Gemini 3.5 Transcribe benchmarks, pricing and specs
Gemini 3.5 Transcribe is a Google model released on August 26, 2026 that takes audio input and produces text. It costs $0.005 per audio minute. It scores 2.6 % WER on Artificial Analysis AA-WER v2, #4 of 6 current models (Artificial Analysis, measured October 13, 2026).
- Per audio minute
- $0.005
- Artificial Analysis AA-WER v2
- 2.6 % WER · #4/6
Data verified October 13, 2026 · Dataset 2026-10-13
Key facts
- Provider
- Model family
- Gemini 3.5
- Release date
- August 26, 2026
- Status
- Current
- Access
- API only
- API model id
- gemini-3.5-transcribe
- Context window
- Not reported
- Max output
- Not reported
- Input
- audio
- Output
- text
- Task families
- audio
- Declared capabilities
- speech to text, diarization
Gemini 3.5 Transcribe pricing
It is the #5 cheapest of 12 current audio models priced per audio minute.
Independent benchmark results
Scores come from independent evaluators that ran the model themselves, pinned to a dated snapshot. Rank is among current models in the same snapshot. Google's own launch figures are listed under strengths with the publisher named, because they are not measured the same way.
| Benchmark | Score | Rank | Measured | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Artificial Analysis AA-WER v2 | 2.6 % WER | #4 of 6 | October 13, 2026 | Artificial Analysis · 2026-10-13 |
Strengths, cautions and best uses
Strengths
- Detects 85+ languages and handles code-switching within one recording
- Diarization for up to 8 speakers, word timestamps and up to 1,000 custom vocabulary terms
- Google estimates the blended cost at about $0.005 per minute of audio
Cautions
- One hour of audio per request, or 30 minutes with diarization or timestamps
- Custom vocabulary cannot be combined with diarization or timestamps, and there is no Batch API
Best for
- Batch transcription with speaker labels
- Multilingual meeting and call transcripts
Alternatives to Gemini 3.5 Transcribe
The closest current audiomodels by price. The cheapest model that scores as well or better is listed first; failing that, the cheapest one within 3% of the benchmark's scale.
Cheaper, same or higher score
Grok Voice Transcribe 2.0
- 67% cheaper per audio minute, $0.001667 vs $0.005
- 0.3 points higher on Artificial Analysis AA-WER v2, 2.29 vs 2.6
- From xAI
GPT Transcribe
- 10% cheaper per audio minute, $0.0045 vs $0.005
- 0.7 points lower on Artificial Analysis AA-WER v2, 3.31 vs 2.6
- From OpenAI
GPT-4o Transcribe
- 20% more per audio minute, $0.006 vs $0.005
- 1.4 points lower on Artificial Analysis AA-WER v2, 3.96 vs 2.6
- From OpenAI
Scribe v2
- 27% cheaper per audio minute, $0.003667 vs $0.005
- 0.4 points higher on Artificial Analysis AA-WER v2, 2.18 vs 2.6
- From ElevenLabs
Compare Gemini 3.5 Transcribe with
- Gemini 3.5 Transcribe vs Gemini 3.1 Flash Live Preview
- Gemini 3.5 Transcribe vs Gemini 3.5 Live Translate Preview
- Gemini 3.5 Transcribe vs Gemini 3.8 Flash-Lite TTS
- Gemini 3.5 Transcribe vs Gemini 3.8 Flash TTS
- Gemini 3.5 Transcribe vs Gemini 3.8 Live
- Gemini 3.5 Transcribe vs GPT-4o Transcribe
- Gemini 3.5 Transcribe vs GPT Transcribe
- Gemini 3.5 Transcribe vs Grok Voice Transcribe 2.0
- Gemini 3.5 Transcribe vs MAI-Transcribe-2
- Gemini 3.5 Transcribe vs Scribe v2
- Gemini 3.5 Transcribe vs Scribe v2 Realtime
Other Gemini 3.5 models
Gemini 3.5 Transcribe FAQ
How much does Gemini 3.5 Transcribe cost?
Gemini 3.5 Transcribe costs $0.005 per audio minute at the standard tier. It is the #5 cheapest of 12 current audio models priced per audio minute. Source: Google, verified October 13, 2026.
How does Gemini 3.5 Transcribe score on independent benchmarks?
Gemini 3.5 Transcribe scores 2.6 % WER on Artificial Analysis AA-WER v2, #4 of 6 current models (Artificial Analysis, measured October 13, 2026). These are independent evaluations, not Google's own launch figures.
Is Gemini 3.5 Transcribe open source or API only?
Gemini 3.5 Transcribe is available through Google's API only; its weights are not published.
What are the best alternatives to Gemini 3.5 Transcribe?
The closest current alternatives by price and measured performance are Grok Voice Transcribe 2.0 (67% cheaper per audio minute, $0.001667 vs $0.005), GPT Transcribe (10% cheaper per audio minute, $0.0045 vs $0.005), GPT-4o Transcribe (20% more per audio minute, $0.006 vs $0.005) and Scribe v2 (27% cheaper per audio minute, $0.003667 vs $0.005).
Sources
- Gemini 3.5 Transcribe model · Google · official · verified October 13, 2026
- Gemini API release notes · Google · official · verified October 13, 2026 · CC-BY-4.0
- Gemini Developer API pricing · Google · official · verified October 13, 2026
- Artificial Analysis speech-to-text leaderboard (AA-WER v2, non-streaming) · Artificial Analysis · independent · verified October 13, 2026 · Artificial Analysis Terms of Use
Cite this page
Van Data Team. "Gemini 3.5 Transcribe Benchmarks, Pricing and Specs." AI Model Benchmark Dataset 2026-10-13. https://vandatateam.com/ai-model-benchmarks/gemini-3-5-transcribe
Reuse the data: JSON · CSV · or explore every model in the AI model benchmark comparison.
Production evaluation
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