AssemblyAI
Speech-to-text API with speaker diarization, sentiment analysis, and topic detection.
Overview
AssemblyAI is a speech-to-text API with speaker diarization, sentiment analysis, and topic detection. It handles transcription api, speaker labels, sentiment, and summarization, and it's best suited for developers wanting transcription and audio intelligence apis. It has been around since 2017, giving it a 9-year head start in building out integrations and refining the product.
The free plan is free for 100 hrs — enough for most people to evaluate whether it fits. Paid plans start at $0.37/hr, which unlocks the full feature set. It's designed for small teams, striking a balance between simplicity and collaboration features.
Strengths
- Includes Transcription API as a core feature, purpose-built for transcription & ai audio workflows
- Includes Speaker Labels as a core feature, purpose-built for transcription & ai audio workflows
- Free for 100 hrs — generous enough for most small teams to get real work done
- Includes sentiment alongside the core feature set — fewer separate tools needed
Weaknesses
- Free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade
- Developer-oriented tooling may not suit non-technical team members
- Ecosystem of third-party integrations is smaller than the market leaders in transcription & ai audio
- Limited team/admin features if your organization eventually scales up
Pricing estimate
Free for 100 hrs
Quick info
- Category
- Transcription & AI Audio
- Starting price
- $0.37/hr
- Free tier
- Yes — Free for 100 hrs
- Open source
- No
- Best for
- Small teams
- Founded
- 2017
Last updated 2026-04-12
Top alternatives to AssemblyAI
OpenAI's open-source speech recognition model with state-of-the-art accuracy.
Remote recording platform for podcasts and video with local recording and transcription.
AI voice generator with realistic voice cloning, text-to-speech, and dubbing.
AssemblyAI comparisons
vs
vs
vs
vs
vs
vs
More Transcription & AI Audio tools
Stay sharp
New transcription & ai audio tools, price changes, and honest takes — weekly.