Moonshine Tiny Streaming (English) vs Whistle
Two tiny native-streaming models for phones and embedded devices. Moonshine Tiny Streaming (English) ranks higher in 6 of the matcher's seven common setups, but the right choice still depends on the differences below.
Key differences
- Moonshine Tiny Streaming (English) lists 1 language in our record, Whistle 7; 1 is shared.
- Moonshine Tiny Streaming (English) carries the higher relative accuracy rating (3/5 versus 2/5); confirm it on your own audio.
- Moonshine Tiny Streaming (English) is rated better for Apple Silicon (5/5 versus 4/5).
- The main documented runtime is moonshine-voice (Python) for Moonshine Tiny Streaming (English) and cactus-needle (Python, CLI, C API, WASI) for Whistle.
Side by side
| Fact | Moonshine Tiny Streaming (English) | Whistle |
|---|---|---|
| Provider · size | Moonshine AI · 34M | Cactus Compute · 16.9 MB file (parameters not stated) |
| License | MIT Permissive | Apache-2.0 Permissive |
| Languages | English | 7 listed languages |
| Streaming | Native | Native |
| Timestamps | Limited | Yes |
| Speaker diarization | Separate pipeline | Separate pipeline |
| CPU · Apple · NVIDIA fit | 5/5 · 5/5 · 4/5 | 5/5 · 4/5 · 2/5 |
| Live · long recordings | 5/5 · 3/5 | 5/5 · 2/5 |
| Main runtime | moonshine-voice (Python) | cactus-needle (Python, CLI, C API, WASI) |
Which ranks higher in common setups
Scores from the same deterministic matcher as the homepage, applied to all 26 reviewed models (rank out of 26). They are decision guidance, not accuracy claims.
| Setup | Moonshine Tiny Streaming (English) | Whistle | Higher |
|---|---|---|---|
| Long recordings on an 8–12 GB NVIDIA GPU, balanced | 67/100 · #19 | 54/100 · #26 | Moonshine Tiny Streaming (English) |
| Live captions or voice input (native streaming + timestamps, speed first) | 86/100 · #2 | 82/100 · #6 | Moonshine Tiny Streaming (English) |
| Subtitles with timing, accuracy first | 64/100 · #20 | 57/100 · #25 | Moonshine Tiny Streaming (English) |
| Meetings with speaker labels (diarization + timestamps) | 61/100 · #22 | 51/100 · #26 | Moonshine Tiny Streaming (English) |
| CPU-only machine, low memory use | 74/100 · #5 | 71/100 · #6 | Moonshine Tiny Streaming (English) |
| Apple Silicon with 8–16 GB unified memory, long recordings | 72/100 · #5 | 63/100 · #18 | Moonshine Tiny Streaming (English) |
| Japanese live transcription (native streaming, speed first) | Language not listed | Language not listed | — |
Language coverage
Both list 1 language: English. Moonshine Tiny Streaming (English) lists no language that Whistle lacks. Only Whistle lists Dutch, French, German, Italian, Polish and Spanish.
How to run each
- Moonshine Tiny Streaming (English)
- moonshine-voice (Python), ONNX Runtime core, Swift, Android and C++ libraries.
pip install moonshine-voice34M parameters, 8-bit weights. Published latency for Tiny Streaming: 34 ms on a MacBook Pro, 69 ms on Linux x86, 237 ms on a Raspberry Pi 5.
- Whistle
- cactus-needle (Python, CLI, C API, WASI).
pip install cactus-needleA single 16.9 MB file that runs on CPU with no GPU and no dependencies.
Runtimes and figures from the official sources checked on November 2, 2026; details on each Moonshine Tiny Streaming (English) and Whistle profile.
Common questions
Is Moonshine Tiny Streaming (English) better than Whistle?
It depends on the job. Moonshine Tiny Streaming (English) ranks higher in 6 of the matcher's seven common setups, but the right choice still depends on the differences below. Benchmark both on your own audio before deciding.
Which is lighter to run, Moonshine Tiny Streaming (English) or Whistle?
They carry the same memory rating (5/5). See the official guidance quoted in the run section above.
Which supports more languages?
Whistle lists 7 languages against 1. Only Whistle lists Dutch, French, German, Italian, Polish and Spanish.
Go further
- Add a third model in the interactive comparison
- Benchmark both on your own audio
- All model comparisons
Generated from the reviewed model database (latest review November 3, 2026). Differences are taken from primary sources; matcher scores are Speech Model Match's editorial decision scores.