{ "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 MiniMax Speech-to-Text's 48.4 (D), and leads in every scored category.", "b": { "slug": "minimax-stt", "name": "MiniMax Speech-to-Text", "vendor": "MiniMax", "vendorUrl": "https://www.minimax.io", "kind": "model", "category": "speech-to-text", "summary": "MiniMax's speech-to-text API transcribes audio files of up to 500 seconds with its `asr-1.0` model in 20 languages, with optional streamed text output, speaker diarisation, segment timestamps and SRT or VTT subtitles.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/minimax-stt", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/minimax-stt.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/minimax-stt.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/minimax-stt.json", "dns": "minimax-stt.grade.anchorterminal.com", "transports": [ "http" ], "packages": [], "auth": "api-key", "authNotes": "Bearer API key created in the platform console under Account, API Keys. No scopes were found in the docs. Mainland China accounts use `https://api.minimaxi.com`.", "pricing": "usage", "pricingNotes": "$0.38 an hour of audio, pay as you go from a prepaid balance or through an M Plan subscription. Speech to text is for paid accounts only, with no free allowance.", "priceSummary": "Pay per use", "where": "local", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the docs, OpenAPI file or pricing page (checked 2026-11-06). An empty balance returns 402 insufficient_balance_error with no payment requirements.", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": 0, "popularity": { "githubStars": null, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-11-06" }, "docsUrl": "https://platform.minimax.io/docs/guides/speech-to-text", "llmsTxt": "https://platform.minimax.io/docs/llms.txt", "openapi": "https://platform.minimax.io/docs/api-reference/speech/speech-to-text/api/openapi.json", "capabilities": [ "speech.stt", "speech.diarisation", "speech.languages" ], "tags": [ "official", "hosted", "usage-priced", "prepaid", "openapi", "llms-txt", "status-page" ], "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 48.4, "grade": "D", "agentReady": false, "rank": 1114, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 1486, "categoryRank": 19, "methodology": "0.7", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 70, "maintenance": 6, "payments": 20, "reliability": 47, "schema": 82, "security": 33, "transparency": 63 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-11-06" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "MiniMax's ASR API has an OpenAPI file, typed error envelopes and a public price of $0.38 an hour, with diarisation and subtitle output. It takes files of up to 500 seconds only, allows 2 concurrent connections, has no free tier or status component, and no dated release.", "bestFor": "Cheap file transcription with diarisation and subtitles, strongest on Chinese and code-switched audio by the vendor's account.", "strengths": [ "OpenAPI 3.1 file with eight documented responses, and an error table with HTTP status, type and trigger", "$0.38 an hour of audio, published without a login", "Speaker diarisation, segment timestamps and SRT or VTT output from one call", "Automatic language detection with Chinese-English code-switching across 20 languages" ], "weaknesses": [ "Files only, up to 500 seconds and 50 MB; live audio input isn't supported", "2 concurrent connections and paid accounts only, with no free allowance", "No status page component and no dated release of `asr-1.0`", "Terms let MiniMax use inputs to improve its services, and no retention period for audio was found" ], "agentNotes": [ "Split recordings into pieces under 500 seconds before uploading, since longer audio returns 400", "Convert to mono 16 kHz or a compressed format to stay under 50 MB", "Use `verbose_json` for speakers and timestamps, and `json` only when streaming", "Treat 402 `insufficient_balance_error` as final and ask the user to top up", "Use `https://api.minimaxi.com` for a mainland China account" ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "D", "methodology": "0.7", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 48.4 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 70, "maintenance": 6, "payments": 20, "reliability": 47, "schema": 82, "security": 33, "transparency": 43 }, "provenanceScore": 82, "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": { "http": "curl -X POST https://api.minimax.io/v1/speech_to_text \\\n -H \"Authorization: Bearer $MINIMAX_API_KEY\" \\\n -F model=asr-1.0 -F file=@meeting.mp3 -F response_format=verbose_json" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/speech.stt", "tool": "https://letme.dev/minimax-stt" }, "sameCompany": [ "minimax-api", "minimax-video", "minimax-speech", "minimax-voice-cloning", "minimax-code", "minimax-m2-5", "minimax-m2-7", "minimax-m3-1-flash" ], "area": "voice", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "asr-1.0", "unit": "audio-minute", "usd": 0.00633, "note": "$0.38 an hour, paid accounts only" } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Nanonoble Pte. Ltd.", "domain": "minimax.io", "domainRegistered": "2021-03-27", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://platform.minimax.io/protocol/terms-of-service", "privacy": "https://platform.minimax.io/protocol/privacy-policy", "statusPage": "https://status.minimax.io", "changelog": "https://platform.minimax.io/docs/release-notes/apis", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-11-06", "notes": [ "Nanonoble Pte. Ltd., 152 Beach Road, #14-02 Gateway East, Singapore, is named in the terms (effective 30 March 2026) and the privacy policy (updated 30 March 2026), read on 4 November 2026 from the document text the pages carry for the browser, as on the minimax-api listing. The 8 October reader recorded both pages as unreadable.", "RDAP for minimax.io gives a registration date of 2021-03-27 and a transfer on 2025-01-31, as recorded on 8 October.", "platform.minimax.io/.well-known/security.txt returns 404 (per the 8 October check), and www.minimax.io/.well-known/security.txt redirects to the home page.", "The API release notes page has no entry after 28 October 2025 on 4 November. Model releases are dated on a separate page, whose newest speech model is Speech 2.8 (23 January 2026).", "status.minimax.io/robots.txt disallows /api/, so incidents were read from the /history pages only.", "firstReleased and lastRelease are left empty, since no dated release of `asr-1.0` was found." ], "score": 82 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/minimax-stt.json", "live": { "slug": "minimax-stt", "vendorStatus": { "page": "https://status.minimax.io", "indicator": "none", "summary": "All Systems Operational", "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T18:21:22.959559855Z" }, "securityTxt": { "url": "https://minimax.io/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "none", "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T16:00:57.120551174Z" }, "llmsTxt": { "url": "https://platform.minimax.io/docs/llms.txt", "ok": true, "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T15:33:06.549207563Z" }, "updatedAt": "2026-11-07T18:21:22.959559855Z" } }, "edges": [ { "by": 73, "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. No dated release or change of `asr-1.0` was found on the model or API release notes or the status page (0). No dated ASR entries in the last 90 days (0). Support by email and Discord, not tested (6 of 15). No official SDK, and the MCP servers have no transcription tool (0 of 15). No package to judge (0 of 10). Total 6." }, "scores": { "a": 79, "b": 6 } }, { "by": 38, "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": "Atlassian Statuspage at status.minimax.io with component history, but its components are LLM, Text-to-Speech and Video Generation, with none for speech to text (10 of 20). With no component, the history holds no record for transcription (5). Limits published with numbers, 2 concurrent connections and 30,000 audio seconds a minute (15). 429 is documented as `rate_limit_error`, and the general error code page says to retry later, with no backoff figures or Retry-After (7 of 15). No SLA in the terms or docs (0). `asr-1.0` is called the current public model with no beta label (10). 10 + 5 + 15 + 7 + 0 + 10 = 47." }, "scores": { "a": 85, "b": 47 } }, { "by": 20, "category": "payments", "leads": "assemblyai-stt", "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "reasons": { "a": "No x402, MPP or L402 (0). Per-hour prices for every model and add-on published without a login (20). Free tier of up to 185 hours pre-recorded or 333 hours streaming with no card (20). A person has to sign up in a browser to get a key (0).", "b": "No x402, MPP or L402 (0). $0.38 an hour published without a login (20). Speech to text is for paid accounts only (0). A person signs up in a browser and funds a balance (0). Total 20." }, "scores": { "a": 40, "b": 20 } }, { "by": 17, "category": "security", "leads": "assemblyai-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. Plain API keys from the console with no scopes found, and the docs say publicly leaked keys may be disabled, as on minimax-voice-cloning (20 of 30). The terms (effective 30 March 2026), as read for minimax-voice-cloning on 4 November, let MiniMax use input and generated content to operate, maintain, develop and improve its services, with no opt-out found, and the privacy policy rules out only training to profile or target consumers (5 of 20). No retention period for uploaded audio or transcripts was found (3 of 15). Each response carries a trace ID, with no audit log found (5 of 15). No security.txt, disclosure policy, bug bounty or certification found, as on the other MiniMax listings (0 of 20). Total 33." }, "scores": { "a": 50, "b": 33 } }, { "by": 14, "category": "transparency", "leads": "assemblyai-stt", "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "reasons": { "a": "Closed service with clear terms (15). Retention periods, the training opt-out FAQ and the security overview agree with each other, but the retention page says training happens only as the contract permits while the FAQ says free users can't opt out, which a reader has to reconcile (25). Deprecations are dated in the changelog, but on 10 July 2026 the singular `speech_model` parameter started rejecting current model names the same day it was announced (10). Subprocessor list at /legal/subprocessors and US and EU endpoints (20).", "b": "Closed API with clear terms under Singapore law naming Nanonoble Pte. Ltd., as on the other MiniMax listings (15 of 30). The terms and privacy policy agree that inputs may be used to improve services and that data sits in a United States data centre, with no retention period for audio (8 of 30). No deprecation notice or policy touches the ASR API (10 of 20, for the dated notices elsewhere on the API release notes). Data location stated as the United States and an EU representative named, with third parties only by category (10 of 20). Total 43." }, "scores": { "a": 77, "b": 63 } }, { "by": 13, "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": "OpenAPI 3.1 for `/v1/speech_to_text`, with eight documented responses (25). llms.txt and a Markdown copy of every page (10). The guide says when to stream, when to use `verbose_json`, and that subtitles and diarisation can't be combined with streaming (15 of 20). Typed multipart fields with an enum for `response_format`, and file limits stated in prose (12 of 15). Python examples and an error table giving HTTP status, `error.type` and trigger for 400, 401, 402, 413, 422, 429 and 500 (15). Versioned `/v1` path, but neither release notes page mentions the ASR API, and the API notes stop at 28 October 2025 (5 of 15). Total 82." }, "scores": { "a": 95, "b": 82 } } ], "facts": [ { "a": "Model API", "b": "Model API", "name": "Kind" }, { "a": "AssemblyAI", "b": "MiniMax", "name": "Vendor" }, { "a": "https://api.assemblyai.com/v2", "b": "no (local only)", "name": "Hosted endpoint" }, { "a": "HTTP, Streamable HTTP", "b": "HTTP", "name": "Transports" }, { "a": "API key", "b": "API key", "name": "Auth" }, { "a": "Pay per use", "b": "Pay per use", "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": "yes", "name": "llms.txt" }, { "a": "2026-10-19", "b": "none", "name": "Last release" }, { "a": "2026-07-01", "b": "couldn't be read", "name": "Terms last updated" }, { "a": "2026-05-26", "b": "couldn't be read", "name": "Privacy policy last updated" }, { "a": "yes, with an opt-out", "b": "couldn't be read", "name": "Customer content may train models" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "couldn't be read", "name": "Terms restrict automated access" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "couldn't be read", "name": "Terms restrict benchmarking" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "couldn't be read", "name": "Terms or service can change without notice" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "couldn't be read", "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 MiniMax Speech-to-Text's 48.4 (D), and leads in every scored category.", "question": "Which is better for AI agents, AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) or MiniMax Speech-to-Text?" }, { "answer": "Both need an API key.", "question": "Do AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) and MiniMax 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 MiniMax Speech-to-Text.", "question": "Can an agent call AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) and MiniMax Speech-to-Text without installing anything?" } ], "goodFor": [ { "aheadOn": [ "Reliability, 85 against 47", "Schema \u0026 documentation, 95 against 82", "Agent ergonomics, 80 against 70", "Security \u0026 auth, 50 against 33", "Payments \u0026 pricing, 40 against 20", "Maintenance \u0026 community, 79 against 6", "Transparency \u0026 trust, 77 against 63" ], "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": null, "also": [ "No incidents deducted, where AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) loses 6 points for them" ], "goodFor": "Cheap file transcription with diarisation and subtitles, strongest on Chinese and code-switched audio by the vendor's account.", "slug": "minimax-stt", "watchFor": "Files only, up to 500 seconds and 50 MB; live audio input isn't supported" } ], "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" } ], "minimax-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": 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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": "AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) vs ElevenLabs Scribe Speech to Text API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-elevenlabs-scribe" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-giggy-stt.json", "title": "AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) vs Giggy Speech to Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-giggy-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-gladia-stt.json", "title": "AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) vs Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-gladia-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-google-speech-to-text.json", "title": "AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) vs Google Cloud Speech-to-Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-google-speech-to-text" }, { "json": "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-ibm-watson-stt.json", "title": "AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) vs IBM Watson Speech to Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-ibm-watson-stt" }, { "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-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": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-soniox-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-speechmatics-stt.json", "title": "AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) vs Speechmatics Speech-to-Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-speechmatics-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-speech-to-text-vs-minimax-stt.json", "title": "Azure AI Speech speech-to-text vs MiniMax Speech-to-Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-speech-to-text-vs-minimax-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cartesia-ink-stt-vs-minimax-stt.json", "title": "Cartesia Ink vs MiniMax Speech-to-Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cartesia-ink-stt-vs-minimax-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepgram-stt-vs-minimax-stt.json", "title": "Deepgram Speech-to-Text (Nova-3, Flux) vs MiniMax Speech-to-Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepgram-stt-vs-minimax-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-scribe-vs-minimax-stt.json", "title": "ElevenLabs Scribe Speech to Text API vs MiniMax Speech-to-Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-scribe-vs-minimax-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/giggy-stt-vs-minimax-stt.json", "title": "Giggy Speech to Text vs MiniMax Speech-to-Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/giggy-stt-vs-minimax-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gladia-stt-vs-minimax-stt.json", "title": "Gladia Speech-to-Text API + MCP vs MiniMax Speech-to-Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gladia-stt-vs-minimax-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-speech-to-text-vs-minimax-stt.json", "title": "Google Cloud Speech-to-Text vs MiniMax Speech-to-Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-speech-to-text-vs-minimax-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/groq-speech-to-text-vs-minimax-stt.json", "title": "Groq Speech-to-Text vs MiniMax Speech-to-Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/groq-speech-to-text-vs-minimax-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/inworld-stt-vs-minimax-stt.json", "title": "Inworld STT vs MiniMax Speech-to-Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/inworld-stt-vs-minimax-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-stt-vs-mistral-voxtral-transcribe.json", "title": "MiniMax Speech-to-Text vs Mistral Voxtral Transcribe", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-stt-vs-mistral-voxtral-transcribe" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-stt-vs-openai-speech-to-text.json", "title": "MiniMax Speech-to-Text vs OpenAI Speech to Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-stt-vs-openai-speech-to-text" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-stt-vs-rev-ai-stt.json", "title": "MiniMax Speech-to-Text vs Rev AI Speech-to-Text API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-stt-vs-rev-ai-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-stt-vs-smallest-pulse-stt.json", "title": "MiniMax Speech-to-Text vs Smallest.ai Pulse STT", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-stt-vs-smallest-pulse-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-stt-vs-soniox-stt.json", "title": "MiniMax Speech-to-Text vs Soniox Speech-to-Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-stt-vs-soniox-stt" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-stt-vs-speechmatics-stt.json", "title": "MiniMax Speech-to-Text vs Speechmatics Speech-to-Text", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-stt-vs-speechmatics-stt" } ], "panel": null, "scores": [ { "assemblyai-stt": 85, "by": 38, "edge": "assemblyai-stt", "key": "reliability", "minimax-stt": 47, "name": "Reliability", "weight": 16 }, { "key": "performance", "name": "Performance", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "assemblyai-stt": 95, "by": 13, "edge": "assemblyai-stt", "key": "schema", "minimax-stt": 82, "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "weight": 13 }, { "assemblyai-stt": 80, "by": 10, "edge": "assemblyai-stt", "key": "ergonomics", "minimax-stt": 70, "name": "Agent ergonomics", "weight": 13 }, { "assemblyai-stt": 50, "by": 17, "edge": "assemblyai-stt", "key": "security", "minimax-stt": 33, "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "weight": 14 }, { "assemblyai-stt": 40, "by": 20, "edge": "assemblyai-stt", "key": "payments", "minimax-stt": 20, "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "weight": 10 }, { "key": "tasks", "name": "Task success", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "assemblyai-stt": 79, "by": 73, "edge": "assemblyai-stt", "key": "maintenance", "minimax-stt": 6, "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "weight": 7 }, { "assemblyai-stt": 77, "by": 14, "edge": "assemblyai-stt", "key": "transparency", "minimax-stt": 63, "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "weight": 7 } ], "summary": "AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) scores 66.8 (B) on agent readiness against MiniMax Speech-to-Text's 48.4 (D), and leads in every scored category. Both do speech-to-text.", "tasks": [ { "a": "$0.15 to $0.45", "b": "$0.38", "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.", "minimax-stt": "MiniMax's ASR API has an OpenAPI file, typed error envelopes and a public price of $0.38 an hour, with diarisation and subtitle output. It takes files of up to 500 seconds only, allows 2 concurrent connections, has no free tier or status component, and no dated release." } }, "kind": "anchor.page", "links": { "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json", "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-minimax-stt", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-minimax-stt.json", "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt", "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-minimax-stt.md", "mcp": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp", "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-minimax-stt.min.md" }, "markdown": "AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) scores 66.8 (B) on agent readiness against MiniMax Speech-to-Text's 48.4 (D), and leads in every scored category. 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- MiniMax Speech-to-Text: grade D, 48.4/100, rank #1114 of 1486. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/minimax-stt.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/minimax-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 47\n- Schema \u0026 documentation, 95 against 82\n- Agent ergonomics, 80 against 70\n- Security \u0026 auth, 50 against 33\n- Payments \u0026 pricing, 40 against 20\n- Maintenance \u0026 community, 79 against 6\n- Transparency \u0026 trust, 77 against 63\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### MiniMax Speech-to-Text (D)\n\nGood for: Cheap file transcription with diarisation and subtitles, strongest on Chinese and code-switched audio by the vendor's account.\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- No incidents deducted, where AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) loses 6 points for them\n\nWatch for: Files only, up to 500 seconds and 50 MB; live audio input isn't supported\n\n\n## Why the edge\n\n### Maintenance \u0026 community: AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) +73\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- MiniMax Speech-to-Text (6): Read as a model. No dated release or change of `asr-1.0` was found on the model or API release notes or the status page (0). No dated ASR entries in the last 90 days (0). Support by email and Discord, not tested (6 of 15). No official SDK, and the MCP servers have no transcription tool (0 of 15). No package to judge (0 of 10). Total 6.\n\n### Reliability: AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) +38\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- MiniMax Speech-to-Text (47): Atlassian Statuspage at status.minimax.io with component history, but its components are LLM, Text-to-Speech and Video Generation, with none for speech to text (10 of 20). With no component, the history holds no record for transcription (5). Limits published with numbers, 2 concurrent connections and 30,000 audio seconds a minute (15). 429 is documented as `rate_limit_error`, and the general error code page says to retry later, with no backoff figures or Retry-After (7 of 15). No SLA in the terms or docs (0). `asr-1.0` is called the current public model with no beta label (10). 10 + 5 + 15 + 7 + 0 + 10 = 47.\n\n### Payments \u0026 pricing: AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) +20\n\n- AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) (40): No x402, MPP or L402 (0). Per-hour prices for every model and add-on published without a login (20). Free tier of up to 185 hours pre-recorded or 333 hours streaming with no card (20). A person has to sign up in a browser to get a key (0).\n- MiniMax Speech-to-Text (20): No x402, MPP or L402 (0). $0.38 an hour published without a login (20). Speech to text is for paid accounts only (0). A person signs up in a browser and funds a balance (0). Total 20.\n\n### Security \u0026 auth: AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) +17\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- MiniMax Speech-to-Text (33): Model reading of the checklist, with training and retention in place of the least-privilege and injection lines. Plain API keys from the console with no scopes found, and the docs say publicly leaked keys may be disabled, as on minimax-voice-cloning (20 of 30). The terms (effective 30 March 2026), as read for minimax-voice-cloning on 4 November, let MiniMax use input and generated content to operate, maintain, develop and improve its services, with no opt-out found, and the privacy policy rules out only training to profile or target consumers (5 of 20). No retention period for uploaded audio or transcripts was found (3 of 15). Each response carries a trace ID, with no audit log found (5 of 15). No security.txt, disclosure policy, bug bounty or certification found, as on the other MiniMax listings (0 of 20). Total 33.\n\n### Transparency \u0026 trust: AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) +14\n\n- AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) (77): Closed service with clear terms (15). Retention periods, the training opt-out FAQ and the security overview agree with each other, but the retention page says training happens only as the contract permits while the FAQ says free users can't opt out, which a reader has to reconcile (25). Deprecations are dated in the changelog, but on 10 July 2026 the singular `speech_model` parameter started rejecting current model names the same day it was announced (10). Subprocessor list at /legal/subprocessors and US and EU endpoints (20).\n- MiniMax Speech-to-Text (63): Closed API with clear terms under Singapore law naming Nanonoble Pte. Ltd., as on the other MiniMax listings (15 of 30). The terms and privacy policy agree that inputs may be used to improve services and that data sits in a United States data centre, with no retention period for audio (8 of 30). No deprecation notice or policy touches the ASR API (10 of 20, for the dated notices elsewhere on the API release notes). Data location stated as the United States and an EU representative named, with third parties only by category (10 of 20). Total 43.\n\n### Schema \u0026 documentation: AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) +13\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- MiniMax Speech-to-Text (82): OpenAPI 3.1 for `/v1/speech_to_text`, with eight documented responses (25). llms.txt and a Markdown copy of every page (10). The guide says when to stream, when to use `verbose_json`, and that subtitles and diarisation can't be combined with streaming (15 of 20). Typed multipart fields with an enum for `response_format`, and file limits stated in prose (12 of 15). Python examples and an error table giving HTTP status, `error.type` and trigger for 400, 401, 402, 413, 422, 429 and 500 (15). Versioned `/v1` path, but neither release notes page mentions the ASR API, and the API notes stop at 28 October 2025 (5 of 15). Total 82.\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) | MiniMax Speech-to-Text | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 85 | 47 | AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) +38 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 95 | 82 | AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) +13 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 80 | 70 | AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) +10 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 50 | 33 | AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) +17 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 40 | 20 | AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) +20 |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 79 | 6 | AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) +73 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 77 | 63 | AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) +14 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | -6 | 0 | |\n| **Total** | | **66.8 · B** | **48.4 · D** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) | MiniMax Speech-to-Text |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | Model API | Model API |\n| Vendor | AssemblyAI | MiniMax |\n| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.assemblyai.com/v2` | no (local only) |\n| Transports | HTTP, Streamable HTTP | HTTP |\n| Auth | API key | API key |\n| Pricing | Pay per use | Pay per use |\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 | yes |\n| Last release | 2026-10-19 | none |\n| Terms last updated | 2026-07-01 | couldn't be read |\n| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-05-26 | couldn't be read |\n| Customer content may train models | yes, with an opt-out | couldn't be read |\n| Terms restrict automated access | yes | couldn't be read |\n| Terms restrict benchmarking | yes | couldn't be read |\n| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | couldn't be read |\n| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text | couldn't be read |\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) | MiniMax Speech-to-Text |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Transcribe a one-hour meeting | $0.15 to $0.45 | $0.38 |\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### MiniMax 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**MiniMax Speech-to-Text.** MiniMax's ASR API has an OpenAPI file, typed error envelopes and a public price of $0.38 an hour, with diarisation and subtitle output. It takes files of up to 500 seconds only, allows 2 concurrent connections, has no free tier or status component, and no dated release.\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### MiniMax Speech-to-Text\n\n1. Split recordings into pieces under 500 seconds before uploading, since longer audio returns 400\n2. Convert to mono 16 kHz or a compressed format to stay under 50 MB\n3. Use `verbose_json` for speakers and timestamps, and `json` only when streaming\n4. Treat 402 `insufficient_balance_error` as final and ask the user to top up\n5. Use `https://api.minimaxi.com` for a mainland China account\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) or MiniMax Speech-to-Text?\n\nAssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) scores 66.8 (B) on agent readiness against MiniMax Speech-to-Text's 48.4 (D), and leads in every scored category.\n\n### Do AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) and MiniMax 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 MiniMax 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 MiniMax Speech-to-Text.\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-minimax-stt.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/assemblyai-stt-vs-minimax-stt.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"assemblyai-stt\", \"b\": \"minimax-stt\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare assemblyai-stt minimax-stt`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/assemblyai-stt.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/minimax-stt.json\n\n## Other comparisons with AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) or MiniMax 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 MiniMax Speech-to-Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-transcribe-vs-minimax-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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Speech-to-Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-speech-to-text-vs-minimax-stt.md)\n- [Groq Speech-to-Text vs MiniMax Speech-to-Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/groq-speech-to-text-vs-minimax-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- [Inworld STT vs MiniMax Speech-to-Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/inworld-stt-vs-minimax-stt.md)\n- [MiniMax Speech-to-Text vs Mistral Voxtral Transcribe](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-stt-vs-mistral-voxtral-transcribe.md)\n- [MiniMax Speech-to-Text vs OpenAI Speech to Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-stt-vs-openai-speech-to-text.md)\n- [MiniMax Speech-to-Text vs Rev AI Speech-to-Text API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-stt-vs-rev-ai-stt.md)\n- [MiniMax Speech-to-Text vs Smallest.ai Pulse STT](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-stt-vs-smallest-pulse-stt.md)\n- [MiniMax Speech-to-Text vs Soniox Speech-to-Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-stt-vs-soniox-stt.md)\n- [MiniMax Speech-to-Text vs Speechmatics Speech-to-Text](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-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": { "breadcrumbs": [ { "name": "Home", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/" }, { "name": "Compare", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/" }, { "name": "AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text (Universal) vs MiniMax Speech-to-Text", "url": "" } ], "description": "AssemblyAI Speech-to-Text scores 66.8 (B) to MiniMax Speech-to-Text's 48.4 (D) for speech-to-text. 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