AssemblyAI vs Speechmatics
Ai Transcription Apis pricing comparison · 2026
AssemblyAI pricing ranges from $0–$0.21/hour, while Speechmatics ranges from $0–$0/minute. These products use different pricing models (Usage-based (pay per token/image/minute) vs Per-seat subscription), so a direct price comparison isn't meaningful — costs depend on usage volume and mix.
AssemblyAI
AssemblyAI is a developer-focused speech-to-text and audio intelligence API platform that
verified 16d ago
View pricing →
Speechmatics
Speechmatics is a multilingual speech recognition platform specializing in speech-to-text
verified 21d ago
View pricing →
Estimated license cost
at 25 seats
List price × seats. Click a tier below to lock it.
Usage-based
$0.0035 per minute
see vendor pricing for volume tiers
Usage-based
$0.24 per hour
see vendor pricing for volume tiers
REF · 01
Sources & confidence
Every dollar amount and contract clause below traces back to a sourced fact. We don't manufacture composite scores.
Where this data comes from
Vendr · TrustRadius · Reddit · BBB · official docs
Sources
No structured sources
Last verified
2w ago
Confidence
High confidence
Sources
No structured sources
Last verified
3w ago
Confidence
High confidence
REF · 02
Plans at a glance
Every tier per product. Lock one to drive the cost row above and reveal a tier-specific outbound CTA.
Tier ladder
Click a tier to lock the cost row to it. Locking surfaces a tier-specific Visit CTA.
REF · 05
What users say
Aggregated, with sample sizes. We use whichever review platform has data.
User reviews
TrustRadius · Trustpilot · G2
Decide
Get a quote from each vendor
Each link opens the vendor's pricing page in a new tab.
License cost is computed from publicly listed plans (real math, list price × seats).
Median annual cost is from Vendr's deal flow when available — see source badges.
Hidden costs and contract terms each cite their own sources. We do not invent composite scores.
VS
AssemblyAI and Speechmatics both operate in the ai transcription apis category. This page compares their published pricing.
Plan-by-Plan Pricing
| Plan | AssemblyAI | Speechmatics |
|---|---|---|
| Free Tier | Free /hour | Free /minute |
| Pay-As-You-Go | Custom | Custom |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom |
Cost at Scale
Total cost of ownership — licenses, implementation, and hidden costs included.
AssemblyAI
3 scenarios$10/month ($120/year)
Podcast Transcription Startup (50 hours/month)
$7.50 for transcription (50 hrs × $0.15/hr), $1.00 for speaker diarization (50 hrs × $0.02/hr), $1.50 for summarization (50 hrs × $0.03/hr). Total per-hour cost: $0.20/hr.
$210/month ($2,520/year)
Customer Call Analytics Platform (500 hours/month)
$75 for transcription (500 hrs × $0.15/hr), $10 for speaker diarization, $40 for entity detection, $10 for sentiment analysis, $75 for topic detection. Total per-hour cost: $0.42/hr. Enterprise pricing with 30-50% volume discount would reduce this to ~$1,500-$1,800/year.
$1,250
Enterprise Meeting Intelligence (5,000 hours/month)
$1,750/month ($15,000-$21,000/year estimate) -- Enterprise volume discounts of 40-50% applied to list pricing (~$0.25-$0.35/hr vs $0.42/hr list). Includes dedicated support, custom SLA, and prepaid annual commitment. Typical Enterprise contracts start at $12,000-$24,000 minimum.
Speechmatics
3 scenarios$0/month ($0/year)
Multilingual Content Creator (300 minutes/month)
300 minutes/month is fully covered by the Free tier's 480 minutes/month limit. No charges incurred. Excess 180 minutes/month unused.
$259.20/month ($3,110.40/year)
Customer Call Analytics (1,500 hours/month)
Base cost: 1,500 hours × $0.24/hr = $360/month. Less 480 free minutes ($1.92), less 20% volume discount ($71.62 on usage above 500 hours), net cost: $259.20/month. Total per-hour cost after discounts: $0.173/hr.
$1,500
Enterprise Media Platform with On-Premises (10,000 hours/month)
$2,500/month ($18,000-$30,000/year estimate) -- Enterprise custom pricing with 30-40% volume discount reduces base Pro rate ($0.24/hr) to ~$0.144-$0.192/hr. 10,000 hrs × $0.15-$0.20/hr = $1,500-$2,000/month for transcription, plus on-premises infrastructure ($2,000-$5,000/month GPU/Kubernetes) and DevOps ($1,000-$3,000/month). Total all-in cost: $4,500-$10,500/month. Minimum Enterprise commitment typically $25,000-$50,000 annually for transcription services alone.