Decision tools · AI Voice
What will your voice project really cost?
Compare synthesis charges, corrections and review time. Then check the rights your distribution needs.
Prices checked 15 October 2026 · USD planning estimate
TTS workflow cost calculator
USD estimate for character-billed APIs. No universal conversion from characters to minutes. Token-based models and studio subscriptions are outside this comparison.
Synthesis and workflow estimates exclude tax and FX. Speech Marks, storage, network transfer and support are not added automatically. No voice quality ranking is implied. Nothing is sent to a provider.
Compare gross synthesis charges for the same submitted input
No allowances or labour in this table. Models differ in capabilities and availability; equal price does not mean equivalent output.
| Model | USD / 1M characters | Your synthesis estimate | Source |
|---|
Methodology and citation
Data version: 2026-10-15-v2. Vendor prices and statements are separated from BenPicks calculations. These are not hands-on sound-quality tests.
- Submitted characters = new characters × (1 + additional generation ÷ 100), rounded upward to a whole character for this estimate; providers may apply their own request-level billing rules.
- Billable characters = max(0, submitted − confirmed remaining allowance).
- Synthesis = billable characters × model rate ÷ 1,000,000.
- Workflow estimate = synthesis + hours × hourly cost + other costs.
- Cost per accepted minute = workflow estimate ÷ accepted minutes, only when greater than zero.
Defaults are illustrative planning assumptions. They reuse the worked example in our AI voice cost guide. Character accounting differs by vendor; include provider-billed markup and spaces as applicable. Here, submitted means the pre-allowance input workload called billable input in the cost guide; billable in this calculator means after the entered allowance. Reusing a cached file is not another synthesis request.
Commercial-rights entries are narrow summaries of linked vendor sources. Client transfer, broadcasting, voice consent and post-cancellation use are separate questions. An unknown is never treated as permission.
Download rate data · Download structured data · Polly vs Google TTS · Commercial-use guide
Copy a scenario link to share the same inputs. The inputs stay in the URL fragment; the calculator does not send them to a vendor.