Comparison
Compare text-to-speech APIs: PyAI Speak vs ElevenLabs and Cartesia
PyAI Speak returns first audio in ~53 ms warm in-region, the same sub-100ms class as ElevenLabs Flash and Cartesia, at a predictable per-minute rate. We do not claim a naturalness crown or a clean latency win over Cartesia.
Straight talk on price: Speak is billed per minute of audio ($0.04/min), not per character. Per-character providers can undercut on bulk narration. Speak is tuned for realtime agents: low time-to-first-byte, free cloning, and a bill you can forecast.
Time-to-first-audio-byte, the sub-100ms class
Lower is better. PyAI in teal. Not a ranking, figures are measured under different conditions.
PyAI Speak is an in-region, warm-path, first-audio-byte measurement; ElevenLabs, Cartesia, and PlayHT figures are vendor self-claims (model-only or network-included) under their own conditions, as of June 2026. No neutral third-party benchmark exists, same fast class, verify in-region. On voice naturalness, ElevenLabs and Cartesia lead; we compete on latency-per-dollar and predictable billing.
Hear Speak - tap a voice (no signup)
| Provider / model | Latency (TTFB) | Voice cloning | Billing | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PyAI SpeakPyAI | ~53 ms warm / ~98 ms cold (in-region TTFB) | Free | Per minute of audio ($0.04/min) | PyAI measured |
| ElevenLabs (Flash v2.5) | ~75 ms model-only (~135 ms e2e, claimed) | Paid | Per character | elevenlabs.io |
| Cartesia (Sonic) | 82-100 ms (claimed, network incl.) | Yes | Per character / credits | cartesia.ai |
| PlayHT (Play 3.0) | 143 ms mean (third-party) | Yes | Per character | play.ht / third-party |
| OpenAI (gpt-4o-mini-tts) | Low | No | Per token | openai.com/pricing |
| Deepgram (Aura-2) | Low | No | Per character / min | deepgram.com |
Latency figures marked “claimed” are vendors’ own published numbers and vary by region, text, and config - as of June 2026; verify before relying. Cloning availability and billing model are from public docs.
Why teams pick Speak
- First audio byte in ~53 ms warm (in-region); a cloned voice in ~32 ms
- Voice cloning + prompt-to-voice design - free
- Per-minute billing - predictable for telephony, no credit math
- OpenAI-compatible /v1/audio/speech
- One stack with Hear (STT) and Omni (agents)
Hear it in your own voice.
Start free with $50 in free credits - clone a voice for free and stream it from the first byte.