Cartesia vs Deepgram
Explore the differences between leading voice AI models. Learn more about pricing and features.
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Comparing Cartesia and Deepgram Voice AI Models
Both platforms offer advanced voice AI capabilities, but Cartesia excels with ultra-fast voice generation and ultra-realistic voices. It ensures no hallucinations, providing a clear and authentic experience.
Updated on:
Feb 14, 2025
Features
Cartesia
40ms for the Sonic Turbo model, 90ms for the Sonic 2 model
Consistently rated as more natural, expressive, and realistic in blinded human evaluations
Infinite request length
Requires 3 seconds of audio
IPA support with strong contextual understanding
Slider control for speed and emotion + synthetic voice mixing and design
8kHz audio, telephony optimized voices
Supports both on-prem and on-device deployments
15 languages with extensive dialect coverage
Up to 15 on highest self-serve tier (60 parallel conversations), custom for enterprise
Deepgram
Typically higher latency, affecting responsiveness
Quality may vary compared to top competitors
Has limits but allows for extensive content generation
Longer audio clips needed for cloning
Longer audio required for high fidelity
Accuracy may not match leading solutions
Customization options may be limited
Audio quality may not meet all telephony needs
Supports on-premise and limited on-device capabilities
English only
Up to 2 concurrent requests
Cartesia - Advanced AI Voice Capabilities
Cartesia AI offers the fastest voice model with hallucination-free, ultra-realistic voice generation and cloning.
High-Quality Voice Cloning
Cartesia offers high-quality voice cloning that captures emotional depth.
Ultra-Realistic Voices
Experience lifelike voices that are nearly indistinguishable from human speech.
No Hallucination
Enjoy clear audio with no hallucinations, ensuring authentic voice replication.
Enterprise Ready
Enterprise-grade reliability with 99.9% uptime, SOC2 compliance, and full on-premises support.
Voice Quality Comparison
In terms of voice quality, Cartesia consistently outperforms Deepgram. Cartesia's Sonic model has received a score of 4.7 in independent evaluations, while Deepgram lags behind. Cartesia's voices are rated as more natural and realistic, making them ideal for applications requiring high-quality audio. Furthermore, Cartesia's architecture allows for better contextual understanding and emotional sensitivity, enhancing the overall user experience. This commitment to quality ensures that users receive lifelike and engaging audio outputs.
Latency Evaluation
Latency is a critical factor in voice AI performance. Cartesia measures latency using the Time to First Audio (TTFA) metric, achieving an impressive TTFA of 199 ms. This is significantly faster than Deepgram, which has a higher latency. Cartesia's Sonic model is built on State Space Models (SSMs), allowing for greater latency optimization compared to traditional transformer architectures. This efficiency ensures that users experience real-time interactions, making Cartesia a preferred choice for applications requiring quick response times.
Hallucination Rate Analysis
Cartesia's voice cloning technology boasts a no hallucination feature, ensuring crystal-clear audio without errors. This is a significant advantage over Deepgram, which may experience occasional inaccuracies in voice replication. Cartesia's advanced algorithms maintain authenticity and clarity, making it suitable for critical applications where precision is paramount. This commitment to quality and reliability sets Cartesia apart in the competitive landscape of voice AI solutions.
Voice Cloning Showdown
When it comes to voice cloning, Cartesia excels with its ability to create an instant clone from just 3 seconds of audio. This feature allows for unlimited instant voice cloning, making it a powerful tool for developers and businesses. In contrast, Deepgram has restrictions on cloning capabilities. Cartesia's advanced embedding technology ensures high-quality, consistent voice clones that maintain their accents and quality, even in noisy environments. Additionally, Cartesia's voice mixing and design capabilities provide a wider range of diverse voices.
Voice Design Controllability
Cartesia stands out by offering unique features like emotion and speed modulation, allowing users to refine voice adjustments while maintaining a natural sound. This level of control enables users to tailor their audio outputs to specific needs, such as creating a more engaging customer experience. Additionally, Cartesia allows for localization, enabling voices to adopt different accents. In contrast, Deepgram provides limited control options, which may not meet the diverse needs of users seeking customized voice experiences.
Explore Pricing Comparisons for Voice AI Models
Cartesia
Free - $0 per month with 10k free credits
Pro - $5 per month with 100k credits
Startup - $49 per month with 1.25M credits
Scale - $299 per month with 8M credits
Enterprise - trusted by Fortune 500 companies
Deepgram
Free - $200 of credit
Growth - $4k+/year with discounted credits
Enterprise - $15k+ / year
Custom solutions for large-scale needs
What Cartesia Customers Say
Join the growing list of companies opting for Sonic.
"Cartesia’s voice API power dynamic and empathetic conversational experiences that are consistently dependable. What really stands out to me is how natural and considerate the responses feel—especially the empathetic tone in statements like ‘I’m sorry, that must be frustrating.’"
Sami Ghoche, CEO of Forethought
"In 1999, Salesforce brought software to the cloud. In 2025, 11x is killing software as we know it and unleashing the era of digital workers. To realise this vision, we needed AI voice technology that feels truly human. Cartesia’s technology gives our AI digital workers reps the speed, reliability, and natural expressiveness required to engage customers at scale.
It's the only solution fit for our relentless drive toward innovation.”
Keith Fearon, Head of Product & Growth, 11x
"Before conversational voice models like Cartesia, Thoughtly relied on legacy text-to-speech APIs from major cloud providers. Nearly two years later, the evolution of this technology is staggering—customers can clone their voice and hear it speaking autonomously over the phone in just 60 seconds.”
Torrey Leonard, CEO, Thoughtly
