For most creators, ElevenLabs is the first pick: free to test, with commercial use and voice cloning from $6 a month. Fish Audio fits voiceovers on a free 8,000-credit tier. Developers who need a TTS endpoint should start with Typecast API. All 8 picks have a free tier, and paid plans start between $4.99 and $19 a month.
The main differences are how usage is metered and what the free tier lets you publish. Most tools count credits or characters per month, so long narration costs more. Free tiers often restrict commercial use: Typecast API requires attribution on free audio, ToneCraft adds a spoken outro, and Fish Audio's commercial terms are inconsistent on its pricing page. Voice cloning is included by ElevenLabs, Fish Audio, Vocallab AI and CastReader, but not by ToneCraft.
Free tier available 8
Eight text to speech tools grouped by the job they fit best
Our picks, compared
Prices as published by each vendor; checked dates are on each tool page.
#
Tool
Score
Pick it for
Starting price
Free tier
Watch out for
1
ElevenLabs Free plan to test voices, Starter at $6 a month for commercial use and instant cloning, Creator at $22 for a Professional Voice Clone.
9/10+3 Verified USD price; +2 Lasting free plan; +1 API or integrations documented; +2 Documented limits, setup and FAQ; +1 Checked in the last 30 days
Free also caps AI explains at 3 a day, and cloned-voice playback is 120 minutes a month even on Pro.
How to choose ai text to speech tools
If you publish monetized videos, buy a plan that states commercial rights. ElevenLabs Starter ($6 a month) includes a commercial license. Pick ElevenLabs
If you need to clone your own voice cheaply, compare cloning slots and minutes. Pick Vocallab AI from $9 a month with a commercial license
If you add speech to an app, choose a tool with an API plan and streaming. Pick Typecast API
If you dub or translate content into other languages, choose a localization tool. Pick CAMB.AI from $5 a month
If you mainly want articles, PDFs or Kindle books read aloud to you, pick CastReader, free for 20 minutes a day
If you need emotion and pause control in long voiceovers, pick FlowSpeech, which has a free tier usable without signing in
Six questions that point to the right text to speech tool
For creators who need commercial rights, our pick is ElevenLabs. Fish Audio suits voiceovers and voice apps, and Typecast API suits developers adding voice to apps.
What is the best free text to speech AI?
All eight picks list a free plan in our data, including ElevenLabs, Fish Audio and FlowSpeech. Paid plans start at $6/month for ElevenLabs Starter.
Which AI text to speech tools can clone a voice?
ElevenLabs, Fish Audio, Typecast API, FlowSpeech and Vocallab AI all list voice cloning. Vocallab AI is our pick for cloned voices for YouTube and TikTok.
How do you use AI text to speech?
Paste or type your text into a web studio, pick a voice and generate audio. FlowSpeech and ToneCraft work in the browser, while Typecast API and Fish Audio also offer an API for apps.
Which text to speech tool is best for audiobooks?
ToneCraft includes audiobook generation and multi-voice editing, from $7/month (Creator). To listen to books and PDFs yourself, CastReader reads web pages, PDFs and Kindle books aloud.
Is there a text to speech API for developers?
Yes. Typecast API offers 600+ voices, emotion control and low-latency streaming from $15/month (Lite), and Fish Audio and ElevenLabs are also available via API.
How we pick: tools that do this job, ranked by verified pricing, documentation depth and fit. No paid placements. How we review.
How this list is ranked
Each pick is scored 0–10 from facts in its verified profile, not from popularity or payment. The score is shown in the table; hover it for the breakdown.
+3 starting price confirmed on the vendor's US pricing page (+1 if only reported by reviews, −2 if no price is published)
+2 a lasting free plan, not a trial
+1 API or integrations documented
up to +2 plan limits, setup steps and FAQ documented
+1 checked in the last 30 days
−2 still marked "needs verification"
We have not benchmarked output quality; this ranks what each vendor publishes and how well we could verify it. No paid placements. How we review.