Audience
Developers building real-time voice agents and conversational AI systems who need ultra-fast, accurate speech-to-text for live interactions
About Cartesia Ink-Whisper
Cartesia Ink is a family of real-time streaming speech-to-text (STT) models designed to power fast, natural conversations in voice AI applications, acting as the “voice input” layer that converts spoken language into accurate text instantly. Its flagship model, Ink-Whisper, is specifically engineered for conversational environments, delivering ultra-low latency transcription with a time-to-complete-transcript as fast as 66 milliseconds, enabling fluid, human-like interactions without noticeable delays. Unlike traditional transcription systems built for batch processing, Ink is optimized for live dialogue, handling fragmented, variable-length audio through dynamic chunking, which reduces errors and improves responsiveness during pauses, interruptions, or rapid exchanges.
Other Popular Alternatives & Related Software
Voxtral Mini Transcribe 3
Voxtral Mini Transcribe 3 is a speech-to-text model from Mistral AI that converts audio recordings into written transcripts through an API. Developers can submit audio for batch transcription and receive text with timestamps and speaker labels. It supports multilingual transcription, speaker diarization, and context biasing, which lets an application supply names or specialized vocabulary to guide recognition. The model is designed for developers building applications and audio workflows that need to make recorded speech searchable, attribute words to speakers, or align transcript segments with audio. Teams can call it through Mistral's hosted API and incorporate its output into their own software, such as transcription pipelines and voice-enabled services. It is a model/API offering rather than a standalone recording or editing application.
Learn more about Voxtral Mini Transcribe 3
Cartesia Ink 2
Ink 2 is Cartesia’s fastest, most accurate streaming speech-to-text model, built for production voice agents with the lowest word error rate and best turn detection of any streaming STT. It is designed to transcribe structured data such as phone numbers, dates, and emails correctly the first time, while also knowing when a speaker starts and finishes without requiring a separate voice activity detection system. Turn detection is built directly into the model, so voice agents can react to events instead of managing raw transcript segments. Ink 2 emits a full lifecycle of turn events, giving an agent clear signals for when to listen, interrupt, think, prepare a reply, cancel a premature response, or speak. The transcript property is cumulative within a turn, meaning each update contains the full text transcribed so far rather than a delta, and emitted text is final once sent.
Learn more about Cartesia Ink 2
Nemotron 3.5 Transcribe
NVIDIA Nemotron 3.5 Transcribe is an open-weight speech and audio model for developers building transcription and audio-processing systems. It converts recordings into text and supports verbatim or edited transcription, contextual vocabulary, speaker attribution, word-level timestamps, speech translation, language identification, and audio question answering. Its language matrix covers 40 languages, with task coverage varying by language. The model can process recordings up to one hour and is designed for offline inference using compatible NVIDIA GPU hardware and supported runtimes. Teams can integrate it into speech interfaces, meeting and media processing, customer-service analytics, translation tools, and other audio-understanding applications. Model weights and a fine-tuning toolkit are released under the OpenMDW-1.1 license; hardware and serving requirements depend on deployment.
Learn more about Nemotron 3.5 Transcribe
Speechmatics
Best-in-Market Speech-to-Text & Voice AI for Enterprises.
Speechmatics delivers industry-leading Speech-to-Text and Voice AI for enterprises needing unrivaled accuracy, security, and flexibility. Our enterprise-grade APIs provide real-time and batch transcription with exceptional precision—across the widest range of languages, dialects, and accents.
Powered by Foundational Speech Technology, Speechmatics supports mission-critical voice applications in media, contact centers, finance, healthcare, and more. With on-prem, cloud, and hybrid deployment, businesses maintain full control over data security while unlocking voice insights.
Trusted by global leaders, Speechmatics is the top choice for best-in-class transcription and voice intelligence.
🔹 Unmatched Accuracy – Superior transcription across languages & accents
🔹 Flexible Deployment – Cloud, on-prem, and hybrid
🔹 Enterprise-Grade Security – Full data control
🔹 Real-Time & Batch Processing – Scalable transcription
Learn more about Speechmatics
Pricing
Starting Price:
$4 per month
Free Version:
Free Version available.
Free Trial:
Free Trial available.
Company Information
Cartesia
Founded: 2023
United States
cartesia.ai/ink
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Product Details
Platforms Supported
Cloud
Training
Documentation
Live Online
Webinars
Videos
Support
Online
Cartesia Ink-Whisper Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What kinds of users and organization types does Cartesia Ink-Whisper work with?
Cartesia Ink-Whisper works with these users and organization types: Mid Size Business, Small Business, Enterprise, Freelance, Nonprofit, Government, and Startup.
Q: What languages does Cartesia Ink-Whisper support in their product?
Cartesia Ink-Whisper supports these languages: English.
Q: What kind of support options does Cartesia Ink-Whisper offer?
Cartesia Ink-Whisper offers support via online.
Q: What other applications or services does Cartesia Ink-Whisper integrate with?
Cartesia Ink-Whisper integrates with: Vision Agents.
Q: Does Cartesia Ink-Whisper have an API?
Yes, Cartesia Ink-Whisper has an API.
Q: What type of training does Cartesia Ink-Whisper provide?
Cartesia Ink-Whisper provides training in the form of documentation, live online, webinars, and videos.
Q: Does Cartesia Ink-Whisper offer a free trial?
Yes, Cartesia Ink-Whisper offers a free trial.
Q: How much does Cartesia Ink-Whisper cost?
Pricing for Cartesia Ink-Whisper starts at $4 per month.
