Deepgram vs Pulse STT: The Real-Time Speech-to-Text Comparison
How Pulse STT by Smallest AI compares to Deepgram Nova-3 on latency, accuracy, language coverage, compliance, and pricing for production voice agents.
Deepgram vs Pulse STT: The Real-Time Speech-to-Text Comparison
How Pulse STT by Smallest AI compares to Deepgram Nova-3 on latency, accuracy, language coverage, compliance, and pricing for production voice agents.
Why teams evaluate Pulse against Deepgram
Both are built for real-time transcription. Here is where they differ in production.
Why teams evaluate Pulse against Deepgram
Both are built for real-time transcription. Here is where they differ in production.
Why teams evaluate Pulse against Deepgram
Both are built for real-time transcription. Here is where they differ in production.
64ms time to first transcript
Pulse streams partial transcripts over WebSocket at ~64ms TTFT, keeping the STT layer well inside a sub-300ms budget.
64ms time to first transcript
Pulse streams partial transcripts over WebSocket at ~64ms TTFT, keeping the STT layer well inside a sub-300ms budget.
39 languages with auto-detection
Automatic language identification and word-level timestamps across 39 languages, with strong Indian-language coverage.
39 languages with auto-detection
Automatic language identification and word-level timestamps across 39 languages, with strong Indian-language coverage.
Co-located with Lightning TTS
Run Pulse and Lightning in one infrastructure so the STT-to-TTS handoff never traverses the public internet.
Co-located with Lightning TTS
Run Pulse and Lightning in one infrastructure so the STT-to-TTS handoff never traverses the public internet.
Built for the full agent stack
Speaker diarization, word timestamps, and a single Atoms pipeline rather than a standalone endpoint.
Built for the full agent stack
Speaker diarization, word timestamps, and a single Atoms pipeline rather than a standalone endpoint.
Pulse vs Nova 3
A factual, model-level comparison on the metrics that matter in production.
Pulse vs Nova 3
A factual, model-level comparison on the metrics that matter in production.
Pulse vs Nova 3
A factual, model-level comparison on the metrics that matter in production.
| Features | Pulse | Nova 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Time to First Transcript | ~64 ms | ~100 ms |
| Streaming WER | Industry-lowest across 30+ languages | 6.84% (streaming) |
| Languages | 39 | 30+ |
| Compliance | SOC 2, HIPAA, GDPR | SOC 2, HIPAA |
| Pricing | ~$0.005/min | ~$0.0043/min |
Pulse leads on latency and language breadth; Nova-3 has a slightly lower per-minute price. Numbers reflect publicly available data as of June 2026.
Certified & Compliant
Guarding your data with enterprise security
Certified & Compliant
Guarding your data with enterprise security
Proactive Defense
Anticipating threats before they emerge, thanks to our advanced monitoring.
Proactive Defense
Anticipating threats before they emerge, thanks to our advanced monitoring.
Proactive Defense
Anticipating threats before they emerge, thanks to our advanced monitoring.
Frequently
asked questions
Is Pulse STT faster than Deepgram Nova-3?
Can Pulse STT run on-premise?
How many languages does Pulse support compared to Deepgram?
When should I choose Deepgram instead?
What does switching from Deepgram to Pulse involve?
Build the future of voice agent orchestration
Build the future of voice agent orchestration
Build the future of voice agent orchestration
311 California Street, Suite 320
San Francisco, CA 94104
Documentation
Initiatives
311 California Street, Suite 320
San Francisco, CA 94104
Documentation
Initiatives
311 California Street, Suite 320
San Francisco, CA 94104
Documentation
Initiatives