Speak AI vs Spoken
A side-by-side look at the Speak AI and Spoken MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Speak AI for speech-to-text work as a local process; choose Spoken for speech-to-text as a local process. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
Choose Speak AI when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Speech-to-Text domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You have the keys it needs:
SPEAKAI_KEY, SPEAK_API_KEY. - You want tools like
get_signed_upload_url, upload_media, list_media.
Choose Spoken when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Speech-to-Text domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- Its auth model fits you: API key required.
- You want tools like
search_podcasts, get_transcript, list_episodes.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Speech-to-Text | Speech-to-Text |
| Quality signal | 63/100 · Good | 65/100 · Great |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | Not declared | API key required |
| Pricing | Not declared | Freemium |
| Required env vars | SPEAKAI_KEYSPEAK_API_KEY | None listed |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 0 | 5 |
| Directory activity | 1 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 4 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 189 | 8 |
| Full listing | View Speak AI | View Spoken |
Tools & capabilities
Speak AI tools 189
get_signed_upload_urlGet a pre-signed S3 URL for direct file upload to Speak AI storage. After getting the URL, PUT your file to it, then call upload_media with the S3 URL. For a simpler workflow, use upload_local_file instead which handles all steps automatically.upload_mediaImport an audio or video file into Speak AI from a URL and start transcription. Accepts a direct public file URL, a URL returned by get_signed_upload_url, or a page link from a supported platform, which the server resolves to the underlying media. Supported page links: YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, X/Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, SoundCloud, Twitch, Dailymotion, Streamable, Snapchat, Pinterest, Tumblr, Bilibili, VK, OK.ru and Rutube. Vimeo and Loom page links are not supported. Requires an active subscription. Creates a media item, bills its duration against the workspace's minutes or credits, and sends the media.created event to the workspace's webhooks and Slack channels if any are configured. The request fails if the file exceeds the plan's size limit or its duration cannot be read, and no mediaId is returned if the balance is insufficient. Returns mediaId and state right away while processing continues in the background. Use get_media_status until state is 'processed', then get_transcript and get_media_insights.list_mediaList and search media files in the workspace with filtering, pagination, and sorting. Use filterName for text search, mediaType to filter by audio/video/text, folderId for folder-specific results, and from/to for date ranges. Use the include param to embed additional data (transcripts, speakers, keywords) inline with each result, avoiding N+1 API calls. Returns mediaIds you can pass to get_transcript, get_media_insights, or ask_ai_chat. For deep full-text search across transcripts, use search_media instead.get_media_insightsRetrieve AI-generated insights for a processed media file — topics, sentiment, keywords, action items, summaries, and more. The media must be in 'processed' state (check with get_media_status first). For asking custom questions about a media file, use ask_ai_chat instead. For a video, data.thumbnail has the thumbnail: url, source (auto or custom), pending while a requested frame is being made, and error if that frame failed.get_transcriptRetrieve the full transcript for a media file with speaker labels and timestamps. Works on processed media and also returns the partial, in-progress transcript while a meeting bot is still recording (LIVE_TRANSCRIPT state). To fetch only the new sentences added since your previous call during a live meeting, use get_live_meeting_transcript instead. Use update_transcript_speakers to rename speaker labels after reviewing. For subtitle-formatted output, use get_captions instead.update_transcript_speakersUpdate or rename speaker labels in a single media transcript. Call get_transcript first to read the speaker list — a speaker's label is whatever it was last renamed to, not a fixed value, so ids from an earlier turn may be stale. Renaming a speaker to a name another speaker already has is refused as a collision. Re-sending a rename that has already been applied is a safe no-op, so do not retry a call that reported success.update_transcriptionEdit the official transcript text of a single media file by finding and replacing text. Replaces every occurrence of the original text with the replacement (leave replacement empty to delete the text) and reports how many occurrences were replaced. Use update_transcript_speakers to rename speaker labels instead.get_media_statusCheck the processing status of a media file. States: pending → transcribing → analyzing → processed (or failed). Poll this after upload_media until state is 'processed', then use get_transcript and get_media_insights to retrieve results. For a video, data.thumbnail has the thumbnail: url, source (auto or custom), pending while a requested frame is being made, and error if that frame failed.update_media_metadataUpdate metadata fields (name, description, tags, status) for an existing media file. Sends the media.updated event to the workspace's webhooks and Slack channels if any are configured.delete_mediaPermanently delete a media file and all associated transcripts and insights. Sends the media.deleted event to the workspace's webhooks and Slack channels if any are configured.get_captionsGet captions for a media file. Captions are separate from full transcripts and are formatted for display/subtitles.list_supported_languagesList all languages supported for transcription. Use the language codes when uploading media with a specific sourceLanguage.- +177 more on the listing page
Spoken tools 8
search_podcastsSearch published podcast episodes by text query, or paste an episode URL (Spotify, YouTube, etc.). Returns matching episodes with their id, title, podcast, podcast_id, and date. Use the id with get_transcript, or the podcast_id with list_episodes to get the show's whole back-catalog. Does not consume credits.get_transcriptFetch a podcast episode's transcript as clean Markdown with real speaker names and timestamps. Pass an episode id from search_podcasts. Costs 1 credit on the first fetch of an episode; repeat fetches are free and errors are never charged.list_episodesList a podcast's entire back-catalog (every episode, newest first). Pass a podcast_id from a search_podcasts result. Returns each episode's id, title, and date — fetch any with get_transcript. Use this to transcribe a whole show. Does not consume credits itself; transcribing the returned episodes costs 1 credit each (repeat fetches are free), so make sure the key has enough credits before looping.get_balanceCheck the current Spoken credit balance, account email, and recent usage for the configured API key. Does not consume credits.list_followingThe shows this key is kept current on. Every charged fetch makes its show a follow: the five most-fetched shows from the last 180 days are followed automatically (source 'fetch'), and up to 25 more can be declared with follow_podcast (source 'explicit'). Muted shows are listed separately. Use list_new_episodes to see what is new on them. Does not consume credits; the demo key has nothing to follow with.follow_podcastDeclare a follow for a show, or clear a mute. Pass a podcast_id from search_podcasts. A declared follow stays until unfollow_podcast, regardless of fetch activity, and does not use one of the five automatic slots. For a show never fetched, what counts as new starts from its newest episode now. Does not consume credits.unfollow_podcastMute a show: it leaves the followed list and later fetches do not re-add it. follow_podcast reverses it. Pass a podcast_id from list_following. Does not consume credits.list_new_episodesWhat is new on the shows this key follows: for each show, the episodes released in the last 90 days that are newer than the newest one already fetched from it (up to 10 per show), each with a transcript_url. Episodes with no transcript are left out. Fetch any with get_transcript (1 credit each on first fetch); a fetch raises that show's floor, so the next call lists only what came after. Refreshed hourly, so a show followed moments ago may be empty until its first poll. Does not consume credits.
Ready-to-paste client configs
Paste either block (or both) into your client config, e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json. We only show a config when the install command is confirmed.
Speak AI
{
"mcpServers": {
"speak-ai": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@speakai/mcp-server"
],
"env": {
"SPEAKAI_KEY": "YOUR_SPEAKAI_KEY_HERE",
"SPEAK_API_KEY": "YOUR_SPEAK_API_KEY_HERE"
}
}
}
}
Spoken
{
"mcpServers": {
"spokenmd-spoken": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"spoken-mcp"
]
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Speak AI is categorized under Speech-to-Text and uses a local stdio subprocess. Spoken belongs to Speech-to-Text and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick Speak AI for speech-to-text work and Spoken for speech-to-text.
Copy the mcpServers block from the config section on this page into your client's config (for example claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json), then fully restart the client.
Speak AI has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. Spoken is listed as freemium — a free tier with paid plans. Auth: api key required. If a server needs environment variables such as API keys, define them under the env key in your client's MCP config.
Yes. MCP clients support multiple servers: add speak-ai and spokenmd-spoken as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, Speak AI has a quality signal of 63/100 (Good) with 1 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars. Spoken has 65/100 (Great) with 4 views, 0 installs and 5 GitHub stars.