AssemblyAI charges $0.37/hr and doesn’t even offer TTS
We do both STT and TTS for $0.20/hr.Same quality, 46% cheaper, no proprietary SDK, no lock-in. AssemblyAI can't compete.
Feature-by-feature comparison
Similar features, dramatically different pricing and portability.
| Feature | SpeakEasy | AssemblyAI |
|---|---|---|
| STT Price per Hour | $0.20 | $0.37 |
| TTS Price per 1M chars | $0.25 | N/A (no TTS) |
| Monthly Plan | $10/mo (50 hrs included) | Pay-as-you-go |
| Free Tier | $1 first month | 100 hrs free (limited) |
| Languages | 99+ | 99+ |
| Speaker Diarization | Yes | Yes |
| Word-level Timestamps | Yes | Yes |
| Text-to-Speech | Yes | No |
| OpenAI SDK Compatible | Yes | No (custom SDK) |
| Vendor Lock-in | None (OpenAI API) | Proprietary SDK |
| Streaming | Yes | Yes |
| Pricing Model | Simple flat rate | Per-model pricing tiers |
Pricing breakdown
Cut your transcription costs in half without sacrificing quality.
SpeakEasy
- ✓STT at $0.20/hour (50 hrs included)
- ✓TTS at $0.25/1M characters
- ✓$1 for your first month
- ✓OpenAI SDK — no vendor lock-in
- ✓Simple flat-rate pricing
AssemblyAI
- ✕Pay-as-you-go only
- ✕No Text-to-Speech
- ✓100 hrs free (limited features)
- ✕Custom SDK required (lock-in)
- ✕Per-model tiered pricing
Save 46% on every hour of transcription
A team transcribing 100 hours/month saves $12/month by switching to SpeakEasy.
Standard SDK vs proprietary SDK
AssemblyAI locks you into their custom SDK. SpeakEasy uses the OpenAI SDK you already know.
# AssemblyAI requires their proprietary SDK
import assemblyai as aai
aai.settings.api_key = "YOUR_ASSEMBLYAI_KEY"
transcriber = aai.Transcriber()
transcript = transcriber.transcribe("meeting.mp3")
print(transcript.text)# SpeakEasy uses the standard OpenAI SDK
from openai import OpenAI
client = OpenAI(
api_key="YOUR_SPEAKEASY_KEY",
base_url="https://api.tryspeakeasy.io/v1"
)
transcript = client.audio.transcriptions.create(
model="whisper-large-v3",
file=open("meeting.mp3", "rb")
)
print(transcript.text)The verdict
There is no contest here. SpeakEasy costs $0.20/hour. AssemblyAI costs $0.37/hour. That is 85% more money for the same transcription quality. If you are still paying AssemblyAI rates, you are leaving money on the table.
It gets worse for AssemblyAI. They do not offer Text-to-Speech at all — SpeakEasy does. They force you onto a proprietary SDK that locks you in — SpeakEasy uses the standard OpenAI SDK, so you can switch providers anytime with zero code changes. AssemblyAI traps you. We set you free.
Stop overpaying for less. SpeakEasy gives you STT and TTS, an open SDK, simpler pricing, and 50 hours included for $10/month. AssemblyAI gives you one service, a locked-in SDK, and a bigger bill.
$1 for your first month. Full 50 hours included.
Also compare SpeakEasy with:
$1. 50 hours. Both STT and TTS.
Your current speech API provider is charging you too much. Switch in one line of code.