How to Get $200 Free for Speech-to-Text with Deepgram

Tutorials & Methods
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:face_with_raised_eyebrow: What Is This, and Why Should You Care?

Deepgram is a speech-to-text tool. You give it audio (like a podcast, voice message, or angry voicemail from your boss), and it gives you back text.

Right now, they’re giving $200 in free credit. No credit card, no scam, no soul-selling. That’s enough to turn around 2500 minutes of talking into written words. Yes, even your weird ramblings.

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:yawning_face: Too Lazy to Read? Here’s the Quick Plan:
Sign up âžś Get free $200 âžś Upload audio âžś Get text back
Congrats, you now understand 80% of the internet’s SaaS economy.

:ladder: How To Actually Use It (For Real)

  1. Go to: deepgram.com/pricing

  2. Hit “Get Started” (you’ll need an email, not your blood type).

  3. After signup, go to your dashboard and copy your API key.

  4. Upload your audio using their /listen tool. You can do it in code (they’ll show you how) or use a test tool like cURL. Here’s the idea:

    curl -X POST "https://api.deepgram.com/v1/listen?model=nova-3"  
-H "Authorization: Token YOUR_API_KEY"  
--data-binary @yourfile.wav

  5. Replace YOUR_API_KEY with your key. Replace yourfile.wav with your audio file.

  6. Press enter. Get text. Cry tears of automation joy.

:brain: Why This Isn’t a Scam

  • You don’t need a card.
  • The credit actually works.
  • You can use it for real projects like YouTube subtitles, podcast transcripts, meeting notes, or decoding what your cat meowed at 3 a.m.

:wrapped_gift: Other Free AI Hacks You’d Be Dumb to Ignore

  1. Claude Code – $100 Free API Credits
    Use it for coding, writing, and logic stuff.
    Link: Guide Here

  2. Claude 3.7 Sonnet – Multimodal API, Still Free
    Fancy word for “can handle images, chat, and math without breaking.”
    Link: Free Setup Guide

  3. Google Cloud – $300 Free for Gemini & Veo
    Do free video generation (like those crazy AI music videos).
    Link: Sign Up

  4. Whisper Offline – For the Paranoid and Poor
    Run OpenAI’s Whisper on your laptop. No internet, no leaks.
    Link: Vibe App on GitHub

  5. Run Meta’s LLaMA on Your PC (No Server Needed)
    Talk to a local language model like it’s your pet AI.
    Link: llama.cpp Setup

:warning: Real Talk (Read This Before You Do Something Dumb)

  • That $200 doesn’t expire overnight. It goes down only when you use it.
  • Nova-3 is the fancy new model, so it uses more credits per minute.
  • Don’t feed it garbage audio and expect Shakespeare.
  • Don’t leak your API key unless you want strangers stealing your minutes.

:receipt: Need All the Links Again? Here You Go:

:roll_of_paper: Final Thought
You can either pay $200 to some overpriced “AI tool” that says “Um…” more than your cousin on Zoom…
OR
You can use Deepgram for free and actually get things done.
Your move.

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Very nice share, thank you so much

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