Speech-to-Text API · decision tool
Deepgram vs AssemblyAI — for your app, not in general
Deepgram or AssemblyAI? Set your usage, budget and constraints; the verdict, monthly cost and risks update live from verified pricing.
Prices verified 2026-07-17 against official pricing pages · fit weights are our estimates (see methodology) · share the URL to share your configuration
As of Jul 2026, with 100 hours of audio transcribed/month, a $50 budget for this slot, AssemblyAI ranks first for these inputs at 81% fit and a StackSays-estimated $15.00/month (Deepgram: 74% fit, $46.20/month). Fit weights are our estimates; prices trace to official pages. Change any input below and the verdict recomputes.
Your situation
The verdict updates as you move these.
Clear pick for your inputs
Per-hour STT with a deep menu of paid intelligence add-ons
vs Deepgram: fit 81% against 74%, est $15.00 against $46.20 per month
Comparing 2 tools head-to-head. Open the full field (6 options) →
The decision, in plain words
For a solo builder at 100 hours of audio transcribed/month and a $50.00/mo budget for the speech-to-text API slot, AssemblyAI leads at 81% fit and $15.00/mo. The two rules doing the work: budget fit (~$15/mo is 30% of your $50/mo budget); batteries included (Bundles realtime streaming, speaker diarization — fewer services to glue at team size 1).
The gap to Deepgram (74% fit) is wide at these inputs — you'd need to change your requirements, not your taste, to flip it.
Honest weak spot of the pick: no free tier — paying from day one.
Generated from the calculation above — every number traces to the sourced data; nothing here is written by an AI making things up.
Why AssemblyAI scores 81%
How the $15.00/mo estimate is calculated
What could change this verdict
Cost risk
Official prices verified 2026-07-17; calculation is deterministic code over those prices.
At a glance
| Tool | Free tier | Paid entry | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deepgram | No free tier | Pay-as-you-go — Nova-3 monolingual prerecorded at $0.0077/min = $0.462/hour; streaming is promo-priced lower ($0.0048/min) but flagged limited-time; $200 one-time signup credit | 2026-07-17 |
| AssemblyAI | No free tier | Pay-as-you-go — $0.15/hour async or streaming (Universal-2); add-ons stack per hour: diarization +$0.02, PII redaction +$0.08; $50 one-time signup credit | 2026-07-17 |
Data sources
| Tool | Source | Verified |
|---|---|---|
| Deepgram | Deepgram pricing | 2026-07-17 |
| AssemblyAI | AssemblyAI pricing | 2026-07-17 |
A monitor re-checks these pages for changes; when a vendor moves a price, the date updates and every verdict recomputes.