Qwen Audio 3.1 ASR vs StepAudio 3 ASR Max

Qwen Audio 3.1 ASR vs StepAudio 3 ASR Max at a glance

Qwen Audio 3.1 ASR from Alibaba Cloud and StepAudio 3 ASR Max from StepFun are both in the Transcription category, available through the EmpirioLabs API.

Key differences

• Qwen Audio 3.1 ASR is the newer release (Sep 10, 2026); StepAudio 3 ASR Max was released on Aug 31, 2026.

Qwen Audio 3.1 ASR vs StepAudio 3 ASR Max: specs

Qwen Audio 3.1 ASR vs StepAudio 3 ASR Max: API pricing

Live rates from the EmpirioLabs catalog for both models. Each rate card always matches what the API charges.

Qwen Audio 3.1 ASR vs StepAudio 3 ASR Max: API parameters

Request parameters each model lists on EmpirioLabs, with the allowed values or range where one applies. A dash marks a parameter the model does not list.

Qwen Audio 3.1 ASR vs StepAudio 3 ASR Max: limits and notes

Qwen Audio 3.1 ASR

Sending audio

Send a file as multipart file, or JSON with audio_url or audio_base64, in common audio formats. Short clips and long recordings are both accepted.

Getting the result

The request returns a job_id and a poll_url right away. Poll GET /v1/jobs/<job-id> until status is completed. Short clips finish in seconds; long recordings take longer.

What comes back

The result of the completed job holds the full transcript as text, sentence segments with start and end times, and word timestamps. The language is detected automatically, including Chinese dialects.

Billing

Input and output tokens are priced per 1M, and each request is billed from the usage the model reports.

StepAudio 3 ASR Max

Supports wav, mp3, ogg, m4a, and pcm input. PCM requests should include codec, sample rate, bit depth, and channel count. The language is detected automatically and cannot be set; Chinese, English, Japanese, Korean, French, and Spanish are recognized, with languages other than Chinese and English in preview. Inverse text normalization is on by default and can be turned off with enable_itn. Hotwords and word timestamps are not available on this model. Audio is billed by its measured duration, with a one second minimum.

How to call Qwen Audio 3.1 ASR and StepAudio 3 ASR Max

Qwen Audio 3.1 ASR runs through POST /v1/audio/transcriptions. The request returns a job_id right away; poll GET /v1/jobs/{job_id} until the job completes and read the output URLs from the result. Both models are called through the same endpoint. Set model to qwen-audio-3-1-asr or stepaudio-3-asr-max. Get an API key from the EmpirioLabs dashboard.

curl https://api.empiriolabs.ai/v1/audio/transcriptions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $EMPIRIOLABS_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "qwen-audio-3-1-asr",
    "audio_url": "https://example.com/meeting-recording.mp3"
  }'

Qwen Audio 3.1 ASR vs StepAudio 3 ASR Max: tests and guides

Prompt tests and comparison runs that cover both models.

Guides Qwen Audio 3.0 ASR vs Qwen Audio 3.1 ASR vs StepAudio 3 ASR Max vs Deepgram Nova-3: one voicemail We gave Qwen Audio 3.0 ASR, Qwen Audio 3.1 ASR, StepAudio 3 ASR Max and Deepgram Nova-3 the same voicemail with a name,...

Qwen Audio 3.1 ASR vs StepAudio 3 ASR Max: common questions

What is the difference between Qwen Audio 3.1 ASR and StepAudio 3 ASR Max?

Qwen Audio 3.1 ASR is the newer release (Sep 10, 2026); StepAudio 3 ASR Max was released on Aug 31, 2026. The specs, rate cards, and parameters on this page come from the live EmpirioLabs catalog.

Which is newer, Qwen Audio 3.1 ASR or StepAudio 3 ASR Max?

Qwen Audio 3.1 ASR is the newer release (Sep 10, 2026); StepAudio 3 ASR Max was released on Aug 31, 2026.

Which has the lower rate, Qwen Audio 3.1 ASR or StepAudio 3 ASR Max?

The two models are priced on different units or tiers, so compare the live rate cards on this page. They always match what the API charges.

Can I switch between Qwen Audio 3.1 ASR and StepAudio 3 ASR Max without rebuilding my integration?

Yes. Both models use POST /v1/audio/transcriptions with the same EmpirioLabs API key, so most integrations switch by changing the model value. Check the parameters table on this page first if you rely on a model-specific parameter.

Can I try Qwen Audio 3.1 ASR and StepAudio 3 ASR Max in the browser before integrating?

Yes. Open each model in the EmpirioLabs playground and run the same prompt on both, with the parameters the API exposes.