AssemblyAI

Transcription & AI Audio · Free · since 2017

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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.

pros

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

cons

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

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