audio model comparison
Gemini 3.8 Flash TTS vs GPT-Realtime-2
Gemini 3.8 Flash TTS and GPT-Realtime-2 are both current audio models, from Google and OpenAI. Gemini 3.8 Flash TTS is 88% cheaper per 1M input tokens than GPT-Realtime-2, $0.50 vs $4. On Artificial Analysis Speech Arena, Gemini 3.8 Flash TTS scores 1274 Elo and GPT-Realtime-2 1079 Elo (Artificial Analysis, measured October 13, 2026).
Data verified October 13, 2026 · Dataset 2026-10-13
Side by side
Standard-tier prices in effect today. The better value in each row is highlighted.
| Fact | Gemini 3.8 Flash TTS | GPT-Realtime-2 |
|---|---|---|
| Price per audio minute | $0.0135 | Not reported |
| Price per 1M input tokens | $0.50 (better) | $4 |
| Price per 1M output tokens | $9 (better) | $24 |
| Cost of 10M input and 2M output tokens | $23 (better) | $88 |
| Artificial Analysis Speech Arena | 1274 Elo (#4 of 11) (better) | 1079 Elo (#10 of 11) |
| Provider | OpenAI | |
| Release date | September 22, 2026 | May 7, 2026 |
| Access | API only | API only |
| Context window | Not reported | 128,000 tokens |
| Max output | Not reported | 32,000 tokens |
| Input | text | text, audio, image |
| Output | audio | text, audio |
When to choose each
Gemini 3.8 Flash TTS
Best for
- Narration, audiobooks and product audio where voice quality matters more than cost
- Narration and voice output attached to an existing Gemini text pipeline
- Audio generation budgeted before the 2027 price step
Watch out for
- Google doubles the rates on 2027-01-01, to $1.00 input and $18 output per 1M tokens (about $0.027 per minute)
- Audio output is billed in audio tokens, which do not convert one-for-one to text tokens, so a text-token budget does not predict this cost
- Google's pricing page lists no context window or output cap for this model, so both are recorded as unknown
- No independent speech-quality benchmark is recorded here
GPT-Realtime-2
Best for
- Speech-to-speech voice agents with tool calls
Watch out for
- Available only on the Realtime endpoint, not Chat Completions, Responses or Batch
- Audio costs $32 input and $64 output per 1M tokens, eight and four times its text rates
- Higher reasoning effort adds latency and output tokens
Gemini 3.8 Flash TTS vs GPT-Realtime-2 FAQ
Which is cheaper, Gemini 3.8 Flash TTS or GPT-Realtime-2?
Gemini 3.8 Flash TTS is 88% cheaper per 1M input tokens than GPT-Realtime-2, $0.50 vs $4. For 10M input and 2M output tokens, Gemini 3.8 Flash TTS costs $23 and GPT-Realtime-2 $88 at standard rates.
Which scores higher on independent benchmarks, Gemini 3.8 Flash TTS or GPT-Realtime-2?
Gemini 3.8 Flash TTS leads on Artificial Analysis Speech Arena, 1274 Elo to 1079 Elo. Scores are independent evaluations, not either vendor's launch figures.
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Production evaluation
Choosing between Gemini 3.8 Flash TTS and GPT-Realtime-2?
Public benchmarks narrow the shortlist. We run both on your own tasks, data and cost limits, then build the routing and review controls to run the winner in production.
- A head-to-head evaluation on your real workload
- Routing between models by cost and difficulty