audio model comparison
Gemini 3.8 Flash TTS vs Sonic 3.6
Gemini 3.8 Flash TTS and Sonic 3.6 are both current audio models, from Google and Cartesia. On Artificial Analysis Speech Arena, Gemini 3.8 Flash TTS scores 1274 Elo and Sonic 3.6 1286 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 | Sonic 3.6 |
|---|---|---|
| Price per audio minute | $0.0135 | Not reported |
| Price per character | Not reported | $0.000065 |
| Artificial Analysis Speech Arena | 1274 Elo (#4 of 11) | 1286 Elo (#3 of 11) (better) |
| Provider | Cartesia | |
| Release date | September 22, 2026 | August 27, 2026 |
| Access | API only | API only |
| Context window | Not reported | Not reported |
| Max output | Not reported | Not reported |
| Input | text | text |
| Output | audio | 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
Sonic 3.6
Best for
- Multilingual speech for voice agents
- Indian-language and Hinglish speech
Watch out for
- Credit-based plans only (1 credit per character); the recorded rate is the Pro plan overage of $65 per 1M characters, falling to $38 on the Scale plan
- Cartesia does not state latency figures for this version
Gemini 3.8 Flash TTS vs Sonic 3.6 FAQ
Which scores higher on independent benchmarks, Gemini 3.8 Flash TTS or Sonic 3.6?
Sonic 3.6 leads on Artificial Analysis Speech Arena, 1286 Elo to 1274 Elo. Scores are independent evaluations, not either vendor's launch figures.
Related comparisons
- Eleven Flash v2.5 vs Sonic 3.6
- Eleven Multilingual v2 vs Sonic 3.6
- Eleven v3 vs Sonic 3.6
- Eleven v4 Turbo vs Gemini 3.8 Flash TTS
- Eleven v4 Turbo vs Sonic 3.6
- Eleven v4 vs Sonic 3.6
- Gemini 3.1 Flash Live Preview vs Gemini 3.8 Flash TTS
- Gemini 3.1 Flash TTS Preview vs Gemini 3.8 Flash TTS
- Gemini 3.5 Live Translate Preview vs Gemini 3.8 Flash TTS
- Gemini 3.5 Transcribe vs Gemini 3.8 Flash TTS
Production evaluation
Choosing between Gemini 3.8 Flash TTS and Sonic 3.6?
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