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Azure speech APIs - verified

Azure speech API pricing and models

Azure AI Speech: 4 speech-to-text models and 3 text-to-speech models, read from the provider's own pages on October 18, 2026. Its lowest speech-to-text rate converts to $0.18 an hour (Azure Speech batch transcription). No model here has a scheduled shutdown date.

Read from azure.microsoft.com, learn.microsoft.com, prices.azure.com. Compare every speech API

Speech-to-text
4
Text-to-speech
3
Realtime voice
0
Retiring
0

Speech-to-text

Compare every speech-to-text provider

Azure Speech real-time speech to text

Speech-to-text - Standard Transcription - Real-time

Price (provider's unit)

$1 per hour

“Speech to Text (per second billing) | Standard Transcription | Real-time Transcription: $1 per hour”
azure.microsoft.com
Converted $/hour (our arithmetic)
  • $1.00stated per hour, no conversion
Languages
Not stated
Streaming

Yes

“Real-time transcription for streaming audio.”
learn.microsoft.com
Max audio

240 minutes per session with real-time diarization

“| Maximum audio length for real-time diarization | Not applicable | 240 minutes per session |”
learn.microsoft.com
Status
Not stated

Features

  • diarization / continuous language ID add-on

    “Enhanced add-on features: - Continuous Language identification - Diarization - Pronunciation Assessment (prosody) | Real-time: $0.30 per hour per feature”
    azure.microsoft.com

Free tier: 5 audio hours per month.

Azure Speech batch transcription

Speech-to-text - Standard Transcription - Batch

Price (provider's unit)

$0.18 per hour

“Batch Transcription: $0.18 per hour1”
azure.microsoft.com
Converted $/hour (our arithmetic)
  • $0.18stated per hour, no conversion
Languages
Not stated
Streaming

No

“Batch transcription for processing large volumes of audio asynchronously.”
learn.microsoft.com
Max audio

1 GB per file

“| Maximum file size for audio input | Not applicable | 1 GB |”
learn.microsoft.com
Status
Not stated

Features

  • diarization included in batch

    “Continuous Language Identification and Diarization add-on features included with batch speech to text.”
    azure.microsoft.com

Requires Speech to text REST API v3.2 or later.

Azure Speech fast transcription

Speech-to-text - Fast Transcription

Price (provider's unit)

$0.36 per 1 Hour (East US retail price) from Azure's price API

Source: Azure Retail Prices API (East US)

“"retailPrice":0.36,"unitPrice":0.36,"armRegionName":"eastus","location":"US East","effectiveStartDate":"2024-11-01T00:00:00Z","meterId":"e366297b-9194-5c2f-91f9-2b6472d890b3","meterName":"Fast Transcription Speech To Text","productId":"DZH318Z0BP4S","skuId":"DZH318Z0BP4S/030T","productName":"Azure Speech","skuName":"Fast Transcription","serviceName":"Foundry Tools","serviceId":"DZH319RLHTZC","serviceFamily":"AI + Machine Learning","unitOfMeasure":"1 Hour"”
Context - prices.azure.com

Note: Retail Prices API record for armRegionName eastus; the pricing page itself shows N/A for this meter in its default view, so this is not a pricing-page price. The separate Fast Transcription Promo meter in the same API response is excluded because the pricing page does not show it.

Converted $/hour (our arithmetic)
  • $0.36stated per hour, no conversion
Languages
Not stated
Streaming

No

“Fast transcription for pre-recorded audio files.”
learn.microsoft.com
Max audio

< 500 MB and < 5 hours per file

“| Maximum audio input file size | Not applicable | < 500 MB | | Maximum audio length | Not applicable | < 5 hours per file |”
learn.microsoft.com
Status
Not stated

The pricing page shows 'Fast Transcription: N/A per hour8' in its default region view; footnote 8 requires Speech to text REST API 2024-11-15 or later. The limit rows sit under the 'Fast transcription' heading on the quotas page.

MAI-Transcribe-2 (via Azure Speech)

Speech-to-text - MAI-Transcribe-2

Price (provider's unit)

$0.54 per 1 Hour (East US retail price) from Azure's price API

Source: Azure Retail Prices API (East US)

“"retailPrice":0.54,"unitPrice":0.54,"armRegionName":"eastus","location":"US East","effectiveStartDate":"2026-10-01T00:00:00Z","meterId":"83945965-2d57-543d-860d-289518bccc47","meterName":"MAI-Transcribe-2 AzSp Audio","productId":"DZH318XZQNK1","skuId":"DZH318XZQNK1/022M","productName":"MAI Models","skuName":"MAI-Transcribe-2 AzSp","serviceName":"Foundry Models","serviceId":"DZH31600VF1F","serviceFamily":"AI + Machine Learning","unitOfMeasure":"1 Hour"”
Context - prices.azure.com

Note: Retail Prices API record for armRegionName eastus; the pricing page itself shows N/A for this meter in its default view, so this is not a pricing-page price. The pricing page marks MAI Transcribe-2 with footnote 10, "Limited-time promotional offer till 12/31/2026"; whether the API price is that offer is not stated.

Converted $/hour (our arithmetic)
  • $0.54stated per hour, no conversion
Languages
Not stated
Streaming
Not stated
Max audio
Not stated
Status
Not stated

The pricing page lists 'MAI Transcribe-2: N/A per hour10' with footnote '10Limited-time promotional offer till 12/31/2026'; MAI-Transcribe-1.5 is also listed (N/A in the default view).

Text-to-speech

Compare every text-to-speech provider

Azure Speech neural text to speech

Text-to-speech - Neural (Standard Voice)

Price (provider's unit)

$15 per 1M characters

“Text to Speech7 | Standard Voice | Neural/Neural HD Flash (real-time and batch): $15 per 1M characters”
azure.microsoft.com
Languages
Not stated
Streaming
Not stated
Limit per request

10 minutes of audio per request

“| Maximum audio length produced per request | 10 minutes | 10 minutes |”
learn.microsoft.com
Status
Not stated

Free tier: 0.5 million characters per month.

Azure Speech Neural HD text to speech

Text-to-speech - Neural HD

Price (provider's unit)

$22 per 1M characters (East US retail price) from Azure's price API

Source: Azure Retail Prices API (East US)

“"retailPrice":22.0,"unitPrice":22.0,"armRegionName":"eastus","location":"US East","effectiveStartDate":"2026-03-01T00:00:00Z","meterId":"ad55d150-6182-5565-acf9-364d6ed979fb","meterName":"Neural HD Text to Speech Characters","productId":"DZH318Z0BP4S","skuId":"DZH318Z0BP4S/02XS","productName":"Azure Speech","skuName":"Neural HD Text to Speech","serviceName":"Foundry Tools","serviceId":"DZH319RLHTZC","serviceFamily":"AI + Machine Learning","unitOfMeasure":"1M"”
Context - prices.azure.com

Note: Retail Prices API record for armRegionName eastus; the pricing page itself shows N/A for this meter in its default view, so this is not a pricing-page price.

Languages
Not stated
Streaming
Not stated
Limit per request
Not stated
Status
Not stated

The pricing page shows 'Neural HD (real-time and batch)4: N/A per 1M characters' in its default region view.

Azure Speech professional custom voice

Text-to-speech - Custom Voice - Professional

Price (provider's unit)

$24 per 1M characters (neural HD: $48 per 1M characters)

“Professional Voice: Synthesis (real-time and batch): $24 per 1M characters Synthesis (neural HD real-time and batch): $48 per 1M characters”
azure.microsoft.com
Languages
Not stated
Streaming
Not stated
Limit per request
Not stated
Status
Not stated

Features

  • voice cloning (limited access)

    “Custom voice is a limited access feature.”
    azure.microsoft.com

Training $52 per compute hour (up to $936 per training); hosting $4.04 per model per hour.

FAQ

How much does Azure speech-to-text cost?

Azure Speech real-time speech to text: $1 per hour. Azure Speech batch transcription: $0.18 per hour. Azure Speech fast transcription: $0.36 per 1 Hour (East US retail price). MAI-Transcribe-2 (via Azure Speech): $0.54 per 1 Hour (East US retail price). Prices are in Azure's own units as of October 18, 2026.

How much does Azure text-to-speech cost?

Azure Speech neural text to speech: $15 per 1M characters. Azure Speech Neural HD text to speech: $22 per 1M characters (East US retail price). Azure Speech professional custom voice: $24 per 1M characters (neural HD: $48 per 1M characters). Prices are in Azure's own units as of October 18, 2026.

Sources

Verified from each provider's own pricing pages and model docs; every quote was string-matched against the page that day. Prices are shown in the provider's own unit. Values marked derived were counted by us or taken from Azure's Retail Prices API, not from a pricing page. Prices change without notice; check the linked source before you commit a budget to one.

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