Arabic Speech-to-Text Comparison

Groq Whisper Large v3 TurbovsSpeechmatics

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

Overview

Groq Whisper Large v3 Turbo

Not Recommended

Fast Whisper inference on Groq hardware — poor Arabic quality with inconsistent latency.

production testedwhisper-large-v3-turbo

Speechmatics

Not Recommended

Ultra-fast Arabic STT with poor transcription quality.

production testedstandard

Latency

Groq Whisper Large v3 Turbo

Avg EOU Delay284ms–3388ms
Best Case284ms
Worst Case3388ms

Speechmatics

Avg EOU Delay460ms
Best Case0ms
Worst Case806ms

Quality

Groq Whisper Large v3 Turbo

Poor

Described as 'horrible' transcription quality for Arabic in production testing.

MSA

Speechmatics

Poor

Users had to repeat themselves frequently. Quality unacceptable for production use.

MSA

Features

FeatureGroq Whisper Large v3 TurboSpeechmatics
Hardware-accelerated inference✓✗
Whisper model compatibility✓✗
Batch and real-time modes✓✗
Real-time streaming transcription✗✓
Configurable endpointing✗✓
Standard and enhanced operating points✗✓
Custom dictionary✗✓

Pricing

Groq Whisper Large v3 Turbo

Free tier
FreeRate-limited free tier
$0per minute

Speechmatics

Free tier
StandardReal-time streaming
$0.0042per minute

Streaming & Integration

CapabilityGroq Whisper Large v3 TurboSpeechmatics
Streaming support✗✓
LiveKit plugin✗✗
Self-hostable✗✓
API styleREST (OpenAI-compatible)WebSocket streaming + REST
SDKsPython, Node.jsPython, Node.js

Verdict

Not Recommended

Groq Whisper Large v3 Turbo

Groq's fast hardware can't compensate for Whisper's poor Arabic handling. Quality is unacceptable and latency is too inconsistent for voice agents.

Choose Groq Whisper Large v3 Turbo if you need:

    Pros
    • +Free tier available
    • +OpenAI-compatible API
    • +Fast hardware acceleration
    Cons
    • -Horrible Arabic transcription quality
    • -Wildly inconsistent latency (0.3s–3.4s)
    • -Not suitable for real-time streaming
    Not Recommended

    Speechmatics

    Amazingly fast but Arabic quality is too poor for production. The speed advantage is meaningless when users have to repeat themselves.

    Choose Speechmatics if you need:

    • Speed-only use cases where quality doesn't matter
    Pros
    • +Lightning-fast endpointing (0-460ms)
    • +Self-hosting option available
    • +Configurable latency/quality tradeoff
    Cons
    • -Poor Arabic transcription quality
    • -Users had to repeat themselves
    • -Quality issues negate speed advantage

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Which is faster for Arabic speech-to-text, Groq Whisper Large v3 Turbo or Speechmatics?

    Groq Whisper Large v3 Turbo is faster with an average end-of-utterance delay of 284ms–3388ms, which is 176ms faster than Speechmatics.

    Which has better Arabic transcription quality, Groq Whisper Large v3 Turbo or Speechmatics?

    Groq Whisper Large v3 Turbo has a quality rating of 1/5 (Poor). Described as 'horrible' transcription quality for Arabic in production testing.

    Is Groq Whisper Large v3 Turbo or Speechmatics better for production voice agents?

    Both providers are viable options. Groq Whisper Large v3 Turbo: Groq's fast hardware can't compensate for Whisper's poor Arabic handling. Quality is unacceptable and latency is too inconsistent for voice agents. Speechmatics: Amazingly fast but Arabic quality is too poor for production. The speed advantage is meaningless when users have to repeat themselves.

    How does Groq Whisper Large v3 Turbo pricing compare to Speechmatics?

    Groq Whisper Large v3 Turbo starts at $0 per minute (Rate-limited free tier). Speechmatics starts at $0.0042 per minute (Real-time streaming).