Does Azure charge for entire duration of recognition when using start_continuous_recognition() or only the duration of the recognized speech?

Question

Hi, I have a question regarding the Azure Speech pricing model. When using Azure Speech recognition, if I use this start_continuous_recognition() mode, does Azure charge for the entire duration once the start_continuous_recognition() is called or only the duration of recognized speech?

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/ai-services/speech-service/how-to-recognize-speech?pivots=programming-language-python#use-continuous-recognition

Answer 1

Hi @SST ,

Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Q&A forum regarding the pricing model for Azure Speech recognition when using the "start_continuous_recognition()" mode. I will be happy to assist you regarding this.

Azure Speech recognition pricing is based on the usage. When using the “start_continuous_recognition()” mode, Azure Speech recognition will continuously process audio input until the “stop_continuous_recognition()” method.

Azure charges for the entire duration of audio input processed by the service, regardless of whether the audio is recognized or not. This means that if you use the “start_continuous_recognition()” mode to process audio input for 10 minutes, Azure will charge you for 10 minutes of audio processing, even if only 5 minutes of audio are recognized.

For more information about Azure Speech recognition pricing, please look into the below links:

Cognitive Speech Services Pricing | Microsoft Azure

Speech service quotas and limits - Azure AI services | Microsoft Learn

I hope this information helps! Let me know if you have any further questions.

If this answers your query, do click Accept Answer and Yes for was this answer helpful. And, if you have any further query do let us know.