Quick Answer
Last verified:

AssemblyAI pricing varies by team size and features, ranging from $0 to $75 per hour in 2026. Your actual cost depends on the tier you choose, contract length, and negotiated discounts.

Use the interactive pricing calculator to estimate your exact cost based on team size and requirements.

  • Free tier: No free tier available
  • Billing: Monthly and annual (save 15-20%)
  • Hidden costs: Add ~35% for implementation, support, and training
Last verified: February 2026 | Sources: 2 pricing pages and reviews
+40-60% above list price

Hidden Costs Breakdown

1

Audio intelligence add-ons stack significantly: Adding speaker diarization ($0.02/hr), entity detection ($0.08/hr), topic detection ($0.15/hr), and summarization ($0.03/hr) increases base Universal cost from $0.15/hr to $0.43/hr (187% increase) -- most real-world use cases require multiple features

2

Real-time streaming charges apply to connection time, not audio duration: A 30-minute streaming session billed at $0.15/hr costs $0.075 even if only 10 minutes of audio is transcribed -- idle connection time counts toward usage

3

LLM Gateway token costs are separate: Using AssemblyAI's LLM Gateway for post-processing adds $3-$15 per million output tokens (Claude 4.5 Sonnet: $3 input/$15 output) on top of transcription costs -- a 10,000-word summary costs ~$0.20-$0.30 additional

4

Enterprise minimum commitments: While exact pricing is negotiated, Enterprise plans typically require $12,000-$24,000 annual commitments with prepayment -- unused credits may expire annually depending on contract terms

5

API integration and infrastructure costs: Budget $500-$2,000 for initial integration including webhook setup, audio preprocessing, storage (S3/GCS), and error handling -- ongoing infrastructure costs $50-$200/month for audio storage and processing

6

No volume discounts on free tier: The $50 free credit processes approximately 185 hours of Universal transcription, but expires once used -- there is no free tier refresh, so after exhausting credits you immediately pay full Pay-As-You-Go rates

Example: True Cost for 25 Users

License (25 × $37.5 × 12) $11,250/yr
Implementation (one-time) +$15,000–$50,000
Premium Support (20%) +$2,250/yr
Training (25 × $500) +$12,500
Admin (part-time) +$15,000–$25,000/yr
Year 1 Total $41,875–$78,000
That's 1.8–2.5× the advertised license price.

Frequently Asked Questions

01 What hidden costs should I budget for with AssemblyAI?

Beyond the license fee, budget for implementation ($5K-$100K+), training ($500-$2K per user), premium support (15-20% of license), and admin costs. Most companies see 40-60% higher total cost than the listed price.

02 Does AssemblyAI charge for implementation?

AssemblyAI doesn't include implementation in the license cost. Implementation is typically done by partners and costs range from $5,000 for basic setup to $100,000+ for enterprise deployments with customization.

03 How much does AssemblyAI support cost?

Basic support is included, but premium support (faster response times, 24/7 availability) typically adds 15-20% to your annual contract. This can be thousands of dollars per year for larger deployments.

04 Are there storage costs with AssemblyAI?

Most AssemblyAI plans include limited storage. Once you exceed the included amount, you'll pay overage fees which can range from $50-$500+ per month depending on data volume.

05 What add-ons cost extra with AssemblyAI?

Many features marketed as part of AssemblyAI are actually add-ons: advanced reporting, API access, integrations, and specialized modules. Each can add $10-$100+ per user per month.

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