audio model comparison
GPT-4o Transcribe vs Voxtral Small Transcribe 3
GPT-4o Transcribe and Voxtral Small Transcribe 3 are both current audio models, from OpenAI and Mistral AI. Voxtral Small Transcribe 3 is 33% cheaper per audio minute than GPT-4o Transcribe, $0.004 vs $0.006.
- Lower price per audio minute
- Voxtral Small Transcribe 3$0.004 against $0.006
- Newer release
- Voxtral Small Transcribe 3Oct 2026 against Mar 2025
Data verified October 23, 2026 · Dataset 2026-10-23
Side by side
GPT-4o Transcribe and Voxtral Small Transcribe 3, line by line
Prices in effect today, compared at the same tier wherever both list one. The better value in each row is highlighted.
| Fact | GPT-4o Transcribe | Voxtral Small Transcribe 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | ||
| Price per audio minute | $0.006 (estimated) | $0.004 (better) |
| Independent benchmarks | ||
| Artificial Analysis AA-WER v2 | 3.96 % WER (#6 of 6) | Not measured |
| Specs | ||
| Provider | OpenAI | Mistral AI |
| Release date | March 20, 2025 | October 20, 2026 |
| Access | API only | API only |
| Context window | 16,000 tokens | Not reported |
| Max output | 2,000 tokens | Not reported |
| Input | text, audio | audio |
| Output | text | text |
No independent benchmark has scored both models yet. Each rank counts the current models scored on that benchmark.
Charts
Against every current audio model
Where GPT-4o Transcribe and Voxtral Small Transcribe 3 land among the current models of their task, on every independent benchmark, on price and on context.
Where each stands
Only GPT-4o Transcribe has a current Artificial Analysis AA-WER v2 score: #6 of 6. Each bar is the share of current models it beats.
Independent benchmarks
Artificial Analysis AA-WER v2
GPT-4o Transcribe:#6of 6
3.96% WER · ahead of 0%
Voxtral Small Transcribe 3: Not scored
Price and context
Price per audio minute
GPT-4o Transcribe:#9of 13
$0.006 · cheaper than 33%
Voxtral Small Transcribe 3:#4of 13
$0.004 · cheaper than 75%
Cost
What each costs
Example workloads at each provider's listed rates, then every other rate either one lists. The cheaper figure in each row is highlighted.
The same work, priced
For 100 hours of audio, GPT-4o Transcribe costs 1.5 times as much as Voxtral Small Transcribe 3, at each provider's listed rates.
100 hours of audio
GPT-4o Transcribe costs 1.5× as much
- GPT-4o Transcribe
- $36
- Voxtral Small Transcribe 3
- $24
| Workload or rate | GPT-4o Transcribe | Voxtral Small Transcribe 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Example workloads | ||
| 100 hours of audio | $36 (estimated) | $24 (better) |
Verdict
When to choose each
GPT-4o Transcribe
Where it leads
- Accepts text input
Best for
- Speech transcription
Watch out for
- OpenAI announced its deprecation on 2026-08-26 and recommends GPT Transcribe, which costs $0.0045 per minute against about $0.006 here
Voxtral Small Transcribe 3
Where it leads
- Lower price per audio minute, $0.004 vs $0.006
- Supports speaker diarization, speech translation and audio understanding
Best for
- Multilingual meeting and call transcription with speaker labels
- Speech pipelines that must stay on EU-hosted infrastructure
Watch out for
- Released as a public preview, so behaviour and pricing may change
- Mistral comparisons are its own, and no independent word error rate is recorded here yet
From benchmark to production
Building on GPT-4o Transcribe or Voxtral Small Transcribe 3?
Public scores rarely hold on your own data. We test both models on your real tasks, then build the agent or pipeline around the one that wins.
FAQ
GPT-4o Transcribe vs Voxtral Small Transcribe 3 FAQ
Which is cheaper, GPT-4o Transcribe or Voxtral Small Transcribe 3?
Voxtral Small Transcribe 3 is 33% cheaper per audio minute than GPT-4o Transcribe, $0.004 vs $0.006.
How much would 100 hours of audio cost with GPT-4o Transcribe or Voxtral Small Transcribe 3?
100 hours of audio comes to $36 with GPT-4o Transcribe and $24 with Voxtral Small Transcribe 3 at their listed rates.
How do GPT-4o Transcribe and Voxtral Small Transcribe 3 differ in features?
GPT-4o Transcribe takes text and audio input; Voxtral Small Transcribe 3 takes audio. Only Voxtral Small Transcribe 3 supports speaker diarization, speech translation and audio understanding.
Further reading
More on GPT-4o Transcribe and Voxtral Small Transcribe 3
Related comparisons
- GPT-4o Transcribe vs Grok Voice Transcribe 2.0
- Gemini 3.5 Live Translate Preview vs Voxtral Small Transcribe 3
- Gemini 3.5 Transcribe vs GPT-4o Transcribe
- Gemini 3.5 Transcribe vs Voxtral Small Transcribe 3
- GPT-4o Transcribe vs GPT Transcribe
- GPT Transcribe vs Voxtral Small Transcribe 3
- GPT-4o Transcribe vs Scribe v2
- Scribe v2 vs Voxtral Small Transcribe 3
- GPT-4o Transcribe vs Scribe v2 Realtime
Production evaluation
Choosing between GPT-4o Transcribe and Voxtral Small Transcribe 3?
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