Whisper Large v3 vs Distil-Whisper Large v3

Side-by-side comparison of hardware requirements, quantization options, and specifications to help you choose the right model for your device.

Specifications Comparison

SpecWhisper Large v3Distil-Whisper Large v3
Parameters1.55B0.76B
Architecturewhisperwhisper
LicenseMITMIT
Context LengthN/AN/A
CategorySpeech RecognitionSpeech Recognition
AuthorOpenAIHuggingFace
HF Downloads4.8M1.2M
VRAM Range3.38 - 3.38 GB1.92 - 1.92 GB
Quantizations1 options1 options
Best Quality Score98%96%

Quantization Options

Whisper Large v3

Q8_0
2.9 GB3.38 GB VRAM98% quality

Distil-Whisper Large v3

Q8_0
1.4 GB1.92 GB VRAM96% quality

Which Should You Choose?

Distil-Whisper Large v3 is more memory-efficient, starting at just 1.92GB VRAM compared to 3.38GB for Whisper Large v3. Whisper Large v3 is significantly larger at 1.55B parameters, which generally means better output quality but requires more hardware.

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