Cartesia Ink 2vsSmallest Pulse
Accuracy and speed
Left gets fewer words wrong. Lower has the final text ready sooner.
- Ink 22.39% · 123ms
- Pulse3.66% · 201ms
Cartesia Ink 2 is ahead on the Pipecat Dataset and final-text delay, and Smallest Pulse on time to first text. The Ocular Dataset is too close to call.
Last updated Methodology by Dileep Chagam
Who is better at what
- Pipecat Dataset WER2.39%3.66%
- Ocular Dataset WER3.09%3.46%
- Time to first text1.51s1.06s
- Final-text delay123ms201ms
Lower is better on every measure. Too close to call means the likely ranges overlap.
Ink 2 vs Pulse FAQ
Which is more accurate, Cartesia Ink 2 or Smallest Pulse?
Cartesia Ink 2 is more accurate on the public clips. On the 1,000 public Pipecat clips, Cartesia Ink 2 scores 2.39% and Smallest Pulse 3.66%, so Cartesia Ink 2 makes fewer errors by 1.27 points. On the eight licensed Ocular recordings, Cartesia Ink 2 scores 3.09% and Smallest Pulse 3.46%, with likely ranges of 2.43 to 3.84% and 2.66 to 4.22%. The ranges overlap, so the difference is too close to call. Word error rate counts incorrect, missing, and extra words, so lower is better.
Cartesia Ink 2 is more accurate on the public clips. On the 1,000 public Pipecat clips, Cartesia Ink 2 scores 2.39% and Smallest Pulse 3.66%, so Cartesia Ink 2 makes fewer errors by 1.27 points. On the eight licensed Ocular recordings, Cartesia Ink 2 scores 3.09% and Smallest Pulse 3.46%, with likely ranges of 2.43 to 3.84% and 2.66 to 4.22%. 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. Cartesia Ink 2 finishes the transcript 78ms sooner. Cartesia Ink 2 has the final transcript 123ms after the speaker stops and Smallest Pulse 201ms, at the median. Both are measured on the same 206 streamed turns.
Cartesia Ink 2 finishes the transcript 78ms 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. Cartesia Ink 2 shows first text after 1.51s and Smallest Pulse after 1.06s, at the median, so Smallest Pulse is 454ms sooner.