Top Speechify Alternatives in 2024

Selecting the best text-to-speech (TTS) service requires careful consideration. Numerous providers offer a range of advanced features, making it essential to compare them effectively.

While Speechify is a popular choice, several other TTS services also offer robust capabilities. This comparison evaluates leading Speechify alternatives, focusing on their quality, clarity, and ability to convey emotions.

Overview of Speechify and Alternatives

Feature	Speechify	ElevenLabs	Play_HT	Microsoft	Google	Amazon Polly	Open AI
Number of Voices	130	1200+	600+	400+	220+	60	6
Number of Languages	30	29	140+	140+	40+	29	57
API Availability	✔️	✔️	✔️	✔️	✔️	✔️	✔️
Voice Cloning	✔️	✔️	✔️	✔️	✖️	✖️	✖️
AI Dubbing	✔️	✔️	✖️	✖️	✖️	✖️	✖️
Free Trial	✔️	✔️	✔️	✔️	✔️	✔️	✖️

Comparison Methodology

We used a straightforward yet effective approach to compare the leading TTS services. Participants were provided with three individual audio samples from all of the TTS services listed and asked to rate each one on a scale of 0 to 100.

The criteria for rating included the clarity of the voice, its human likeness, and the ability to convey emotions. This method aims to provide an unbiased and comprehensive comparison of the top Speechify alternatives.

Please find the audio recordings of the Speechify and ElevenLabs TTS clips below.

Rating System Overview

For each audio sample, participants were asked the following: 

• Take a moment to listen to the AI-generated text-to-speech audio clip. Is the voice clear? Does it sound like a real person? Does it express emotions well?
• Rate the clip between 0 (poor) and 100 (excellent). 0 means the voice isn't clear, sounds fake, and doesn't show much emotion. 100 means the voice is super clear, sounds just like a real person, and is full of feeling.

Quality Comparison – Speechify Alternatives

The chart below shows how many times each TTS Provider scored higher than all the others in the survey.

Features Comparison – Speechify Vs ElevenLabs

Language Support and Customization

• ElevenLabs: Offers voice generation in 29 languages, with capabilities for emotionally rich speech generation in multiple languages. It also allows for voice cloning and creating new voices using its VoiceLab tool​​.
• Speechify: Provides over 130 voices in more than 30 languages and dialects, with options for different accents in English and languages from various countries. However, it lacks the ability to manipulate emotional ranges of speech​​​​.

User Experience and Integration

• ElevenLabs: Designed to produce contextually aware speech, it is used across various sectors like podcasts, narration, and audiobooks. The API allows for integration with other apps and products and is well documented and supported.
• Speechify: Accessible through web browsers, mobile apps, and a Chrome extension, making it versatile for different devices and platforms. It offers features like text highlighting and the ability to save and share audio files​​​​. An API is available to integrate TTS into other apps and products.

Ease of Use

• ElevenLabs has a simple and intuitive interface, making it easy for users to navigate through its features through a menu bar. One of ElevenLabs' standout aspects is its simplicity in speech synthesis and voice cloning. Users can effortlessly clone voices from audio snippets or create new synthetic voices using the VoiceLab tool. The Projects Tool is another highlight, offering straightforward functionalities for creating long-form spoken content. ElevenLabs also offers AI dubbing of videos. Integration into existing workflows is seamless, thanks to a well-documented and user-friendly API. Whether you're a seasoned tech professional or a newcomer to TTS technology, ElevenLabs ensures a hassle-free experience.
• Speechify excels in terms of accessibility and ease of use. The service is available across multiple platforms, including web browsers, mobile apps, and as a Chrome extension, catering to a wide range of users. Its interface is straightforward, allowing users to convert text to speech without any technical complications. Features like text highlighting and the ability to save and share audio files add to its user-friendly nature. Speechify is particularly beneficial for individuals who prefer listening over reading, such as those with visual impairments or learning differences. The ease of integrating Speechify's TTS into other apps and products, coupled with its straightforward API, makes it an accessible choice for both personal and professional use.

Pricing and Licensing (at the time of writing - November 2023)

• ElevenLabs
  • Free Plan: Ideal for hobbyists, offering 10,000 characters per month, the creation of up to 3 custom voices, access to shared voices, and basic speech synthesis in 29 languages. Requires attribution to ElevenLabs.
  • Starter Plan ($5/month with discounts for the first month): Includes everything in the Free plan, plus 30,000 characters per month, up to 10 custom voices, and a commercial license.
  • Creator Plan ($22/month with discounts for the first month): Expands on the Starter plan with 100,000 characters per month, up to 30 custom voices, Professional Voice Cloning, and higher quality audio outputs.
  • Independent Publisher Plan ($99/month): Aimed at authors and publishers with 500,000 characters per month, up to 160 custom voices, and an analytics dashboard.
  • Growing Business Plan ($330/month): Designed for larger publishers and companies, offering 2,000,000 characters per month and up to 660 custom voices.
  • Enterprise Plan: Customizable plan for businesses with specific needs, including custom quotas, high-quality speech, and dedicated support.
• Speechify
  • Speechify Limited (Free): Offers basic TTS functionalities with standard voices and speeds up to 1x.
  • Speechify Premium ($139/year): Provides access to 30+ high-quality voices, 20+ languages, faster listening speeds, and advanced features.
  • Speechify Studio: Offers bundled AI studio products with different tiers:
    • Basic Plan ($288/year per user): Includes 50 hours of voice generation and various other features like licensed soundtracks and commercial usage rights.
    • Professional Plan ($385/year per user): Offers 100 hours of voice generation, voice cloning, AI Avatar Video, and more comprehensive features.
    • Enterprise Plan: Customizable for large-scale business needs with extensive voice generation and translation hours, advanced collaboration features, and dedicated support.
  • Speechify Audiobooks ($9.99/month): Provides access to a vast collection of actor-narrated audiobooks with an annual billing option.

Why Choose ElevenLabs?

In our survey, the average quality score of ElevenLabs was 12% higher than Speechify across all clips.

From these results, we can conclude that the ElevenLabs voice used for this survey is considerably more lifelike than Speechify, as well as the five other TTS services included.

What Is Speechify?

Speechify is a text-to-speech (TTS) application designed for people who have difficulty reading or those who prefer listening to written content. It uses AI to convert written content into spoken words in real-time. It is aimed at a diverse audience, including people with visual impairments and those who enjoy listening to content on the go​​.

Key capabilities of Speechify include:

• Versatile Content Reading: Speechify can read a wide range of content, such as books, articles, and documents. It works on various devices, such as desktop computers, smartphones, and tablets. There is a web app, mobile app, and a Chrome extension​​​​.
• Voice and Language Options: Speechify has more than 130 high-quality voices that closely resemble human speech. 30 languages and dialects are available, including Spanish, Japanese, and Chinese. Users can choose from several male and female voices. It also provides several different accents in English, including American, British, or Australian, and languages from various countries​​​​.
• Extra Features: Speechify allows users to adjust the reading speed, volume, and offers features such as text highlighting. Users can also save and share audio files. However, unlike some other TTS applications, Speechify is unable to change the emotional range of the speech, such as changing pitch, tone, pronunciation, and timbre. It is also incapable of producing dialogue with multiple voice actors​​.
• Advanced Features: The tool includes OCR scanning, voice customization, and instant translation, making it versatile and useful for a variety of applications​​.

In summary, Speechify stands out for its wide range of voices and language options, ease of use, and its ability to convert almost any text document into AI generated audio. While it is very good at reading written content, it has limited options for creatives looking to produce original content with varied emotional speech and multiple voice actors.

What Is ElevenLabs?

ElevenLabs is known for its AI-assisted text-to-speech software. The software stands out for its ability to produce lifelike speech with a wide range of vocal emotion and intonation. 

Advanced algorithms analyze text contextually to detect emotions like anger, sadness, happiness, or alarm. The speech is then rendered with more realistic and human-like intonation.

Key capabilities of ElevenLabs include:

• Voice and Language Options: ElevenLabs offers 120 lifelike voices and recently expanded its voice generation capabilities to 29 languages, allowing for emotionally rich multilingual speech generation.
• Voice Cloning and Creation: ElevenLabs offers a VoiceLab feature that allows users to clone voices from short audio snippets and create entirely new synthetic voices. The Voice Library feature provides unique voice profiles created using their Voice Design technology, enabling users to select a voice that best suits their needs without creating one from scratch.
• AI Speech Classifier: This tool is designed to determine if an uploaded audio sample originates from ElevenLabs' proprietary AI technology. It aims to collaborate with other AI developers in creating a universal detection system.
• Projects Tool: Used for creating long-form spoken content like audiobooks and dialogue segments with contextually-aware synthetic or custom voices. 
• AI Dubbing Feature: ElevenLabs offers an AI Dubbing feature, enhancing the platform's versatility.
• Diverse Applications: ElevenLabs' software has been employed across various sectors, including for podcasts, narration, comedy shows, audiobooks, newsletters, and dubbing videos in different languages. The platform can accurately replicate almost any accent in any language, making it a versatile tool for content creators, publishers, and authors.
• Guidelines and Safeguards: ElevenLabs enforces strict guidelines to prevent the misuse of its technology, such as voice cloning for fraudulent or abusive purposes. The company has implemented measures to suspend accounts and content that violate these guidelines and has committed to cooperating with authorities to report illegal activities.

In summary, ElevenLabs provides advanced text-to-speech capabilities with a focus on emotional richness and realistic intonation in speech synthesis. Its voice cloning tools, diverse language support, and robust guidelines for ethical use make it a powerful tool in various content creation and narration applications

Other Speechify Alternative TTS Services

• Play.ht provides AI-driven voice synthesis for creating lifelike voiceovers for various applications. It offers a wide range of voices and languages, along with customization options to suit different needs, from marketing to e-learning.
• Microsoft TTS services are part of its Azure Cognitive Services, offering highly customizable voice models. It's known for its seamless integration with other Microsoft products and services, making it a go-to for businesses already in the Microsoft ecosystem.
• Google TTS technology is widely recognized for its natural-sounding voices and extensive language support. It's integrated into various Google products and is widely used in applications like Google Assistant and Google Translate.
• Amazon Polly is a cloud service that turns text into lifelike speech. It is known for its deep learning technology that delivers natural-sounding voices. Polly is often used for developing applications that need spoken output, such as newsreaders and gaming.
• OpenAI Text-to-Speech offers advanced TTS models known for their ability to generate human-like speech. While details about specific OpenAI TTS services might vary, they generally focus on creating natural, expressive voice outputs, often used in AI applications and research.

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