Cartesia vs Deepgram
Agent-native side-by-side. Scores are curated estimates on a 0–10 scale. Lock-in: higher = worse. Prefer JTBD picks via /api/decide when choosing for a job.
| Dimension | Cartesia | Deepgram |
|---|---|---|
| Overall | 7.8 | 8.5 |
| Capability fit | 8.4 | 8.8 |
| Price / performance | 8.0 | 8.8 |
| Latency / reliability | 7.8 | 8.6 |
| Developer & agent DX | 8.4 | 8.6 |
| Privacy / data retention | 7.5 | 8.2 |
| Lock-in risk (higher = worse) | 4.5 | 4.0 |
| Maturity / track record | 7.0 | 9.0 |
| Pricing | As of 2026-09-14: Credit plans — Free $0 (20k credits), Pro $5 (100k), Startup $49 (1.25M), Scale $299 (8M) + prepaid agent minutes. Sonic TTS + Ink STT + voice agents. Cartesia phone numbers ~$0.014/min. Ultra-low-laten… | As of 2026-09-22 (deepgram.com/pricing live): Flux TTS / Voice Agent promo ended; **Standard is live**. Flux TTS PAYG **$0.0450/1k** chars (Growth $0.0405); Aura-2 $0.030/1k; Aura-1 $0.015. Voice Agent Standard **$0.075/… |
| Tagline | Top pick for realtime low-latency voice agents. ElevenLabs for voice library breadth. | Default STT and strong voice-agent platform. Standard Flux TTS / Voice Agent rates live since 2026-09-15… |
Cartesia
Top pick for realtime low-latency voice agents. ElevenLabs for voice library breadth. Strengths: Ultra-low-latency TTS; Simple credit plans; Voice agents + STT in one.
Strengths
- Ultra-low-latency TTS
- Simple credit plans
- Voice agents + STT in one
Weaknesses
- Credit math less intuitive than per-char
- Younger than ElevenLabs
- Voice catalog still growing
Deepgram
Default STT and strong voice-agent platform. Standard Flux TTS / Voice Agent rates live since 2026-09-15 (confirmed 2026-09-22). Budget Voice Agent at $0.075/min Standard. Pair ElevenLabs/Cartesia if you need premium TTS voices. Strengths: Best-in-class STT pricing/quality; Voice Agent API; Clear public rate card; EU r
Strengths
- Best-in-class STT pricing/quality
- Voice Agent API
- Clear public rate card
- EU residency options
Weaknesses
- TTS less 'celebrity voice' than ElevenLabs
- Voice Agent Standard jumped post-Flux-TTS promo (2026-09-13+)
- Concurrency tiers
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