OpenAI Speech to Text vs Smallest.ai Pulse STT

OpenAI Speech to Text 97

Model reading, on the lines the OpenAI API and Decisions API listings use. Project keys with permissions per key, service-account keys through the Administration API and workload identity federation, per the Decisions API listing's read of 8 October. The access-control guide, re-read on 1 November, puts audio under one Model capabilities permission with chat completions, embeddings and images, so a restricted key can't be limited to the audio endpoints alone (27 of 30, as the Decisions API listing, was 26). The data controls page says API data isn't used for training unless the customer opts in (20). Both audio endpoints are listed with no abuse-monitoring retention, no application state and Zero Data Retention eligibility, re-read on 1 November (15). The Admin API has an audit log endpoint, and the OpenAPI document has GET /organization/usage/audio_transcriptions grouped by project, API key or model, the per-key usage view both other OpenAI listings got 15 for (15, was 13). security.txt, re-read on 1 November, is PGP-signed, names a Bugcrowd programme and a coordinated disclosure policy and has no Expires field. trust.openai.com, read on 1 November, names SOC 2 Type 2 and ISO/IEC 27001, 27017, 27018 and 27701 (20, was 12 when no trust centre was read, the award both other OpenAI listings carry). 27 + 20 + 15 + 15 + 20 = 97.

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.

OpenAI Speech to Text 90

The hosted models are closed with clear terms, the Python SDK Apache-2.0 and the OpenAPI document MIT, per the OpenAI API listing's check of the services agreement. openai.com answered the services agreement with 403 again on 1 November (15, was 12). The data controls page, re-read on 1 November, lists both audio endpoints with no training, no abuse-monitoring retention, no application state and Zero Data Retention eligibility. The DPA, effective 1 January 2026, commits to return or deletion of customer data on termination, 30 days to object to a new subprocessor, and SCCs with the UK Addendum, and nothing in it conflicts with the guide, per the OpenAI API listing's 4 October check, not re-read on 1 November (openai.com answered 403). The same reading as the OpenAI API listing (30 of 30, was 28). A deprecations page with notice periods by model class, dated shutdowns and replacements, including /v1/audio/translations to v1/realtime/translations (20). Data residency is documented by region and endpoint, with the audio endpoints in every listed region for storage and in the United States and Europe for processing. The subprocessor list, updated 9 July 2026, names third-party subprocessors and OpenAI affiliates with processing countries for each and a form for notice of new ones, per the OpenAI API listing's 4 October check, not re-read on 1 November (openai.com answered 403). The same reading as the OpenAI API listing (20 of 20, was 16). 15 + 30 + 20 + 20 = 85.

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.

OpenAI Speech to Text 78

API reading, as for the other speech-to-text listings. The default json response is the text, detected languages and usage, text returns a bare string, and segments, words and speaker labels come only when asked for on the models that have them (20 of 25). There is no transcript store to page through. Files stop at 25 MB, the caller splits longer audio, and the gpt-transcribe model page marks the Batch API as not supported (10 of 20). Errors carry message, type, param and code, and the error codes page gives a fix for each status (18 of 20). The call is stateless and safe to retry, and the Python SDK retries 408, 409, 429 and 5xx twice by default. No idempotency key applies to this endpoint (15 of 20). file and model are the only required fields, with guide examples for JavaScript, Python, Go, Java, C# and Ruby SDKs and a CLI (15).

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.

OpenAI Speech to Text 30

No x402, MPP or L402 on the pricing page, re-read on 1 November (0). $0.0045 an audio minute for gpt-transcribe, $0.017 for gpt-live-transcribe and $0.006 for whisper-1 on the public pricing page (20). The rate limits guide lists a Free tier capped at $100 a month in allowed countries, while the gpt-transcribe model page's rate-limit table starts at Build, which needs $5 of credit. Half, the reading both other OpenAI listings use for the same pages (10, was 0). A person signs up in a browser and creates the key in the console (0). 0 + 20 + 10 + 0 = 30.

Smallest.ai Pulse STT 40

No x402, MPP or L402 (0). Per-minute prices for each Pulse model published without a login, with two figures for Pulse Pro (20). Pay as you go starts with $10 of trial credits, which the terms also describe, and no page says a card is needed to claim them, read as inworld-tts's free plan was (20). A person signs up in a browser at app.smallest.ai and creates the key in the dashboard, and top-ups go to a card on file (0). Total 40.