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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.

Our take: Polly is the sensible default if you need speech inside software and already use AWS.

Best forText-to-speech inside apps
ReviewedPricing: Freemium
7.5 out of 105 criteria · see breakdown
Try AmazonFree tier; then $4 per 1M characters (Standard)

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.

Our score

Reviewed by the Conversion Gems editorial team. Hover a facet to focus it; click to pin.Tap a facet to focus it.

Community ratings

Shown for context only. Our score is independent.

Capterra
3.9 out of 5
10+ reviews

3.9 / 5 aggregate · across 1 source

Third-party ratings shown verbatim; aggregate weighted by review volume.

What it is, and why we rate it

One line each. Open a row for detail.

What it really isAWS's pay-per-character text-to-speech API with four voice engines.
Our takePolly 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 itTransparent pay-per-use pricing, a large voice and language range, and full SSML control.
The catchIt is an API, not an editor, and Long-Form voices cost 25 times the Standard rate.

Best / not good for

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
Trade-offs

Friction report

Trade-offs to know before signing up.

  1. Time to value
    Short for developers: try voices in the AWS console, then call the API.
  2. Scale breakpoint
    Cost grows linearly with characters; engine choice changes the rate up to 25 times.
  3. Walled garden
    Low: you own the audio files it produces.
Still a fit?
If none of these block you, start on the free plan.
Try Amazon

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

How much does Amazon Polly cost?

Amazon Polly charges per character: $4.00 per million for Standard voices, $16.00 for Neural, $30 for Generative and $100.00 for Long-Form (checked 4 October 2026).

Is Amazon Polly free?

Partly. The pricing page lists a free tier of 5 million Standard characters a month, plus 1 million Neural, 500,000 Long-Form and 100,000 Generative characters a month for the first 12 months. AWS also says new customers since 15 July 2025 get up to $200 in Free Tier credits usable on Polly (checked 4 October 2026).

What is Amazon Polly used for?

Developers use Polly to add speech to apps: reading articles aloud, phone system prompts, e-learning narration, accessibility features and voice responses in chatbots.

What is the difference between Amazon Lex and Polly?

Polly converts text into speech. Lex is a separate AWS service for building chatbots that understand what users say or type. A voice bot can use Lex to understand the user and Polly to answer out loud.

What is the difference between Amazon Polly and Amazon Transcribe?

They work in opposite directions. Polly turns text into speech; Transcribe turns speech into text.

How many voices and languages does Amazon Polly have?

AWS says Polly offers more than 100 male and female voices in over 40 languages and language variants, spread across its Standard, Neural, Long-Form and Generative engines.

Amazon Polly alternatives

Other text-to-speech tools in our directory:

Showing 1–3 of 4
Sources checked October 4, 2026: Amazon Polly pricing, Amazon Polly overview.

Conversion Gems independently reviews every tool.

Tags

#TextToSpeech#AWS#VoiceAPI

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