Amazon Polly is a cloud service from AWS that converts text into lifelike speech. Using advanced deep learning technologies, Polly offers dozens of realistic voices across many languages. The service supports both standard and neural voice engines, with neural voices providing the most natural-sounding speech. Polly is used for applications like voice assistants, e-learning, accessibility features, and content narration. As an AWS service, it integrates well with other Amazon cloud products and offers pay-as-you-go pricing.
Polly uses pay-per-character pricing. Standard voices cost $4 per 1 million characters. Neural voices cost $16 per 1 million characters. Free tier includes 5M standard or 1M neural characters/month for 12 months.
What's the difference between standard and neural voices?
Neural voices use advanced deep learning for more natural, human-like speech with better intonation. Standard voices are faster and cheaper but sound more robotic. Neural voices are 4x the price.
How does Polly compare to ElevenLabs?
ElevenLabs produces more natural, emotional speech and supports voice cloning. Polly is more cost-effective at scale, has better AWS integration, and offers more languages. ElevenLabs is better for premium voice applications.