Speechmatics vs AssemblyAI vs Deepgram vs Gladia
A side-by-side look at scores, pricing and features — with RECATOOLS' ASEAN-aware verdict for each.
Speechmatics
Speech-to-text API pitched at accents, noise and mixed-language audio
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AssemblyAI
Speech-to-text, speech understanding and voice-agent APIs for develope...
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Deepgram
Speech-to-text, text-to-speech and voice-agent APIs for developers
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Gladia
Multilingual speech-to-text API with diarisation and audio intelligenc...
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| RECATOOLS Score | 8 / 10 | 7.8 / 10 | 8 / 10 | 8.2 / 10 |
| Capability | ||||
| Value for money | ||||
| Ease of use | ||||
| ASEAN readiness | ||||
| API quality | ||||
| Pricing | Usage_based | Usage_based | Usage_based | Usage_based |
| Free tier | No lasting free plan: a one-off $100 starter credit (trial), no card needed, with 2 real-time sessions | Trial allowance, not a lasting plan: up to 185 hours of pre-recorded or 333 hours of streaming transcription, no card | $200 one-time credit on Pay As You Go: no credit card, no expiry; promotional credits are non-transferable | Trial only: a one-time €50 credit on sign-up (roughly 80 hours of batch audio), with no monthly reset |
| Paid from | $0.12/hour (Melia 1 pre-recorded transcription, pay as you go) | $0.15/hour (Universal-2 pre-recorded or Universal-Streaming, pay as you go) | Usage-based: Nova-3 batch $0.0043/min; streaming $0.0048/min promo (regular $0.0077) | $0.61/hr batch or $0.75/hr real-time (Starter, pay-as-you-go) |
| Has API | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Open source | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Free to use | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Users | — | — | 200,000+ developers | 300,000+ developers; ~2,000 enterprise/corporate customers (mid-2026) |
| Founded | 2006 | 2017 | 2015 | 2022 |
| Maker | — | — | — | OVH Groupe |
| Verdict | Speechmatics is serious speech infrastructure for teams that will call an API: published per-hour prices by model, real-time and batch transcription, code-switching across languages and a voice-agent model built for fast... |
AssemblyAI is one of the more complete speech APIs: accurate recorded and live transcription, a long list of per-hour add-ons, clear published prices from $0.15 an hour, good documentation and a free starting allowance t... |
Deepgram is one of the strongest speech APIs for developers: fast, accurate, per-second billing, and a coherent stack for building voice agents, now with an APAC headquarters in Singapore and growing Southeast Asian lang... |
Gladia is a strong specialist choice for multilingual and code-switched audio, with diarisation and audio intelligence bundled into one hourly price instead of sold as extras. Solaria-3 leads several of Gladia's own benc... |
| Full review → | Full review → | Full review → | Directory listing → |
Comparisons cover up to 4 tools. Scores are RECATOOLS editorial assessments; verify current pricing on each vendor's site.