Compare ยท Saidwire vs ElevenLabs
Saidwire vs ElevenLabs for voice agents
On Coval's public benchmark, Wire-1 by Saidwire returns the final transcript 35 ms on average after the end of speech (Coval, last measured Nov 10, 2026), and ElevenLabs's quickest listed model, Scribe v2 Realtime, takes 117 ms (Coval, last measured Nov 10, 2026). Wire-1 also has the lower word error rate of the two on that page: 3.7% against 4.2% for Scribe v2 Realtime (Coval, last measured Nov 10, 2026). Choose ElevenLabs if you already use ElevenLabs voices and want one vendor, or you need many languages; choose Saidwire if the wait before your agent can answer matters most and your callers speak English.
Speed and accuracy
Every ElevenLabs speech-to-text model Coval lists, next to Wire-1. Lower is better in both columns.
| Model | Mean time to final segment | Word error rate | Source and date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wire-1 (Saidwire) | 35 ms | 3.7% | Coval, last measured Nov 10, 2026 |
| Scribe v2 Realtime (ElevenLabs) | 117 ms | 4.2% | Coval, last measured Nov 10, 2026 |
Listed price
| List price | Source and date | |
|---|---|---|
| Saidwire Wire-1 | $0.25 per audio hour, billed per second; $0.15 for voice platforms and founding customers; 120 free hours, no card | Saidwire pricing |
| ElevenLabs: Scribe v2 Realtime | $0.22 per hour | ElevenLabs pricing page, read Nov 10, 2026 |
Where ElevenLabs is the better choice
- Languages: its pricing page lists 90+ languages for Scribe v2 Realtime. Wire-1 is English only. (ElevenLabs pricing page, read Nov 10, 2026)
- One vendor for voice: ElevenLabs is best known for text-to-speech, so speech in and speech out can sit on one account.
- Scribe v2 Realtime is listed at $0.22 per hour, a little below Saidwire's $0.25 list price. (ElevenLabs pricing page, read Nov 10, 2026)
Where Saidwire is the better choice
- Time to final transcript: 35 ms on average and 50 ms at the 95th percentile, 1st of 29 (Coval, last measured Nov 10, 2026). Scribe v2 Realtime from ElevenLabs measures 117 ms on average (Coval, last measured Nov 10, 2026).
- A long free trial: 120 audio hours with no card and no deadline, on up to 4 streams at once.
- Audio is processed in memory and never stored, and transcripts are not logged (security and data).
Switching
If your agent runs on Pipecat, LiveKit Agents or Vapi, switching is a one-line change: see the Pipecat, LiveKit and Vapi guides. With your own client, connect to wss://api.saidwire.com/v1/listen.
Test both on your own audio
Stream the same call through each API and time the gap between the end of speech and the final result. The Saidwire side: Get a free Saidwire key at saidwire.com/dev.
# pip install websockets (Python 3.10+)
import asyncio, json, os
from websockets.asyncio.client import connect
URL = ("wss://api.saidwire.com/v1/listen?encoding=linear16&sample_rate=16000"
"&interim_results=true&punctuate=true&endpointing=false")
async def run(frames): # frames: 20-100 ms chunks of 16-bit PCM
headers = {"Authorization": f"Token {os.environ['SAIDWIRE_API_KEY']}"}
async with connect(URL, additional_headers=headers) as ws:
async def read():
async for raw in ws:
m = json.loads(raw)
if m.get("type") == "Results":
text = m["channel"]["alternatives"][0]["transcript"]
print("final " if m["is_final"] else "interim", text)
reader = asyncio.create_task(read())
async for chunk in frames:
await ws.send(chunk)
# your turn detector says the user stopped: ask for the final now
await ws.send(json.dumps({"type": "Finalize"}))
await ws.send(json.dumps({"type": "CloseStream"}))
await readerTest ElevenLabs with your own ElevenLabs account and its SDK, under its terms. We do not run or publish tests of other vendors.
How to read these numbers
- Who measured. Speed and error-rate figures are Coval's, from its public benchmark pages. Coval runs every model daily on the same audio and starts every timer from one shared end-of-speech point. Saidwire ran none of these tests and does not test other vendors.
- Time to final segment is the wait between the end of speech and the final transcript: the wait a voice agent has before it can answer. It leaves out your network round trip and each vendor's own turn-detection delay.
- Word error rate is the share of words a transcript gets wrong on Coval's test audio. Your audio will differ.
- Prices are list prices read from each vendor's public pricing page on Nov 10, 2026. Plans, discounts and add-ons change them; the vendor's page is the authority.
- What Coval leaves out. Coval does not score every model, language, add-on or setting a vendor offers, and it says so on each provider page. Features such as speaker labels, translation and language coverage are not part of these two numbers.
- Figures roll daily. Each row links to the page it came from, with that page's date.
Questions
Which returns the final transcript sooner, Saidwire or ElevenLabs?
On Coval's public benchmark, Saidwire: Wire-1 measures 35 ms mean time to final segment (Coval, last measured Nov 10, 2026) and ElevenLabs's Scribe v2 Realtime measures 117 ms (Coval, last measured Nov 10, 2026).
Which is more accurate, Saidwire or ElevenLabs?
On Coval's public benchmark, Wire-1 (3.7%; Scribe v2 Realtime measures 4.2%). Sources: Coval, last measured Nov 10, 2026 for ElevenLabs; Coval, last measured Nov 10, 2026 for Saidwire.
How do the prices compare?
Saidwire lists $0.25 per audio hour. ElevenLabs lists Scribe v2 Realtime at $0.22 per hour (ElevenLabs pricing page, read Nov 10, 2026).
When should I pick ElevenLabs instead?
When you already use ElevenLabs voices and want one vendor, or you need many languages.
Questions or stuck? Email support@saidwire.com. Saidwire LLC, 215 W Pershing Rd Ste 403 PMB 1093, Kansas City MO 64108.
ElevenLabs and the other names on this page belong to their respective owners. They are named only to describe compatibility or to compare public figures; no partnership or endorsement is implied. Coval benchmark figures are from Coval's public pages; Coval does not endorse Saidwire.