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Soniox vs Speechmatics speech-to-text

Higher accuracy, live streaming, and built in translation in one API.

Developers choose Soniox for real-time fluency worldwide

Speechmatics provides multilingual transcription with customization features like entity formatting and vocabulary controls. It's a capable transcription service, and for some use cases, that can be a good fit.

But when you need accuracy that holds up in real conversations, streaming that feels live, and translation built in, Soniox is the stronger choice. With one API covering 60+ languages, Soniox is designed for production apps that need to work everywhere.

Leading accuracy

Soniox delivers cleaner transcripts on real conversations, not just controlled audio. Benchmarks show 6.5% WER in English vs ~11–12% for Speechmatics.

Zero delay

Token-level updates keep captions flowing and assistants responsive. Speechmatics streams in larger chunks, which makes apps feel delayed.

Unified API

Soniox handles both transcription and two-way translation across 60+ languages in the same call. Speechmatics only covers transcription.

Helping startups and enterprises ship real world voice apps

Samsung
Deliver Health
Avodah
Mobius
Scribe
Agora

See the difference for yourself

Don't just take our word for it. Run the same audio through Soniox and Speechmatics in real time and compare live results, side by side.

This demo isn't pre-recorded. It makes real API calls to Speechmatics 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 SPEECHMATICS AT A GLANCE

The benchmarks back it up

In a 2025 study across 60 languages and real-world YouTube audio, Soniox reached 6.5% WER in English vs 11-12% for Speechmatics.

View the full benchmark report

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

From transcripts to real-time, global speech

Precision for real-world speech.

Soniox is designed for speech as it actually happens: noisy, overlapping, accented, and unscripted. Soniox reached 6.5% WER in English vs ~11–12% for Speechmatics. That means cleaner transcripts with less time spent fixing errors.

Speechmatics performs well on clean or controlled audio, but struggles as conditions get messy.

Real-time that truly feels live.

Live apps need results that keep pace with the conversation. Soniox streams token by token in milliseconds, with refinements, finalization, and endpoint detection for developer control.

Speechmatics streams in larger segments, which adds lag and makes apps feel less responsive.

Global-ready from the start.

With Soniox, one API covers transcription and two-way, in-stream translation across 60+ languages. You can serve global users from day one without stitching services together.

Speechmatics provides transcription only, with no built-in translation.

Simple pricing that scales.

At ~$0.10–0.12/hr, Soniox includes transcription, translation, diarization, timestamps, and confidence in one price.

Speechmatics charges more per hour and only covers transcription. Translation requires another vendor.

Pay 2-3x less than Speechmatics

With Soniox, transcription, translation, diarization, timestamps, and confidence are all included in one price. Speechmatics charges more per hour and only covers transcription. Translation requires another service.

Effective hourly cost

(typical speech)

Soniox

~$0.10/hour (async)
~$0.12/hour (streaming)

Speechmatics

~$0.25–0.35/hour depending on model and volume

100 hours
1,000 hours
10,000 hours
Soniox (async)
~$10
~$100
~$1,000
Soniox (streaming)
~$12
~$120
~$1,200
Speechmatics (typical)
~$25-35
~$250-350
~$2,500-3,500

Takeaway

Soniox costs 2–3x less than Speechmatics, while also including translation, diarization, and other features by default.


  • Soniox bills per token, which works out to the effective hourly rates above for typical conversational speech.
  • Speechmatics pricing varies by model and volume tier, but charges per minute/hour for transcription only.
  • All comparisons use publicly listed rates as of 2025.

Fluent at any speed

Watch Soniox keep up with fast speech in any language

Chinese to English in real time with SONIOX

Chinese to English in real time with SONIOX

Very fast speaking Spanish translated in real time in English with SONIOX!

Very fast speaking Spanish translated in real time in English with SONIOX!

Real time translation from Japanese to English

Real time translation from Japanese to English

Real-Time Translation Demo | From German to English with SONIOX

Real-Time Translation Demo | From German to English with SONIOX

French speech to Text | Leslie Talks About Monster eating a Cake

French speech to Text | Leslie Talks About Monster eating a Cake

Russian to English with SONIOX

Russian to English with SONIOX

Speaking Super Fast in Italian – Soniox still translated every word into English

Speaking Super Fast in Italian – Soniox still translated every word into English

Korean to English in real time with SONIOX

Korean to English in real time with SONIOX

Real-Time from Slovenian to English with SONIOX

Real-Time from Slovenian to English with SONIOX

Valeria Juri Reads Ukrainian Poem “Мовчати” | Live English Translation by Soniox

Valeria Juri Reads Ukrainian Poem “Мовчати” | Live English Translation by Soniox

Frequently asked questions about Soniox vs Speechmatics


1.Is Soniox cheaper than Speechmatics?arrow_downward
Yes. Soniox costs ~$0.10–0.12/hr, while Speechmatics typically charges ~$0.25–0.35/hr depending on model and volume. That makes Soniox about 2–3x less expensive.

2.Does Speechmatics support translation?arrow_downward
No. Speechmatics provides transcription only. Soniox includes two-way, in-stream translation across 60+ languages in the same API call.

3.How does Soniox streaming compare to Speechmatics?arrow_downward
Soniox streams token by token in milliseconds, with refinements, manual finalization, and endpoint detection. Speechmatics streams in larger segments, which can feel slower for live use cases.

4.Does Speechmatics support diarization and timestamps?arrow_downward
Yes, but Soniox provides them in real time with more structured outputs.

5.Can Soniox handle multiple languages in one stream?arrow_downward
Yes. Soniox auto-detects and supports mid-conversation shifts. Speechmatics requires you to pre-select a single language per request.

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