What is Text-to-Speech?
Text-to-Speech (TTS) API, also known as Speech Synthesis, allows users to convert written text into spoken words. It takes in text input and converts it into audible speech output in various languages and accents.
This technology can be useful for a wide range of applications, including personal assistants, navigation systems, e-learning platforms, and accessibility tools for the visually impaired or those with reading difficulties.
Text-to-Speech APIs uses cases
You can use Text-to-Speech in numerous fields, here are some examples of common use cases:
- Entertainment: provide voice-overs for video games or movies, allowing characters to speak in different languages or accents.
- Accessibility: improve the accessibility of websites, mobile apps, and other digital platforms for people with disabilities.
- Customer Service: provide automated customer service over the phone or in chatbots, enabling companies to handle a large volume of customer inquiries quickly and efficiently.
- Navigation: provide turn-by-turn directions to drivers, cyclists, or pedestrians in GPS systems or navigation apps
- Healthcare: provide audible instructions or medication reminders for patients with visual or cognitive impairments.
- Language Learning: help students improve their pronunciation and listening comprehension.
- Personal Assistants: provide spoken responses to user requests like Siri and Alexa.
- Education: help students with reading difficulties, dyslexia, or visual impairments to access educational materials more easily on e-learning platforms
- Audio Books: create audiobooks that allow people to listen to books while on-the-go or while engaging in other activities.
Best Text-to-Speech APIs on the market
While comparing Text-to-Speech APIs, it is crucial to consider different aspects, among others, cost security and privacy. Text-to-Speech experts at Eden AI tested, compared, and used many TTS APIs of the market. Here are some actors that perform well (in alphabetical order):
- AWS (Amazon Web Service)
- Colossyan
- Descript
- Google Cloud
- IBM Waston
- Lovo
- Microsoft Azure
- Murf.ai
- Play.ht
- ReadSpeaker
- Resemble AI
- Speechify
1. AWS - Amazon Polly - Available on Eden AI
AWS offers a robust Text to Speech (TTS) API called Amazon Polly, which lets users customize speech output and create personalized voices using lexicons and SSML tags. Amazon Polly allows for speech to be stored and shared in standard formats such as MP3 and OGG, while providing realistic voices and fast response times for conversational experiences with users.
AWS’s TTS has the ability to generate speech in different languages, making it a highly versatile and useful tool for businesses and individuals with global communication requirements. Users can also adjust the speaking style, speech rate, pitch, and loudness of the generated speech, allowing for even greater customization and flexibility.
2. Colossyan
Colossyan's API provides an AI technology and human voice-powered solution that allows users to create natural-sounding voice-overs in more than 70 languages and accents. With Colossyan, users can choose from a variety of voice-over actors or even clone their own voice for an added personal touch.
Colossyan's voices are always being updated and added, providing a range of accents within the same language. Additionally, the API eliminates the need for microphones and sound equipment by providing crystal-clear generated audio.
3. Descript - Overdub
Descript's TTS API - Overdub - provides ultra-realistic voices by utilizing the Lyrebird AI, which achieves a state-of-the-art level in voice synthesis. In fact, Overdub stands out for its ability to mimic the nuances and intonations of human speech, allowing it to blend in seamlessly with natural audio recordings while matching the tonal characteristics on both sides. Multiple voices can be created to fit any performance style or setting. The API even makes correcting recordings as simple as typing.
4. Google Cloud - Available on Eden AI
Google Cloud provides a powerful TTS API that is built on the foundation of DeepMind's speech synthesis expertise, generating speech that is near-human quality with natural intonation. With a vast selection of 380+ voices across 50+ languages and variants, users can choose the best voice that suits their needs. Furthermore, Google Cloud's API allows users to create a unique voice that can represent their brand across all customer touchpoints. The API offers Neural2 and Studio voices features, allowing internationalization and professional narration with contents recorded in a studio-quality environment. Users can train custom voice models, adjust pitch, speaking rate, and use SSML tags for speech customization.
5. IBM Waston - Available on Eden AI
IBM Waston's service is capable of providing real-time speech synthesis in multiple languages using advanced AI and Machine Learning technologies, enabling users to interact with customers in their native tongue. Additionally, IBM offers users the option to create a unique and branded voice through its Premium service, which can enhance a brand's identity and improve customer engagement.
IBM Watson's technology is now available as a containerized software library designed for IBM partners, making it easier to integrate best-in-class AI speech technology into new or existing applications.
6. Lovo - Geny - Available on Eden AI
Lovo offers a high-quality AI voice generator called Genny. One of its most impressive features is Emotional Voices, which can express up to 25 emotions, adding depth and realism to any content, making it more engaging and memorable. The platform also provides a one-stop-shop for video dubbing, allowing users to easily add sound effects and background music to their videos. For professional producers, Genny offers granular control with the ability to finetune pitch at every phoneme level, add emphasis to words, and adjust pauses in between words or sentences. Lovo’s AI voices also provide superior realness and quality, with the world's largest library of voices (over 400+ voices with various styles available, in 100 languages).
7. Microsoft Azure - Available on Eden AI
Microsoft Azure provides a powerful Text to Speech API that enables users to create lifelike synthesized speech with intonation and emotion that matches human voices. With a customizable text-talker voices feature, users can create a unique AI voice generator that reflects their brand's identity. Additionally, fine-grained text-to-talk audio controls make it easy to tune voice output for specific scenarios by adjusting rate, pitch, pronunciation, pauses, and more. Azure also offers flexible deployment options, allowing users to run TTS in the cloud, on-premises, or at the edge in containers. Finally, Azure's API has the ability to tailor speech output with lexicons and Speech Synthesis Markup Language (SSML), as well as the option to build custom voices with the Custom Neural Voice capability.
8. Murf.ai
Murf.ai offers realistic AI voices, providing professional voice-over for videos and presentations. Their selection of 100% human-like AI voices in 20 languages is quality checked across dozens of parameters to avoid robotic-sounding voices. Users have the option to choose from multiple accents and can customize their voiceovers using features such as pitch, pauses, and pronunciation to make them sound the way they want.
9. Play.ht
Play.ht offers an online Text-to-Speech API that converts text into natural-sounding speech with support for 142 languages and accents worldwide. With this technology, users can easily download files in MP3 or WAV format. The platform is easy-to-use, as the entire process requires no technical knowledge. Additionally, Play.ht offers a wide range of AI voices to choose from, ensuring that the generated speech fits users' specific needs.
10. ReadSpeaker
ReadSpeaker is known as a leading provider in TTS. With over 20 years of experience in voice technology, ReadSpeaker offers a wide selection of languages and voices to generate speech in various accents. The company uses industry-leading technology that incorporates next-generation Deep Neural Network (DNN) technology to produce some of the most natural-sounding synthesized voices on the market.
11. Resemble AI
Resemble AI provides a cutting-edge API that enables users to create human-like voice-overs in just a matter of seconds. Their extensive library of AI voices set them appart from other APIs on the market, with over 200 000 AI voices. With Resemble AI's TTS, users can add an infinite amount of emotions to their voices without any new data required. They can also transform their voice into the target voice with real-time, realistic speech-to-speech technology that offers granular control over every inflection and intonation. Resemble AI's solution also makes it possible to convert your voice into any language without providing any data, allowing you to reach a global audience with ease. Additionally, the technology enables users to blend human and synthetic voices for a seamless experience.
12. Speechify
Speechify reads various content types like web pages, documents, PDFs, and emails. Users can simply drag and drop or take photos of pages to convert text to speech. The API has the ability to change the language and accent of the voiceover, as well as to adjust the reading speed, making it an excellent choice for individuals who require specific accents or who prefer to listen to content at a specific speed. Currently, Speechify provides TTS voices in over 30 different languages, with a wide range of accents available. Furthermore, the platform offers a browser extension that enables users to read aloud any web page.
Performance variations of Text-to-Speech APIs
For all companies who use Text-to-Speech in their software: cost and performance are real concerns. The TTS market is quite dense and all those providers have their benefits and weaknesses.
Performance variations across languages
Text-to-Speech APIs can perform differently depending on the language being used. Some providers specialize in specific languages and dialects, while others have a broader range of language options. Different specificities exist:
- Accent speciality: Some TTS providers offer speech synthesis that is optimized for specific accents and dialects. For instance, some providers have developed their TTS technology to accurately synthesize English speech from various regions, such as the US, UK, Canada, Australia, India, etc. Similarly, some TTS providers have developed their speech technology in Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Arabic, etc.
- Rare language speciality: Some TTS providers offer speech synthesis for rare languages and dialects that are not commonly found in other TTS APIs. For example, you can find providers that allow you to synthesize speech in languages like Gujarati, Marathi, Burmese, Pashto, Zulu, Swahili, etc.
Performance variations according to data quality
TTS APIs' accuracy can vary based on the quality of the input data, such as punctuation, capitalization, and formatting, can impact performance.
Performance variations according to fields
Some TTS APIs are trained with domain-specific data, such as medical or automotive fields, which means that they perform better for specific applications in those fields. If you have customers coming from different fields, you must consider this detail and optimize your choice.
Why choose Eden AI to manage your Text-to-Speech APIs
Companies and developers from a wide range of industries (Social Media, Retail, Health, Finances, Law, etc.) use Eden AI’s unique API to easily integrate TTS tasks in their cloud-based applications, without having to build their own solutions.
Eden AI offers multiple AI APIs on its platform amongst several technologies: Data Parsing, Language Detection, Sentiment Analysis, Logo Detection, Question Answering, Data Anonymization, Speech Recognition, and so forth.
We want our users to have access to multiple Text-to-Speech engines and manage them in one place so they can reach high performance, optimize cost and cover all their needs. There are many reasons for using multiple APIs:
- Fallback provider is the ABCs: You need to set up a provider API that is requested if and only if the main TTS API does not perform well (or is down). You can use confidence score returned or other methods to check provider accuracy.
- Performance optimization: After the testing phase, you will be able to build a mapping of providers’ performance based on the criteria you have chosen (languages, fields, etc.). Each data that you need to process will then be sent to the best TTS API.
- Cost - Performance ratio optimization: You can choose the cheapest Text-to-Speech that performs well for your data.
- Combine multiple AI APIs: This approach is required if you look for extremely high accuracy. The combination leads to higher costs but allows your AI service to be safe and accurate because TTS APIs will validate and invalidate each other for each piece of data.
How Eden AI can help you?
Eden AI is the future of AI usage in companies: our app allows you to call multiple AI APIs.
- Centralized and fully monitored billing on Eden AI for all Text-to-Speech APIs
- Unified API for all providers: simple and standard to use, quick switch between providers, access to the specific features of each provider
- Standardized response format: the JSON output format is the same for all suppliers thanks to Eden AI's standardization work. The response elements are also standardized thanks to Eden AI's powerful matching algorithms.
- The best Artificial Intelligence APIs in the market are available: big cloud providers (Google, AWS, Microsoft, and more specialized engines)
- Data protection: Eden AI will not store or use any data. Possibility to filter to use only GDPR engines.
You can see Eden AI documentation here.
Next step in your project
The Eden AI team can help you with your Text-to-Speech integration project. This can be done by :
- Organizing a product demo and a discussion to better understand your needs. You can book a time slot on this link: Contact
- By testing the public version of Eden AI for free: however, not all providers are available on this version. Some are only available on the Enterprise version.
- By benefiting from the support and advice of a team of experts to find the optimal combination of providers according to the specifics of your needs
- Having the possibility to integrate on a third-party platform: we can quickly develop connectors.
Top comments (1)
Great list. I added Google text to speech to this open source connector library: github.com/Barqawiz/IntelliNode
If you have spare time to contribute to open source, we can add all the mentioned engines from your articles.
IntelliNode is designed to enable developers to switch between different models with minimum code changes.