Text-to-speech · 7 tools compared
What is the best text-to-speech tool in 2026?
Short answer
ElevenLabs ranks first on published facts: a free plan (10,000 credits per month), paid plans from $5 / mo. 7 of 7 have a free plan.
| Tool | Best for | Free plan | From | 1st year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. ElevenLabs | Realistic AI voices and voice cloning | Yes | $5 / mo | $60 |
| 2. Cartesia | Low-latency voice AI for developers | Yes | $5 / mo | $60 |
| 3. Google Cloud Text-to-Speech | Pay-as-you-go cloud voice API | Yes | $4 / 1M characters | Usage-based |
| 4. Amazon Polly | AWS-based pay-as-you-go speech API | Yes | $4 / 1M characters | Usage-based |
| 5. WellSaid Labs | Studio-quality English voiceover for teams | Yes | $10 / mo | $120 |
| 6. Murf AI | Voice API for agents and apps | Yes | $0.01 / 1000 characters | Usage-based |
| 7. Speechify | Listening to documents and books | Yes | $29 / mo | $348 |
From = cheapest paid plan, billed yearly where offered. 1st year = that plan for 12 months.
How did we rank these 7 text-to-speech tools?
On published facts only, scored out of 7: free plan (2, or 1 for a trial), first-year cost against the others (up to 3), three or more paid plans (1), mobile apps (1). We do not test tools hands-on.
| Tool | Score / 7 |
|---|---|
| ElevenLabs | 7 |
| Cartesia | 6 |
| Google Cloud Text-to-Speech | 4 |
| Amazon Polly | 4 |
| WellSaid Labs | 4 |
| Murf AI | 3 |
| Speechify | 3 |
The 7 best text-to-speech tools, ranked
ElevenLabs
Best for: realistic AI voices and voice cloning
- Free plan
- Yes, 10,000 credits per month
- From
- $5 / mo
- 1st year
- $60
Cartesia
Best for: low-latency voice AI for developers
- Free plan
- Yes, 20K credits per month
- From
- $5 / mo
- 1st year
- $60
Google Cloud Text-to-Speech
Best for: pay-as-you-go cloud voice API
- Free plan
- Yes, 4M characters/mo Standard, 1M Neural2
- From
- $4 / 1M characters
- 1st year
- Usage-based
Amazon Polly
Best for: AWS-based pay-as-you-go speech API
- Free plan
- Yes, 5M Standard characters/mo
- From
- $4 / 1M characters
- 1st year
- Usage-based
WellSaid Labs
Best for: studio-quality English voiceover for teams
- Free plan
- Yes, 3 download minutes per month
- From
- $10 / mo
- 1st year
- $120
Murf AI
Best for: voice API for agents and apps
- Free plan
- Yes, $10 free API credit
- From
- $0.01 / 1000 characters
- 1st year
- Usage-based
Speechify
Best for: listening to documents and books
- Free plan
- Yes, basic reader, 10 voices
- From
- $29 / mo
- 1st year
- $348
Which text-to-speech tool is cheapest?
ElevenLabs, at $60 for the first year, then Cartesia at $60.
| Tool | Cheapest plan | 1st year |
|---|---|---|
| ElevenLabs | Starter | $60 |
| Cartesia | Pro | $60 |
| WellSaid Labs | Starter | $120 |
| Speechify | Premium | $348 |
Which text-to-speech tools have a free plan?
7 of 7: ElevenLabs, Cartesia, Google Cloud Text-to-Speech, Amazon Polly, WellSaid Labs, Murf AI, Speechify.
- ElevenLabs: 10,000 credits per month
- Cartesia: 20K credits per month
- Google Cloud Text-to-Speech: 4M characters/mo Standard, 1M Neural2
- Amazon Polly: 5M Standard characters/mo
- WellSaid Labs: 3 download minutes per month
- Murf AI: $10 free API credit
- Speechify: basic reader, 10 voices
Sources
| Vendor page | URL | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| ElevenLabs pricing | elevenlabs.io/pricing | 27 Oct 2026 |
| Cartesia pricing | cartesia.ai/pricing | 27 Oct 2026 |
| Google Cloud Text-to-Speech pricing | cloud.google.com/text-to-speech/pricing | 27 Oct 2026 |
| Amazon Polly pricing | aws.amazon.com/polly/pricing/ | 27 Oct 2026 |
| WellSaid Labs pricing | wellsaidlabs.com/pricing/ | 27 Oct 2026 |
| Murf AI pricing | murf.ai/pricing | 27 Oct 2026 |
| Speechify pricing | speechify.com/pricing/ | 27 Oct 2026 |
Prices in USD as published by each vendor, billed yearly where offered. How we compare