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Reviewed · Updated 2026-10-04

Amazon Polly

Amazon Polly is AWS's text-to-speech API for developers, with 100+ voices in 40+ languages, billed per character from $4 per million.

Reviewed by the Conversion Gems editorial team ·
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Pricing
Freemium
Best for
Text-to-speech inside apps
Category
AI Audio & Voice

Amazon Polly is AWS's text-to-speech service for developers, with more than 100 voices in over 40 languages across four voice engines. It charges per character, from $4 per million on Standard voices to $100 on Long-Form, and the free tier includes 5 million Standard characters a month.

The bottom line

Cheap, clear-priced text-to-speech for developers, best for teams already on AWS.

7.5
Our score
7.5 / 10
Conversion Gems editorial verdict
Free tier; then $4 per 1M characters (Standard)
Features8/10
8 - four voice engines, 100+ voices in 40+ languages, SSML, custom lexicons and Speech Marks, per the AWS Polly page.
Value8/10
8 - $4 to $100 per million characters with a 5 million character monthly Standard free tier.
Ease of use5/10
5 - needs an AWS account and API or console work; no editor for non-developers.
Ecosystem9/10
9 - part of AWS, with SDKs and use alongside services such as Lex; partners such as Twilio offer Polly voices.
Support7/10
7 - detailed AWS documentation and the AWS re:Post community; paid AWS support plans not checked for this review.
What it really is

AWS's pay-per-character text-to-speech API with four voice engines.

Our take

Polly is the sensible default if you need speech inside software and already use AWS. Pricing is transparent and low at the Standard and Neural tiers, and the free tier covers a lot of testing. Where people get surprised is the spread: Long-Form voices are 25 times the Standard price, and the newer free allowances last 12 months. If you need a voiceover editor or voice cloning, look at dedicated voice apps instead.

Why we rate it

Transparent pay-per-use pricing, a large voice and language range, and full SSML control.

The catch

It is an API, not an editor, and Long-Form voices cost 25 times the Standard rate.

Best for
Developers building speech into apps
IVR and contact center prompts
High-volume read-aloud features
Not good for
Non-technical creators wanting an editor
Voice cloning projects
Teams avoiding AWS accounts
Friction report
Time to value
Short for developers: try voices in the AWS console, then call the API.
Scale breakpoint
Cost grows linearly with characters; engine choice changes the rate up to 25 times.
Walled garden
Low: you own the audio files it produces.

Amazon Polly pricing by voice engine

Voice enginePrice per 1M charactersFree tier
Standard$4.005M characters/month
Neural$16.001M characters/month, first 12 months
Generative$30.00100K characters/month, first 12 months
Long-Form$100.00500K characters/month, first 12 months

From Amazon Polly's pricing page, checked 4 October 2026. AWS also gives new customers since 15 July 2025 up to $200 in Free Tier credits usable on Polly.

Frequently Asked Questions

Amazon Polly alternatives

Other text-to-speech tools in our directory:

ElevenLabs: Expressive AI voices with voice cloning and tools for creators.
Murf.ai: Voiceover studio with an editor for videos, ads and presentations.
Play.ht: AI voice generator with a large voice library and an API.
WellSaid Labs: Studio-quality AI voices aimed at corporate training and marketing.
Sources checked October 4, 2026: Amazon Polly pricing, Amazon Polly overview.
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Tags

#TextToSpeech#AWS#VoiceAPI

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