SpeechRecognition
Library for performing speech recognition, with support for several engines and APIs, online and offline.
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes. The package is actively maintained, has low install friction, supports modern Python versions (3.9+), carries no known vulnerabilities, and offers a practical abstraction over many speech engines. The permissive BSD-3-Clause license poses no restrictions. Install it when you need speech recognition and want to avoid vendor lock-in or when you want to experiment with multiple engines. The main gotcha is that most engines require optional dependencies or API credentials.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- PyAudio 0.2.11+ is required only if you need microphone input; file-based transcription works without it.
- Most recognition engines require additional packages and API credentials.
- Low install friction with a pure-Python wheel distribution.
License · maintenance · safety
BSD-3-Clause (permissive) — BSD-3-Clause permissive license allows commercial and private use with minimal restrictions, making it suitable for most projects.
last release 2026-06-17 (58 days) · last repo commit 2026-07-31 · 8,985 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 11,744,922 downloads/mo, #1,367 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install SpeechRecognition
from SpeechRecognition import Recognizer, Microphone
recognizer = Recognizer()
with Microphone() as source:
audio = recognizer.listen(source)- Whether all listed engines (Google, Wit.ai, Azure, Houndify, IBM, Groq, Cohere) remain actively supported or if some are deprecated.
- Performance characteristics and accuracy differences between offline engines (Sphinx, Vosk, Whisper) and online APIs.
- Whether PyAudio 0.2.11+ is available on all target platforms or if installation barriers exist on some systems.
What it is and what it does
SpeechRecognition is a Python library that wraps multiple speech recognition engines and APIs into a unified interface. It supports both online services (Google, OpenAI Whisper, Azure, IBM, Groq, Cohere) and offline engines (CMU Sphinx, Vosk, local Whisper models), letting you choose based on accuracy, latency, and privacy needs. The library handles microphone input, audio file transcription, and audio stream processing.
The core use case is converting spoken audio to text in Python applications. You instantiate a Recognizer, load audio from a microphone or file, and call the appropriate recognition method for your chosen engine. Optional dependencies are only required for specific engines—the base install is lightweight. Python 3.9+ is required, and PyAudio is only needed if you want live microphone input.
Use it for
- Build a voice command interface that listens to a microphone and executes actions based on recognized speech.
- Transcribe recorded audio files or meeting recordings using offline or cloud-based speech recognition.
- Create a chatbot or voice assistant that accepts spoken input and processes it as text.
- Implement accessibility features that convert user speech to text for applications.
- Prototype speech recognition workflows by switching between different engines without rewriting code.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes.
The package is actively maintained, has low install friction, supports modern Python versions (3.9+), carries no known vulnerabilities, and offers a practical abstraction over many speech engines. The permissive BSD-3-Clause license poses no restrictions. Install it when you need speech recognition and want to avoid vendor lock-in or when you want to experiment with multiple engines. The main gotcha is that most engines require optional dependencies or API credentials.
Install
speechrecognition on PyPI
Before you install
Low install friction with a pure-Python wheel distribution. Actively maintained with a recent release (2026-06-17) and strong community engagement (8985 GitHub stars). Runtime dependencies are minimal; optional features require additional packages only when needed.
PyAudio 0.2.11+ is required only if you need microphone input; file-based transcription works without it. Most recognition engines require additional packages and API credentials.
License in practice
BSD-3-Clause permissive license allows commercial and private use with minimal restrictions, making it suitable for most projects.
Quickstart
pip install SpeechRecognition
from SpeechRecognition import Recognizer, Microphone
recognizer = Recognizer()
with Microphone() as source:
audio = recognizer.listen(source)Verify before relying
- Whether all listed engines (Google, Wit.ai, Azure, Houndify, IBM, Groq, Cohere) remain actively supported or if some are deprecated.
- Performance characteristics and accuracy differences between offline engines (Sphinx, Vosk, Whisper) and online APIs.
- Whether PyAudio 0.2.11+ is available on all target platforms or if installation barriers exist on some systems.
Package facts
| License | BSD-3-Clause permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.9 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | 3 packagestyping-extensionsstandard-aifcaudioop-lts |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 58 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 11,744,922 / month, #1,367 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 5 - Production/StableIntended Audience :: DevelopersNatural Language :: EnglishOperating System :: MacOS :: MacOS XOperating System :: Microsoft :: WindowsOperating System :: Other OSOperating System :: POSIX :: LinuxProgramming Language :: PythonProgramming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9Topic :: Multimedia :: Sound/Audio :: SpeechTopic :: Software Development :: Libraries :: Python Modules |
Evidence: speechrecognition-3.17.0-py3-none-any.whl
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See also pocketsphinx · vosk · whisperx · openai-whisper · assemblyai · mlx-whisper · sherpa-onnx · sherpa-onnx-core · realtimestt · pywhispercpp