Soniox vs Google
for Catalan speech-to-text
Higher accuracy, real-time features, and up to 7x lower cost than Google for Catalan transcription.
Developers choose Soniox for accuracy that scales in Catalan
Catalan is spoken by 10 million people worldwide — across Spain, Andorra, and beyond. Soniox delivers production-ready transcription and translation for Catalan, handling regional accents, code-switching, and real-world audio conditions.
Google Cloud Speech-to-Text supports 100+ languages, including Catalan, and integrates with Google Cloud, but accuracy drops in noisy or overlapping speech. Streaming feels laggy, and developers often juggle multiple models or pair it with the Translation API to fill gaps. Soniox delivers higher accuracy, faster streaming, and all features in one API at up to 7x lower cost.
Top accuracy in Catalan on real-world speech
Catalan Word Error Rate 10.7% for Soniox vs 21.7% for Google (lower is better).
Streaming that feels live
Token-level updates in milliseconds, with manual finalization and endpoint detection .
Lower cost, higher value
Soniox is 2-7x cheaper than Google (~$0.10–0.12/hr vs ~$0.24–0.72/hr)
Helping startups and enterprises ship real world voice apps
See the difference in Catalan for yourself
Don’t just take our word for it. Run the same Catalan audio through Soniox and Google in real time and compare live results, side by side.
This demo isn’t pre-recorded. It makes real API calls to Google 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 Google at a glance
And the benchmarks back it up.
In a 2025 study across 60 languages and real-world YouTube audio, Soniox reached 10.7% WER in Catalan vs 21.7% for Google.
View the full benchmark report »
Accuracy where it counts. Speed when it matters
Accuracy you can trust.
Soniox delivers transcripts you can trust in messy, real-world Catalan audio: noisy calls, YouTube clips, or overlapping speakers.
Google lists 100+ languages, but accuracy often drops outside of clean, controlled audio.
Streaming that feels natural.
With token-level updates, Soniox keeps captions and assistants in sync. Non-final → final refinements, manual finalize, and endpoint detection give you full control forCatalan.
Google streams in larger chunks, adding lag and making transcripts jump. No token-level updates, no finalize, no endpoint detection.
One model for global speech.
Catalan transcription, translation, diarization, timestamps, and confidence – all in one model that auto-detects languages and supports mid-conversation shifts.
Google makes you pick languages and model variants up front, with no auto-detect and fragmented endpoints.
Lower cost, simpler ops.
At ~$0.10–0.12/hr, Soniox includes all features. Google costs $0.24–0.72/hr and often requires adding Translation API calls.
With Google, you pay more and manage more.
Pay 2-7x less than Google
With Soniox, everything is included in one price: transcription, streaming, diarization, translation, timestamps, and confidence. Google charges more per hour, and enhanced models cost even more.
Effective hourly cost (typical speech)
Soniox: ~$0.10/hour (async), ~$0.12/hour (streaming)
Google: ~$0.24–0.36/hour (standard), ~$0.72/hour (enhanced)
| Soniox (async) | Soniox (streaming) | Google standard | Google enhanced | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 hours | ~$10 | ~$12 | ~$24-36 | ~$72 |
| 1,000 hours | ~$100 | ~$120 | ~$240-360 | ~$720 |
| 1,000 hours | ~$1,000 | ~$1,200 | ~$2,400-3,600 | ~$7,200 |
Takeaway: Soniox costs 2–7x less than Google, while delivering higher accuracy and richer features. At enterprise scale, the savings are even clearer: over 3 years, Soniox can save companies hundreds of thousands of dollars compared to Google.
Note: Soniox bills per token, which works out to the effective hourly rates above for typical speech. Google’s pricing varies by model and region, and “enhanced” models cost significantly more. See full Soniox pricing »
Frequently asked questions about Soniox vs Google
How accurate is Soniox vs Google for Catalan?
Soniox: 10.7% WER vs Google: 21.7% WER (real-world Catalan audio).
Is Soniox cheaper than Google Speech-to-Text?
Yes. Soniox costs ~$0.10–0.12/hr. Google charges $0.24–0.36/hr (standard) and $0.72/hr (enhanced). That means Soniox is typically 2–7x less expensive.
Does Google support more languages than Soniox?
Google lists 100+ languages, but accuracy varies widely. Soniox supports 60+ with consistent, production-ready accuracy and any-to-any translation in one API.
Does Google support diarization and timestamps?
Yes, but Soniox provides them faster and in real time.
Can Soniox handle multiple languages in one stream?
Yes. Soniox auto-detects and supports mid-conversation shifts. Google requires you to pre-select a single language for each request.
Can Soniox handle multiple Catalan dialects?
Yes. Soniox is trained on real-world audio and supports dialects, slang, and code-switching.
How does Soniox streaming compare to Google’s?
Soniox streams token-by-token in milliseconds, with non-final → final refinements, manual finalization, and endpoint detection. Google’s streaming works in larger segments, which adds latency and makes transcripts “jump” or lag.
Do I need multiple APIs with Google?
Yes. With Google you often need Speech-to-Text for transcription, Translation API for multilingual support, and different model “variants” (video, phone, command & search). Soniox includes transcription, diarization, translation, timestamps, and confidence scores in one API call.
Does Google support two-way translation?
No. Google requires separate use of the Translation API, and typically handles one-way source → target. Soniox supports real-time two-way translation directly in the same stream.
Soniox surpasses Google in any language
Get the most accurate, real-time speech-to-text transcription and translation in 60+ languages
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