Audio token estimates

Audio Token Calculator

Convert audio duration into tokens and transcription cost. Enter a length or drop in an audio file — the file never leaves your browser.

Audio length

Common lengths

Duration

10m 0s

600 seconds

Cheapest transcription

$0.0045

on Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite (audio input)

Most audio tokens

24,000

on gpt-4o-transcribe

ModelBillingAudio tokensEst. cost

gpt-4o-transcribe

OpenAI

$0.006/min24,000$0.060

gpt-4o-mini-transcribe

OpenAI

$0.003/min24,000$0.030

whisper-1

OpenAI

$0.006/min—$0.060

gpt-4o-transcribe-diarize

OpenAI

$0.006/min24,000$0.060

Gemini 3.8 Live (audio input)

Google

$3/1M audio tokens15,000$0.045

Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite (audio input)

Google

$0.3/1M audio tokens15,000$0.0045

Estimates use published list prices and standard audio tokenization rates (25 tokens/sec for Gemini). Actual bills depend on your plan, region, and provider rounding.

Audio tokens FAQ

How many tokens is 1 minute of audio?

About 1,500 tokens on Gemini's audio tokenization (25 tokens per second). OpenAI's transcription models are billed by audio minute instead of tokens, at roughly $0.006 per minute.

Why is audio transcription billed per minute instead of tokens?

Transcription models like whisper-1 and gpt-4o-transcribe charge for audio duration because the work scales with recording length, not with how many words are spoken. Gemini's native audio models bill per audio token instead.

How much does it cost to transcribe 1 hour of audio?

Around $0.03 with Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite audio input, $0.18 with gpt-4o-mini-transcribe, or $0.36 with whisper-1 and gpt-4o-transcribe at standard rates.

Does this calculator upload my audio?

No. If you pick a file, the browser only reads its duration metadata. The audio never leaves your device.

What is the difference between whisper-1 and gpt-4o-transcribe?

Both cost $0.006 per audio minute. gpt-4o-transcribe is the newer model with better accuracy and streaming support; whisper-1 is the classic baseline. gpt-4o-mini-transcribe halves the price at $0.003 per minute.

How many audio tokens per second does Gemini use?

25 audio tokens per second for input audio, according to Google's pricing documentation. That works out to 1,500 tokens per minute.