AssemblyAI vs Deepgram

Side-by-side comparison of features, pricing, and ratings

Analysis generated Live tool data as of 2026-11-06
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AssemblyAI or Deepgram: which should you choose?

DimensionAssemblyAIDeepgram
PricingFrom $0.15/hrFrom $4,000/yr
Best forEngineering teams building production voice agents that need turn detection and interruption handling, AI notetaker and AI scribe teams needing batch plus realtime transcription under one keyEngineering teams building real-time voice agents who want STT, TTS and LLM orchestration behind one endpoint, Contact centres needing live transcription with redaction and diarization as forecastable line items
Standout featuresPre-recorded Speech-to-Text API with native code-switching and speaker labels · Realtime Speech-to-Text over WebSocket with streaming partial transcripts · Sync Speech-to-Text API returning a finished transcript in one request-response callConversation-aware streaming STT with end-of-turn detection and barge-in (Flux STT) · Flux TTS conversation-native speech over batch POST /v2/speak and WebSocket streaming · Unified Voice Agent API combining STT, managed LLM and TTS in one WebSocket call
Viability score95/10095/100
APIYesYes

AssemblyAI is the stronger pick for engineering teams building production voice agents that need turn detection and interruption handling; Deepgram fits better for engineering teams building real-time voice agents who want stt, tts and llm orchestration behind one endpoint.

Built from live tool data, last verified 2026-11-06.

AssemblyAI
AssemblyAI

AssemblyAI speech-to-text API: batch, realtime streaming, and voice agent builds behind one key.

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Deepgram
Deepgram

Deepgram pairs real-time speech-to-text, text-to-speech and a Voice Agent API for live voice AI you can bill per second.

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Pricing
Paid
Paid
Plans
Pay as you go — Universal-2$0.15/hr
Pay as you go — Universal-3.5 Pro$0.21/hr
CustomCustom
Pay as you go$200
GrowthFrom $4,000/yr
EnterpriseCustom
Popularity
5.6k views
6.4k views
Skill Level
Advanced
Advanced
API Available
Platforms
API
API
Categories
✨ Transcription & Speech-to-Text🎙️ Voice & Speech☎️ Voice AI Agents & Phone Automation
✨ Transcription & Speech-to-Text🎙️ Voice & Speech☎️ Voice AI Agents & Phone Automation
FeaturesAssemblyAIDeepgram
Pre-recorded Speech-to-Text API with native code-switching and speaker labels
Realtime Speech-to-Text over WebSocket with streaming partial transcripts
Sync Speech-to-Text API returning a finished transcript in one request-response call
Universal-3.6 Pro for recorded audio and Universal-3.6 Pro Realtime for voice agents
Universal-2 model covering 99 languages at $0.15/hr
AssemblyAI-TTS-1 text-to-speech across 6 languages for voice agents and IVR
Voice Agent API with built-in turn detection and interruption handling
Dictation API returning send-ready text with fillers and self-corrections resolved
Speech Understanding API for summarization, sentiment, and topic detection
Guardrails and Safety API for PII handling and content moderation
LLM Gateway routing frontier models, including DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 and Reflection beam-1.0
Speaker diarization and PII redaction on pre-recorded audio
Keyterms prompting, plain-language prompting, and medical mode add-ons
Self-hosted deployment in your own VPC or on-prem
Python and TypeScript SDKs, MCP server, and browser Playground
Conversation-aware streaming STT with end-of-turn detection and barge-in (Flux STT)
Flux TTS conversation-native speech over batch POST /v2/speak and WebSocket streaming
Unified Voice Agent API combining STT, managed LLM and TTS in one WebSocket call
BYO LLM or TTS provider for a lower Voice Agent per-minute rate
Nova-3 Monolingual and Multilingual models across 60+ languages
Nova-3 multilingual expands to 55 languages with code-switching and language tags (Oct 2026)
language_hint parameter on nova-3 multi for steering language detection
Nova-3 Medical English and Medical Multilingual for clinical vocabulary
Batch and streaming pre-recorded transcription with per-second billing
Mid-stream keyterm and formatting updates via Configure on /v1/listen
ConfigureSuccess / ConfigureFailure acknowledgement on every Configure message
Audio Intelligence: summarization, topic detection, sentiment and intent recognition
Redaction of PII such as SSNs, credit cards and phone numbers
Keyterm Prompting for domain jargon, product names and acronyms
Speaker Diarization for multi-speaker audio
IntegrationsAssemblyAIDeepgram
LiveKit
Pipecat
Twilio
Langflow
Zoom
Amazon Connect
Asterisk
Google Dialogflow CX
Genesys
AudioCodes
Zapier
Make.com
AWS S3

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better, AssemblyAI or Deepgram?

The best choice between AssemblyAI and Deepgram depends on your specific use case — we compare them independently on features, current pricing, integrations, and real-world signals (with an on-demand sentiment scan available for each). See the side-by-side breakdown above to match them to your needs.

What are the main differences between AssemblyAI and Deepgram?

The key differences include pricing model, feature set, platform support, and skill level requirements. Review the full comparison on RightAIChoice for a detailed breakdown.

Is there a free version of AssemblyAI or Deepgram?

Check the pricing section in the comparison for the latest pricing details on both tools, including free tiers, trial options, and paid plans.

What else are AssemblyAI and Deepgram compared with?

Where can you read more about AssemblyAI and Deepgram?

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Analysis generated by our model pipeline from live data: