AssemblyAI Universal 3.5 Pro vs ElevenLabs Scribe v3 Live
Accuracy and speed
Left gets fewer words wrong. Lower has the final text ready sooner.
- Universal 3.5 Pro1.93% · 180ms
- Scribe v3 Live1.81% · 57ms
ElevenLabs Scribe v3 Live is ahead on both datasets together, the Ocular Dataset and final-text delay, and AssemblyAI Universal 3.5 Pro on time to first text. The Pipecat Dataset is too close to call. AssemblyAI Universal 3.5 Pro has a newer release: AssemblyAI Universal 3.6 Pro vs ElevenLabs Scribe v3 Live.
Last updated Methodology by Dileep Chagam
Who is better at what
- Overall WER2.72%1.89%
- Pipecat Dataset WER1.93%1.81%
- Ocular Dataset WER4.23%2.05%
- Time to first text489ms685ms
- Final-text delay180ms57ms
Lower is better on every measure. Too close to call means the likely ranges overlap.
Universal 3.5 Pro vs Scribe v3 Live FAQ
Which is more accurate, AssemblyAI Universal 3.5 Pro or ElevenLabs Scribe v3 Live?
ElevenLabs Scribe v3 Live is more accurate on the public clips. On the 1,000 public Pipecat clips, AssemblyAI Universal 3.5 Pro scores 2.72% and ElevenLabs Scribe v3 Live 1.89%, so ElevenLabs Scribe v3 Live makes fewer errors by 0.83 points. On the 300 licensed Ocular turns, AssemblyAI Universal 3.5 Pro scores 1.93% and ElevenLabs Scribe v3 Live 1.81%, with likely ranges of 1.69 to 2.18% and 1.59 to 2.04%. The ranges overlap, so the difference is too close to call. Word error rate counts incorrect, missing, and extra words, so lower is better.
ElevenLabs Scribe v3 Live is more accurate on the public clips. On the 1,000 public Pipecat clips, AssemblyAI Universal 3.5 Pro scores 2.72% and ElevenLabs Scribe v3 Live 1.89%, so ElevenLabs Scribe v3 Live makes fewer errors by 0.83 points. On the 300 licensed Ocular turns, AssemblyAI Universal 3.5 Pro scores 1.93% and ElevenLabs Scribe v3 Live 1.81%, with likely ranges of 1.69 to 2.18% and 1.59 to 2.04%. The ranges overlap, so the difference is too close to call. Word error rate counts incorrect, missing, and extra words, so lower is better.
Yes. AssemblyAI Universal 3.5 Pro finishes the transcript 196ms sooner. AssemblyAI Universal 3.5 Pro has the final transcript 489ms after the speaker stops and ElevenLabs Scribe v3 Live 685ms, at the median. Both are measured on the same 206 streamed turns.
AssemblyAI Universal 3.5 Pro finishes the transcript 196ms sooner, and the two are too close to call on real conversations. A voice agent cannot reply until the final transcript arrives, and the Ocular recordings are real conversations.
Yes, both return partial text before the speaker stops. AssemblyAI Universal 3.5 Pro shows first text after 4.23% and ElevenLabs Scribe v3 Live after 2.05%, at the median, so ElevenLabs Scribe v3 Live is 2.18 points lower.
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