Text-to-speech · Alternatives
What are the best Cartesia alternatives?
Short answer
The cheapest paid alternative in the first year is ElevenLabs ($60; Cartesia: $60). 6 have a free plan: ElevenLabs, Google Cloud Text-to-Speech, Amazon Polly, WellSaid Labs, Murf AI, Speechify.
| Alternative | Best for | Free plan | From | 1st year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ElevenLabs | Realistic AI voices and voice cloning | Yes | $5 / mo | $60 |
| Google Cloud Text-to-Speech | Pay-as-you-go cloud voice API | Yes | $4 / 1M characters | Usage-based |
| Amazon Polly | AWS-based pay-as-you-go speech API | Yes | $4 / 1M characters | Usage-based |
| WellSaid Labs | Studio-quality English voiceover for teams | Yes | $10 / mo | $120 |
| Murf AI | Voice API for agents and apps | Yes | $0.01 / 1000 characters | Usage-based |
| Speechify | Listening to documents and books | Yes | $29 / mo | $348 |
Which Cartesia alternative is cheapest?
ElevenLabs, at $60 for the first year (Cartesia: $60).
| Alternative | 1st year |
|---|---|
| ElevenLabs | $60 |
| WellSaid Labs | $120 |
| Speechify | $348 |
Which Cartesia alternatives are free?
6 of 6 have a free plan.
- ElevenLabs: 10,000 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
The 6 alternatives, one by one
1
ElevenLabs
Best for: realistic AI voices and voice cloning
- Free plan
- Yes, 10,000 credits per month
- From
- $5 / mo
- 1st year
- $60
2
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
3
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
4
WellSaid Labs
Best for: studio-quality English voiceover for teams
- Free plan
- Yes, 3 download minutes per month
- From
- $10 / mo
- 1st year
- $120
5
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
6
Speechify
Best for: listening to documents and books
- Free plan
- Yes, basic reader, 10 voices
- From
- $29 / mo
- 1st year
- $348
Sources
| Vendor page | URL | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| Cartesia pricing | cartesia.ai/pricing | 27 Oct 2026 |
| ElevenLabs pricing | elevenlabs.io/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