Speech-to-text APIs · Comparison
Amazon Transcribe vs Deepgram
2 products compared side by side: what you pay for with each one first, then the five access facts, entry prices, recorded plan limits and the bottom line of each review. The evidence note under the table says how each product was checked.
Side by side
| Metric | Amazon Transcribe | Deepgram |
|---|---|---|
| What you're paying for | Built-in reachTranscription inside your AWS account at $0.006 a minute for batch, with speaker labels, custom vocabulary and language identification in the rate. | Worth the priceSpeaker-labelled transcripts of pre-recorded audio at $0.0043 a minute with nothing extra to add, plus regional endpoints and a self-hosting path for later. |
| Overall score | 7.0Best | 6.6 |
| Free option | Free trial | Free trial |
| Card to start | –Not measured | No card needed |
| Getting access | Self-serve | Self-serve |
| Starter priceCheapest paid plan | $0.006/min | $0.0043/min |
| Pricing model | Usage-based | Usage-based |
| Pricing page | Public prices | Public prices |
| Billing unit | Per second, no minimum; two channels at no extra charge | Per second of audio; multichannel billed per channel |
| Free credit | 60 minutes a month for 12 months | $200 at sign-up, no card |
| Streaming rate | $0.01/min ($0.60/h) | Nova-3 Monolingual $0.0077/min regular; $0.0048/min limited-time promotional |
| Diarization | Included in batch and streaming, up to 30 speakers | Included on pre-recorded audio; streaming +$0.0020/min |
| Languages | About 90 languages across 113 language rows (our count) | 45+ (pricing page) |
| Training on your audio | By default; opt out with an AWS Organizations policy | By default; opt out per request (mip_opt_out=true) |
| Retention | Job records 90 days; output in your S3 bucket | Kept for model improvement by default; zero retention with the opt-out |
| HIPAA BAA | Accepted in AWS Artifact | Enterprise, through sales |
| EU processing | Six EU regions for batch, four for streaming | EU endpoint with existing keys, no plan limit stated; also Australia and India |
| Self-hosted | Not offered | Enterprise containers; Amazon SageMaker route with an AWS account |
| SOC 2 / ISO 27001 | SOC 1, 2 and 3 and ISO 27001 (AWS Artifact) | SOC 2 Type II (report on request); ISO 27001 not stated |
| Console SSO | IAM Identity Center, no extra charge | Not documented |
| Bottom line | From its public pages, Amazon Transcribe is the simple choice inside AWS: flat per-minute rates with the main features included and self-serve compliance paperwork. Voice inputs are used to improve the service unless your organization opts out. | From its public pages, Deepgram pairs low batch rates, diarization included, with a $200 credit and self-hosting. Model improvement is on unless each request opts out, the BAA is Enterprise only, and streaming runs on promotional rates. |
Evidence: Amazon Transcribe: facts checked 2026-10-16 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run; Deepgram: facts checked 2026-10-16 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run. Prices in USD as listed, excluding tax. "–" means not recorded.
When to pick each
In the words of each review, with the date its facts were checked.
From our Amazon Transcribe review
Checked Oct 16, 2026- Pick Amazon Transcribe when
- You want streaming diarization included and a BAA accepted in AWS Artifact.
- Pick Deepgram when
- You want a lower batch price ($129 against $180 a month for 500 hours, computed), a $200 credit and self-hosting.
From our Deepgram review
Checked Oct 16, 2026- Pick Deepgram when
- You want a lower batch price ($129 against $180 a month for 500 hours, computed) and a self-hosted option.
- Pick Amazon Transcribe when
- You already run on AWS and want the BAA accepted in AWS Artifact and console SSO through IAM Identity Center.
Entry price
Baseline: each product's cheapest paid plan, per month. Included usage differs, so read the line under each price.
- Amazon TranscribeStandard batch$0.006/minFlat, US East; billed per second
- Diarization, custom vocabulary and language identification included
- Up to two channels included
- SRT and WebVTT subtitles
- DeepgramNova-3 Monolingual, pre-recorded$0.0043/min$0.26/h; Growth $0.0036/min; billed per second
- Speaker diarization and smart formatting included
- Word timestamps and confidence
- Keyterm prompting +$0.0013/min
- Redaction +$0.0020/min
Prices as listed on each pricing page, in USD per month, excluding tax. Observed: Amazon Transcribe 2026-10-16, Deepgram 2026-10-16.
Which one fits
- If you need to start today without a sales call
- Amazon TranscribeSelf-serve sign-up; the highest score of the 2 self-serve products here (7.0/10).
- If you want to try it without entering a card
- DeepgramFree trial, no card needed; scored 6.6/10.
- Highest overall score
- Amazon Transcribe7.0/10 (Good). The review shows the score breakdown and the run behind it.
Picked by fixed rules from the table above, not by hand. How we score
Full reviews
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