Streaming + pre-recorded ASR

CPU-first speech-to-text.

Compact commercial models tuned for ordinary CPUs, not expensive GPUs. They cost 5–20× less to run, with lower latency, passed on to you.

Streaming + pre-recorded 5–20× cheaper 10× real-time per CPU core From $0.02/hr at volume
320ms
Streaming latency
5–20×
Cheaper than cloud APIs
10×
Real-time per CPU core
2modes
Streaming + pre-recorded
Simple pricing

Priced like software, not GPU time.

Pay by audio hour for live streams and recorded files alike. Because Kroko runs efficiently on CPUs, volume pricing goes well below GPU-bound ASR providers, from $0.02/hr.

Cost per 1,000 hours of audio (USD)

indicative list pricing
Kroko ≈$20
Popular cloud providers $150–$460

Popular cloud speech-to-text providers list at roughly $150–$460 per 1,000 hours of audio. Kroko shown at $0.02/hr volume pricing (≈$20). Illustrative; verify current rates before relying on it.

On-Premise
$0.05/hr

Commercial models on your own infrastructure.

  • Audio & transcripts stay in your network
  • Deployment options for HIPAA/GDPR workloads
  • Commercial/OEM licensing, support & SLAs
  • Unlimited usage option: flat-rate, no per-hour metering
Talk to sales
On-Device SDK
From $150/mo

Embed compact commercial models in your app.

  • iOS, Android & browser / WASM
  • Offline-capable, no cloud round trip
  • Licensing by app scale & redistribution
Talk to sales
How we compare

The same audio. CPU-first economics.

Real-time speech-to-text with the deployment reach to run in the cloud, on-premise, and on-device.

Provider Self-host On-device
Cloud · on-prem · on-device · CPU-first commercial models
AssemblyAIUniversal-Streaming, cloud only
SpeechmaticsStandard tier, cloud + container
ElevenLabsScribe, cloud only
DeepgramNova-3 streaming, cloud + self-host

Deployment options based on publicly documented capabilities, 2026. Comparison for general guidance; verify current availability with each provider.

Accuracy

Top-tier accuracy, at CPU prices.

On the Open ASR benchmark (average word error rate across eight datasets), Kroko places 2nd of 9, ahead of ElevenLabs, AssemblyAI, Google and Whisper, and within 0.2 points of the leader. All while running on commodity CPUs.

Average word error rate · Open ASR benchmark

lower is better
Zoom Scribe 5.47
Kroko#2 of 9 5.66
ElevenLabs 5.83
AssemblyAI 6.21
Google Chirp 3 6.63
Speechmatics 6.91
Whisper L-v3 7.44

Average WER (%) across AMI, Earnings-22, GigaSpeech, LibriSpeech (clean & other), SPGISpeech, TED-LIUM and VoxPopuli. Lower is better. Source: Open ASR benchmark, 2026. Selected vendors shown; Kroko ranks 2nd of 9 overall.

Two ways to transcribe

Transcribe audio now, or after the conversation.

The same CPU-first stack powers live voice agents and post-call workflows: streaming returns partials as audio arrives, pre-recorded returns final transcripts with timing detail.

Streaming

For audio happening now.

Voice agents, live captions, PBX call monitoring, agent assist, accessibility and voice commands.

  • WebSocket streaming, partial & final results
  • Endpointing controls & word timestamps
  • Low-latency partials · cloud or on-prem
Explore streaming API
Pre-recorded

For audio that already exists.

Call recordings, meetings, voicemail, media subtitles, post-call QA, analytics and searchable archives.

  • File / chunk upload, final transcript after processing
  • Segment & word timestamps
  • Auto Uploader for watched folders · cloud or on-prem
Explore pre-recorded API

No diarization tax. Whether live or recorded, Kroko is cheap enough to transcribe caller and callee on separate channels, so you get clean per-speaker text without paying for diarization.

One model, three deployment paths: cloud API, on-premise, and on-device SDK
Deploy anywhere

One ASR stack. Multiple ways to deploy.

Use Kroko through a hosted European API, run it on your own infrastructure, or embed compact models on-device where offline transcription matters.

01

Cloud API

Hosted in European infrastructure. WebSocket APIs for both streaming and pre-recorded transcription, with high availability.

02

On-Premise

Run streaming and post-processed models on your own servers, with deployment options for HIPAA- and GDPR-regulated workloads.

03

On-Device SDK

Mobile, browser and edge. Offline-capable with no cloud round trip, where supported.

European data sovereignty

Your audio stays under European law.

Where your speech data is processed decides whose laws govern it. Kroko lets you keep that firmly in Europe, or entirely inside your own network.

US laws such as the CLOUD Act and FISA Section 702 can compel American-owned cloud providers to hand data to US authorities, regardless of where their servers physically sit.

01

European cloud

Hosted and operated in Europe, under EU jurisdiction and GDPR.

02

On-premise

Run on your own servers, so audio and transcripts never leave your network.

03

On-device

Transcribe offline on the device itself, with nothing sent anywhere.

Commercial models

Compact commercial models, built for production.

Models tuned for commodity CPUs instead of GPU-heavy inference. They cost 5–20× less to run, with lower latency, stronger recognition quality, and the support and licensing production teams need.

Runs on commodity CPUs

Compact commercial models run efficiently on the cloud, on-prem and edge CPUs you already have, with no GPUs to rent, queue for, or babysit.

Lower runtime cost

No GPU-heavy inference pipeline means fewer expensive accelerators and simpler capacity planning, with savings we pass on, from $0.02/hr at volume.

Scales without surprises

At a 10× real-time CPU target, you add capacity on cheap CPU instances, not scarce, expensive GPUs that gate your growth.

For developers

From zero to live or recorded transcript in minutes.

Stream live audio for partial transcripts, or send recorded files for final transcripts with timing detail. Use the hosted API, run on-premise, or embed on-device.

Read the quick start
// Live audio → partial + final transcripts
const ws = new WebSocket(
  "wss://app.kroko.ai/api/v1/transcripts/streaming" +
  "?apiKey=YOUR_KEY&languageCode=en-US"
);

ws.onmessage = (e) => {
  const r = JSON.parse(e.data);
  if (r.type === "partial") showLive(r.text);
  if (r.type === "final")   appendSegment(r.text);
};
// then send 16 kHz mono PCM chunks
// Recorded file → final transcript + timestamps
const ws = new WebSocket(
  "wss://app.kroko.ai/api/v1/transcripts/pre-recorded" +
  "?apiKey=YOUR_KEY&languageCode=en-US"
);

// send metadata header + audio chunks,
// then "Done" when the upload completes
ws.onmessage = (e) => {
  const { segments } = JSON.parse(e.data);
  render(segments); // word + segment timing
};
# Run the same models on your own box, no GPU
docker run -p 8080:8080 kroko/asr:on-prem

# Point the WebSocket client at your server
wss://localhost:8080/api/v1/transcripts/streaming

# Streaming + post-processed models, fully private
Built for voice agents, PBX & call-center stacks
FAQ

Questions, answered.

Can the models do code switching?
Each Kroko model is typically trained on one main language, with some English mixed in so technical terms, product names and acronyms are recognised naturally. For broader multilingual or code-switching workloads, several models can be combined behind a single endpoint, with a language router selecting the right model per stream. See an example multilingual router →
Can we have a model fine-tuned for our domain?
Yes. We can fine-tune Kroko models to your specific domain, dialect or vocabulary, whether that's medical and legal terminology, regional accents, product names, or industry jargon. The result is higher accuracy on the audio that actually matters to you, while keeping the same CPU-first efficiency. Contact the sales team → to discuss a custom model.
What is the difference between the community and commercial models?
The commercial models add lower-latency options and deliver more than 20% lower word error rate than the community models. We also offer smaller models built for very low-resource devices like smartwatches, IoT and embedded hardware, so you can run accurate speech-to-text right at the edge.
What languages are supported?

Kroko currently supports 13 languages, with more in active development:

BulgarianDutchEnglishFrenchGermanHebrewItalianPolishPortugueseSpanishSwedishSwiss GermanTurkishJapanese coming soon
Get started

Start transcribing live streams & recordings in minutes.

Get an API key for the hosted service, or run the same commercial models on your own hardware for private deployments.