AI Tools · head to head
Deepgram vs Poolside
Deepgram
AI Tools
Voice AI API platform for speech-to-text, text-to-speech, and voice agents
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Poolside
AI Tools
Open-weight foundation models built for agentic software engineering
- From
- $0.06/month
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Deepgram has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Deepgram pricing is entirely usage-based, so total cost can be harder to predict than flat subscription tools.; Poolside no self-serve public application; access is largely through enterprise sales or third-party model gateways
- They diverge on capability: Deepgram covers Flux speech-to-text, Poolside covers Laguna S 2.1.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Deepgram and Poolside actually diverge.
Identical on both: pricing model (usage-based), user rating (Not yet rated), category (AI Tools).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Deepgram
- Flux speech-to-text
- Flux text-to-speech
- Voice Agent API
- Real-time and batch processing
- Self-hosted deployment
- Audio intelligence
Only in Poolside
- Laguna S 2.1
- Laguna XS 2.1
- Desktop and CLI tools
- Open-weight models
- Third-party gateway access
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Deepgram
- Building real-time voice agents for customer supportnot Poolside
- Transcribing recorded audio at scale via batch STTnot Poolside
- Adding conversational text-to-speech to voice applicationsnot Poolside
- Self-hosting speech models for data residency requirementsnot Poolside
Poolside
- Enterprises deploying AI coding assistance across large developer organizationsnot Deepgram
- Government and defense agencies needing on-premise or sovereign coding modelsnot Deepgram
- Teams building custom coding agents on open-weight foundation modelsnot Deepgram
- Organizations wanting on-device lightweight coding modelsnot Deepgram
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Deepgram
- Pricing is entirely usage-based, so total cost can be harder to predict than flat subscription tools.
- The Growth plan requires a minimum $4K/year commitment to unlock discounted rates.
- Enterprise features and custom SLAs require a direct sales conversation rather than self-serve signup.
- Some promotional per-minute rates are time-limited, meaning long-term pricing may differ from current promotional rates.
Poolside
- No self-serve public application; access is largely through enterprise sales or third-party model gateways
- Pricing for the flagship enterprise and government offering is not public and requires a sales conversation
- Targets organizations with large (5,000+) developer headcounts, making it a poor fit for individuals or small teams
- Documentation and product surface area are thin compared to consumer-facing coding assistants
Pricing, plan by plan
Deepgram
Free- Pay As You Go$undefined/mo
- $200 free credit to start
- No minimums or expiration
- No credit card required to start
- Growth$undefined/mo
- Save up to 20% with annual pre-paid credits
- Minimum $4K/year commitment
- Credits applied against actual usage
- Enterprise$undefined/mo
- Custom pricing for large-scale deployments
- Dedicated support and contracts
Poolside
$0.06/month- Laguna XS 2.1$undefined/month
- $0.06 per 1M input tokens
- $0.12 per 1M output tokens
- Available via OpenRouter and Vercel AI Gateway
- Laguna S 2.1$undefined/month
- $0.10 per 1M input tokens
- $0.20 per 1M output tokens
- 1M token context window
- Enterprise / Government$undefined/month
- Custom contracts for large engineering organizations
- Sales-quoted pricing
- On-premise or dedicated deployment options
Which should you pick?
Choose Deepgram if
- You need flux speech-to-text.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on web, api.
- You also want flux text-to-speech.
Choose Poolside if
- You need laguna s 2.1.
- You work on web, api, mac, windows, linux.
- You also want laguna xs 2.1.
Questions people ask
- Is Deepgram or Poolside better?
- Neither clearly leads. Deepgram starts at Free and Poolside at $0.06/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Deepgram or Poolside?
- Deepgram has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Deepgram and $0.06/month for Poolside.
- Does Deepgram or Poolside run on more platforms?
- Deepgram runs on web, api. Poolside runs on web, api, mac, windows, linux.
- Can I use Deepgram for free?
- Yes. Deepgram has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Poolside starts at $0.06/month.
- What is Deepgram best used for?
- Deepgram is most often used for building real-time voice agents for customer support, transcribing recorded audio at scale via batch stt, adding conversational text-to-speech to voice applications, self-hosting speech models for data residency requirements. Of those, building real-time voice agents for customer support and transcribing recorded audio at scale via batch stt are not what Poolside is typically brought in for.
- What can Deepgram do that Poolside cannot?
- Deepgram covers Flux speech-to-text, Flux text-to-speech, Voice Agent API, Real-time and batch processing. Poolside covers Laguna S 2.1, Laguna XS 2.1, Desktop and CLI tools, Open-weight models.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Deepgram: What does Deepgram cost?
Deepgram uses usage-based pricing starting with $200 in free credit, pay-as-you-go rates per minute or per character, a Growth plan with annual pre-paid credits requiring a $4K/year minimum, and custom Enterprise pricing.
SourcePoolside: How is Poolside's Laguna model usage priced?
Laguna XS 2.1 is priced at $0.06 per 1M input tokens and $0.12 per 1M output tokens; Laguna S 2.1 is $0.10 per 1M input tokens and $0.20 per 1M output tokens.
SourceDeepgram: Is there a free plan, and what are its limits?
New users get $200 of free credit with no credit card required, which can be applied to speech-to-text, text-to-speech, or voice agent usage before any payment is needed.
SourcePoolside: Where can I access Poolside's models?
Laguna models are available through third-party gateways OpenRouter and Vercel AI Gateway, as well as via Poolside's own desktop and CLI tools.
SourceDeepgram: How is usage metered?
Usage is metered per minute of audio for speech-to-text and voice agent calls, and per 1,000 characters for text-to-speech, with add-ons like redaction and entity detection billed separately per minute.
SourcePoolside: Does Poolside offer enterprise or government pricing?
Yes, Poolside offers custom, sales-quoted contracts for large enterprises and government/defense customers, including on-premise or dedicated deployment options.
SourcePoolside: How do I get started building with Poolside's models?
Poolside's documentation provides a quickstart guide for installing the `pool` CLI and running an agent task, alongside API documentation for custom integrations.
SourceRelated pages
Other head to heads
- Deepgram vs Pika
- Deepgram vs Anthropic API
- Deepgram vs D-ID
- Deepgram vs Fathom
- Deepgram vs Stable Diffusion
- Deepgram vs Perplexity
- Deepgram vs Arize AI
- Deepgram vs Black Forest Labs
- Deepgram vs Cartesia
- Deepgram vs Helicone
- Deepgram vs Ideogram
- Deepgram vs Jasper
- Deepgram vs PromptLayer
- Deepgram vs Resemble AI
- Deepgram vs Together AI
- Deepgram vs AI21 Labs
- Deepgram vs Copy.ai
- Deepgram vs HeyGen
- Poolside vs Pika
- Poolside vs Anthropic API
- Poolside vs D-ID
- Poolside vs Fathom
- Poolside vs Stable Diffusion
- Poolside vs Perplexity
- Poolside vs Arize AI
- Poolside vs Black Forest Labs
- Poolside vs Cartesia
- Poolside vs Helicone
- Poolside vs Ideogram
- Poolside vs Jasper
- Poolside vs PromptLayer
- Poolside vs Resemble AI
- Poolside vs Together AI
- Poolside vs AI21 Labs
- Poolside vs Copy.ai
- Poolside vs HeyGen