Amazon Transcribe Pricing 2026: Cost Calculator Guide

Amazon Transcribe costs $0.024 per minute for standard transcription (first 250,000 minutes/month), dropping to $0.0078/minute at scale (5M+ minutes/month). However, the pricing page obscures several important cost factors: a 15-second minimum per request, regional premiums up to 69% in some AWS regions, and separate charges for add-on features like PII redaction (+$0.0024/min) and custom language models (+$0.006/min).

This guide breaks down Amazon Transcribe's complete 2026 pricing structure with real cost calculations, hidden fee analysis, and clear guidance on when AWS makes sense versus simpler alternatives.

Quick Navigation

• Standard Transcription Pricing Tiers
• Medical and Call Analytics Pricing
• Add-On Feature Costs
• Hidden Costs You Need to Know
• Cost Calculation Examples
• Free Tier Details
• When Amazon Transcribe Makes Sense
• When Simpler Pricing Makes Sense
• AI Prompt: Amazon Transcribe Cost Estimator
• Pricing Disclaimer

Standard Transcription Pricing Tiers

According to Amazon Transcribe's official pricing page, standard transcription uses a tiered volume discount model:

Source: AWS Transcribe Pricing, verified February 2026

Tier 1 Cost Examples

At the standard Tier 1 rate of $0.024/minute:

Billing Mechanics

Amazon Transcribe bills per second after a 15-second minimum per request:

• Minimum charge per API call: 15 seconds worth ($0.006 at Tier 1)
• After 15 seconds: per-second billing
• Files under 15 seconds: charged as 15 seconds

Impact on short clips: If you're transcribing many short audio segments (voice memos, customer service snippets), the 15-second minimum creates billing overhead.

Medical and Call Analytics Pricing

Amazon Transcribe offers specialized services with different pricing:

Amazon Transcribe Medical

Medical transcription costs 3.1x the standard rate, reflecting HIPAA compliance, medical terminology optimization, and specialized language models for healthcare dictation.

Amazon Transcribe Call Analytics

Call Analytics includes:

• Speaker sentiment analysis
• Call categorization
• Issue detection
• Conversation summarization

This is 25% more expensive than standard transcription but includes features that would require separate tools otherwise.

Add-On Feature Costs

Several features add to your base transcription cost:

PII Redaction Cost Impact

With PII redaction enabled, your effective per-minute cost becomes:

Custom Language Models Cost Impact

With custom vocabulary enabled:

Hidden Costs You Need to Know

Beyond the per-minute transcription rates, several factors affect your actual Amazon Transcribe costs:

1. Regional Pricing Premiums

AWS charges different rates depending on which region you use. The base pricing on AWS documentation assumes US East (N. Virginia). Other regions cost significantly more:

Example: At N. California rates, Tier 1 transcription costs approximately $0.041/minute instead of $0.024/minute.

Cost mitigation: Use US East (N. Virginia) or US West (Oregon) regions when possible. Your audio files can be processed in any region regardless of where they're stored.

2. The 15-Second Minimum Per Request

Every API call is billed for at least 15 seconds, even if the audio is shorter.

Scenario: Processing 100 voice memos averaging 8 seconds each

• Actual audio: 800 seconds (13.3 minutes)
• Billed audio: 100 x 15 seconds = 1,500 seconds (25 minutes)
• Cost at Tier 1: $0.60 instead of $0.32
• Overhead: 87.5% extra

Who this affects:

• Voice memo transcription apps
• Short customer service clips
• Audio snippet processing
• Real-time voice command applications

3. S3 Storage Costs (Required)

Amazon Transcribe requires audio files to be stored in S3 or streamed via WebSocket. S3 storage adds costs:

Example for 100 hours/month (assuming 50MB/hour average):

• Storage: 5GB x $0.023 = $0.12/month
• Upload requests: 100 x $0.005/1000 = ~$0.001
• Total S3 overhead: ~$0.15/month

For most use cases, S3 costs are negligible. However, high-volume applications with large files should factor this in.

4. Data Transfer Costs

• Data IN to AWS: Free
• Data OUT from AWS: $0.09/GB (first 10TB/month)

Transcripts are text files (small), so data transfer costs are typically minimal. Audio upload is free.

5. Lambda/API Gateway Costs (If Using Serverless)

If you're building a serverless transcription pipeline:

For a typical transcription workflow processing 1,000 files/month, serverless infrastructure adds approximately $1-5/month.

Cost Calculation Examples

Example 1: Small Business (50 Hours/Month)

Requirements:

• 50 hours of meeting recordings per month
• Standard transcription (no medical)
• PII redaction for compliance

Calculation:

Audio: 50 hours = 3,000 minutes
Base transcription (Tier 1): 3,000 x $0.024 = $72.00
PII redaction: 3,000 x $0.0024 = $7.20
S3 storage (2.5GB): ~$0.06
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Total monthly cost: $79.26

Example 2: Call Center (500 Hours/Month)

Requirements:

• 500 hours of call recordings per month
• Call Analytics for sentiment and categorization

Calculation:

Audio: 500 hours = 30,000 minutes
Call Analytics: 30,000 x $0.030 = $900.00
S3 storage (25GB): ~$0.58
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Total monthly cost: ~$900.60

Example 3: Enterprise Scale (10,000 Hours/Month)

Requirements:

• 10,000 hours of audio per month
• Standard transcription with custom vocabulary
• PII redaction

Calculation:

Audio: 10,000 hours = 600,000 minutes

Tiered transcription:
  First 250,000 min x $0.024 = $6,000.00
  Next 350,000 min x $0.015 = $5,250.00
  Subtotal: $11,250.00

Add-ons (on all 600,000 min):
  PII redaction: 600,000 x $0.0024 = $1,440.00
  Custom vocabulary: 600,000 x $0.006 = $3,600.00

Infrastructure:
  S3 storage (500GB): ~$11.50
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Total monthly cost: ~$16,301.50

Example 4: Short Clips (Worst Case for Minimums)

Requirements:

• 1,000 voice memos per month
• Average length: 10 seconds each

Calculation:

Actual audio: 1,000 x 10 seconds = 167 minutes
Billed audio: 1,000 x 15 seconds = 250 minutes (15-sec minimum)
Transcription (Tier 1): 250 x $0.024 = $6.00
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Total monthly cost: $6.00
Overhead from minimum: 50% extra billing

Free Tier Details

Amazon Transcribe offers a free tier for new AWS accounts:

Key limitations:

• Free tier is per AWS account, not per user
• Applies only to the first 12 months after account creation
• Does not cover Medical Transcription
• Add-on features (PII redaction, custom vocabulary) still incur charges

After free tier expires: Full Tier 1 rates apply immediately.

When Amazon Transcribe Makes Sense

Amazon Transcribe is a strong choice in these scenarios:

1. You're Already in the AWS Ecosystem

If your infrastructure runs on AWS, Transcribe integrates seamlessly with:

• S3 for storage
• Lambda for processing
• SQS/SNS for notifications
• IAM for access control
• CloudWatch for monitoring

No additional vendor relationships, billing accounts, or data transfers required.

2. Enterprise Scale (1M+ Minutes/Month)

At Tier 3 ($0.0102/min) and Tier 4 ($0.0078/min), Amazon Transcribe becomes highly cost-effective for high-volume processing.

Cost comparison at 5,000,000 minutes/month:

Amazon Transcribe (Tier 4): 5,000,000 x $0.0078 = $39,000/month

Few alternatives can match this pricing at true enterprise scale.

3. Medical or Healthcare Applications

Amazon Transcribe Medical ($0.075/min) is purpose-built for:

• Clinical documentation
• Medical dictation
• Healthcare provider notes
• HIPAA-compliant workflows

The medical-specific vocabulary and compliance features justify the premium for healthcare organizations.

4. Call Center Analytics

The Call Analytics service ($0.030/min) bundles:

• Transcription
• Sentiment analysis
• Issue detection
• Conversation summarization
• Speaker diarization

Building these capabilities separately would cost more than the bundled price.

5. You Need AWS Service Integrations

If your workflow requires:

• Direct S3 triggering (new file arrives, transcription starts)
• Lambda post-processing
• Step Functions orchestration
• EventBridge event handling

Amazon Transcribe's native AWS integration simplifies architecture.

When Simpler Pricing Makes Sense

Amazon Transcribe's complexity creates overhead that simpler alternatives avoid:

1. You're Processing Under 100 Hours/Month

At low volumes, AWS account management, IAM configuration, and billing complexity often outweigh cost savings.

BrassTranscripts comparison for 50 hours/month:

50 hours = approximately 50 files (assuming 1-hour average)

Amazon Transcribe (Tier 1):
  3,000 min x $0.024 = $72/month
  Plus: AWS account, IAM setup, S3 configuration

BrassTranscripts:
  50 files x $6.00 flat (16+ min tier)
  Typical 60-min file: $6.00 each
  50 files: $300/month
  Plus: Zero configuration, upload and download

Amazon Transcribe costs less at scale, but requires technical setup. BrassTranscripts costs more per-minute but eliminates all complexity.

2. You're Non-Technical

Amazon Transcribe requires:

• AWS account creation
• IAM role configuration
• S3 bucket setup
• API integration or CLI usage
• Understanding of async job polling

If you just need transcripts without building infrastructure, upload-based services eliminate this barrier entirely.

3. You Need Predictable Per-File Pricing

Amazon Transcribe's tiered model makes per-file cost unpredictable:

• First 250,000 minutes: $0.024/min
• Next 750,000 minutes: $0.015/min
• And so on...

Your cost per minute changes based on monthly volume, making budgeting complex.

BrassTranscripts pricing:

• Tier 1: $2.50 flat for 1-15 minutes
• Tier 2: $6.00 flat for 16-120 minutes

Example: A 60-minute file always costs $6.00, regardless of how many files you process that month.

4. You Want Speaker Identification Included

Amazon Transcribe includes speaker diarization in the base price (no extra charge). BrassTranscripts also includes speaker identification. Many alternatives charge extra for this feature.

5. Regional Pricing Concerns

If you're outside US East or US West (Oregon), Amazon Transcribe's regional premiums (up to 69% extra) significantly impact costs. Alternative services typically offer single global pricing.

AI Prompt: AWS Transcribe True Cost Calculator {#ai-prompt-amazon-transcribe-cost-estimator}

Use this free AI prompt with ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot, or any AI assistant to calculate your TRUE Amazon Transcribe costs including all hidden fees.

Calculate my TRUE AWS Transcribe costs including all hidden fees:

**My Usage:**
- Monthly audio volume: [X hours, e.g., "50 hours"]
- Audio format: [MP3/WAV/other]
- Need speaker identification: [Yes/No]
- Need custom vocabulary: [Yes/No]
- AWS region: [US East/Europe/Asia Pacific/other]
- Average file length: [X minutes]
- Number of files per month: [X files]
- Storage duration needed: [X months]

**Please Calculate:**

1. **Base AWS Transcribe cost** by tier:
   - Tier 1 (0-250K min): $0.024/min
   - Tier 2 (250K-1M min): $0.015/min
   - Tier 3 (1M-5M min): $0.0102/min
   - Tier 4 (5M+ min): $0.0078/min
2. **Add-on features** (if applicable):
   - PII Redaction: +$0.0024/min
   - Custom vocabulary: +$0.006/min
3. **S3 storage costs** ($0.023/GB/month)
4. **Data transfer costs** (if applicable)
5. **Regional pricing adjustment** (N. California +69%, São Paulo +68%)
6. **15-second minimum impact** (if many short files)
7. **Medical/Call Analytics pricing** (if applicable: Medical $0.075/min, Call Analytics $0.030/min)

**Then Compare:**
- **AWS Transcribe TOTAL** (all fees included)
- **BrassTranscripts cost** ($2.50 for 1-15 min, $6.00 flat rate for 16-120 min)

Show me:
- Which service is cheaper for MY specific usage
- Break-even point if volume changes
- Hidden costs I might not know about
- When BrassTranscripts' all-inclusive pricing becomes better value

Be specific with dollar amounts and show the math.

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Prompt by BrassTranscripts (brasstranscripts.com) – Professional AI transcription with simple, transparent pricing.
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📖 View Full Prompt (Markdown) | ⚙️ Download YAML Format

Related Resources

• AWS Transcribe Official Pricing - Source for all pricing data
• AWS Transcribe Documentation - Technical implementation details
• AI Transcription Pricing Comparison 2025 - Compare across all major services
• AWS Transcribe vs Alternatives - Detailed AWS comparison

Pricing Disclaimer

Information valid as of publication date (February 2, 2026). Pricing data was verified from Amazon Transcribe's official pricing page. AWS may change pricing, features, regional availability, or free tier terms at any time. Always verify current rates directly with AWS before making purchasing decisions or committing to large-volume usage. Regional pricing varies; this guide uses US East (N. Virginia) as the baseline unless otherwise noted.