MAI-Transcribe-2 benchmarks, pricing and specs
MAI-Transcribe-2 is a Microsoft AI model released on September 3, 2026 that takes audio input and produces text. It costs $0.001667 per audio minute. It scores 2.04 % WER on Artificial Analysis AA-WER v2, #1 of 6 current models (Artificial Analysis, measured October 13, 2026).
- Per audio minute
- $0.001667
- Artificial Analysis AA-WER v2
- 2.04 % WER · #1/6
Data verified October 13, 2026 · Dataset 2026-10-13
Key facts
- Provider
- Microsoft AI
- Model family
- MAI-Transcribe
- Release date
- September 3, 2026
- Status
- Current
- Access
- API only
- API model id
- MAI-Transcribe-2
- Context window
- Not reported
- Max output
- Not reported
- Input
- audio
- Output
- text
- Task families
- audio
- Declared capabilities
- speech to text, diarization
MAI-Transcribe-2 pricing
It is tied for the cheapest of 12 current audio models priced per audio minute.
Independent benchmark results
Scores come from independent evaluators that ran the model themselves, pinned to a dated snapshot. Rank is among current models in the same snapshot. Microsoft AI's own launch figures are listed under strengths with the publisher named, because they are not measured the same way.
| Benchmark | Score | Rank | Measured | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Artificial Analysis AA-WER v2 | 2.04 % WER | #1 of 6 | October 13, 2026 | Artificial Analysis · 2026-10-13 |
Strengths, cautions and best uses
Strengths
- Microsoft reports first place on FLEURS across 60 languages with a 5.2% average word error rate
- Diarization, word timestamps, keyword biasing, language identification and code-switching
- $0.10 per hour of audio at launch
Cautions
- Azure Speech lists it as a public preview with no SLA, not recommended for production
- The $0.10 per hour price is a limited-time offer until 2026-12-31, and the later price is not published
Best for
- Low-cost multilingual batch transcription
- Meeting and call transcripts with speaker labels
Alternatives to MAI-Transcribe-2
The closest current audiomodels by price. The cheapest model that scores as well or better is listed first; failing that, the cheapest one within 3% of the benchmark's scale.
Grok Voice Transcribe 2.0
- Same price per audio minute, $0.001667
- 0.3 points lower on Artificial Analysis AA-WER v2, 2.29 vs 2.04
- From xAI
Scribe v2
- 2.2x the price per audio minute, $0.003667 vs $0.001667
- 0.1 points lower on Artificial Analysis AA-WER v2, 2.18 vs 2.04
- From ElevenLabs
GPT Transcribe
- 2.7x the price per audio minute, $0.0045 vs $0.001667
- 1.3 points lower on Artificial Analysis AA-WER v2, 3.31 vs 2.04
- From OpenAI
Gemini 3.5 Transcribe
- 3.0x the price per audio minute, $0.005 vs $0.001667
- 0.6 points lower on Artificial Analysis AA-WER v2, 2.6 vs 2.04
- From Google
Compare MAI-Transcribe-2 with
MAI-Transcribe-2 FAQ
How much does MAI-Transcribe-2 cost?
MAI-Transcribe-2 costs $0.001667 per audio minute at the standard tier. It is tied for the cheapest of 12 current audio models priced per audio minute. Source: Microsoft AI, verified October 13, 2026.
How does MAI-Transcribe-2 score on independent benchmarks?
MAI-Transcribe-2 scores 2.04 % WER on Artificial Analysis AA-WER v2, #1 of 6 current models (Artificial Analysis, measured October 13, 2026). These are independent evaluations, not Microsoft AI's own launch figures.
Is MAI-Transcribe-2 open source or API only?
MAI-Transcribe-2 is available through Microsoft AI's API only; its weights are not published.
What are the best alternatives to MAI-Transcribe-2?
The closest current alternatives by price and measured performance are Grok Voice Transcribe 2.0 (same price per audio minute, $0.001667), Scribe v2 (2.2x the price per audio minute, $0.003667 vs $0.001667), GPT Transcribe (2.7x the price per audio minute, $0.0045 vs $0.001667) and Gemini 3.5 Transcribe (3.0x the price per audio minute, $0.005 vs $0.001667).
Sources
- MAI-Transcribe in Azure Speech · Microsoft · official · verified October 13, 2026
- MAI-Transcribe-2 announcement · Microsoft AI · official · verified October 13, 2026
- Artificial Analysis speech-to-text leaderboard (AA-WER v2, non-streaming) · Artificial Analysis · independent · verified October 13, 2026 · Artificial Analysis Terms of Use
Cite this page
Van Data Team. "MAI-Transcribe-2 Benchmarks, Pricing and Specs." AI Model Benchmark Dataset 2026-10-13. https://vandatateam.com/ai-model-benchmarks/mai-transcribe-2
Reuse the data: JSON · CSV · or explore every model in the AI model benchmark comparison.
Production evaluation
Deciding whether MAI-Transcribe-2 fits your workload?
Public benchmarks narrow the shortlist. We test the finalists on your own tasks, data and cost limits, then build the routing and review controls to run the winner in production.
- Evaluation cases and acceptance thresholds tied to real work
- Model routing, fallbacks and cost controls