Tired of guessing which text-to-speech model gives you the most minutes for your money? The market has exploded with options, but pricing pages rarely make side-by-side comparisons easy. I converted each provider’s billing into a per-minute cost (assuming ~750 characters per minute of spoken dialogue) so you can budget your next voiceover without getting lost in token math.
How to read this guide
- Per-minute estimates normalize character-based pricing into audio runtime. Your mileage varies if you generate speeches with unusual pacing, but the ranking still reflects relative cost.
- All services support real-time API access via fal.ai or the vendor’s own platform.
- Last updated: September 2025.
Cheapest to most expensive (per minute)
| Rank | Model | Estimated cost / min | Original pricing | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | fal-ai/chatterbox/text-to-speech / multilingual | ≈ $0.019 | $0.025 per 1,000 chars | Best price-to-quality ratio, multilingual variant shares the same billing. |
| 2 | fal-ai/dia-tts | ≈ $0.03 | $0.04 per 1,000 chars | Smooth prosody, great fallback when Chatterbox doesn’t match your voice tone. |
| 3 | resemble-ai/chatterboxhd/text-to-speech | ≈ $0.03 | $0.04 per 1,000 chars | Resemble’s take on Chatterbox worth A/B testing for timbre differences. |
| 4 | fal-ai/playai/tts/v3 | $0.03 | $0.03 per minute | Flat per-minute billing. Zero token math, ideal for predictable budgets. |
| 5 | fal-ai/vibevoice/7b | $0.04 | $0.04 per minute | Larger model with expressive intonation, still wallet-friendly. |
| 6 | fal-ai/elevenlabs/tts/turbo-v2.5 | ≈ $0.04 | $0.05 per 1,000 chars | ElevenLabs quality without the direct subscription. Great when emotion matters. |
| 7 | fal-ai/orpheus-tts | ≈ $0.04 | $0.05 per 1,000 chars | Premium voice bank with strong multilingual support. |
| 8 | fal-ai/minimax/speech-02-turbo | ≈ $0.045 | $0.06 per 1,000 chars | Highest price on the list, but stellar clarity for commercial-grade narrations. |
Picking the right voice for your budget
- Ultra-budget productions: Start with the Chatterbox duo (#1). Sub-two-cent minutes are perfect for YouTube shorts, TikToks, or automated IVR messages.
- Balanced quality:
dia-tts,chatterboxhd, andplayaicluster around three cents. Try each for timbre variety and keep the one that fits your brand. - Premium polish:
ElevenLabs Turbo,Orpheus, andMinimaxdeliver the most lifelike inflection. Use them for paid ads, product walkthroughs, or podcast intros where nuance matters.
Quick conversion formula (if pricing changes)
# Rough estimate based on 750 characters ~ 1 minute of audio
cost_per_min = (price_per_1000_chars / 1000) * 750Recalculate whenever a vendor tweaks their rates or you switch to longer scripts. Adjust the 750 constant if you consistently generate faster or slower speech.
Final thoughts
High-quality voiceovers no longer require studio bookings or $100 voice actors. With TTS pricing dropping below five cents per minute, the real challenge is picking the timbre that resonates with your audience. Bookmark this guide, experiment with multiple models via fal.ai, and keep an eye on newcomers this space evolves fast.