Deepgram Cost TuningSAFE

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The instruction file, verbatim from the audited commit — this is the text the model reads, and the surface the audit's instruction layer examines. Quoted here so you can judge it without cloning anything.

---
name: deepgram-cost-tuning
description: 'Optimize Deepgram costs and usage for budget-conscious deployments.

  Use when reducing transcription costs, implementing usage controls,

  or optimizing pricing tier utilization.

  Trigger: "deepgram cost", "reduce deepgram spending", "deepgram pricing",

  "deepgram budget", "optimize deepgram usage", "deepgram billing".

  '
allowed-tools: Read, Write, Edit, Bash(ffmpeg:*)
version: 1.13.0
license: MIT
author: Jeremy Longshore <[email protected]>
tags:
- saas
- deepgram
- cost-optimization
- billing
compatibility: Designed for Claude Code
---
# Deepgram Cost Tuning

## Prerequisites

- An aggregate usage/cost baseline, approved budget owner, delivery/quality SLO, and data/retention policy.
- Synthetic fixtures and a reversible optimization/change record.

## Examples

Compare aggregate duration, model, concurrency, and error data in a development/staging workload, change one approved model or batching parameter, and observe the quality/latency/cost tradeoff. Revert if quality or reliability drops; do not reduce retention, privacy, or consent safeguards merely to lower spend.

## Overview

Optimize Deepgram API costs through smart model selection, audio preprocessing to reduce billable minutes, usage monitoring via the Deepgram API, budget guardrails, and feature-aware cost estimation. Deepgram bills per audio minute processed.

## Deepgram Pricing (2026)

| Product | Model | Price/Minute | Notes |
|---------|-------|-------------|-------|
| STT (Batch) | Nova-3 | $0.0043 | Best accuracy |
| STT (Batch) | Nova-2 | $0.0043 | Proven stable |
| STT (Streaming) | Nova-3 | $0.0059 | Real-time |
| STT (Streaming) | Nova-2 | $0.0059 | Real-time |
| STT (Batch) | Base | $0.0048 | Fastest |
| STT (Batch) | Whisper | $0.0048 | Multilingual |
| TTS | Aura-2 | Pay-per-character | See TTS pricing |
| Intelligence | Summarize/Topics/Sentiment | Included with STT | No extra cost |

**Add-on costs:**

- Diarization: +$0.0044/min
- Multichannel: billed per channel

## Instructions

### Step 1: Budget-Aware Transcription Service

```typescript
import { createClient } from '@deepgram/sdk';

interface BudgetConfig {
  monthlyLimitUsd: number;
  warningThreshold: number;  // 0.0-1.0 (e.g., 0.8 = warn at 80%)
  costPerMinute: number;     // Base STT cost
}

class BudgetAwareTranscriber {
  private client: ReturnType<typeof createClient>;
  private config: BudgetConfig;
  private monthlySpendUsd = 0;
  private monthlyMinutes = 0;

  constructor(apiKey: string, config: BudgetConfig) {
    this.client = createClient(apiKey);
    this.config = config;
  }

  async transcribe(source: any, options: any) {
    // Estimate cost before transcription
    const estimatedCost = this.estimateCost(options);
    const projected = this.monthlySpendUsd + estimatedCost;

    if (projected > this.config.monthlyLimitUsd) {
      throw new Error(
        `Budget exceeded: $${this.monthlySpendUsd.toFixed(2)} spent, ` +
        `$${this.config.monthlyLimitUsd} limit`
      );
    }

    if (projected > this.config.monthlyLimitUsd * this.config.warningThreshold) {
      console.warn(
        `Budget warning: ${((projected / this.config.monthlyLimitUsd) * 100).toFixed(0)}% ` +
        `of $${this.config.monthlyLimitUsd} limit`
      );
    }

    const { result, error } = await this.client.listen.prerecorded.transcribeUrl(
      source, options
    );
    if (error) throw error;

    // Track actual usage
    const duration = result.metadata.duration / 60;  // Convert to minutes
    const actualCost = this.calculateCost(duration, options);
    this.monthlyMinutes += duration;
    this.monthlySpendUsd += actualCost;

    return result;
  }

  private estimateCost(options: any): number {
    // Conservative estimate — assume 5 minutes per file
    return this.calculateCost(5, options);
  }

  private calculateCost(minutes: number, options: any): number {
    let cost = minutes * this.config.costPerMinute;
    if (options.diarize) cost += minutes * 0.0044;  // Diarization add-on
    return cost;
  }

  getUsageSummary() {
    return {
      minutesUsed: this.monthlyMinutes.toFixed(1),
      spentUsd: this.monthlySpendUsd.toFixed(4),
      remainingUsd: (this.config.monthlyLimitUsd - this.monthlySpendUsd).toFixed(4),
      utilizationPercent: ((this.monthlySpendUsd / this.config.monthlyLimitUsd) * 100).toFixed(1),
    };
  }
}

// Usage:
const transcriber = new BudgetAwareTranscriber(process.env.DEEPGRAM_API_KEY!, {
  monthlyLimitUsd: 100,
  warningThreshold: 0.8,
  costPerMinute: 0.0043,
});
```

### Step 2: Reduce Billable Minutes with Audio Preprocessing

```bash
# Remove silence — can save 10-40% of billable minutes
ffmpeg -i input.wav \
  -af "silenceremove=stop_periods=-1:stop_duration=0.5:stop_threshold=-30dB" \
  -ar 16000 -ac 1 -acodec pcm_s16le \
  trimmed.wav

# Speed up audio (1.25x) — saves 20% of billable minutes
# Deepgram handles slightly sped-up audio well
ffmpeg -i input.wav \
  -filter:a "atempo=1.25" \
  -ar 16000 -ac 1 -acodec pcm_s16le \
  faster.wav
```

```typescript
import { execSync } from 'child_process';

function measureSavings(inputPath: string) {
  // Get original duration
  const origDuration = parseFloat(
    execSync(`ffprobe -v quiet -show_entries format=duration -of csv=p=0 "${inputPath}"`)
      .toString().trim()
  );

  // Remove silence
  execSync(`ffmpeg -y -i "${inputPath}" \
    -af "silenceremove=stop_periods=-1:stop_duration=0.5:stop_threshold=-30dB" \
    -ar 16000 -ac 1 -acodec pcm_s16le /tmp/trimmed.wav 2>/dev/null`);

  const trimmedDuration = parseFloat(
    execSync(`ffprobe -v quiet -show_entries format=duration -of csv=p=0 /tmp/trimmed.wav`)
      .toString().trim()
  );

  const savings = ((1 - trimmedDuration / origDuration) * 100).toFixed(1);
  const costSaved = ((origDuration - trimmedDuration) / 60 * 0.0043).toFixed(4);

  console.log(`Original: ${origDuration.toFixed(1)}s`);
  console.log(`Trimmed: ${trimmedDuration.toFixed

SAFEgrade B · trust 89/100 Nothing in the source contradicts what it says it does. Grade A is reserved for packages that have also passed the behavioural sandbox.

What the source does

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none-observed

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none-observed

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pinned

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No findings outside the package's declared scope.

Gates applied: no_behavioural_pass.