Soniox vs Azure
for Norwegian speech-to-text
Higher accuracy, real-time translation, and simpler integration than Azure for Norwegian.
Developers choose Soniox for accuracy in Norwegian
Norwegian is spoken by 5.3 million people worldwide — primarily in Norway, with speakers around the world. Developers need transcription and translation that can keep up. Soniox delivers Norwegian speech recognition that works in the real world: accurate across accents, fast in live streaming, and seamless with translation built-in.
Azure Speech-to-Text, while integrated with Microsoft's ecosystem, comes with tradeoffs: lower accuracy in noisy audio, laggier streaming, and more complexity when combining multiple services.
Soniox makes it simple. One API gives you transcription, two-way translation, diarization, timestamps, and confidence – without hidden costs or extra steps.
Higher accuracy in Norwegian speech
Soniox delivers production-ready accuracy on real-world speech: 8.4% WER in Norwegian vs 14.7% for Azure.
Streaming that feels live
Apps feel smooth and human with token-level updates, refinements, and full transcript control in Norwegian.
One API for transcription + translation
Soniox includes transcription + two-way translation and more in Norwegian with one call. Azure requires separate Translator and Custom Speech.
Helping startups and enterprises ship real world voice apps
See the difference for yourself
Don't just take our word for it. Run the same Norwegian audio through Soniox and Azure in real time and compare live results, side by side.
This demo isn't pre-recorded. It makes real API calls to Azure and Soniox in real time, with each service tuned for its best performance. The framework is open source, so you can inspect or run it yourself.
SONIOX VS AZURE AT A GLANCE
The benchmarks back it up
In a 2025 study across 60 languages and real-world YouTube audio, Soniox reached 8.4% WER in Norwegian vs 14.7% for Azure.
View the full benchmark report| Feature | Sonioxstt-rt-v3 | Azureen-US-Conversation |
|---|---|---|
| open_in_newSingle Multilingual Model | check | close |
| open_in_newLanguage Hints | check | close |
| open_in_newLanguage Identification | check | warning |
| open_in_newSpeaker Diarization | check | warning |
| open_in_newCustomization | check | check |
| open_in_newTimestamps | check | check |
| open_in_newConfidence Scores | check | check |
| open_in_newTranslation One Way | check | check |
| open_in_newTranslation Two Way | check | close |
| open_in_newEndpoint Detection | check | check |
| open_in_newManual Finalization | check | close |
“It just gets the words right — any language, any accent, any context. That’s what accuracy is supposed to look like.”
Tony Wang,
Cofounder & Chief Revenue Officer at Agora
The fastest and simplest alternative to Azure
Get Norwegian accuracy you can count on.
Your app only works if the transcript is right. Soniox consistently outperforms Azure in Norwegian on messy, real-world speech, like calls, Youtube clips, and multi-speaker conversations.
Norwegian WER Soniox 8.4% vs Azure 14.7%.
Azure accuracy drops outside clean audio.
Deliver real-time experiences in Norwegian that feel natural.
With token-level updates in milliseconds, Soniox keeps captions and assistants responsive. Developers can refine results, finalize early, or detect endpoints, so apps feel smooth and human.
Azure's segment-based streaming lags and lacks developer controls.
Build globally without extra services.
Soniox includes transcription, diarization, timestamps, confidence, and two-way translation in the same stream. One API call works for 60+ languages, including Norwegian.
Azure requires stitching Speech-to-Text with Translator and Custom Speech, adding complexity and cost.
Save more as you scale.
At ~$0.10–0.12/hr, Soniox includes all features in one price. That means you save 2-5x vs Azure's $0.24–0.48/hr, with no add-on Translator fees.
Azure costs more and charges separately for translation/customization.
Pay 2-5x less than Azure
With Soniox, transcription, translation, diarization, timestamps, and confidence are all included in one price. Azure charges more per hour and requires multiple services (Speech-to-Text + Translator + Custom Speech) for the same functionality.
Effective hourly cost
(typical speech)
Soniox
~$0.10/hour (async)
~$0.12/hour (streaming)
Azure
~$0.24–0.48/hour (depending on region/model)
Takeaway
Soniox costs 2–5x less than Azure, with all features included in one API. At scale, that means saving thousands while reducing integration overhead.
- Soniox bills per token, which works out to the effective hourly rates above for typical speech.
- Azure pricing varies by region, model, and usage tier. Translation via Azure Translator is billed separately, and Custom Speech may add further costs.
- Comparisons use publicly listed rates as of 2025. Benchmarks and pricing are based on real-world audio workloads, with each service configured for best available performance.
Fluent at any speed
Watch Soniox keep up with fast speech in any language
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Frequently asked questions about Soniox vs Azure
1.Is Soniox cheaper than Azure for Norwegian?arrow_downward
2.Does Azure support more languages than Soniox?arrow_downward
3.Do I need multiple APIs for Norwegian with Azure?arrow_downward
4.Does Azure support diarization and timestamps?arrow_downward
5.Can Soniox handle multiple languages, such as English and Norwegian, in one stream?arrow_downward
6.Does Azure support two-way translation?arrow_downward
Soniox surpasses Azure in any language
Get the most accurate, real-time speech-to-text transcription and translation in 60+ languages
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