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Best Text-to-speech tools in 2026

Text-to-speech tools turn written text into spoken audio for apps, websites, documents, and services. This list is for people comparing hosted services, APIs, desktop platforms, and self-hosted options on a budget.

  1. 1

    Voicebox

    Free plan Open source AndroidAPIiPhone+5

    Voicebox centers voice work on a local desktop app, with generation, dictation, editing, and API features. The Local plan is free forever; cloud features are still marked as coming soon.

    9.3 Free plan · paid from $12/yr Visit site
  2. 2

    Chatterbox TTS

    by Chatterbox TTS
    Free plan Open source APILinuxMac+2

    Chatterbox offers several open-source model choices, with documented installation paths and device options.

    9.2 Free plan Visit site
  3. 3

    ESPnet

    by ESPnet
    Free plan Open source APILinuxMac+2

    Choose ESPnet for an open-source speech toolkit with broad task coverage, recipes, and pretrained-model inference options. It can also support training, though that requires additional dependencies.

    9.1 Open source Visit site
  4. 4

    iSpeech

    Free plan Open source AndroidAPIExtension+5

    iSpeech combines speech generation, transcription, APIs, SDKs, and downloadable audio formats.

    9.0 Free plan · paid from $2.95/mo Visit site
  5. 5

    eSpeak NG

    by eSpeak NG
    Free plan Open source AndroidAPIiPhone+4

    eSpeak NG combines broad language coverage, small data, adjustable voices, and several integration interfaces in a free GPL project.

    9.0 Free plan Visit site
  6. 6

    Whisper

    Free plan Open source APILinuxMac+2

    Whisper provides multilingual speech-processing capabilities as locally installable, MIT-licensed code and model weights.

    8.5 Open source Visit site
  7. 7

    Avidemux

    Free plan Open source LinuxMacWeb+1
    8.5 Free plan Visit site
  8. 8

    Google Cloud Text-to-Speech

    Free plan AndroidAPIiPhone+1

    Text-to-Speech offers a wide range of voices, formats, and synthesis controls through an API. Check the model-specific rates and free usage limits, and account for how input characters are counted.

    7.7 From $4 Visit site
  9. 9

    NVIDIA Magpie TTS

    Free plan APILinuxSelf-hosted+1

    Magpie TTS offers multilingual speech generation with cloning and API access, alongside a free program plan and a paid enterprise option.

    7.7 Free plan · paid from $4,500/yr · 90-day trial Visit site
  10. 10

    Tencent Cloud Text to Speech

    Free plan AndroidAPIiPhone+1
    7.6 Visit site
  11. 11

    Typecast

    by Typecast
    Free plan AndroidAPIiPhone+1

    Typecast offers both a voice-focused Studio and an API, with separate credit rules and plan limits. Check the usage terms for the plan you intend to use, especially if you need commercial API audio.

    7.6 Free plan · paid from $5/mo Visit site
  12. 12

    Fish Audio

    by Fish Audio
    Free plan APILinuxMac+3

    Fish Audio combines audio generation tools with voice cloning, transcription, and developer access.

    7.6 Free plan · paid from $15/mo Visit site
  13. 13

    NaturalReader

    by NaturalReader
    Free plan AndroidExtensioniPhone+3

    NaturalReader offers document-to-audio access across several platforms, with distinct personal, commercial, and education offerings.

    7.6 Free plan · paid from $13.90/user/mo Visit site
  14. 14

    Speechify

    by Speechify
    Free plan AndroidAPIExtension+4

    Speechify offers a free entry point and a monthly Premium plan with higher voice and playback-speed limits. Choose based on the listed languages, voices and speed you need.

    7.6 Free plan · paid from $29/mo Visit site
  15. 15

    Qwen3-TTS

    Free plan APILinuxSelf-hosted+1

    Qwen3-TTS offers local and API paths for speech generation, voice design, and cloning, with commercial use permitted under Apache-2.0.

    7.6 Open source Visit site
  16. 16

    VoxCPM

    by VoxCPM
    Free plan APILinuxMac+2

    VoxCPM combines multilingual speech generation with voice design, cloning, and multiple deployment routes. Its setup requirements and variable results are worth considering before adoption.

    7.6 Open source Visit site
  17. 17

    Resemble AI

    Free plan AndroidAPIExtension+6

    Choose Resemble AI if you need multimodal detection, meeting checks, or deployment options such as on-premises and private cloud.

    7.6 Free plan · paid from $350/mo Visit site
  18. 18

    Altered Studio

    by Altered Studio
    Free plan APIMacSelf-hosted+2

    Altered Studio combines voice transformation, production, and transcription tools, with a free plan and annual-billed paid plans.

    7.6 Free plan · paid from $30/mo (annual) · 7-day trial Visit site
  19. 19

    Azure AI Speech

    by Azure AI Speech
    Free plan APISelf-hostedWeb
    7.5 Free plan Visit site
  20. 20

    Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Speech

    Free plan APILinuxWeb

    OCI Speech provides transcription and speech synthesis with multiple access methods and useful transcription controls.

    7.5 Free plan Visit site
  21. 21

    Murf AI

    by Murf AI
    Free plan APIWebWindows

    Choose Murf AI if you need voice generation with cloning, commercial use, and audio export options.

    7.5 Free plan Visit site
  22. 22

    IndexTTS

    Free plan APILinuxSelf-hosted+2

    IndexTTS provides voice cloning, audio controls, and both browser and Python interfaces.

    7.5 Open source Visit site
  23. 23

    VOICEVOX

    Free plan APILinuxMac+2

    VOICEVOX offers adjustable speech, prototype singing, offline operation, and several integration routes without a listed price.

    7.5 Free plan Visit site
  24. 24

    TTSReader

    Free plan AndroidAPIExtension+4

    TTSReader offers a personal free tier, a monthly Premium allowance, and pay-as-you-go character options. Check the free-tier restrictions and credit expiry terms against your intended use.

    7.5 Free plan · paid from $10.99/user/mo Visit site
  25. 25

    VoiceStudio

    Free plan APILinuxMac+3

    VoiceStudio covers voice work from cloning and dubbing to transcription and audiobooks, with local storage and API options.

    7.5 Free plan Visit site

#1Places #1, #2, #3, #4, #5 on this list can be bought by the makers of the software on it. See the price

Compare free-plan terms, trial length, paid starting prices, commercial-use rights, voice cloning, API access, languages, maximum input, export formats, and supported platforms. If you need to read or change the code, check the open-source licence.

Questions

Do text-to-speech tools offer free plans?

Yes. Tools on this list offer free plans, while plan terms differ. Check included features, usage rules, and commercial-use rights before choosing.

Can I try a text-to-speech tool before paying?

A free trial is available from tools on this list. NVIDIA Magpie TTS lists a 90-day trial; check the current terms for any service you consider.

Which paid starting prices are listed?

Listed examples include Gemini Text-to-Speech from $0.25, Google Cloud Text-to-Speech from $4, OpenAI Text-to-Speech from $15, and NVIDIA Magpie TTS from $4,500 per year.

Do these tools provide API access?

API access is one of the comparison fields for this list. Check the individual tool's plan and documentation to confirm what access is available.

Can I run a text-to-speech tool on my own computer?

Platform options listed include Windows, Linux, macOS, web, API, and self-hosted deployment. Confirm the platform support for the tool you select.

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