Cartesia Ink 2 vs Gradium
Accuracy and speed
Left gets fewer words wrong. Lower has the final text ready sooner.
- Ink 22.39% · 123ms
- Gradium6.48% · 212ms
Cartesia Ink 2 is ahead of Gradium on both datasets together, the Pipecat Dataset, time to first text and final-text delay. The Ocular Dataset is too close to call.
Last updated Methodology by Dileep Chagam
Who is better at what
- Overall WER2.63%5.78%
- Pipecat Dataset WER2.39%6.48%
- Ocular Dataset WER3.09%4.45%
- Time to first text1.51s1.71s
- Final-text delay123ms212ms
Lower is better on every measure. Too close to call means the likely ranges overlap. For its voices, see our notes on Cartesia text to speech.
Ink 2 vs Gradium FAQ
Which is more accurate, Cartesia Ink 2 or Gradium?
Cartesia Ink 2 is more accurate on both datasets. On the 1,000 public Pipecat clips, Cartesia Ink 2 scores 2.63% and Gradium 5.78%, so Cartesia Ink 2 makes fewer errors by 3.15 points. On the eight licensed Ocular recordings, Cartesia Ink 2 scores 2.39% and Gradium 6.48%, so Cartesia Ink 2 makes fewer errors by 4.09 points. Word error rate counts incorrect, missing, and extra words, so lower is better.
Cartesia Ink 2 is more accurate on both datasets. On the 1,000 public Pipecat clips, Cartesia Ink 2 scores 2.63% and Gradium 5.78%, so Cartesia Ink 2 makes fewer errors by 3.15 points. On the eight licensed Ocular recordings, Cartesia Ink 2 scores 2.39% and Gradium 6.48%, so Cartesia Ink 2 makes fewer errors by 4.09 points. Word error rate counts incorrect, missing, and extra words, so lower is better.
Yes. Cartesia Ink 2 finishes the transcript 194ms sooner. Cartesia Ink 2 has the final transcript 1.51s after the speaker stops and Gradium 1.71s, at the median. Both are measured on the same 206 streamed turns.
Cartesia Ink 2 is the stronger pick for voice agents: it makes fewer errors on real conversations and finishes the transcript 194ms sooner. 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. Cartesia Ink 2 shows first text after 3.09% and Gradium after 4.45%, at the median.
Test your voice agent the same way.
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