{ "data": { "a": { "slug": "assemblyai-stt", "name": "AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal)", "vendor": "AssemblyAI", "vendorUrl": "https://www.assemblyai.com", "kind": "model", "category": "speech-to-text", "summary": "Speech-to-text APIs for recorded audio and live streams, with speaker identification, translation and redaction options.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/assemblyai-stt", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/assemblyai-stt.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/assemblyai-stt.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/assemblyai-stt.json", "dns": "assemblyai-stt.grade.anchorterminal.com", "repo": "https://github.com/AssemblyAI/assemblyai-python-sdk", "license": "MIT (SDKs)", "transports": [ "http", "streamable-http" ], "remoteUrl": "https://api.assemblyai.com/v2", "packages": [ { "registry": "npm", "name": "assemblyai" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "assemblyai" } ], "auth": "api-key", "authNotes": "API key in the `authorization` header. Temporary tokens for browser streaming. The docs MCP needs no key.", "pricing": "usage", "pricingNotes": "Free tier with no card covers up to 185 hours of pre-recorded or 333 hours of streaming. Then pay as you go per hour of audio. Universal-3.5 Pro $0.21, Universal-2 $0.15, Universal-3.6 Pro Realtime $0.45, Universal-Streaming $0.15, Sync $0.45. Diarisation $0.02 an hour on files and $0.12 on streams, keyterms $0.05 on Universal-3.5 Pro, translation $0.06. Streaming bills session time, not audio sent (https://www.assemblyai.com/pricing).", "priceSummary": "Pay per use", "where": "hosted", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402 or machine payment in the docs or pricing. Card or prepaid credits only (checked 2026-09-30).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": 213, "npmWeekly": 599958, "pypiWeekly": 738086, "asOf": "2026-09-30" }, "docsUrl": "https://www.assemblyai.com/docs", "llmsTxt": "https://www.assemblyai.com/docs/llms.txt", "openapi": "https://www.assemblyai.com/docs/openapi.yaml", "capabilities": [ "speech.stt", "speech.streaming", "speech.batch", "speech.diarisation", "speech.languages", "speech.translation" ], "tags": [ "hosted", "no-card", "free-tier", "closed-source", "python", "typescript", "openapi", "llms-txt", "mcp", "streaming", "batch", "webhooks", "async-jobs", "enterprise" ], "lastRelease": "2026-10-19", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 66.8, "grade": "B", "agentReady": false, "rank": 354, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 1486, "categoryRank": 11, "methodology": "0.7", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 80, "maintenance": 79, "payments": 40, "reliability": 85, "schema": 95, "security": 50, "transparency": 77 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-11-01" }, "negative": -6, "negativeNotes": [ "2026-07-10, the async `speech_model` parameter began returning 400 for current model names and silently routing legacy names to the default model, and `universal-3-pro` was blocked for new accounts and accounts inactive for 7 days, all announced in the changelog the same day. We found no earlier notice (https://www.assemblyai.com/changelog). Documented, so the minimum deduction.", "11 September and 1 September 2026, fixes of described flaws released with no advisory. Node SDK 4.41.0 (released with 4.41.1 on 11 September) escapes multipart file names because a quote, backslash or control character in a file name could break out of the part header, and the 1 September changelog entry fixed Reader-role users being able to manage API tokens. OSV lists no advisory for either SDK on 1 November. A separate kind from the same-day change above, so a second -3 (https://www.assemblyai.com/changelog)" ], "verdict": "OpenAPI 3.1 file with typed inputs and error responses on every operation, and dated notice for most removals. Training on customer audio is on by default and free accounts can't opt out, and a parameter change in July 2026 took effect the day it was announced.", "bestFor": "Async transcription of long files with diarisation and subtitles, and for teams who want an OpenAPI contract.", "strengths": [ "OpenAPI 3.1 file with typed inputs and error responses on every operation", "Universal-2 covers 99 languages at $0.15 an hour, Universal-3.5 Pro is $0.21", "Transcript lists paginate with `limit`, `before_id` and `after_id`, and transcripts come back as sentences, paragraphs, SRT or VTT", "Free tier with no card, up to 185 hours pre-recorded", "TTL deletion from 1 hour and a delete endpoint for transcripts" ], "weaknesses": [ "Fourteen partial incidents from 3 August to 1 November 2026, among them a 75-minute US async outage on 16 September", "Free accounts can't opt out of model training", "The HTTP rate limit returns 403 with no Retry-After", "Streaming bills the time the socket is open, up to a 3-hour auto-close", "No published disclosure policy found, and the SDKs fixed described flaws in September 2026 without an advisory" ], "agentNotes": [ "Send `{\"type\":\"Terminate\"}` to close every stream, or billing runs to the 3-hour auto-close", "Use `speech_models` (plural). The singular `speech_model` now returns 400 for current model names", "Treat a 403 on polling as the rate limit and back off with jitter, or use webhooks", "Fetch `/sentences` or `/paragraphs` instead of the full transcript when you only need text", "Opt out in Data Controls on a paid account before sending customer audio" ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 2, "avgRating": 3.5, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "B", "methodology": "0.7", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 66.8 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 80, "maintenance": 79, "payments": 40, "reliability": 85, "schema": 95, "security": 50, "transparency": 70 }, "provenanceScore": 84, "checked": { "categories": { "ergonomics": "2026-11-01", "maintenance": "2026-11-01", "payments": "2026-11-01", "reliability": "2026-11-01", "schema": "2026-11-01", "security": "2026-11-01", "transparency": "2026-11-01" }, "last": "2026-11-01", "lastMoved": "2026-11-01", "oldest": "2026-11-01", "stale": false, "staleAfterDays": 90 } }, "connect": { "http": "curl -X POST https://api.assemblyai.com/v2/transcript -H \"authorization: $ASSEMBLYAI_API_KEY\" \\\n -H \"content-type: application/json\" \\\n -d '{\"audio_url\":\"https://assembly.ai/wildfires.mp3\",\"language_detection\":true,\"speaker_labels\":true}'", "claudeCode": "claude mcp add assemblyai-docs --transport http https://assemblyai.com/docs/mcp" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/speech.stt", "tool": "https://letme.dev/assemblyai-stt" }, "sameCompany": [ "assemblyai-voice-agent" ], "area": "voice", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "Universal-3.5 Pro pre-recorded", "unit": "audio-minute", "usd": 0.0035, "note": "published as $0.21 an hour" }, { "item": "Universal-2 pre-recorded", "unit": "audio-minute", "usd": 0.0025, "note": "published as $0.15 an hour" }, { "item": "Universal-3.6 Pro Realtime", "unit": "audio-minute", "usd": 0.0075, "note": "published as $0.45 an hour, billed on session time" }, { "item": "Universal-Streaming", "unit": "audio-minute", "usd": 0.0025, "note": "published as $0.15 an hour, billed on session time" }, { "item": "Sync API", "unit": "audio-minute", "usd": 0.0075, "note": "published as $0.45 an hour, clips up to 2 minutes" }, { "item": "Streaming diarisation add-on", "unit": "audio-minute", "usd": 0.002, "note": "published as $0.12 an hour" } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "AssemblyAI, Inc.", "domain": "assemblyai.com", "domainRegistered": "2016-12-24", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://www.assemblyai.com/legal/terms-of-service", "privacy": "https://www.assemblyai.com/legal/privacy-policy", "statusPage": "https://status.assemblyai.com", "changelog": "https://www.assemblyai.com/changelog", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-09-30", "score": 84 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/assemblyai-stt.json", "live": { "slug": "assemblyai-stt", "probe": { "target": "https://api.assemblyai.com/v2", "method": "get", "lastAt": "2026-11-07T18:20:11.262302942Z", "lastOk": true, "lastStatus": 404, "lastMs": 534, "authRequired": false, "uptime24h": 100, "uptime30d": 100, "p50ms24h": 446, "p95ms24h": 534, "samples24h": 239, "samples30d": 7910, "days": [ { "date": "2026-10-07", "probes": 272, "ok": 272 }, { "date": "2026-10-08", "probes": 268, "ok": 268 }, { "date": "2026-10-09", "probes": 250, "ok": 250 }, { "date": "2026-10-10", "probes": 247, "ok": 247 }, { "date": "2026-10-11", "probes": 247, "ok": 247 }, { "date": "2026-10-12", "probes": 247, "ok": 247 }, { "date": "2026-10-13", "probes": 248, "ok": 248 }, { "date": "2026-10-14", "probes": 249, "ok": 249 }, { "date": "2026-10-15", "probes": 253, "ok": 253 }, { "date": "2026-10-16", "probes": 252, "ok": 252 }, { "date": "2026-10-17", "probes": 253, "ok": 253 }, { "date": "2026-10-18", "probes": 256, "ok": 256 }, { "date": "2026-10-19", "probes": 255, "ok": 255 }, { "date": "2026-10-20", "probes": 252, "ok": 252 }, { "date": "2026-10-21", "probes": 253, "ok": 253 }, { "date": "2026-10-22", "probes": 253, "ok": 253 }, { "date": "2026-10-23", "probes": 248, "ok": 248 }, { "date": "2026-10-24", "probes": 251, "ok": 251 }, { "date": "2026-10-25", "probes": 250, "ok": 250 }, { "date": "2026-10-26", "probes": 252, "ok": 252 }, { "date": "2026-10-27", "probes": 249, "ok": 249 }, { "date": "2026-10-28", "probes": 251, "ok": 251 }, { "date": "2026-10-29", "probes": 249, "ok": 249 }, { "date": "2026-10-30", "probes": 248, "ok": 248 }, { "date": "2026-10-31", "probes": 251, "ok": 251 }, { "date": "2026-11-01", "probes": 249, "ok": 249 }, { "date": "2026-11-02", "probes": 250, "ok": 250 }, { "date": "2026-11-03", "probes": 248, "ok": 248 }, { "date": "2026-11-04", "probes": 246, "ok": 246 }, { "date": "2026-11-05", "probes": 185, "ok": 185 }, { "date": "2026-11-06", "probes": 241, "ok": 241 }, { "date": "2026-11-07", "probes": 187, "ok": 187 } ] }, "vendorStatus": { "page": "https://status.assemblyai.com", "indicator": "none", "summary": "All Systems Operational", "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T18:20:33.079083647Z" }, "versions": [ { "registry": "github", "name": "AssemblyAI/assemblyai-python-sdk", "version": "1.8.2", "released": "2026-10-23", "seenAt": "2026-11-06T23:07:24.795738153Z" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "assemblyai", "version": "4.42.0", "seenAt": "2026-11-06T23:07:24.37874508Z" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "assemblyai", "version": "1.8.2", "released": "2026-10-23", "seenAt": "2026-11-06T23:07:24.602096011Z" } ], "githubStars": 213, "npmWeekly": 721030, "pypiWeekly": 1128956, "securityTxt": { "url": "https://assemblyai.com/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "none", "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T16:01:59.173300071Z" }, "llmsTxt": { "url": "https://www.assemblyai.com/docs/llms.txt", "ok": true, "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T15:31:36.691930249Z" }, "domain": { "domain": "assemblyai.com", "registered": "2016-12-24", "source": "https://rdap.verisign.com/com/v1/domain/assemblyai.com", "checkedAt": "2026-11-01T14:13:09.893972788Z" }, "pages": [ { "url": "https://www.assemblyai.com/changelog", "kind": "deprecations", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T14:24:59.818674644Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "f7dbbe98a56a" }, { "url": "https://www.assemblyai.com/pricing", "kind": "pricing", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T14:25:07.903462209Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-28T04:47:29.082599637Z", "fingerprint": "07b4e4bca050" }, { "url": "https://www.assemblyai.com/legal/privacy-policy", "kind": "privacy", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T14:25:04.097129356Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-29T05:19:57.021868162Z", "fingerprint": "0d66f2361b1a" }, { "url": "https://www.assemblyai.com/legal/terms-of-service", "kind": "terms", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T14:25:05.91110965Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-29T05:19:59.07743229Z", "fingerprint": "3a1714b7db67" } ], "github": { "repo": "assemblyai/assemblyai-python-sdk", "checkedAt": "2026-11-02T08:31:52.341717945Z", "stars": 213, "archived": false, "issuesEnabled": true, "pushedAt": "2026-10-29T13:30:21Z", "openIssues": 1, "openPRs": 23, "issuesOpened90d": 0, "issuesClosed90d": 8, "prsMerged90d": 40, "ci": { "branch": "master", "runs": 50, "success": 50, "failure": 0, "other": 0, "latest": "success", "latestAt": "2026-10-26T10:38:48Z" }, "replies": { "sampled": 25, "unanswered": 0, "medianDays": 167.9 } }, "updatedAt": "2026-11-07T18:20:11.262302942Z" } }, "answer": "AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) scores 66.8 (B) on agent readiness against IBM Watson Speech to Text's 54.5 (C), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. IBM Watson Speech to Text leads on security \u0026 auth.", "b": { "slug": "ibm-watson-stt", "name": "IBM Watson Speech to Text", "vendor": "IBM", "vendorUrl": "https://www.ibm.com/products/speech-to-text", "kind": "model", "category": "speech-to-text", "summary": "IBM Watson Speech to Text transcribes audio over synchronous and asynchronous HTTP and a WebSocket interface on IBM Cloud, with large speech models, next-generation models, custom language and acoustic models, speaker labels and language identification.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/ibm-watson-stt", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/ibm-watson-stt.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/ibm-watson-stt.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/ibm-watson-stt.json", "dns": "ibm-watson-stt.grade.anchorterminal.com", "transports": [ "http", "websocket" ], "packages": [ { "registry": "pypi", "name": "ibm-watson" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "ibm-watson" } ], "auth": "api-key", "authNotes": "An IBM Cloud IAM API key per service instance, exchanged for a bearer token or sent with Basic auth as `apikey:\u003ckey\u003e`. Service credentials carry IAM roles. The WebSocket interface takes the IAM token as an `access_token` query parameter.", "pricing": "freemium", "pricingNotes": "Lite plan free for 500 minutes a month, deleted after 30 days of inactivity. Plus plan $0.02 a minute up to 999,999 minutes a month and $0.01 above, with up to 100 concurrent requests. Premium by quote.", "priceSummary": "Freemium", "where": "local", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the docs or API reference (checked 2026-11-06). Billing runs through an IBM Cloud account.", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": 0, "popularity": { "githubStars": null, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-11-06" }, "docsUrl": "https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/speech-to-text", "capabilities": [ "speech.stt", "speech.streaming", "speech.batch", "speech.diarisation", "speech.languages" ], "tags": [ "hosted", "freemium", "closed-source", "python", "typescript", "enterprise", "streaming", "batch", "async-jobs", "webhooks" ], "lastRelease": "2026-06-29", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 54.5, "grade": "C", "agentReady": false, "rank": 904, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 1486, "categoryRank": 18, "methodology": "0.7", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 66, "maintenance": 33, "payments": 40, "reliability": 40, "schema": 55, "security": 68, "transparency": 80 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-11-06" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "Watson STT covers sync, async and WebSocket transcription in ten locations, with custom models, $0.02 a minute on Plus and 500 free minutes. There is no machine-readable spec or readable status history, requests are logged for improvement unless opted out, the WebSocket token goes in the URL, and the last release note is from June 2026.", "bestFor": "Enterprises on IBM Cloud needing custom acoustic models, HIPAA on Premium and many locations.", "strengths": [ "Sync, async with callbacks and WebSocket streaming on one service", "500 free minutes a month on Lite and $0.02 a minute on Plus", "Custom language and acoustic models on paid plans", "Dated deprecation of previous-generation models with over a year of notice", "`DELETE /v1/user_data` removes data by customer ID" ], "weaknesses": [ "No public OpenAPI file or llms.txt", "The WebSocket interface takes the IAM token as a URL query parameter", "Requests are logged by default to improve the service unless the account or request opts out", "The status page is drawn by script and no SLA was read", "No release note since 29 June 2026" ], "agentNotes": [ "Send `X-Watson-Learning-Opt-Out: true` or opt out at account level before sending sensitive audio", "Use the async `/v1/recognitions` interface with a callback for files over 100 MB, up to 1 GB", "Pass a large speech or next-generation model name in `model`, since previous-generation models were removed", "Tag requests with `X-Watson-Metadata: customer_id=...` so the data can be deleted later", "Keep within 100 concurrent requests on Plus across HTTP and WebSocket" ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "C", "methodology": "0.7", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 54.5 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 66, "maintenance": 33, "payments": 40, "reliability": 40, "schema": 55, "security": 68, "transparency": 65 }, "provenanceScore": 94, "checked": { "categories": { "ergonomics": "2026-11-06", "maintenance": "2026-11-06", "payments": "2026-11-06", "reliability": "2026-11-06", "schema": "2026-11-06", "security": "2026-11-06", "transparency": "2026-11-06" }, "last": "2026-11-06", "oldest": "2026-11-06", "stale": false, "staleAfterDays": 90 } }, "connect": { "install": "pip install ibm-watson" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/speech.stt", "tool": "https://letme.dev/ibm-watson-stt" }, "sameCompany": [ "granite-embedding-small-english-r2", "granite-guardian", "granite-switch", "granite-4-2-3b" ], "area": "voice", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "Plus plan, first 999,999 minutes a month", "unit": "audio-minute", "usd": 0.02 }, { "item": "Plus plan, from 1,000,000 minutes a month", "unit": "audio-minute", "usd": 0.01 } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "International Business Machines Corporation", "domain": "ibm.com", "domainRegistered": "1986-03-19", "domainNote": "The endpoints are on watson.cloud.ibm.com, under ibm.com.", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/overview?topic=overview-terms", "privacy": "https://www.ibm.com/privacy", "statusPage": "https://cloud.ibm.com/status", "changelog": "https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/speech-to-text?topic=speech-to-text-release-notes", "securityTxt": "valid", "checked": "2026-11-06", "notes": [ "cloud.ibm.com/robots.txt disallows only /docs/search?q= and sets Content-Signal ai-train=yes, search=yes, ai-input=yes.", "www.ibm.com/.well-known/security.txt names IBM PSIRT, HackerOne and psirt@us.ibm.com and expires on 6 December 2026.", "cloud.ibm.com/status returns a page drawn by script, so its incident history wasn't read.", "The IBM Cloud terms page was found but its text wasn't read, so no clause is quoted.", "RDAP gives ibm.com a registration date of 19 March 1986." ], "score": 94 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/ibm-watson-stt.json", "live": { "slug": "ibm-watson-stt", "vendorStatus": { "page": "https://cloud.ibm.com/status", "indicator": "unknown", "summary": "no machine-readable status found", "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T04:47:55.897466786Z" }, "versions": [ { "registry": "npm", "name": "ibm-watson", "version": "12.2.0", "seenAt": "2026-11-06T23:34:06.712780272Z" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "ibm-watson", "version": "11.2.0", "released": "2026-01-26", "seenAt": "2026-11-06T23:34:06.544738844Z" } ], "npmWeekly": 12367, "pypiWeekly": 10209, "securityTxt": { "url": "https://ibm.com/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "valid", "expires": "2026-12-07T00:00:00+00:00", "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T16:00:08.596796331Z" }, "pages": [ { "url": "https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/speech-to-text?topic=speech-to-text-release-notes", "kind": "changelog", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T14:01:17.694727718Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "8dcf87213e78" }, { "url": "https://www.ibm.com/privacy", "kind": "privacy", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T14:30:01.132495816Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "cf480cd7bcca" }, { "url": "https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/overview?topic=overview-terms", "kind": "terms", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T14:01:13.338724324Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "a0514cb0ed80" } ], "updatedAt": "2026-11-07T16:00:08.596796331Z" } }, "edges": [ { "by": 46, "category": "maintenance", "leads": "assemblyai-stt", "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "reasons": { "a": "Read as a model, for deprecation notice and support rather than release counts and issue replies, on the lines deepgram-stt, gladia-stt and speechmatics-stt use in this run. Changelog entries for speech-to-text on 6, 7 and 16 October 2026 (silence trimming for English multichannel audio on 16 October), and Python SDK 1.6.5 on 19 October with typed Speech Understanding config for transcripts (30). Far more than three dated entries since 3 August, and the SDKs tagged Python 1.5.2 to 1.8.2 and Node 4.40.0 to 4.42.0 in the period (10 of 10). No deprecation policy, but removals carry dates. Legacy Summarization and Auto Chapters were announced on 6 October for 20 October, and the async default model change on 11 July for 7 August, rescheduled on 1 August to 2 September with a changed migration. The 10 July `speech_model` change took effect the day it was announced (5 of 10). Public changelog and a support address (10 of 15). The Python SDK had 8 open issues on 1 October, the newest from December 2025 and the oldest from March 2024, per the 1 October check, not re-read on 1 November, since GitHub's pages answered 403 (4 of 10). Official SDKs current, Python 1.8.2 on 23 October and Node 4.42.0 on 26 October (15). Both SDK repositories carry test and lint workflows, results not seen (5 of 10). 30 + 10 + 5 + 10 + 4 + 15 + 5 = 79.", "b": "Read as a model. The newest release note is 29 June 2026 (`parameter_set` for large speech models), 130 days ago (10). No dated entries in the 90 days from 8 August (0). Release notes, IBM support and a public docs repository last changed 30 June 2026 (8 of 15). Official SDKs, `ibm-watson` 11.2.0 on PyPI (26 January 2026) and 12.2.0 on npm (January 2026) (10 of 15). CI not read (5 of 10). Total 33." }, "scores": { "a": 79, "b": 33 } }, { "by": 45, "category": "reliability", "leads": "assemblyai-stt", "name": "Reliability", "reasons": { "a": "Statuspage at status.assemblyai.com with component history, read from history.atom on 1 November (20). Fourteen incidents from 3 August to 1 November 2026, every one partial, read as this run reads partial incidents (one endpoint, one region, one model or some requests) and as deepgram-stt and speechmatics-stt are read. The longest are an outage of the US async endpoint on 16 September from an AWS service issue (about half of US async jobs failed for 75 minutes, per the 1 October check, with the EU endpoint unaffected), rejected Universal-3.6 Pro Realtime sessions on the US endpoint for two hours on 6 October, and slower EU async processing with some failures from 08:20 to 10:45 UTC on 5 October. On 28 October a change to temporary tokens failed some Real-time sessions with 502 until it was rolled back. The 31 July us-east streaming fault left the window on 30 October. Minor only (20). Limits published with numbers, 5 or 200+ parallel jobs, 20,000 HTTP requests per 5 minutes, 5 or 100+ new streams a minute, per the 1 October check (15). Overload handling is partly documented. Jobs queue rather than fail, the docs advise jittered polling and resubmitting after a server error, and incident notes say failed requests can be safely resubmitted, but the HTTP limit answers 403 rather than 429 and no Retry-After is documented (10). A 99.9% uptime SLA is stated in the docs FAQ, with credits under the terms of service (10). Async, streaming and Sync APIs are GA (10). 20 + 20 + 15 + 10 + 10 + 10 = 85.", "b": "IBM Cloud has a status page at cloud.ibm.com/status, but it is drawn by script and showed no components or history to our reader, read as gemini-live's script-shell page was (10 of 20, and 5 for no readable history). Plus allows up to 100 concurrent transcription requests across WebSocket and HTTP (15). No 429 or backoff guidance was found in the API reference or the docs repository (0). No SLA was read for the service (0, unchecked). Next-generation and large speech models are GA, language by language (10). 10 + 5 + 15 + 0 + 0 + 10 = 40." }, "scores": { "a": 85, "b": 40 } }, { "by": 40, "category": "schema", "leads": "assemblyai-stt", "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "reasons": { "a": "OpenAPI 3.1 at /docs/openapi.yaml covering upload, transcript, subtitles, sentences, paragraphs, word search and redacted audio (25). llms.txt at /docs/llms.txt (10). Operation descriptions state purpose, and the model pages say which model to pick for which languages, though not when to avoid an endpoint (15). Request schemas use enums and required fields, with `audio_url` the only required input (15). 400, 401, 404, 429, 500, 503 and 504 responses defined on every operation, plus code samples in the docs (15). Versioned `/v2` paths and a dated public changelog (15).", "b": "No public OpenAPI or other machine-readable definition was found (0). No llms.txt (0). The reference says which parameters each model family supports and the docs cover each feature (15 of 20). Typed parameters with defaults, ranges and enums (13 of 15). curl and SDK examples on every method, and errors with `error`, `code`, `code_description` and `warnings`, with invalid arguments reported as warnings (12 of 15). Versioned `/v1` paths and dated release notes back to 2015 (15). Total 55." }, "scores": { "a": 95, "b": 55 } }, { "by": 18, "category": "security", "leads": "ibm-watson-stt", "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "reasons": { "a": "Model reading of the checklist, with training and retention in place of least-privilege and injection lines. Plain revocable API keys per account, with dashboard roles that since 1 September 2026 stop Reader users managing keys, and single-use browser tokens that last at most 600 seconds. Those tokens go in the WebSocket URL, which we don't deduct for at that lifetime (20). Training is on by default. Paid accounts opt out in the dashboard, free accounts can't (5). Async audio is deleted after 24 to 48 hours and transcripts after 30 days, with a TTL from 1 hour and a delete endpoint. Streaming is zero-retention only once opted out (10). Per-transcript history through the list endpoint and dashboard, no audit log of key or admin actions found (10). SOC 2 Type 2 with a Vanta trust centre (5). No security.txt, disclosure policy, bug bounty or public advisories found (0). The security.txt reading of 30 September came from /.well-known, which www.assemblyai.com's robots.txt disallows, so it is struck and security.txt is unchecked. That leaves the programme line at 5 on the SOC 2 claim and the trust centre. 20 + 5 + 10 + 10 + 5 = 50.", "b": "Model reading of the checklist, with training and retention in place of the least-privilege and injection lines. IAM API keys per instance with Reader, Writer and Manager roles and short-lived bearer tokens (30). The WebSocket interface takes the token as an `access_token` query parameter, so 10 off (20 of 30). Request and response data are logged by default to improve the service, and any account can opt out per account or per request (10 of 20). Async results expire after a week by default (`results_ttl` shortens it), a delete method exists, and `DELETE /v1/user_data` removes data by customer ID (10 of 15). Activity Tracker events record changes to the service's state (10 of 15). Valid security.txt to 6 December 2026, PSIRT and HackerOne, HIPAA readiness on Premium. Certifications weren't read (18 of 20). Total 68." }, "scores": { "a": 50, "b": 68 } }, { "by": 14, "category": "ergonomics", "leads": "assemblyai-stt", "name": "Agent ergonomics", "reasons": { "a": "API reading of the checklist. Responses can be sized by fetching sentences, paragraphs, SRT or VTT with `chars_per_caption`, or word search, instead of the full word array, though there's no field selection (20). `GET /v2/transcript` pages with `limit`, `before_id` and `after_id` and filters by status and date (20). Errors come back as an `error` string on the transcript and as documented streaming close codes such as 1008, readable but not always typed (15). No idempotency key, and a resubmitted job is a new billed job. The retry guide covers server errors only (10). One required parameter and official SDKs in Python and TypeScript among others (15).", "b": "API reading of the checklist. Timestamps, word confidence, alternatives and speaker labels are opt-in (15 of 25). Async jobs and custom models list, and async results can go to a callback URL (12 of 20). Structured errors and warnings an agent can act on (15 of 20). Async jobs take a `user_token`, results have a TTL, and jobs can be deleted, with no idempotency key (12 of 20). Most parameters are optional. Official SDKs including Python, Node and Swift, though the Python and Node SDKs last released in January 2026 (12 of 15). Total 66." }, "scores": { "a": 80, "b": 66 } } ], "facts": [ { "a": "Model API", "b": "Model API", "name": "Kind" }, { "a": "AssemblyAI", "b": "IBM", "name": "Vendor" }, { "a": "https://api.assemblyai.com/v2", "b": "no (local only)", "name": "Hosted endpoint" }, { "a": "HTTP, Streamable HTTP", "b": "HTTP, websocket", "name": "Transports" }, { "a": "API key", "b": "API key", "name": "Auth" }, { "a": "Pay per use", "b": "Freemium", "name": "Pricing" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "x402" }, { "a": "MIT (SDKs)", "b": "none", "name": "Licence" }, { "a": "none", "b": "0", "name": "Tools exposed" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "Read-only variant documented" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "no", "name": "llms.txt" }, { "a": "2026-10-19", "b": "2026-06-29", "name": "Last release" }, { "a": "2026-07-01", "b": "no date given", "name": "Terms last updated" }, { "a": "2026-05-26", "b": "2026-08-25", "name": "Privacy policy last updated" }, { "a": "yes, with an opt-out", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Customer content may train models" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Terms restrict automated access" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Terms restrict benchmarking" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Terms or service can change without notice" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Arbitration or class-action waiver" }, { "a": "213 stars, 600k npm/wk, 738k PyPI/wk", "b": "none", "name": "Popularity" }, { "a": "3.5/5 (2)", "b": "none", "name": "Agent reviews" } ], "faq": [ { "answer": "AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) scores 66.8 (B) on agent readiness against IBM Watson Speech to Text's 54.5 (C), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. IBM Watson Speech to Text leads on security \u0026 auth.", "question": "Which is better for AI agents, AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) or IBM Watson Speech to Text?" }, { "answer": "Both need an API key.", "question": "Do AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) and IBM Watson Speech to Text need an API key?" }, { "answer": "AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) has a hosted endpoint at https://api.assemblyai.com/v2. No hosted endpoint is listed for IBM Watson Speech to Text.", "question": "Can an agent call AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) and IBM Watson Speech to Text without installing anything?" } ], "goodFor": [ { "aheadOn": [ "Reliability, 85 against 40", "Schema \u0026 documentation, 95 against 55", "Agent ergonomics, 80 against 66", "Maintenance \u0026 community, 79 against 33" ], "also": [ "A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install", "Free to start without a card" ], "goodFor": "Async transcription of long files with diarisation and subtitles, and for teams who want an OpenAPI contract.", "slug": "assemblyai-stt", "watchFor": "Fourteen partial incidents from 3 August to 1 November 2026, among them a 75-minute US async outage on 16 September" }, { "aheadOn": [ "Security \u0026 auth, 68 against 50" ], "also": [ "No incidents deducted, where AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) loses 6 points for them" ], "goodFor": "Enterprises on IBM Cloud needing custom acoustic models, HIPAA on Premium and many locations.", "slug": "ibm-watson-stt", "watchFor": "No public OpenAPI file or llms.txt" } ], "history": { "assemblyai-stt": [ { "causes": [ "correction" ], "date": "2026-11-01", "delta": -0.1, "from": 66.9, "fromGrade": "B", "to": 66.8, "toGrade": "B" }, { "causes": [ "method" ], "date": "2026-10-27", "delta": 0.1, "from": 66.8, "fromGrade": "B", "to": 66.9, "toGrade": "B" }, { "causes": [ "method" ], "date": "2026-10-08", "delta": -0.2, "from": 67, "fromGrade": "B", "to": 66.8, "toGrade": "B" } ], "ibm-watson-stt": null }, "job": { "capability": "speech.stt", "name": "Speech-to-text" }, "others": [ { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-transcribe-vs-assemblyai-stt.json", "title": "Amazon Transcribe vs AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-transcribe-vs-assemblyai-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-transcribe-vs-ibm-watson-stt.json", "title": "Amazon Transcribe vs IBM Watson Speech to Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-transcribe-vs-ibm-watson-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-azure-speech-to-text.json", "title": "AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) vs Azure AI Speech speech-to-text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-azure-speech-to-text" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-cartesia-ink-stt.json", "title": "AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) vs Cartesia Ink", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-cartesia-ink-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-deepgram-stt.json", "title": "AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) vs Deepgram Speech-to-Text (Nova-3, Flux)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-deepgram-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-elevenlabs-scribe.json", "title": 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"https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-groq-speech-to-text.json", "title": "AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) vs Groq Speech-to-Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-groq-speech-to-text" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-inworld-stt.json", "title": "AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) vs Inworld STT", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-inworld-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-minimax-stt.json", "title": "AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) vs MiniMax Speech-to-Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-minimax-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-mistral-voxtral-transcribe.json", "title": "AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) vs Mistral Voxtral Transcribe", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-mistral-voxtral-transcribe" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-openai-speech-to-text.json", "title": "AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) vs OpenAI Speech to Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-openai-speech-to-text" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-rev-ai-stt.json", "title": "AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) vs Rev AI Speech-to-Text API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-rev-ai-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-smallest-pulse-stt.json", "title": "AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) vs Smallest.ai Pulse STT", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-smallest-pulse-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-soniox-stt.json", "title": "AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) vs Soniox Speech-to-Text", "url": 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"https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepgram-stt-vs-ibm-watson-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-scribe-vs-ibm-watson-stt.json", "title": "ElevenLabs Scribe Speech to Text API vs IBM Watson Speech to Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-scribe-vs-ibm-watson-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/giggy-stt-vs-ibm-watson-stt.json", "title": "Giggy Speech to Text vs IBM Watson Speech to Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/giggy-stt-vs-ibm-watson-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gladia-stt-vs-ibm-watson-stt.json", "title": "Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP vs IBM Watson Speech to Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gladia-stt-vs-ibm-watson-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-speech-to-text-vs-ibm-watson-stt.json", "title": "Google Cloud Speech-to-Text vs IBM Watson Speech to Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-speech-to-text-vs-ibm-watson-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/groq-speech-to-text-vs-ibm-watson-stt.json", "title": "Groq Speech-to-Text vs IBM Watson Speech to Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/groq-speech-to-text-vs-ibm-watson-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ibm-watson-stt-vs-inworld-stt.json", "title": "IBM Watson Speech to Text vs Inworld STT", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ibm-watson-stt-vs-inworld-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ibm-watson-stt-vs-minimax-stt.json", "title": "IBM Watson Speech to Text vs MiniMax Speech-to-Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ibm-watson-stt-vs-minimax-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ibm-watson-stt-vs-mistral-voxtral-transcribe.json", "title": "IBM Watson Speech to Text vs Mistral Voxtral Transcribe", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ibm-watson-stt-vs-mistral-voxtral-transcribe" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ibm-watson-stt-vs-openai-speech-to-text.json", "title": "IBM Watson Speech to Text vs OpenAI Speech to Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ibm-watson-stt-vs-openai-speech-to-text" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ibm-watson-stt-vs-rev-ai-stt.json", "title": "IBM Watson Speech to Text vs Rev AI Speech-to-Text API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ibm-watson-stt-vs-rev-ai-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ibm-watson-stt-vs-smallest-pulse-stt.json", "title": "IBM Watson Speech to Text vs Smallest.ai Pulse STT", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ibm-watson-stt-vs-smallest-pulse-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ibm-watson-stt-vs-soniox-stt.json", "title": "IBM Watson Speech to Text vs Soniox Speech-to-Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ibm-watson-stt-vs-soniox-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ibm-watson-stt-vs-speechmatics-stt.json", "title": "IBM Watson Speech to Text vs Speechmatics Speech-to-Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ibm-watson-stt-vs-speechmatics-stt" } ], "panel": null, "scores": [ { "assemblyai-stt": 85, "by": 45, "edge": "assemblyai-stt", "ibm-watson-stt": 40, "key": "reliability", "name": "Reliability", "weight": 16 }, { "key": "performance", "name": "Performance", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "assemblyai-stt": 95, "by": 40, "edge": "assemblyai-stt", "ibm-watson-stt": 55, "key": "schema", "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "weight": 13 }, { "assemblyai-stt": 80, "by": 14, "edge": "assemblyai-stt", "ibm-watson-stt": 66, "key": "ergonomics", "name": "Agent ergonomics", "weight": 13 }, { "assemblyai-stt": 50, "by": 18, "edge": "ibm-watson-stt", "ibm-watson-stt": 68, "key": "security", "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "weight": 14 }, { "assemblyai-stt": 40, "by": 0, "edge": "", "ibm-watson-stt": 40, "key": "payments", "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "weight": 10 }, { "key": "tasks", "name": "Task success", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "assemblyai-stt": 79, "by": 46, "edge": "assemblyai-stt", "ibm-watson-stt": 33, "key": "maintenance", "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "weight": 7 }, { "assemblyai-stt": 77, "by": 3, "edge": "ibm-watson-stt", "ibm-watson-stt": 80, "key": "transparency", "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "weight": 7 } ], "summary": "AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) scores 66.8 (B) on agent readiness against IBM Watson Speech to Text's 54.5 (C), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. IBM Watson Speech to Text leads on security \u0026 auth. Both do speech-to-text.", "tasks": [ { "a": "$0.15 to $0.45", "b": "$0.60 to $1.20", "cheaper": "assemblyai-stt", "task": "Transcribe a one-hour meeting", "what": "60 minutes of recorded audio" } ], "tutorials": [], "verdicts": { "assemblyai-stt": "OpenAPI 3.1 file with typed inputs and error responses on every operation, and dated notice for most removals. Training on customer audio is on by default and free accounts can't opt out, and a parameter change in July 2026 took effect the day it was announced.", "ibm-watson-stt": "Watson STT covers sync, async and WebSocket transcription in ten locations, with custom models, $0.02 a minute on Plus and 500 free minutes. There is no machine-readable spec or readable status history, requests are logged for improvement unless opted out, the WebSocket token goes in the URL, and the last release note is from June 2026." } }, "kind": "anchor.page", "links": { "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json", "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-ibm-watson-stt", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-ibm-watson-stt.json", "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt", "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-ibm-watson-stt.md", "mcp": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp", "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-ibm-watson-stt.min.md" }, "markdown": "AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) scores 66.8 (B) on agent readiness against IBM Watson Speech to Text's 54.5 (C), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. IBM Watson Speech to Text leads on security \u0026 auth. Both do speech-to-text.\n\n- AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal): grade B, 66.8/100, rank #354 of 1486. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/assemblyai-stt.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/assemblyai-stt.json\n- IBM Watson Speech to Text: grade C, 54.5/100, rank #904 of 1486. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/ibm-watson-stt.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/ibm-watson-stt.json\n- Best speech-to-text APIs for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/speech-to-text/index.md\n- All 320 stt comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/speech-to-text/index.md\n\n## Which one, for what\n\n### AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) (B)\n\nGood for: Async transcription of long files with diarisation and subtitles, and for teams who want an OpenAPI contract.\n\nAhead on:\n- Reliability, 85 against 40\n- Schema \u0026 documentation, 95 against 55\n- Agent ergonomics, 80 against 66\n- Maintenance \u0026 community, 79 against 33\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install\n- Free to start without a card\n\nWatch for: Fourteen partial incidents from 3 August to 1 November 2026, among them a 75-minute US async outage on 16 September\n\n### IBM Watson Speech to Text (C)\n\nGood for: Enterprises on IBM Cloud needing custom acoustic models, HIPAA on Premium and many locations.\n\nAhead on:\n- Security \u0026 auth, 68 against 50\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- No incidents deducted, where AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) loses 6 points for them\n\nWatch for: No public OpenAPI file or llms.txt\n\n\n## Why the edge\n\n### Maintenance \u0026 community: AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) +46\n\n- AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) (79): Read as a model, for deprecation notice and support rather than release counts and issue replies, on the lines deepgram-stt, gladia-stt and speechmatics-stt use in this run. Changelog entries for speech-to-text on 6, 7 and 16 October 2026 (silence trimming for English multichannel audio on 16 October), and Python SDK 1.6.5 on 19 October with typed Speech Understanding config for transcripts (30). Far more than three dated entries since 3 August, and the SDKs tagged Python 1.5.2 to 1.8.2 and Node 4.40.0 to 4.42.0 in the period (10 of 10). No deprecation policy, but removals carry dates. Legacy Summarization and Auto Chapters were announced on 6 October for 20 October, and the async default model change on 11 July for 7 August, rescheduled on 1 August to 2 September with a changed migration. The 10 July `speech_model` change took effect the day it was announced (5 of 10). Public changelog and a support address (10 of 15). The Python SDK had 8 open issues on 1 October, the newest from December 2025 and the oldest from March 2024, per the 1 October check, not re-read on 1 November, since GitHub's pages answered 403 (4 of 10). Official SDKs current, Python 1.8.2 on 23 October and Node 4.42.0 on 26 October (15). Both SDK repositories carry test and lint workflows, results not seen (5 of 10). 30 + 10 + 5 + 10 + 4 + 15 + 5 = 79.\n- IBM Watson Speech to Text (33): Read as a model. The newest release note is 29 June 2026 (`parameter_set` for large speech models), 130 days ago (10). No dated entries in the 90 days from 8 August (0). Release notes, IBM support and a public docs repository last changed 30 June 2026 (8 of 15). Official SDKs, `ibm-watson` 11.2.0 on PyPI (26 January 2026) and 12.2.0 on npm (January 2026) (10 of 15). CI not read (5 of 10). Total 33.\n\n### Reliability: AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) +45\n\n- AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) (85): Statuspage at status.assemblyai.com with component history, read from history.atom on 1 November (20). Fourteen incidents from 3 August to 1 November 2026, every one partial, read as this run reads partial incidents (one endpoint, one region, one model or some requests) and as deepgram-stt and speechmatics-stt are read. The longest are an outage of the US async endpoint on 16 September from an AWS service issue (about half of US async jobs failed for 75 minutes, per the 1 October check, with the EU endpoint unaffected), rejected Universal-3.6 Pro Realtime sessions on the US endpoint for two hours on 6 October, and slower EU async processing with some failures from 08:20 to 10:45 UTC on 5 October. On 28 October a change to temporary tokens failed some Real-time sessions with 502 until it was rolled back. The 31 July us-east streaming fault left the window on 30 October. Minor only (20). Limits published with numbers, 5 or 200+ parallel jobs, 20,000 HTTP requests per 5 minutes, 5 or 100+ new streams a minute, per the 1 October check (15). Overload handling is partly documented. Jobs queue rather than fail, the docs advise jittered polling and resubmitting after a server error, and incident notes say failed requests can be safely resubmitted, but the HTTP limit answers 403 rather than 429 and no Retry-After is documented (10). A 99.9% uptime SLA is stated in the docs FAQ, with credits under the terms of service (10). Async, streaming and Sync APIs are GA (10). 20 + 20 + 15 + 10 + 10 + 10 = 85.\n- IBM Watson Speech to Text (40): IBM Cloud has a status page at cloud.ibm.com/status, but it is drawn by script and showed no components or history to our reader, read as gemini-live's script-shell page was (10 of 20, and 5 for no readable history). Plus allows up to 100 concurrent transcription requests across WebSocket and HTTP (15). No 429 or backoff guidance was found in the API reference or the docs repository (0). No SLA was read for the service (0, unchecked). Next-generation and large speech models are GA, language by language (10). 10 + 5 + 15 + 0 + 0 + 10 = 40.\n\n### Schema \u0026 documentation: AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) +40\n\n- AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) (95): OpenAPI 3.1 at /docs/openapi.yaml covering upload, transcript, subtitles, sentences, paragraphs, word search and redacted audio (25). llms.txt at /docs/llms.txt (10). Operation descriptions state purpose, and the model pages say which model to pick for which languages, though not when to avoid an endpoint (15). Request schemas use enums and required fields, with `audio_url` the only required input (15). 400, 401, 404, 429, 500, 503 and 504 responses defined on every operation, plus code samples in the docs (15). Versioned `/v2` paths and a dated public changelog (15).\n- IBM Watson Speech to Text (55): No public OpenAPI or other machine-readable definition was found (0). No llms.txt (0). The reference says which parameters each model family supports and the docs cover each feature (15 of 20). Typed parameters with defaults, ranges and enums (13 of 15). curl and SDK examples on every method, and errors with `error`, `code`, `code_description` and `warnings`, with invalid arguments reported as warnings (12 of 15). Versioned `/v1` paths and dated release notes back to 2015 (15). Total 55.\n\n### Security \u0026 auth: IBM Watson Speech to Text +18\n\n- AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) (50): Model reading of the checklist, with training and retention in place of least-privilege and injection lines. Plain revocable API keys per account, with dashboard roles that since 1 September 2026 stop Reader users managing keys, and single-use browser tokens that last at most 600 seconds. Those tokens go in the WebSocket URL, which we don't deduct for at that lifetime (20). Training is on by default. Paid accounts opt out in the dashboard, free accounts can't (5). Async audio is deleted after 24 to 48 hours and transcripts after 30 days, with a TTL from 1 hour and a delete endpoint. Streaming is zero-retention only once opted out (10). Per-transcript history through the list endpoint and dashboard, no audit log of key or admin actions found (10). SOC 2 Type 2 with a Vanta trust centre (5). No security.txt, disclosure policy, bug bounty or public advisories found (0). The security.txt reading of 30 September came from /.well-known, which www.assemblyai.com's robots.txt disallows, so it is struck and security.txt is unchecked. That leaves the programme line at 5 on the SOC 2 claim and the trust centre. 20 + 5 + 10 + 10 + 5 = 50.\n- IBM Watson Speech to Text (68): Model reading of the checklist, with training and retention in place of the least-privilege and injection lines. IAM API keys per instance with Reader, Writer and Manager roles and short-lived bearer tokens (30). The WebSocket interface takes the token as an `access_token` query parameter, so 10 off (20 of 30). Request and response data are logged by default to improve the service, and any account can opt out per account or per request (10 of 20). Async results expire after a week by default (`results_ttl` shortens it), a delete method exists, and `DELETE /v1/user_data` removes data by customer ID (10 of 15). Activity Tracker events record changes to the service's state (10 of 15). Valid security.txt to 6 December 2026, PSIRT and HackerOne, HIPAA readiness on Premium. Certifications weren't read (18 of 20). Total 68.\n\n### Agent ergonomics: AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) +14\n\n- AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) (80): API reading of the checklist. Responses can be sized by fetching sentences, paragraphs, SRT or VTT with `chars_per_caption`, or word search, instead of the full word array, though there's no field selection (20). `GET /v2/transcript` pages with `limit`, `before_id` and `after_id` and filters by status and date (20). Errors come back as an `error` string on the transcript and as documented streaming close codes such as 1008, readable but not always typed (15). No idempotency key, and a resubmitted job is a new billed job. The retry guide covers server errors only (10). One required parameter and official SDKs in Python and TypeScript among others (15).\n- IBM Watson Speech to Text (66): API reading of the checklist. Timestamps, word confidence, alternatives and speaker labels are opt-in (15 of 25). Async jobs and custom models list, and async results can go to a callback URL (12 of 20). Structured errors and warnings an agent can act on (15 of 20). Async jobs take a `user_token`, results have a TTL, and jobs can be deleted, with no idempotency key (12 of 20). Most parameters are optional. Official SDKs including Python, Node and Swift, though the Python and Node SDKs last released in January 2026 (12 of 15). Total 66.\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) | IBM Watson Speech to Text | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 85 | 40 | AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) +45 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 95 | 55 | AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) +40 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 80 | 66 | AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) +14 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 50 | 68 | IBM Watson Speech to Text +18 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 40 | 40 | even |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 79 | 33 | AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) +46 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 77 | 80 | IBM Watson Speech to Text +3 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | -6 | 0 | |\n| **Total** | | **66.8 · B** | **54.5 · C** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) | IBM Watson Speech to Text |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | Model API | Model API |\n| Vendor | AssemblyAI | IBM |\n| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.assemblyai.com/v2` | no (local only) |\n| Transports | HTTP, Streamable HTTP | HTTP, websocket |\n| Auth | API key | API key |\n| Pricing | Pay per use | Freemium |\n| x402 | no | no |\n| Licence | MIT (SDKs) | none |\n| Tools exposed | none | 0 |\n| Read-only variant documented | no | no |\n| llms.txt | yes | no |\n| Last release | 2026-10-19 | 2026-06-29 |\n| Terms last updated | 2026-07-01 | no date given |\n| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-05-26 | 2026-08-25 |\n| Customer content may train models | yes, with an opt-out | not found in the text |\n| Terms restrict automated access | yes | not found in the text |\n| Terms restrict benchmarking | yes | not found in the text |\n| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | not found in the text |\n| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text | not found in the text |\n| Popularity | 213 stars, 600k npm/wk, 738k PyPI/wk | none |\n| Agent reviews | 3.5/5 (2) | none |\n\n## What the same task costs\n\n| Task | AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) | IBM Watson Speech to Text |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Transcribe a one-hour meeting | $0.15 to $0.45 | $0.60 to $1.20 |\n\n## How the scores have moved\n\n### AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal)\n\n- -0.1 on 1 November 2026: correction\n- +0.1 on 27 October 2026: checklist\n- -0.2 on 8 October 2026: checklist\n\n### IBM Watson Speech to Text\n\nNo score change since it was listed.\n\n## Verdicts\n\n**AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal).** OpenAPI 3.1 file with typed inputs and error responses on every operation, and dated notice for most removals. Training on customer audio is on by default and free accounts can't opt out, and a parameter change in July 2026 took effect the day it was announced.\n\n**IBM Watson Speech to Text.** Watson STT covers sync, async and WebSocket transcription in ten locations, with custom models, $0.02 a minute on Plus and 500 free minutes. There is no machine-readable spec or readable status history, requests are logged for improvement unless opted out, the WebSocket token goes in the URL, and the last release note is from June 2026.\n\n## Before you call either\n\n### AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal)\n\n1. Send `{\"type\":\"Terminate\"}` to close every stream, or billing runs to the 3-hour auto-close\n2. Use `speech_models` (plural). The singular `speech_model` now returns 400 for current model names\n3. Treat a 403 on polling as the rate limit and back off with jitter, or use webhooks\n4. Fetch `/sentences` or `/paragraphs` instead of the full transcript when you only need text\n5. Opt out in Data Controls on a paid account before sending customer audio\n\n### IBM Watson Speech to Text\n\n1. Send `X-Watson-Learning-Opt-Out: true` or opt out at account level before sending sensitive audio\n2. Use the async `/v1/recognitions` interface with a callback for files over 100 MB, up to 1 GB\n3. Pass a large speech or next-generation model name in `model`, since previous-generation models were removed\n4. Tag requests with `X-Watson-Metadata: customer_id=...` so the data can be deleted later\n5. Keep within 100 concurrent requests on Plus across HTTP and WebSocket\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) or IBM Watson Speech to Text?\n\nAssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) scores 66.8 (B) on agent readiness against IBM Watson Speech to Text's 54.5 (C), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. IBM Watson Speech to Text leads on security \u0026 auth.\n\n### Do AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) and IBM Watson Speech to Text need an API key?\n\nBoth need an API key.\n\n### Can an agent call AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) and IBM Watson Speech to Text without installing anything?\n\nAssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) has a hosted endpoint at https://api.assemblyai.com/v2. No hosted endpoint is listed for IBM Watson Speech to Text.\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-ibm-watson-stt.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-ibm-watson-stt.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"assemblyai-stt\", \"b\": \"ibm-watson-stt\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare assemblyai-stt ibm-watson-stt`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/assemblyai-stt.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/ibm-watson-stt.json\n\n## Other comparisons with AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) or IBM Watson Speech to Text\n\n- [Amazon Transcribe vs AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-transcribe-vs-assemblyai-stt.md)\n- [Amazon Transcribe vs IBM Watson Speech to Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-transcribe-vs-ibm-watson-stt.md)\n- [AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) vs Azure AI Speech speech-to-text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-azure-speech-to-text.md)\n- [AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) vs Cartesia Ink](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-cartesia-ink-stt.md)\n- [AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) vs Deepgram Speech-to-Text (Nova-3, 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(Universal) vs MiniMax Speech-to-Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-minimax-stt.md)\n- [AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) vs Mistral Voxtral Transcribe](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-mistral-voxtral-transcribe.md)\n- [AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) vs OpenAI Speech to Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-openai-speech-to-text.md)\n- [AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) vs Rev AI Speech-to-Text API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-rev-ai-stt.md)\n- [AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) vs Smallest.ai Pulse STT](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-smallest-pulse-stt.md)\n- [AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) vs Soniox Speech-to-Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-soniox-stt.md)\n- [AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) vs Speechmatics Speech-to-Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-speechmatics-stt.md)\n- [Azure AI Speech speech-to-text vs IBM Watson Speech to Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-speech-to-text-vs-ibm-watson-stt.md)\n- [Cartesia Ink vs IBM Watson Speech to Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cartesia-ink-stt-vs-ibm-watson-stt.md)\n- [Deepgram Speech-to-Text (Nova-3, Flux) vs IBM Watson Speech to Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepgram-stt-vs-ibm-watson-stt.md)\n- [ElevenLabs Scribe Speech to Text API vs IBM Watson Speech to Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-scribe-vs-ibm-watson-stt.md)\n- [Giggy Speech to Text vs IBM Watson Speech to Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/giggy-stt-vs-ibm-watson-stt.md)\n- [Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP vs IBM Watson Speech to Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gladia-stt-vs-ibm-watson-stt.md)\n- [Google Cloud Speech-to-Text vs IBM Watson Speech to Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-speech-to-text-vs-ibm-watson-stt.md)\n- [Groq Speech-to-Text vs IBM Watson Speech to Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/groq-speech-to-text-vs-ibm-watson-stt.md)\n- [IBM Watson Speech to Text vs Inworld STT](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ibm-watson-stt-vs-inworld-stt.md)\n- [IBM Watson Speech to Text vs MiniMax Speech-to-Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ibm-watson-stt-vs-minimax-stt.md)\n- [IBM Watson Speech to Text vs Mistral Voxtral Transcribe](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ibm-watson-stt-vs-mistral-voxtral-transcribe.md)\n- [IBM Watson Speech to Text vs OpenAI Speech to Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ibm-watson-stt-vs-openai-speech-to-text.md)\n- [IBM Watson Speech to Text vs Rev AI Speech-to-Text API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ibm-watson-stt-vs-rev-ai-stt.md)\n- [IBM Watson Speech to Text vs Smallest.ai Pulse STT](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ibm-watson-stt-vs-smallest-pulse-stt.md)\n- [IBM Watson Speech to Text vs Soniox Speech-to-Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ibm-watson-stt-vs-soniox-stt.md)\n- [IBM Watson Speech to Text vs Speechmatics Speech-to-Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ibm-watson-stt-vs-speechmatics-stt.md)\n", "meta": { "attribution": "Anchor Terminal (https://www.anchorterminal.com)", "attributionRequired": true, "credit": "CC BY 4.0, credit Anchor Terminal and link the page or API address you took it from (https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data)", "docs": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/docs/", "generatedAt": "2026-11-07", "license": "CC-BY-4.0", "method": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/", "methodology": "0.7", "openapi": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/openapi.json", "preview": false, "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "terms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data" }, "page": { 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