2 models compared on the same benchmark — accuracy, latency, price, language coverage and capabilities. Qwen3 ASR Flash leads on raw accuracy; Azure Speech is fastest; Qwen3 ASR Flash covers the most languages; Qwen3 ASR Flash is cheapest.
Verdict · who wins what
Most accurate
Qwen3 ASR Flash
12.3% WER
Alibaba (Qwen)
Fastest
Azure Speech
0.3× realtime
Microsoft Azure
Most languages
Qwen3 ASR Flash
25 languages
Alibaba (Qwen)
Cheapest
Qwen3 ASR Flash
$0.0021/min
Alibaba (Qwen)
Comparing
2 models · same benchmark
1
Qwen3 ASR Flash
Alibaba (Qwen)
Alibaba Qwen3-ASR Flash — multilingual batch transcription (25+ languages) with word-level timestamps and automatic language detection, served from Model Studio (Singapore). Handles files up to 12 hours.
2
Azure Speech
Microsoft Azure
Azure default STT model — 140+ languages, diarization, word timestamps
Qwen3 ASR Flash
Azure Speech
field · 32 models
lower-left is better
general
legal
medical
noisy
technical
uk
us
Latency p99
7.0s
2.0s
Final drain
—
0ms
Real-time factor
—
1.01×
Flicker
—
13.2%
Cadence
—
1.7/s
$12.60
$36.00
1,000 hours
$126.00
$360.00
No
Auto-detect language
Yes
No
Live / streaming
No
Yes
Custom vocabulary
No
No
Max file size
2 GB
1 GB
Max duration
12 h
4 h
Compliance
—
Is Qwen3 ASR Flash or Azure Speech more accurate?
Qwen3 ASR Flash is more accurate, with a 12.3% word error rate versus 15.3% for Azure Speech, on our standardized benchmark.
Which is cheaper, Qwen3 ASR Flash or Azure Speech?
Qwen3 ASR Flash is cheaper at $0.0021/min versus $0.0060/min for Azure Speech.
Should you choose Qwen3 ASR Flash or Azure Speech?
Choose Qwen3 ASR Flash for accuracy, lower cost, and language coverage; choose Azure Speech for speed.
