Whisper Tiny is a lightweight automatic speech recognition (ASR) model developed by OpenAI, designed to transcribe spoken language into text with minimal computational resources. With only 39 million parameters, this model is exceptionally compact, making it suitable for devices with limited processing power and memory. Despite its small size, Whisper Tiny delivers surprisingly competent performance for basic ASR tasks, such as transcribing short audio clips or simple voice commands. It is particularly useful in scenarios where real-time processing is required but the hardware is constrained, such as on Raspberry Pi or other low-power embedded systems.
In its size class, Whisper Tiny stands out for its efficiency and resource-light footprint. While it may not match the accuracy of larger models like the full-sized Whisper, it punches well above its weight in terms of speed and energy consumption. This makes it an excellent choice for developers and hobbyists who need a quick, lightweight solution without the overhead of more complex models. Users with modest hardware, such as laptops or even smartphones, can deploy this model with ease, requiring only 0.2 GB of VRAM. For those looking to integrate basic speech recognition into IoT devices or mobile applications, Whisper Tiny is a solid, practical option.
| Quantization | Bits | File Size | VRAM Needed | RAM Needed | Quality |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q8_0 | 8 | 0.075 GB | 0.2 GB | 0.5 GB | 70% |
How to run Whisper Tiny
Pick a runtime — copy & paste. Commands are pre-filled with this model’s repo.
Pure-C reimplementation. CoreML/Metal/CUDA. 1-line setup.
whisper.cpp home →- 1
Build
git clone https://github.com/ggerganov/whisper.cpp && cd whisper.cpp && make - 2
Get the model
bash ./models/download-ggml-model.sh tiny - 3
Transcribe
./main -m models/ggml-tiny.bin -f input.wav
Community benchmarks
Real tokens/sec reports from people running Whisper Tiny on actual hardware.
No community runs yet for this model. Be the first to submit your numbers.
how much VRAM do I need to run Whisper Tiny?
Whisper Tiny requires 0.2 GB VRAM minimum with Q8_0 quantization. For full precision you need 0.2 GB.
which quant should I pick?
Q4_K_M is the best quality/VRAM balance — ~92% of FP16 quality at ~25% the footprint. Q8_0 is near-lossless if you have the headroom.