DeepgramAssemblyAIAudio matchupSpeech to text
Nova-3vs.Universal-3.6 Pro Realtime
Which model is better?
Universal-3.6 Pro Realtime is slightly ahead in independent tests, but the lead is not certain.
Independent testsCoval
Nova-30 of 1
Universal-3.6 Pro Realtime0 of 1
Popularityout of 100
Nova-3ahead51
Universal-3.6 Pro Realtime0
Weights and access
Nova-3proprietary
Universal-3.6 Pro Realtimeproprietary
Priceverbatim from the provider
Nova-3n/a
Universal-3.6 Pro Realtime$0.45 per hour of audio; volume discounts available
Pick Nova-3 for
more popular
Pick Universal-3.6 Pro Realtime for
leaning Coval
Shared tests
Independent evaluators and leaderboards only, the newest shared snapshot per evaluator. With 95 % ranges a lead counts when they do not overlap; for hit rates, when it holds in a 95 % test. Without any uncertainty figure at most “slightly ahead”.
Coval
Universal-3.6 Pro Realtime slightly aheadCoval Word Error Rate (WER) per-sample mean
Nova-35.6 %
Universal-3.6 Pro Realtime2.5 %
lower is better, as of November 2, 2026
Source · latest November 2, 2026
Vendor figures
Figures from vendor reports that cover both models. They do not count toward the verdict.
Show 9 vendor figures
| Figure | Source | Nova-3 | Universal-3.6 Pro Realtime |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entity error rate: codes and IDs (lower is better) | AssemblyAI Universal-3.6 Pro Realtime report | 27.6 % | 10.0 % |
| Entity error rate: dates (lower is better) | AssemblyAI Universal-3.6 Pro Realtime report | 43.7 % | 18.6 % |
| Entity error rate: email addresses (lower is better) | AssemblyAI Universal-3.6 Pro Realtime report | 34.4 % | 17.2 % |
| Entity error rate: names (lower is better) | AssemblyAI Universal-3.6 Pro Realtime report | 24.3 % | 10.9 % |
| Entity error rate: phone numbers (lower is better) | AssemblyAI Universal-3.6 Pro Realtime report | 4.5 % | 2.4 % |
| Entity error rate: technical terms (lower is better) | AssemblyAI Universal-3.6 Pro Realtime report | 39.4 % | 20.9 % |
| WER: heavy noise (lower is better) | AssemblyAI Universal-3.6 Pro Realtime report | 9.9 % | 6.1 % |
| WER: low noise (lower is better) | AssemblyAI Universal-3.6 Pro Realtime report | 8.5 % | 5.1 % |
| WER: no noise (lower is better) | AssemblyAI Universal-3.6 Pro Realtime report | 7.5 % | 4.4 % |
All data side by side
Prices are verbatim from the provider, because audio models bill per minute, character or token.
| Nova-3 | Universal-3.6 Pro Realtime | |
|---|---|---|
| Task | Speech to text | Speech to text |
| Developer | Deepgram | AssemblyAI |
| Status | Active | Active |
| Released | n/a | September 29, 2026 |
| Weights | proprietary | proprietary |
| Runs locally | no | no |
| Price | n/a | $0.45 per hour of audio; volume discounts available |
| Popularity (out of 100) | 51 | 0 |