llama.cpp

by ggml.ai

GGUF runtime — runs many ASR forks (whisper, parakeet, qwen-audio).

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TL;DR

Best for reference quantization stack used by many ASR forks. Pricing: free.

Category
Open source
License
MIT
Stars
★ 123.0k
Last push
2026-08-07
Pricing
free
Platforms
Linux, macOS, Windows, Android, iOS

What it is

The reference C++ inference engine for GGUF models. MIT.

Best for: Reference quantization stack used by many ASR forks.
Watch out for: Not an ASR engine on its own.

Install / use

git clone https://github.com/ggerganov/llama.cpp

Features

Speaker diarizationNo
Word-level timestampsYes
Streaming / real-timeNo
Languages supported99
HIPAA eligibleNo

Links

GitHub repo ↗

llama.cpp vs Whipscribe

Featurellama.cppWhipscribe
CategoryOpen sourceTranscription APIs
Pricingfree$4–$24 one-time packs (credits never expire) · $2 single unlock · 60 min free on signup
Speaker diarizationNoYes
Word timestampsYesYes
StreamingNoNo
Languages9999
PlatformsLinux, macOS, Windows, Android, iOSWeb, API, MCP

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