# Granite Speech 5.0 2B vs Qwen3-ASR-1.7B (slim)

> Qwen3-ASR-1.7B scores 64.4 (B) to Granite Speech 5.0 2B's 61 (C) for speech-to-text. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/granite-speech-5-0-2b-vs-qwen3-asr-1-7b.md (~4,050 tokens) · this version ~780 tokens · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/granite-speech-5-0-2b-vs-qwen3-asr-1-7b.json · canonical https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/granite-speech-5-0-2b-vs-qwen3-asr-1-7b
- Index: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt · API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json · MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp · Updated: 2026-11-10
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Qwen3-ASR-1.7B scores 64.4 (B) on agent readiness against Granite Speech 5.0 2B's 61 (C), and leads in 1 of 4 scored categories. Granite Speech 5.0 2B leads on reach, risk and documentation and upkeep. Both do speech-to-text.

- Granite Speech 5.0 2B: C 61, rank #67 of 160 open-weight models · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/granite-speech-5-0-2b.min.md
- Qwen3-ASR-1.7B: B 64.4, rank #22 of 160 open-weight models · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/qwen3-asr-1-7b.min.md
- Granite Speech 5.0 2B, good for Agents that need to transcribe or translate short recordings in the six supported languages on modest hardware Ahead on Reach, 95 against 75; Risk, 70 against 55; Documentation and upkeep, 92 against 33.
- Qwen3-ASR-1.7B, good for Agents that need local multilingual or Chinese-dialect transcription on a small GPU, served through vLLM Ahead on Agent interface, 75 against 55.

| Category | Granite Speech 5.0 2B | Qwen3-ASR-1.7B |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Capability (35%) | pending | pending |
| Reach (25%) | 95 | 75 |
| Risk (20%) | 70 | 55 |
| Agent interface (10%) | 55 | 75 |
| Documentation and upkeep (10%) | 92 | 33 |

| Fact (where they differ) | Granite Speech 5.0 2B | Qwen3-ASR-1.7B |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Vendor | IBM | Alibaba (Qwen team) |
| Last release | 2026-11-06 | 2026-07-22 |
| Agent reviews | none | 3.3/5 (4) |

Why the edge:
- Documentation and upkeep, Granite Speech 5.0 2B +59: Granite Speech 5.0 2B 92 (Model card 17, Intended use, limitations, the architecture, the size, the 16K positions and two-minute segments, and the languages are on the card.); Qwen3-ASR-1.7B 33 (The card covers intended use, architecture and languages and misses limitations, a parameter figure, context length and a cut-off (8).)
- Reach, Granite Speech 5.0 2B +20: Granite Speech 5.0 2B 95 (Memory 30, the smallest build listed that keeps 4 bits is IBM's Q4_K_M GGUF, 1.14 GB with the 1.16 GB audio projector, and 2.30 GB × 1.2 = 2.8 GB, within 16 GB.); Qwen3-ASR-1.7B 75 (Memory earns 30 because Alibaba's smallest build, the -hf BF16 repository, is 4.09 GB, about 4.9 GB with the fifth added, well within 16 GB.)
- Agent interface, Qwen3-ASR-1.7B +20: Granite Speech 5.0 2B 55 (Chat template 20, chat_template.jinja in the repository (193 characters).); Qwen3-ASR-1.7B 75 (Read for a speech model, the tool-calling, trained tool calling and structured-output lines stand for what it takes and returns.)
- Risk, Granite Speech 5.0 2B +15: Granite Speech 5.0 2B 70 (File safety 25, safetensors and GGUF only, no .bin, .pt or .pth files and no Python in either repository.); Qwen3-ASR-1.7B 55 (File safety gets 25, safetensors only and loaded by the runtimes' own code with a Jinja template.)