Arabic Speech-to-Text Comparison

Mistral Voxtral MinivsSpeechmatics

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

Overview

Mistral Voxtral Mini

Non-functional

Mistral's speech model — completely non-functional for Arabic.

production testedvoxtral-mini-latest

Speechmatics

Not Recommended

Ultra-fast Arabic STT with poor transcription quality.

production testedstandard

Latency

Mistral Voxtral Mini

Avg EOU Delay
N/A
Best Case
N/A
Worst Case
N/A

Speechmatics

Avg EOU Delay460ms
Best Case0ms
Worst Case806ms

Quality

Mistral Voxtral Mini

Non-functional

Produced zero transcriptions for Arabic audio. Tested with and without explicit language parameter.

Speechmatics

Poor

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

MSA

Features

FeatureMistral Voxtral MiniSpeechmatics
Multilingual speech recognition (claimed)✓✗
Audio understanding✓✗
Real-time streaming transcription✗✓
Configurable endpointing✗✓
Standard and enhanced operating points✗✓
Custom dictionary✗✓

Pricing

Mistral Voxtral Mini

Free tier
APIMistral API pricing
Usage-basedper request

Speechmatics

Free tier
StandardReal-time streaming
$0.0042per minute

Streaming & Integration

CapabilityMistral Voxtral MiniSpeechmatics
Streaming support✗✓
LiveKit plugin✗✗
Self-hostable✗✓
API styleRESTWebSocket streaming + REST
SDKsPython, Node.jsPython, Node.js

Verdict

Non-functional

Mistral Voxtral Mini

Does not work for Arabic at all. Zero transcriptions produced in testing despite claiming multilingual support.

Choose Mistral Voxtral Mini if you need:

    Pros
    • +Part of Mistral ecosystem
    Cons
    • -Completely non-functional for Arabic
    • -Zero output despite audio processing
    • -Misleading multilingual claims
    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 has better Arabic transcription quality, Mistral Voxtral Mini or Speechmatics?

    Mistral Voxtral Mini has a quality rating of 1/5 (Non-functional). Produced zero transcriptions for Arabic audio. Tested with and without explicit language parameter.

    Is Mistral Voxtral Mini or Speechmatics better for production voice agents?

    Both providers are viable options. Mistral Voxtral Mini: Does not work for Arabic at all. Zero transcriptions produced in testing despite claiming multilingual support. Speechmatics: Amazingly fast but Arabic quality is too poor for production. The speed advantage is meaningless when users have to repeat themselves.

    How does Mistral Voxtral Mini pricing compare to Speechmatics?

    Mistral Voxtral Mini starts at Usage-based per request (Mistral API pricing). Speechmatics starts at $0.0042 per minute (Real-time streaming).