Arabic Speech-to-Text Comparison

Google Cloud STT — Chirp 3vsSoniox STT RT v3

Head-to-head comparison based on real production benchmarks with Gulf Arabic callers.

Overview

Google Cloud STT — Chirp 3

Acceptable

High-quality Arabic STT from Google Cloud, but with significant latency.

production testedchirp-3

Soniox STT RT v3

Good

High-quality Arabic STT with 44% lower WER than Google Chirp 3.

production testedstt-rt-v3

Latency

Google Cloud STT — Chirp 3

Avg EOU Delay2376ms
Best Case2000ms
Worst Case3000ms
Full turn time: 9000ms–10000ms

Soniox STT RT v3

Avg EOU Delay1678ms
Best Case773ms
Worst Case2718ms
Full turn time: 6000ms–8000ms

Quality

Google Cloud STT — Chirp 3

Excellent
WER: 28.8%

High quality transcription. Broad Arabic dialect support through ar-XA language code.

Gulf ArabicMSAEgyptianLevantine

Soniox STT RT v3

Excellent
WER: 16.2%

Great quality transcription confirmed by user feedback. No repetitions needed. 44% more accurate than Google Chirp 3.

Gulf ArabicMSA

Features

FeatureGoogle Cloud STT — Chirp 3Soniox STT RT v3
Real-time streaming transcription✓✓
120+ language support✓✗
Automatic punctuation✓✗
Word-level timestamps✓✗
Speaker diarization✓✗
Custom vocabulary✓✗
Medical and telephony models✓✗
Language hints✗✓
Low word error rate✗✓
End-of-utterance detection✗✓

Pricing

Google Cloud STT — Chirp 3

Free tier
StandardChirp 3 model
$0.016per 15 seconds

Soniox STT RT v3

Free tier
StandardReal-time streaming
$0.005per minute

Streaming & Integration

CapabilityGoogle Cloud STT — Chirp 3Soniox STT RT v3
Streaming support✓✓
LiveKit plugin✓✗
Self-hostable✗✗
API stylegRPC streaming + RESTWebSocket streaming
SDKsPython, Node.js, Go, Java, C#, Ruby, PHPPython, Node.js

Verdict

Acceptable

Google Cloud STT — Chirp 3

Excellent quality but too slow for real-time voice agents. Best suited for batch transcription or applications where latency isn't critical.

Choose Google Cloud STT — Chirp 3 if you need:

  • Batch transcription
  • Multi-dialect Arabic support
  • Enterprise compliance
Pros
  • +Excellent transcription quality
  • +Broadest Arabic dialect support
  • +Enterprise-grade reliability
  • +Extensive SDK ecosystem
Cons
  • -2.4s average EOU delay — too slow for voice agents
  • -Higher pricing than competitors
  • -Complex GCP setup required
Good

Soniox STT RT v3

Previously the best option for Arabic STT. Excellent quality with 16.2% WER, but superseded by Deepgram Nova-3 which is 75% faster with comparable quality.

Choose Soniox STT RT v3 if you need:

  • Accuracy-critical applications
  • Arabic transcription quality
Pros
  • +Lowest WER for Arabic (16.2%)
  • +No user repetitions needed
  • +30% faster than Google Chirp 3
Cons
  • -Higher latency than Deepgram Nova-3 (1.7s vs 0.4s)
  • -No LiveKit plugin
  • -Limited SDK support

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is faster for Arabic speech-to-text, Google Cloud STT — Chirp 3 or Soniox STT RT v3?

Soniox STT RT v3 is faster with an average end-of-utterance delay of 1678ms, which is 698ms faster than Google Cloud STT — Chirp 3.

Which has better Arabic transcription quality, Google Cloud STT — Chirp 3 or Soniox STT RT v3?

Google Cloud STT — Chirp 3 has a quality rating of 5/5 (Excellent). High quality transcription. Broad Arabic dialect support through ar-XA language code.

Is Google Cloud STT — Chirp 3 or Soniox STT RT v3 better for production voice agents?

Both providers are viable options. Google Cloud STT — Chirp 3: Excellent quality but too slow for real-time voice agents. Best suited for batch transcription or applications where latency isn't critical. Soniox STT RT v3: Previously the best option for Arabic STT. Excellent quality with 16.2% WER, but superseded by Deepgram Nova-3 which is 75% faster with comparable quality.

How does Google Cloud STT — Chirp 3 pricing compare to Soniox STT RT v3?

Google Cloud STT — Chirp 3 starts at $0.016 per 15 seconds (Chirp 3 model). Soniox STT RT v3 starts at $0.005 per minute (Real-time streaming).