMax Speech-to-Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-scribe-vs-minimax-stt.md)\n- [Giggy Speech to Text vs IBM Watson Speech to Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/giggy-stt-vs-ibm-watson-stt.md)\n- [Giggy Speech to Text vs MiniMax Speech-to-Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/giggy-stt-vs-minimax-stt.md)\n- [Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP vs IBM Watson Speech to Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gladia-stt-vs-ibm-watson-stt.md)\n- [Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP vs MiniMax Speech-to-Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gladia-stt-vs-minimax-stt.md)\n- [Google Cloud Speech-to-Text vs IBM Watson Speech to Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-speech-to-text-vs-ibm-watson-stt.md)\n- [Google Cloud Speech-to-Text vs MiniMax Speech-to-Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-speech-to-text-vs-minimax-stt.md)\n- [Groq Speech-to-Text vs IBM Watson Speech to Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/groq-speech-to-text-vs-ibm-watson-stt.md)\n- [Groq Speech-to-Text vs MiniMax Speech-to-Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/groq-speech-to-text-vs-minimax-stt.md)\n- [IBM Watson Speech to Text vs Inworld STT](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ibm-watson-stt-vs-inworld-stt.md)\n- [IBM Watson Speech to Text vs Mistral Voxtral Transcribe](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ibm-watson-stt-vs-mistral-voxtral-transcribe.md)\n- [IBM Watson Speech to Text vs OpenAI Speech to Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ibm-watson-stt-vs-openai-speech-to-text.md)\n- [IBM Watson Speech to Text vs Rev AI Speech-to-Text API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ibm-watson-stt-vs-rev-ai-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- [IBM Watson Speech to Text vs Soniox Speech-to-Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ibm-watson-stt-vs-soniox-stt.md)\n- [IBM Watson Speech to Text vs Speechmatics Speech-to-Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ibm-watson-stt-vs-speechmatics-stt.md)\n- [Inworld STT vs MiniMax Speech-to-Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/inworld-stt-vs-minimax-stt.md)\n- [MiniMax Speech-to-Text vs Mistral Voxtral Transcribe](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-stt-vs-mistral-voxtral-transcribe.md)\n- [MiniMax Speech-to-Text vs OpenAI Speech to Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-stt-vs-openai-speech-to-text.md)\n- [MiniMax Speech-to-Text vs Rev AI Speech-to-Text API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-stt-vs-rev-ai-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- [MiniMax Speech-to-Text vs Soniox Speech-to-Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-stt-vs-soniox-stt.md)\n- [MiniMax Speech-to-Text vs Speechmatics Speech-to-Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-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": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/" }, { "name": "IBM Watson Speech to Text vs MiniMax Speech-to-Text", "url": "" } ], "description": "IBM Watson Speech to Text scores 54.5 (C) to MiniMax Speech-to-Text's 48.4 (D) for speech-to-text. 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