Whisper Cost Calculator
Calculate OpenAI Whisper API transcription cost at $0.006/minute, with bulk pricing breakdowns.
Inputs
OpenAI's published Whisper API rate is $0.006/minute.
Total Cost
$3.6000
Audio Duration
10.00hours
Cost per Hour of Audio
$0.36
Step by step
Total cost
600 min × $0.0060/min
= $3.6000
Equivalent cost per hour
$0.0060 × 60
= $0.36
Bulk Pricing Reference
| Minutes | Cost |
|---|---|
| 100 | $0.60 |
| 1,000 | $6.00 |
| 10,000 | $60.00 |
| 100,000 | $600.00 |
How it works
OpenAI's Whisper API charges a flat $0.006 per minute of audio processed, rounded up to the nearest second, with no volume discounts — cost scales linearly no matter how much audio you send. This calculator shows your total cost plus a bulk-volume reference table so you can quickly gauge spend at different scales, from a single call to enterprise-level transcription volumes.
Formula
total_cost = audio_minutes × rate_per_minute
- audio_minutes
- Total audio duration in minutes
- rate_per_minute
- Whisper API rate (default $0.006/min)
Frequently Asked Questions
Does OpenAI offer bulk discounts for Whisper?
As of standard published pricing, no — Whisper API pricing is flat per minute regardless of volume. The bulk table here is for budgeting reference, not a discount schedule.
Is self-hosted Whisper cheaper?
Self-hosting the open-source Whisper model avoids the per-minute API fee but requires GPU infrastructure, which may cost more or less depending on your utilization.
How is audio duration rounded?
OpenAI bills to the nearest second, so this calculator's per-minute math is a close approximation of your exact invoice.