Provider · read on October 27, 2026
Cartesia text-to-speech models, ranked by speed
3 of the 96 text-to-speech (TTS) models in this index are filed under Cartesia , led by Cartesia Sonic 3.6, Cartesia Sonic 3.5 and Cartesia Sonic 3. Same order and same measures as the full ranking.
| Rank | Model | Speed tier | P95 | Speed (shorter is faster) | Median | Listener Elo | Price per 1M chars | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 |  Cartesia Sonic 3.6Cartesia | Visible delay | 374.4 ms | 285.8 ms | 1,292 | $39.2 to $50 | Customer service, Assistants, Entertainment, Knowledge sharing | |
| 19 |  Cartesia Sonic 3.5Cartesia | Visible delay | 390.5 ms | 279.3 ms | 1,190 | $39.2 to $50 | Customer service, Assistants, Entertainment, Knowledge sharing | |
| 62 (tie) |  Cartesia Sonic 3Cartesia | No tier | Not timed | Not timed | Not timed | 1,054 | $49 to $50 | Customer service, Assistants, Entertainment, Knowledge sharing |
Frequently asked questions
- Which Cartesia TTS model is the fastest?
- Cartesia Sonic 3.6, with a P95 time to first audio of 374.4 ms in Coval's 30-day window. Of the 3 models on this page, 2 are timed.
- How are these models ordered?
- As in the full ranking: speed tier, then P95 time to first audio, with ties within 10 ms ordered by median time to first audio. Models Coval does not time follow, ordered by listener Elo; models with neither measure come last, in alphabetical order.