MAI-Transcribe-2 Pricing
What Microsoft charges for MAI-Transcribe-2, how long the launch price lasts, and what it costs to use it without an Azure account.
The Azure API price
Microsoft's model card prices MAI-Transcribe-2 at $0.10 per hour of audio "as a limited-time offer", and the Azure Speech pricing page marks it as a promotional offer until December 31, 2026. Microsoft has not published the price after that. The previous model, MAI-Transcribe-1.5, is listed at $0.36 per hour, which gives an idea of where it could land.
The price is per hour of audio, not per request: a 6-minute file costs one cent. You pay for it through an Azure subscription with a Speech (Foundry) resource in one of the six regions that run MAI-Transcribe: Central India, East US, North Europe, Southeast Asia, West US and West US 2.
What an hour costs, in practice
| Audio | Azure API at $0.10/h | At $0.36/h (1.5 price) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 hour | $0.10 | $0.36 |
| 10 hours | $1.00 | $3.60 |
| 100 hours | $10.00 | $36.00 |
| 1,000 hours | $100 | $360 |
Azure has no automatic spending cap: if you use the API directly, set a budget alert in the Azure portal ("Budgets") before you start.
Ways to pay for it
| Option | Price | What you need |
|---|---|---|
| Azure Speech API | $0.10 per audio hour until Dec 31, 2026 | Azure subscription, resource, key, code |
| OpenRouter | Per token, set by OpenRouter | OpenRouter account and credits, code |
| MAI Playground | Microsoft's own demo site | A browser, on playground.microsoft.ai |
| ScribeForge | 2 free previews/day · $9 for 50 transcripts · $19/month unlimited | A browser |
The API is the cheapest per hour if you can write the code and run it. ScribeForge is for people who want transcripts without building anything: the file goes in, the transcript comes out with speaker labels, timestamps and exports, and Grok STT takes over if MAI-Transcribe is down.
Common questions
Microsoft prices MAI-Transcribe-2 at $0.10 per hour of audio as a limited-time offer, which the Azure pricing page says runs until December 31, 2026. The price after that has not been published.
MAI-Transcribe-1.5, released in June 2026, is listed at $0.36 per hour of audio (for example on OpenRouter). It is still available on Azure; MAI-Transcribe-1 was retired on August 20, 2026.
Azure's free Speech tier gives 5 hours a month of standard real-time transcription, which is a different service. To try MAI-Transcribe-2 without paying, use Microsoft's MAI Playground or ScribeForge's 2 free previews a day.
Yes. OpenRouter resells it through its own API, and ScribeForge offers it in the browser without any account.
Try MAI-Transcribe-2 without an Azure account.
Open MAI-Transcribe-2 →No account · No API key · No credit card · 2 free previews a day
Related
ScribeForge is an independent tool and is not affiliated with Microsoft. Prices checked October 9, 2026 on Microsoft's model card and Azure pricing page; check them there before you commit.