AssemblyAI
Universal-2 model + diarization, PII redaction, topic detection, summarization.
Universal-2 model + diarization, PII redaction, topic detection, summarization.
Best for product teams that want transcription + NLP (summaries, topics, sentiment, PII) in one API. Pricing: from $0.37/hr.
What it is
AssemblyAI ships its own Universal-2 ASR model alongside a rich NLP layer: speaker diarization, PII redaction, auto-chapters, topic detection, and sentiment. HIPAA-eligible with a BAA on higher tiers. Good pick for products that need the transcript to be a starting point, not the finish line. Last price check: 2026-04-20.
Watch out for: Per-minute cost rises with add-ons; proprietary model (Universal-2), so no self-host path.
Install / use
Features
| Speaker diarization | Yes |
| Word-level timestamps | Yes |
| Streaming / real-time | Yes |
| Languages supported | 99 |
| HIPAA eligible | Yes |
AssemblyAI vs Whipscribe
| Feature | AssemblyAI | Whipscribe |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Transcription APIs | Transcription APIs |
| Pricing | from $0.37/hr | free beta |
| Speaker diarization | Yes | Yes |
| Word timestamps | Yes | Yes |
| Streaming | Yes | No |
| Languages | 99 | 99 |
| Platforms | API | Web, API, MCP |
Sources & dates for the comparison above
- diarization: “Speaker Diarization detects and labels different speakers in an audio file.” — source (checked 2026-04-23)
- word timestamps: “Each word in the response includes start and end timestamps in milliseconds.” — source (checked 2026-04-23)
- streaming: “AssemblyAI offers a WebSocket-based streaming transcription API.” — source (checked 2026-04-23)
- pricing: “Universal model pricing from $0.37 per hour.” — source (checked 2026-04-23)
Alternatives to AssemblyAI
Whipscribe is a managed faster-whisper + whisperX service. If you want transcripts without running infrastructure, paste a URL or drop a file in the form below — you'll have a transcript in seconds.