Can I sign up for free?
Yes! You can use the API for free on a limited trial. Simply add a credit card to your account at any time to upgrade from the trial.
An account on the free tier has access to our pre-recorded audio transcription and Speech Understanding features using our Async /v2/transcript endpoint. It also has access to our streaming STT feature using our wss://streaming.assemblyai.com/v3/ws endpoint.
LLM Gateway is not available to accounts on the free tier.
An account on the free tier can process up to $50 in audio. If you upgrade your account before using $50 in transcription, any unused amount will be retained on your account.
Once you have used the $50 in free credits, you will need to upgrade your account to continue using the API.
What happens when you exceed the free tier limit?
While the free tier provides $50 in credits, users often wonder what exactly happens when they reach this limit. If you attempt to use the API without sufficient account balance, you’ll receive a specific error message:
Managing your account balance
To avoid service interruptions:
- Monitor your current balance on the Billing page of your account dashboard
- Consider enabling autopay to automatically add funds when your balance reaches a certain threshold
- Set up billing alerts to get notified before you run out of credits
Resolving negative balance errors
If you encounter the negative balance error:
- Go to your account’s Billing page
- Add a payment method if you haven’t already
- Add funds to your account or enable autopay
- Your API access will be restored once your balance is positive
This proactive approach helps ensure uninterrupted service for your applications.
