Amazon Polly vs Google Cloud Text-to-Speech
Default scenario: At 10M characters / month, estimated bills are $1,920/yr for Amazon Polly and $3,240/yr for Google Cloud Text-to-Speech. That’s a $1,320 difference before accounting for different features or operating costs.
The services may differ in features, performance, support and the work you need to do yourself. Read the notes and test what matters to your setup.
Your selected usage
10M characters / month
- Amazon Polly: $1,920/yr estimated
- Google Cloud Text-to-Speech: $3,240/yr estimated
Estimated costs at different usage levels
| Usage | Amazon Polly | Google Cloud Text-to-Speech |
|---|---|---|
| Default scenario10M characters / month | $1,920/yr$16 per M chars | $3,240/yr$30 per M chars |
| App voice prompts1M characters / month | $192/yr$16 per M chars | $0/yr$30 per M chars |
| Audiobooks / video50M characters / month | $9,600/yr$16 per M chars | $17,640/yr$30 per M chars |
| Voice agent at scale300M characters / month | $57,600/yr$16 per M chars | $107,640/yr$30 per M chars |
Standard voices and quality vary a lot. Listen before you switch. Voice cloning and commercial-use rights differ by plan. Try your own numbers against all text-to-speech providers.
Side by side
| Amazon Polly | Google Cloud Text-to-Speech | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | AWS text-to-speech with Standard, Neural, Long-Form and Generative voices; pay-as-you-go per character in EU and other regions. | Google Cloud speech synthesis with Chirp 3 HD, Neural2, WaveNet and Gemini-TTS voices, a recurring free allowance and an EU endpoint. |
| Headquarters | 🇺🇸 United States | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Parent jurisdiction | 🇺🇸 United States (Amazon) | 🇺🇸 United States (Alphabet) |
| EU self-serve plan | Available; check eligible plans and regions | Available; check eligible plans and regions |
| GDPR DPA | Yes | Yes |
| Billing | payg | payg |
| Free tier | First 12 months: 1M Neural characters/month (5M Standard, 500k Long-Form, 100k Generative). | 1M characters/month free for Chirp 3 HD (and Neural2/Studio); 4M/month for Standard and WaveNet. |
| Open source | No | No |
| Source last checked | 2026-10-06 | 2026-10-06 |
| Pricing evidence | Published rates | Published rates |
Which should you choose?
Google Cloud Text-to-Speech has the lower estimated bill up to about 2M characters / month. From about 5M characters / month, Amazon Polly is cheaper.
Choose Amazon Polly if…
- it has the lower estimated bill at Audiobooks / video and Voice agent at scale usage
Choose Google Cloud Text-to-Speech if…
- it has the lower estimated bill at App voice prompts usage
Based on estimated list-price bills and the facts above. Features, performance and support aren’t scored.
Amazon Polly pricing
Calculated from the listed vendor rates; exclusions still apply.
| 1M additional characters |
|---|
| $16 |
Priced on Neural voices at $16 per 1M characters. Other tiers: Standard $4/M, Generative $30/M, Long-Form $100/M. Free tier lasts 12 months only, so it is not modelled as a recurring allowance; new AWS accounts since 15 July 2025 instead get up to $200 of Free Tier credits usable within 12 months. Speech Marks metadata is billed per character like audio. Available in EU regions (e.g. Frankfurt, Ireland, Paris, Stockholm). AWS GDPR DPA is part of the Service Terms.
Amazon Polly plan limits, full rates and cheaper alternatives · official pricing page
Google Cloud Text-to-Speech pricing
Calculated from the listed vendor rates; exclusions still apply.
| 1M additional characters |
|---|
| $30 |
Priced on Chirp 3 HD, Google's current standard high-quality voice line: $30 per 1M characters after 1M free characters each month. Other tiers: Instant custom voice $60/M (no free tier); legacy Neural2 and Polyglot $16/M (1M free), WaveNet and Standard $4/M (4M free), Studio $160/M (1M free). Gemini-TTS models are billed per token (25 audio tokens per second): Gemini 2.5 Flash TTS $0.50/M text in and $10/M audio out, Gemini 2.5 Pro TTS and Gemini 3.1 Flash TTS $1/$20, Gemini 3.8 Flash TTS preview $0.50/$9 through 2026 then $1/$18. SSML tags and spaces count as characters. The eu-texttospeech.googleapis.com endpoint keeps data in Europe. Cloud Data Processing Addendum applies.
Google Cloud Text-to-Speech plan limits, full rates and cheaper alternatives · official pricing page
Frequently asked questions
Is Amazon Polly cheaper than Google Cloud Text-to-Speech?
Google Cloud Text-to-Speech has the lower estimated bill up to about 2M characters / month. From about 5M characters / month, Amazon Polly is cheaper. At 10M characters / month, the estimates are $1,920/yr for Amazon Polly and $3,240/yr for Google Cloud Text-to-Speech. Estimates use list prices and leave out features, support and operating costs.
Do Amazon Polly and Google Cloud Text-to-Speech offer EU data residency?
Both offer EU data residency on a self-serve plan. Check which plans and regions qualify.
Do Amazon Polly and Google Cloud Text-to-Speech have a free tier or trial?
Amazon Polly: First 12 months: 1M Neural characters/month (5M Standard, 500k Long-Form, 100k Generative). Google Cloud Text-to-Speech: 1M characters/month free for Chirp 3 HD (and Neural2/Studio); 4M/month for Standard and WaveNet.
Where are Amazon Polly and Google Cloud Text-to-Speech based?
Amazon Polly is headquartered in the United States and owned by Amazon (the United States). Google Cloud Text-to-Speech is headquartered in the United States and owned by Alphabet (the United States).