AssemblyAI vs telli — Pricing, Plans, and Verified Costs (2026)
AssemblyAI starts at Free. telli uses custom pricing — request a quote to compare.
See price history: AssemblyAI · telli
How pricing works
These two tools don't price the same way, so the headline numbers below aren't directly comparable until you plug in your own volume.
- AssemblyAI (Per Usage) — AssemblyAI bills purely on usage. There is no fixed per-seat fee, so the monthly cost depends entirely on how much you consume.
- telli (Per Usage) — telli bills purely on usage — Custom. There is no fixed per-seat fee, so the monthly cost depends entirely on how much you consume.
Per-minute, per-credit and per-token rates exclude any downstream model, speech or telephony costs unless the vendor states otherwise.
Speech AI platform for developers — long-form audio transcription, speaker diarization, and Universal-2 speech understanding models. Usage-based pricing: Best model at $0.37/hr audio, Nano tier at $0.12/hr. Pay-as-you-go with $50 free credit. Popular with podcast platforms, meeting recorders, and companies building on top of long-form audio.
AI voice call operations platform built for outbound sales agents. Serves solar, HVAC, healthcare, real estate, insurance, and financial services with human-like voice AI and auto-dialers. Three tiers (Starter, Scale, Enterprise) with usage-based per-minute billing — quote-only. Raised $3.6M seed 2025. Berlin-founded.
All plans compared
| Tier role | Plan | AssemblyAI monthly | AssemblyAI annual | telli monthly | telli annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free / starter | Pay-as-you-go: Universal-2 (async) / — | Free | Free | — | — |
| Enterprise | Enterprise / — | Custom | Custom | — | — |
Tier names differ across vendors. Rows are aligned by tier role, not name. Full tier structures on each tool's page.
What each is best for
AssemblyAI is worth it if… developers processing long-form audio at scale — podcasts, recorded meetings, call recordings. The per-hour pricing works out cheaper than Deepgram for batch transcription (as opposed to real-time streaming).
telli is worth it if… outbound sales teams in appointment-heavy verticals (solar, home services, insurance) who want AI voice agents that dial and qualify at scale without hiring more SDRs. Pricing is opaque and quote-driven — expect setup support that varies by tier and per-minute rates that need negotiation.
Bottom line: Similar positioning, closer to a preference call than a strategic one.
Choose AssemblyAI over telli if…
Choose AssemblyAI if…
- You want to pay only for actual usage (per usage, a free entry tier).
- You match the profile AssemblyAI is built for: developers processing long-form audio at scale — podcasts, recorded meetings, call recordings.
- You need a general-purpose voice agents & speech/audio option rather than a vertical-specific one.
Choose telli if…
- You want an outbound calling agent that ships with the playbook already built.
- You're a revenue team, not an engineering team, and want speed over stack control.
- You're calling leads in solar, HVAC, insurance, or other high-intent home-services verticals.
At a glance
| AssemblyAI | telli | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Entry price | Free | Custom |
| Enterprise available | Yes | — |
| Pricing model | Per Usage | Per Usage |
| Last verified | September 20, 2026 | September 10, 2026 |
| Full pricing | View full pricing | View full pricing |
Pricing last verified September 20, 2026. Tracked daily.