If you relied on Play.ht (also written PlayHT), you need a replacement that fits the way you used it. This page covers what we could verify about Play.ht, then groups alternatives by need, using the same pricing and license data as our pricing calculator and license checker.
These are price-and-license candidates, not sound-quality rankings or verified drop-in replacements. Long-form recommendations compare monthly allowances, not project-length limits or narration stability.
Jump to languages, voice cloning, long narration, APIs or budget.
What happened to Play.ht
Here's what we observed when we checked on October 9, 2026:
- play.ht and www.play.ht no longer resolved in DNS.
- app.play.ht still resolved, but its HTTPS certificate had expired, so the app wouldn't open.
- The documentation site, docs.play.ht, was still online, with no shutdown or deprecation notice.
We found no official announcement from Play.ht. We don't repeat unconfirmed reports about why it went offline, and we can't give a shutdown date. We mark Play.ht as unavailable when checked. DNS and certificate failures alone do not prove a permanent shutdown.
Play.ht alternatives at a glance
The comparison table near the top of this page lists every subscription tool whose commercial terms are clear and whose price we verified, cheapest commercial plan first.
Play.ht alternatives by what you need
Each table is built from our product data. Within a group, tools whose commercial terms are unclear are listed separately below the ranked tools, never first.
Many voices and languages
Every tool here states 30 or more languages on its own site, sorted by the cheapest plan with commercial use. Vendors count languages differently, and some count accents as well, so the table quotes each site's own wording. When a vendor's own pages disagree, we use the lower figure and say so.
| Tool | Languages (official wording) | Cheapest plan with commercial use | Commercial use | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VoicemakerVisit site Checked | 140 | Starter, $5/mo | Yes | — |
| ElevenLabsVisit site Checked | 74 | Starter, $6/mo | Yes | — |
| UberduckVisit site Checked | 70+ languages | Creator, $9.99/mo | Yes | — |
| TTSMakerVisit site Checked | 600+ AI voices and 100+ languages | Lite, $13.99/mo | Yes | — |
| Fish AudioVisit site Checked | Speak 30+ languages with any voice | Plus, $15/mo | Conditional | Pricing FAQ: "Premium subscribers can use verified voices (that you own) for commercial purposes." The terms license paid users for commercial use without that condition. |
| ListnrVisit site Checked | 130+ languages | Individual, $19/mo (billed annually; monthly price not shown on official site) | Yes | Listnr's pricing page says 142+ languages and its homepage says 130+; we use the lower figure. |
| WellSaid LabsVisit site Checked | Explore 50+ languages and accents | Starter, $19/mo | Yes | — |
| MurfVisit site Checked | No. of Languages & Accents: 30+ | Creator, $29/mo | Yes | — |
| NaturalReaderVisit site Checked | Multilingual Voices in 90+ Languages | Starter, $29/mo | Yes | — |
| SynthesysVisit site Checked | 400+ voices across 140+ languages | Starter, $29/mo | Yes | Now an AI video platform; voiceover is included with its video plans, and there is no voice-only plan. |
| JellypodVisit site Checked | 3,300+ AI voices in 121 languages | Starter, $30/mo | Yes | You must add any AI disclosure that platforms or law require; Jellypod's terms say Apple Podcasts requires it. |
Commercial terms unclear (not ranked)
| Tool | Languages (official wording) | Cheapest plan with commercial use | Commercial use | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MiniMax AudioVisit site Checked | Languages & Accents: 40+ | Starter, $5/mo | Unclear | Commercial-use wording on the plan cards mentions songs only, and the general Terms of Service contain a clause prohibiting commercial use of the Services. |
Voice cloning
The cheapest plan that includes voice cloning, for tools where that plan also allows commercial use. Cloning types differ (instant clones from a short sample, professional clones from longer recordings), so check the plan page for which kind you get. For free-plan limits and each vendor's consent rule, see our voice cloning comparison.
| Tool | Cheapest plan with voice cloning | Commercial use | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| VoicemakerVisit site Checked | Starter, $5/mo | Yes | — |
| TypecastVisit site Checked | Basic, $5/mo | Conditional | Help center: YouTube creators earning AdSense revenue must use the Pro plan. |
| ElevenLabsVisit site Checked | Starter, $6/mo | Yes | — |
| Fish AudioVisit site Checked | Plus, $15/mo | Conditional | Pricing FAQ: "Premium subscribers can use verified voices (that you own) for commercial purposes." The terms license paid users for commercial use without that condition. |
| ListnrVisit site Checked | Individual, $19/mo (billed annually; monthly price not shown on official site) | Yes | Listnr's pricing page says 142+ languages and its homepage says 130+; we use the lower figure. |
Commercial terms unclear (not ranked)
| Tool | Cheapest plan with voice cloning | Commercial use | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| MiniMax AudioVisit site Checked | Starter, $5/mo | Unclear | Commercial-use wording on the plan cards mentions songs only, and the general Terms of Service contain a clause prohibiting commercial use of the Services. |
Long-form narration
For audiobooks, courses and long videos, what matters is how many minutes a month you get for the price. This table shows the cheapest plan that covers 300 minutes a month with commercial use, billed monthly.
| Tool | Cheapest plan for 300 min/month | Monthly cost | Cost per minute | Commercial use | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VoicemakerVisit site Checked | Creator (~400 min/mo) | $10/mo | $0.033 | Yes | minutes estimated |
| TTSMakerVisit site Checked | Lite (~414 min/mo) | $13.99/mo | $0.047 | Yes | — |
| AsyncVisit site Checked | Pro (~600 min/mo) | $39.99/mo per seat | $0.13 | Yes | Based only on the general Terms of Service wording ('You may utilize the Output for any lawful purpose'); the pricing page has no commercial-use row. |
| ElevenLabsVisit site Checked | Pro (~600 min/mo) | $99/mo | $0.33 | Yes | — |
| MurfVisit site Checked | Business (~480 min/mo) | $99/mo | $0.33 | Yes | — |
Commercial terms unclear (not ranked)
| Tool | Cheapest plan for 300 min/month | Monthly cost | Cost per minute | Commercial use | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MiniMax AudioVisit site Checked | Creator (~400 min/mo) | $15/mo | $0.050 | Unclear | Commercial-use wording on the plan cards mentions songs only, and the general Terms of Service contain a clause prohibiting commercial use of the Services. |
API access
If you called Play.ht from your own code, a cloud text-to-speech API is the closest replacement. The table shows each provider's cheapest tier priced per character, leaving out tiers the provider itself labels as legacy. We haven't verified the commercial terms of these APIs, so read each provider's terms before you ship.
| Tool | Cheapest tier | Price per 1M characters | 60 minutes costs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon PollyVisit site Checked | Standard | $4 | $0.24 |
| Azure AI SpeechVisit site Checked | Standard Voice – Neural / Neural HD Flash (real-time and batch) | $15 | $0.90 |
| OpenAI TTSVisit site Checked | tts-1 | $15 | $0.90 |
| Google Cloud Text-to-SpeechVisit site Checked | Chirp 3: HD voices | $30 | $1.80 |
Not priced per character, so not listed: Cartesia.
On a tight budget
The cheapest plans that cover 60 minutes a month with commercial use, billed monthly.
| Tool | Cheapest plan for 60 min/month | Monthly cost | Cost per minute | Commercial use | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VoicemakerVisit site Checked | Starter (~200 min/mo) | $5/mo | $0.083 | Yes | minutes estimated |
| TTSMakerVisit site Checked | Lite (~414 min/mo) | $13.99/mo | $0.23 | Yes | — |
| Fish AudioVisit site Checked | Plus (~200 min/mo) | $15/mo | $0.25 | Conditional | Pricing FAQ: "Premium subscribers can use verified voices (that you own) for commercial purposes." The terms license paid users for commercial use without that condition. |
| AsyncVisit site Checked | Essentials (~120 min/mo) | $19.99/mo per seat | $0.33 | Yes | Based only on the general Terms of Service wording ('You may utilize the Output for any lawful purpose'); the pricing page has no commercial-use row. |
| ElevenLabsVisit site Checked | Creator (~121 min/mo) | $22/mo | $0.37 | Yes | — |
Commercial terms unclear (not ranked)
| Tool | Cheapest plan for 60 min/month | Monthly cost | Cost per minute | Commercial use | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MiniMax AudioVisit site Checked | Starter (~120 min/mo) | $5/mo | $0.083 | Unclear | Commercial-use wording on the plan cards mentions songs only, and the general Terms of Service contain a clause prohibiting commercial use of the Services. |
LOVO (Genny): unavailable when checked
We cannot confirm LOVO's current availability or a permanent shutdown. When we checked on October 9, 2026, every page on lovo.ai and genny.lovo.ai returned HTTP 402 (Payment Required) and showed only a "Deployment Paused" notice. We found no official announcement.
Before you migrate
Re-clone from your original recordings. A voice clone lives on the vendor's servers. If Play.ht remains unreachable and you choose another tool, you may need to create a new clone using the original audio you recorded. Keep those recordings somewhere you control.
Check the license, not just the price. Commercial use and attribution rules differ from tool to tool, and free plans almost never allow commercial use. Our license checker lists the rules for each tool.
Compare costs for your real volume. A plan that's cheap at 60 minutes a month can be expensive at 300. Use the pricing calculator with the minutes you actually need.
We re-check every tool each month, including whether Play.ht and LOVO come back online, and the date at the top of this page tells you when we last did.