AssemblyAI Universal 2 vs Hermes 3 70B

Compare AssemblyAI Universal 2 and Hermes 3 70B: pricing, performance, context window, latency, and best use cases. Side-by-side comparison on XALEN.

Updated 2026-05-21 · By Abhishek Raj · Our methodology

All AssemblyAI models All NousResearch models What is an LLM API? Python Quickstart What is inference?
Feature AssemblyAI Universal 2 Hermes 3 70B
CategorySpeechOpen Source
Parameters~2B70B
Context WindowLong-form128K
Input Price$0.006/min/1M tokens$0.04/1M tokens
Output PriceN/A/1M tokens$0.06/1M tokens
Latency~150ms~300ms

Choose AssemblyAI Universal 2 when:

  • ✓ Meeting transcription
  • ✓ Podcast processing
  • ✓ Content indexing
Key Strengths:

High accuracy, Speaker diarization, Summarization

Choose Hermes 3 70B when:

  • ✓ Agent frameworks
  • ✓ Tool use
  • ✓ Structured output
Key Strengths:

Strong function calling, Community-tuned, Good reasoning

Verdict: AssemblyAI Universal 2 vs Hermes 3 70B

For cost efficiency, AssemblyAI Universal 2 wins at $0.006/min/1M input tokens. For speed, AssemblyAI Universal 2 is faster at ~150ms. AssemblyAI Universal 2 excels at Meeting transcription while Hermes 3 70B is better for Agent frameworks. Both are available on XALEN through a single API — try them in the Playground to see which fits your workload.

Detailed Analysis

Pricing Comparison

AssemblyAI Universal 2 costs $0.006/min/1M input tokens and N/A/1M output tokens. Hermes 3 70B costs $0.04 input and $0.06 output. AssemblyAI Universal 2 is 6.7x cheaper on input tokens. XALEN offers batch processing at 50% discount on both models.

Performance & Context

AssemblyAI Universal 2 has a Long-form context window with ~150ms latency. Hermes 3 70B offers 128K context at ~300ms. Both have identical context windows.

Best For

AssemblyAI Universal 2 (Speech) is optimized for: Meeting transcription, Podcast processing, Content indexing. Hermes 3 70B (Open Source) works best for: Agent frameworks, Tool use, Structured output.

Try Both on XALEN

Both models are available through XALEN's OpenAI-compatible API. Switch between them by changing the model parameter:

from xalen import XALEN

client = XALEN(api_key="xln_test_YOUR_KEY")

# Use AssemblyAI Universal 2
response_a = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="assembly-ai-universal-2",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Your question here"}]
)

# Use Hermes 3 70B
response_b = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="hermes-3-70b",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Your question here"}]
)

Start Building with XALEN

200+ AI models. One API. Pay-as-you-go.

Get API Key Try in Playground

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better, AssemblyAI Universal 2 or Hermes 3 70B?

AssemblyAI Universal 2 (Speech, ~2B) offers High accuracy. Hermes 3 70B (Open Source, 70B) offers Strong function calling. Choose AssemblyAI Universal 2 for Meeting transcription or Hermes 3 70B for Agent frameworks.

How much does AssemblyAI Universal 2 cost vs Hermes 3 70B?

AssemblyAI Universal 2: $0.006/min/1M input, N/A/1M output. Hermes 3 70B: $0.04/1M input, $0.06/1M output. Both available on XALEN with batch processing at 50% discount.

Can I use both models on XALEN?

Yes. XALEN provides 200+ models through a single OpenAI-compatible API. Switch between AssemblyAI Universal 2 and Hermes 3 70B by changing the model parameter. No code changes needed.

Related Comparisons

AssemblyAI Universal 2 vs Whisper Large V3 AssemblyAI Universal 2 vs Gemma 3 27B AssemblyAI Universal 2 vs Llama 4 Scout AssemblyAI Universal 2 vs Llama 4 Maverick AssemblyAI Universal 2 vs Llama 3.3 70B AssemblyAI Universal 2 vs Llama 3.1 405B

Last updated: 2026-05-21. Pricing and specifications may change. Check pricing page for latest rates.