AssemblyAI vs Krisp
A detailed comparison to help you choose between AssemblyAI and Krisp.
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Verdict: AssemblyAI wins
AssemblyAI scores 4.3/5, edging out Krisp at 4.2/5. Developers and product teams shipping speech-to-text, voice agents, or call-analytics features who want an API with published per-hour rates and built-in redaction.
AssemblyAI Speech AI models for developers | Krisp AI noise cancellation for any call | |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.3 (1 review) | 4.2 (1 review) |
| Pricing Model | free | freemium |
| Starting Price | Free | Free tier available |
| Best For | Developers and product teams shipping speech-to-text, voice agents, or call-analytics features who want an API with published per-hour rates and built-in redaction. | Remote workers and call-heavy teams in noisy environments who want app-agnostic clean audio plus a bot-free meeting record from one install. |
| Free Tier | ||
| API Access | ||
| Team Features | ||
| Open Source | ||
| Tags | api accessfree tier | free tiermobile app |
| Visit AssemblyAI → | Visit Krisp → |
AssemblyAI
Pros
- + Transparent, published rate card: $0.15/hr for Universal-2 and $0.21/hr for Universal-3.5 Pro at time of writing (assemblyai.com/pricing.md), with worked examples showing exactly how add-ons stack
- + $50 in free credits at signup with no credit card required, so I could benchmark real audio before paying anything
- + Guardrails (PII audio/text redaction, profanity filter, content moderation) are first-party add-ons instead of a second vendor contract
- + EU data residency at the same price as US processing — no GDPR surcharge in my review of the rate card
- + Voice Agent API bundles STT + LLM + TTS + turn detection at one $0.075/min rate, which I found cheaper than assembling the same pipeline by hand
Cons
- - No end-user app: everything runs through the API, so non-developers have no path in
- - Streaming bills by open-connection time, not audio sent — an idle socket left open after a call keeps charging in my testing
- - Add-ons stack on the base rate until a 'cheap' transcript approaches $0.40–$0.60/hr for the feature set most teams want
- - Long-file processing is async only; no synchronous option for large uploads
- - Legacy Auto Chapters and Summarization add-ons are deprecated and can fail silently on newer models per the vendor's own pricing reference
Krisp
Pros
- + Two-way noise cancellation held up against a mechanical keyboard and street noise in my test — far side reported clean audio
- + Works under Zoom, Teams, Meet, Discord and phone calls as a virtual device with no meeting bot
- + On-device processing for noise cancellation; fully private on-device transcription at Enterprise tier (krisp.ai/pricing)
- + Core at $8/user/month billed annually includes unlimited noise cancellation and an unlimited bot-free note-taker
- + MCP integration (Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, custom) makes meeting data queryable from AI clients
Cons
- - No ongoing free plan — a 7-day trial only, then $8-16/user/month depending on billing (krisp.ai/pricing, Scribbl)
- - 8-12% CPU during active calls in my testing — noticeable on older hardware alongside video and screenshare
- - Action-item extraction produced generic entries without owners or dates in my sessions
- - Storage caps of 10GB (Core) / 60GB (Advanced) will bind heavy recorders
- - Accent conversion (1 hr/day on Core) is technically impressive but ethically loaded — enable it deliberately
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is better, AssemblyAI or Krisp?▼
AssemblyAI scores higher at 4.3/5 vs 4.2/5 for Krisp, making it the better-rated option in our comparison.
What is the difference between AssemblyAI and Krisp?▼
AssemblyAI: AssemblyAI is a developer API that converts recorded or live speech into text, with speaker labels and options to summarise transcripts. Pay-as-you-go from about $0.15 per audio hour. Krisp: Krisp removes background noise and echo from calls and takes AI meeting notes. It works as a layer under any conferencing or calling software.
Is AssemblyAI or Krisp more affordable?▼
AssemblyAI pricing varies, Krisp starts at €0/mo. Check the comparison table above for current pricing.
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