Gladia

What it is for

Gladia is a speech-to-text API desk: upload a file or stream a socket, get a transcript, then optionally summarize, translate, or redact it. Use it when the job is hours of audio billed in euros, not when you need a meeting-notes seat with a bot that already joins Zoom for you.

What makes it unique: the cover is Gladia’s own Getting started still — the official API Keys developer console (Overview / Transcription / Create API key) inside the docs — not a pricing card.

Key features

• Async transcription — POST a pre-recorded file; Solaria-3 from €0.16/hr (or Solaria-1 €0.27/hr) with diarization and 100+ languages included (pricing; Getting started). One file job; those model names are SKU.
• Live streaming — WebSocket / SDK session on Solaria-1 only, with partials and endpointing (Live quickstart). A socket, not an upload.
• Playground — no-code Realtime / file desk at app.gladia.io (Playground walkthrough). A UI, not an SDK call.
• Audio intelligence add-ons — summarization, sentiment, translation, NER, PII redaction, audio-to-LLM on the same transcript (pricing add-on table). One enrich pass; those toggles are this, not five products.
• Voice / meeting connectors — Pipecat, LiveKit, Vapi, Twilio, Recall / meeting bots so the transcript lands in a call stack (Getting started partners). A pipe, not a transcribe.

The JS/Python SDKs are install / SDK. Audio-hours (and add-on hours) are the meter. Solaria-1 vs Solaria-3 are SKU.

Who it's for

Best fit: voice and media teams who will spend the €50 starter credits (~312 async hours on Solaria-3) and then top up a prepaid wallet, not a team looking for a $20 meeting-notes seat.

Pricing

Verified 2026-10-22 (Asia/Shanghai) from gladia.io/pricing and Getting started. Cards and tables print euros. Prepaid wallet; no monthly seat.

• Starter credits — €50 one-time on a new account (valid one year). ~312 h Solaria-3 async, ~185 h Solaria-1, or ~73 h real-time. Does not renew.
• Self-serve async — Solaria-3 from €0.16/hr (0–100 h) down to €0.12/hr (10,000+ h). Solaria-1 from €0.27/hr to €0.21/hr. 25 concurrent jobs.
• Self-serve real-time — €0.68/hr. 30 concurrent sessions. Live is Solaria-1 only.
• Add-ons — summarization €0.03/hr; sentiment €0.02/hr; translation €0.05/hr; NER / PII €0.07/hr; audio-to-LLM from €0.20 / €1.25 per 1M tokens in/out.
• Top-up bonus — +10% at €1,000; +15% at €2,500; +20% at €5,000. Top-up credits do not expire.
• Enterprise — custom. Unlimited concurrency; custom models; zero retention; custom hosting; SLA.

Example on the page: 500 h Solaria-3 async ≈ €75 (0.15€/hr). Confirm checkout; volume tiers are automatic.

Limitations / costs

• €50 is a one-time grant, not a monthly Free row.
• Live is more expensive (€0.68/hr vs €0.16/hr async) and Solaria-1 only.
• An STT API, not a meeting notebook. For a bot that already sits in Zoom, see Fireflies.ai.

Alternatives

• AssemblyAI — another hosted STT API when Gladia’s euro wallet is not the job.
• Deepgram — streaming STT when you already live on Nova.
• LiveKit — the realtime room that can call Gladia, not replace it.

Official tutorial

Official Gladia channel video: Transcribe Audio in Real-Time (No Code!) with Gladia | Playground Walkthrough (oEmbed author: Gladia).

Written path: Getting started plus Pricing and the Live quickstart.

Website

https://www.gladia.io

Source

Catalog row curated for AI Tools Nav. Cover is Gladia’s official Getting started API Keys console still. Dollars checked on gladia.io/pricing (starter €50; Solaria-3 async from €0.16/hr; real-time €0.68/hr). Tutorial oEmbed author: Gladia.

Last verified

2026-10-22 (Asia/Shanghai) editorial check.