# ElevenLabs Scribe

> Speech-to-text API providing word-level timestamps and audio event tagging.

ElevenLabs Scribe is a speech-to-text model and API designed to transcribe complex and rapid audio with high accuracy. It returns detailed word- or character-level timestamps, speaker diarization, and non-verbal audio event tags. It is particularly useful for building interactive media experiences, lyric synchronizers, and fast-talking audio transcription tools.

Website: https://elevenlabs.io/docs/api-reference/speech-to-text/convert

## What it is for

- Transcribe rapid or dense speech such as fast rap vocals and fast-paced podcasts
- Generate word-level timestamps for synchronized karaoke or lyric-highlighting interfaces
- Detect non-verbal audio events like laughter or footsteps alongside spoken words
- Separate and identify multiple speakers using diarization across audio files

## Features

- Word-level and character-level timestamp granularity
- Automatic audio event tagging for sounds like laughter and applause
- Speaker diarization supporting up to 32 individual speakers
- Multichannel transcription with options for separate or combined time-aligned output
- Keyterms biasing to improve accuracy for technical terms or names
- Built-in entity detection and redaction for PII and sensitive data

## Pricing

Freemium. Free tier available; usage-based API billing thereafter.

## Details

- Type: Web app
- Category: [AI](https://xiry.app/topics/ai.md)
- Open source: no
- Platforms: API
- For: Developers building transcription, captioning, or audio-aligned web applications.
- Alternative to: OpenAI Whisper, Deepgram, AssemblyAI
- Tags: stt, speech to text, transcription, audio, elevenlabs, api

## Why it was saved

- [@addyosmani, 26 February 2025](https://x.com/addyosmani/status/1894814414102282747): Shows that ElevenLabs Scribe (scribe\_v1) accurately transcribes extremely fast speech (4.28 words/sec) with word-level timestamps and audio-event tagging, and provides a copyable pattern for building transcription apps.

## Related

- [mlx\_whisper local transcription benchmark & usage](https://xiry.app/resources/mlx-whisper-local-transcription-benchmark-and-usage): Fast local audio transcription benchmark and Python snippet for Apple Silicon Macs. (Tip, Open source)
- [NVIDIA Parakeet TDT 0.6B V2](https://xiry.app/resources/nvidia-parakeet-tdt-0-6b-v2): Open-source 600M English speech-to-text model with fast inference and timestamps (AI model, Open source)
- [Cartesia Sonic](https://xiry.app/resources/cartesia-sonic): Ultra-low-latency streaming text-to-speech and instant voice cloning model. (AI model, Freemium)
- [Airy](https://xiry.app/resources/airy): Fast, low-cost text-to-speech API and studio for creators and developers (AI model, Freemium)
- [Auris AI](https://xiry.app/resources/auris-ai): AI speech-to-text platform for multilingual transcription, translation, and video subtitling (Web app, Freemium)
- [Castmagic](https://xiry.app/resources/castmagic): Turn long-form audio and video recordings into written content assets. (Web app, Paid)

Updated 10 October 2026. Page: https://xiry.app/resources/elevenlabs-scribe

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