whisper.cpp vs Wyoming faster-whisper
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted self-hosted ai options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | whisper.cpp | Wyoming faster-whisper |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 100 · Excellent | 78 · Good |
| Category | Self-Hosted AI | Self-Hosted AI |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | C++ | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 53,894 | ★ 388 |
| First released | 2022 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Otter.ai, Google Speech-to-Text | Google Speech-to-Text |
What are whisper.cpp and Wyoming faster-whisper?
whisper.cpp
whisper.cpp is a lightweight, dependency-free C++ implementation of the Whisper automatic speech recognition model. It runs efficiently on CPUs and can serve transcription locally through a built-in HTTP server.
- CPU-efficient transcription
- No external dependencies
- Built-in HTTP server
- Many language models
Wyoming faster-whisper
Wyoming faster-whisper wraps the faster-whisper transcription model in a service speaking the Wyoming protocol. It provides local speech-to-text for voice assistants like Home Assistant.
- Local speech recognition
- Wyoming protocol service
- Home Assistant integration
- Lightweight
whisper.cpp vs Wyoming faster-whisper: key differences
Whisper.cpp is written in C++, while Wyoming faster-whisper is built with Python. Whisper.cpp has the considerably larger community, at 53,894 GitHub stars versus 388. Wyoming faster-whisper lists first-class Docker deployment; whisper.cpp does not.
Why pick each one
Choose whisper.cpp if…
- Runs on plain CPUs
- No heavy dependencies
- Quantized models supported
Watch out for
- Command-line focused
- Build from source
Choose Wyoming faster-whisper if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Python
Frequently asked questions
Is whisper.cpp or Wyoming faster-whisper better?
Neither is universally better. whisper.cpp has the larger community, while Wyoming faster-whisper is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are whisper.cpp and Wyoming faster-whisper free and open-source?
Yes. whisper.cpp is licensed under MIT and Wyoming faster-whisper under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run whisper.cpp and Wyoming faster-whisper with Docker?
whisper.cpp: check the project docs for container support. Wyoming faster-whisper: yes.