AssemblyAI Universal-3 Pro vs Google Gemini: Speech-to-text API vs multimodal audio processing

AssemblyAI's Universal-3 Pro and Google's Gemini are two distinct solutions for audio transcription, each with unique strengths and limitations. Universal-3 Pro is a dedicated speech-to-text API designed for large-scale production environments, offering structured outputs like speaker labels, timestamps, and entity detection without requiring prompt engineering. It supports 99 languages and provides features such as audio redaction and compliance certifications, which are essential for regulated industries. In contrast, Google Gemini is a multimodal large language model capable of processing audio, text, images, and video. It transcribes audio through natural language prompts but lacks the structured outputs and scaling infrastructure necessary for high-volume speech workflows. While Gemini excels in handling individual files with specific prompts and supports a wide range of languages, Universal-3 Pro is tailored for teams needing consistent, scalable, and compliant transcription outputs. Pricing models also differ, with Universal-3 Pro offering per-minute rates and feature-specific costs, making it more predictable for audio-heavy applications, whereas Gemini's token-based pricing can be more cost-effective for multimodal tasks.