Head to head / AI Transcription
AssemblyAI vs Speechmatics
- →AssemblyAI has a free tier to start; Speechmatics does not.
- →Speechmatics is cheaper to start ($0.13/hr vs $0.15/hr).
| Compared | AssemblyAI | Speechmatics |
|---|---|---|
| Accuracy (tested) | 96.9% | Not tested |
| Starting price | $0.15/hr | $0.13/hr |
| Free tier | Yes | — |
| Visit AssemblyAI | Visit Speechmatics |
Feature by feature
| Feature | AssemblyAI | Speechmatics |
|---|---|---|
| Languages | 99+ | 56+ |
| API | Yes | Yes (core product) |
| Real-time | Yes | Yes |
| Speaker labels | Yes | Yes (diarization) |
| Export formats | JSON, TXT, SRT, VTT | JSON, TXT, SRT |
| Human option | No | No |
AssemblyAI
Developers who want a speech-to-text API with built-in audio intelligence like summarization, sentiment, and LLM queries.
- +Universal-2 model, strong English accuracy
- +LeMUR runs LLMs over your transcripts
- +Sentiment, topics, PII redaction built in
- +Generous free credit to start
Speechmatics
Teams and developers needing accurate, accent-robust transcription with on-prem and enterprise deployment options.
- +Strong accuracy across accents and dialects
- +Speaker diarization and custom dictionary included
- +Generous free tier (~50 hours/month)
- +Real-time and batch, plus on-prem deployment
Compared on the metrics we track for this category. Prices are the cheapest paid tier. Some links are affiliate links.