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One Reddit user compared Deepgram, ElevenLabs and AssemblyAI on a 2-hour-22-minute Swedish meeting with six speakers. Deepgram produced 26,479 words in 64.5 seconds; ElevenLabs produced 24,871 words in 88.9 seconds. The benchmarker said ElevenLabs’ Swedish text quality seemed better in practice, despite Deepgram’s higher word count. That is one recording, not a broad comparison. The alternatives below include audio APIs, but also tools for voice agents, meetings and dictation—not all are direct transcription replacements.
01Why people leave Deepgram
Swedish text quality may disappoint
One Reddit benchmarker preferred ElevenLabs’ Swedish text quality, citing names and compounds, even though Deepgram captured more words on that recording.
Speed and text quality can diverge
In that same single-meeting comparison, Deepgram was faster and produced more words; the user still preferred another provider’s Swedish text.
Diarization results need scrutiny
A commenter on the benchmark thread recommended comparing standard DER on a larger dataset, rather than relying on the reported metric alone.
02The alternatives, ranked by fit
- Audio API workflows
GladiaGladiaGladia is the closest fit here if you still need audio transcription inside an existing app: its listed use cases include audio APIs and multilingual transcription workflows. That makes it more relevant than a dictation app or a contact-center suite for an API migration. Its price is not published on the vendor's site, so budget by usage only after checking its current terms.
Trade-off: Price is not published, and the published information gives no specific usage limits.
6.5/10from
Custom - Real-time speech tools
SanasSanasConsider Sanas if your project is moving beyond transcription toward speech translation or real-time audio enhancement. The published description also lists developers exploring speech APIs as a fit. It is not presented as a direct transcription replacement, and its pricing is not published, so confirm that its speech features match the job Deepgram currently handles.
Trade-off: Pricing and user feedback are too thin for a clear value comparison.
5.0/10from
Custom - Phone-call voice agents
Retell AIRetell AIRetell AI fits teams whose reason for leaving is a shift from transcription toward building phone-call voice agents. Its listed strengths include visual call workflows, fast deployment and pay-as-you-go pricing. That is a different product direction from swapping one transcription provider for another, so compare the voice-agent workflow—not just transcript accuracy.
Trade-off: The published information gives no starting price; model usage carefully.
7.2/10from
Freefree plan - Meetings and call centers
KrispKrispKrisp is worth considering if your Deepgram workflow is tied to AI meeting notes, call-center voice AI or accent conversion. The listed starting price is $8. That makes it a possible fit for teams rethinking the broader voice workflow, but the published information describes separate products and subscription pricing rather than a like-for-like transcription API.
Trade-off: Separate products and subscriptions may not map neatly to an API migration.
6.0/10from
$8/mo - Cross-app dictation
Wispr FlowWispr FlowWispr Flow is for teams that want people to dictate across apps and have spoken text cleaned up, not for replacing a backend transcription API. It may fit if Deepgram is supporting a user-facing dictation workflow. The listed starting price is $12 and there is a free plan; check that plan’s limits before moving users over.
Trade-off: Dictation is a different workflow from an audio transcription API.
7.5/10from
$12/mofree plan - Contact-center operations
RegalRegalRegal is aimed at enterprise contact centers coordinating AI and human agents across customer-service channels. Consider it if leaving Deepgram is part of a wider contact-center change, rather than a narrow speech-to-text swap. The published information does not include a published price or relevant user feedback, so its value is hard to assess from the available details.
Trade-off: No published price or relevant user feedback is supplied.
5.8/10from
Custom
03Side by side
| Tool | Score | From | Free plan | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Deepgram Deepgram (current) | 7.1 | $333.33/mo | Yes | Teams prototyping real-time voice apps |
| Gladia Gladia | 6.5 | Custom | No | Teams adding audio to existing apps |
| Sanas Sanas | 5.0 | Custom | No | Support teams evaluating speech translation |
| Retell AI Retell AI | 7.2 | Free | Yes | Teams building phone-call voice agents |
| Krisp Krisp | 6.0 | $8/mo | No | Teams needing AI meeting notes |
| Wispr Flow Wispr Flow | 7.5 | $12/mo | Yes | People dictating across multiple apps |
| Regal Regal | 5.8 | Custom | No | Enterprise contact center teams |
Questions people ask
Which Deepgram alternative is closest to an audio API?
Gladia is the closest fit among these options: its listed use cases include audio APIs and multilingual transcription workflows. The published information does not include a published price or usage limits, so confirm both before treating it as a direct replacement for your current integration.
Should I switch based on the Swedish benchmark?
Not on that result alone. One Reddit user reported that Deepgram was faster and produced more words on a single Swedish meeting, while preferring ElevenLabs’ text quality. Treat it as a reason to evaluate your own audio, especially names, compounds and diarization—not as a general ranking.
Which listed alternatives have starting prices?
The published information lists Wispr Flow from $12 with a free plan, and Krisp from $8. It does not specify billing periods here. Gladia, Sanas, Retell AI and Regal have no starting price listed in the published information.