Text-to-speech · Head to head
Cartesia vs Amazon Polly: which is better?
Short answer
They are priced differently ($5 / mo vs $4 / 1M characters). Pick Cartesia for low-latency voice AI for developers; pick Amazon Polly for AWS-based pay-as-you-go speech API.
| Fact | Cartesia | Amazon Polly | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Low-latency voice AI for developers | AWS-based pay-as-you-go speech API | — |
| Free plan | Yes, 20K credits per month | Yes, 5M Standard characters/mo | Tie |
| Entry plan | Pro: $5 / mo | Standard voices: $4 / 1M characters | — |
| Mid plan | Startup: $49 / mo | Neural voices: $16 / 1M characters | — |
| Top plan | Scale: $299 / mo | Long-Form voices: $100 / 1M characters | — |
| 1st year | $60 | Usage-based | — |
| Platforms | API, Web | API | Cartesia |
Edge = the better published number or limit; we do not test the tools hands-on.
Which has the better free plan, Cartesia or Amazon Polly?
Neither stands out: Cartesia: Yes, 20K credits per month; Amazon Polly: Yes, 5M Standard characters/mo.
Should you pick Cartesia or Amazon Polly?
Pick Cartesia if
- you want low-latency voice AI for developers
- the free plan is enough (20K credits per month)
Pick Amazon Polly if
- you want AWS-based pay-as-you-go speech API
- the free plan is enough (5M Standard characters/mo)
Sources
| Vendor page | URL | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| Cartesia pricing | cartesia.ai/pricing | 27 Oct 2026 |
| Amazon Polly pricing | aws.amazon.com/polly/pricing/ | 27 Oct 2026 |
Prices in USD as published by each vendor, billed yearly where offered. How we compare