Is Avencera more accurate than OpenAI?

OpenAI transcribes words more accurately on 2 of 4 published tests, by up to 1.2 points; Avencera wins one, and one is level. gpt-transcribe scores 5.96% on the Open ASR Leaderboard, English, against 6.02% for Parakeet v2. gpt-transcribe scores 6.61% on the Open ASR Leaderboard, earnings calls, against 5.85% for Parakeet v3. gpt-transcribe scores 3.3% on the Artificial Analysis, against 4.5% for Parakeet v3. gpt-4o-transcribe scores 4.0% on the Artificial Analysis, against 4.5% for Parakeet v3.

Is Avencera compatible with the OpenAI SDK?

Yes. Avencera serves the same /v1/audio/transcriptions endpoint, so the official OpenAI SDKs work once you point their base URL at Avencera and pick an Avencera model.

How do I switch from OpenAI to Avencera?

Point your OpenAI SDK’s base URL at Avencera, use your Avencera API key, and change the model name. The request and response stay the same.

OpenAI alternative: Avencera vs OpenAI

At 100 hours a month with speaker labels, OpenAI gpt-4o-transcribe-diarize costs 5.1× as much as Avencera. OpenAI transcribes words more accurately on 2 of 4 published tests, by up to 1.2 points; Avencera wins one, and one is level.

By Praveen Perera. Prices and features checked October 23, 2026.

At a glance

OpenAI’s transcription API is the format many apps already speak. gpt-transcribe returns plain transcripts; speaker labels need the separate gpt-4o-transcribe-diarize model, which OpenAI has deprecated and will shut down on February 26, 2027.

Feature	Avencera	OpenAI
Transcript, at 100 hours a month	$0.06 an hour	gpt-transcribe: $0.27 an hour (4.5×)gpt-4o-transcribe-diarize: $0.36 an hour (6.0×)
With speaker labels, at 100 hours a month	$0.07 an hour	gpt-4o-transcribe-diarize: $0.36 an hour (5.1×)
Speaker labels	Included in the speaker transcript price	gpt-transcribe: not offeredgpt-4o-transcribe-diarize: included
Billing	Prepaid credit, no subscription	gpt-transcribe: pay as you gogpt-4o-transcribe-diarize: pay as you go
Real-time streaming	No, recorded audio only	Yes
Longest file	2 hours or 100 MB per request, 24 hours as a job	25 MB per file
API	OpenAI-compatible	OpenAI’s own

Price with speaker labels

Audio a month	Avencera	OpenAI gpt-4o-transcribe-diarize
10 hours	$0.70	$3.60 5.1×
100 hours	$7.00	$36.00 5.1×
1,000 hours	$70.00	$360.00 5.1×
10,000 hours	$700.00	$3,600.00 5.1×

See every provider at any volume on the pricing page.

Accuracy

Words

OpenAI transcribes words more accurately on 2 of 4 published tests, by up to 1.2 points; Avencera wins one, and one is level.

Word error rate by benchmark, lower is better

Open ASR Leaderboard, English Average word error rate over 11 English test sets

Level

Avencera Parakeet v2: 6.02%. OpenAI gpt-transcribe: 5.96%.
Open ASR Leaderboard, earnings calls Word error rate on the Earnings-22 set

Avencera by 0.76 points

Avencera Parakeet v3: 5.85%. OpenAI gpt-transcribe: 6.61%.
Artificial Analysis Word error rate, measured on each provider’s own API

gpt-transcribe by 1.2 points

Avencera Parakeet v3: 4.5%. OpenAI gpt-transcribe: 3.3%.
Artificial Analysis Word error rate, measured on each provider’s own API

gpt-4o-transcribe by 0.5 points

Avencera Parakeet v3: 4.5%. OpenAI gpt-4o-transcribe: 4.0%.

Choose OpenAI if

Word accuracy matters most. gpt-transcribe scores 3.3% on the Artificial Analysis, against 4.5% for Parakeet v3; gpt-4o-transcribe scores 4.0% on the Artificial Analysis, against 4.5% for Parakeet v3.
You need real-time streaming. OpenAI offers it; Avencera transcribes recorded audio only.
You already use other OpenAI models and want one bill and one vendor.
You need an API today. Avencera opens soon.

Choose Avencera if

You want the lower bill. OpenAI gpt-4o-transcribe-diarize costs 5.1× as much at 100 hours a month with speaker labels.
You want word accuracy for less. gpt-transcribe scores 6.61% on the Open ASR Leaderboard, earnings calls, against 5.85% for Parakeet v3.
You want prepaid credit with no subscription, no minimum and no expiry.
You already call OpenAI’s transcription API. Avencera accepts the same requests, so switching is a change of base URL and model name.
You need speaker labels after February 2027, when OpenAI shuts down gpt-4o-transcribe-diarize.
Your files are bigger than 25 MB. OpenAI rejects them; Avencera takes files up to 100 MB through the same API, and recordings up to 24 hours as a job.
Your audio stays yours. Avencera deletes it once the transcript is ready and never trains on it.

Switching to Avencera

Avencera serves OpenAI’s transcription API, so the official OpenAI SDKs work with a new base URL and model name. Set speaker_labels to true for a speaker on every segment.

from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(base_url="https://api.avencera.com/v1", api_key="YOUR_AVENCERA_KEY")

with open("meeting.mp3", "rb") as audio:
    transcript = client.audio.transcriptions.create(
        model="avencera/parakeet-tdt-0.6b-v2",
        file=audio,
        extra_body={"speaker_labels": True},
    )

Questions

Is Avencera cheaper than OpenAI?: Yes. Avencera transcribes from $0.06 an hour, or $0.07 with speaker labels. At 100 hours a month with speaker labels, OpenAI gpt-4o-transcribe-diarize costs $36.00 against $7.00 at Avencera, 5.1× as much.
Is Avencera more accurate than OpenAI?: OpenAI transcribes words more accurately on 2 of 4 published tests, by up to 1.2 points; Avencera wins one, and one is level. gpt-transcribe scores 5.96% on the Open ASR Leaderboard, English, against 6.02% for Parakeet v2. gpt-transcribe scores 6.61% on the Open ASR Leaderboard, earnings calls, against 5.85% for Parakeet v3. gpt-transcribe scores 3.3% on the Artificial Analysis, against 4.5% for Parakeet v3. gpt-4o-transcribe scores 4.0% on the Artificial Analysis, against 4.5% for Parakeet v3.
Is Avencera compatible with the OpenAI SDK?: Yes. Avencera serves the same /v1/audio/transcriptions endpoint, so the official OpenAI SDKs work once you point their base URL at Avencera and pick an Avencera model.
How do I switch from OpenAI to Avencera?: Point your OpenAI SDK’s base URL at Avencera, use your Avencera API key, and change the model name. The request and response stay the same.