Amazon Polly vs Microsoft Speech Services
AI Voice Tools pricing comparison · 2026
Amazon Polly is usage-based from $4 per 1M characters, while Microsoft Speech Services has a free plan, then from $912/mo. Amazon Polly is typically 100% more affordable, though your actual cost depends on tier and team size.
Amazon Polly
Amazon Polly is AWS's text-to-speech service that converts text into lifelike speech using
verified 9w ago
$600
$5.6K
Microsoft Speech Services
Microsoft Speech Services pricing starts with a Free (F0) tier at no monthly cost, coverin
verified 4mo ago
$600
$5.6K
Recorded annual contract medians
Microsoft
median is
$5.0K
less than
Amazon
· different customer contracts; not a quote
Cheapest
$600
Spread
89%
Estimated license cost
at 25 seats
List price × seats. Click a tier below to lock it.
Usage-based
$4 per 1M characters
see vendor pricing for volume tiers
Usage-based
$15 per 1M characters
see vendor pricing for volume tiers
What buyers actually pay
median, annual
Vendr deal-flow data. The real benchmark, not list price.
Median annual
$5.6K/yr
Vendr · n=4 · limited data
↓ Lowest median
Median annual
$600/yr
Vendr · n=60
REF · 01
Sources & confidence
Every dollar amount and contract clause below traces back to a sourced fact. We don't manufacture composite scores.
Where this data comes from
Vendr · TrustRadius · Reddit · BBB · official docs
Sources
2 sourced facts
1 contract · Vendr median
Last verified
2mo ago
Confidence
High confidence
Sources
16 sourced facts
12 hidden-cost · 2 contract · Vendr median · 1 review platform
Last verified
3mo ago
Confidence
High confidence
REF · 02
Plans at a glance
Every tier per product. Lock one to drive the cost row above and reveal a tier-specific outbound CTA.
Tier ladder
Click a tier to lock the cost row to it. Locking surfaces a tier-specific Visit CTA.
REF · 04
Contract terms
The fine print, surfaced. Green = buyer-friendly. Each clause backed by a quoted source.
Amazon
Microsoft
Auto-renewal
—
Yes
Cancellation
Cancellation for pay-as-you-go is typically at any time, while public offers with contract pricing may allow a full refund if canceled within 48 hours of purchase.
—
Commitment
—
—
Price escalation
—
—
Can downgrade
—
—
REF · 05
What users say
Aggregated, with sample sizes. We use whichever review platform has data.
User reviews
TrustRadius · Trustpilot · G2
Decide
Get a quote from each vendor
Each link opens the vendor's pricing page in a new tab.
License cost is computed from publicly listed plans (real math, list price × seats).
Median annual cost is from Vendr's deal flow when available — see source badges.
Hidden costs and contract terms each cite their own sources. We do not invent composite scores.
VS
Amazon Polly and Microsoft Speech Services both operate in the ai voice tools category. This page compares their list pricing.
Plan-by-Plan Pricing
| Plan | Amazon Polly | Microsoft Speech Services |
|---|---|---|
| Standard Voices | $4 /million characters | Free /month |
| Neural Voices | $16 /million characters | $912 /month |
| Generative Voices | $30 /million characters | $960 /month |
| Long-Form Voices | $100 /million characters | $1.5K /month |
| Commitment Tier – Standard Speech to Text, 2,000 hours | — | $1.6K /month |
| Connected Container Commitment Tier – Custom Speech to Text, 2,000 hours | — | $1.8K /month |
| Commitment Tier – Custom Speech to Text, 2,000 hours | — | $1.9K /month |
| Disconnected Container – Standard Speech to Text Fast Transcription, 120,000 hours/year | — | Custom |
| Connected Container Commitment Tier – Text to Speech Neural, 400M characters | — | $3.7K /month |
| Commitment Tier – Text to Speech Neural, 400M characters | — | $3.9K /month |
| Disconnected Container – Text to Speech Neural, 4.8B characters/year | — | Custom |
| Connected Container Commitment Tier – Standard Speech to Text, 10,000 hours | — | $6.2K /month |
| Disconnected Container – Standard Speech to Text Realtime & Batch, 120,000 hours/year | — | Custom |
| Commitment Tier – Standard Speech to Text, 10,000 hours | — | $6.5K /month |
| Connected Container Commitment Tier – Custom Speech to Text, 10,000 hours | — | $7.4K /month |
| Disconnected Container – Custom Speech to Text Realtime & Batch, 120,000 hours/year | — | Custom |
| Commitment Tier – Custom Speech to Text, 10,000 hours | — | $7.8K /month |
| Connected Container Commitment Tier – Text to Speech Neural, 2,000M characters | — | $14.3K /month |
| Commitment Tier – Text to Speech Neural, 2,000M characters | — | $15K /month |
| Disconnected Container – Text to Speech Neural, 24B characters/year | — | Custom |
| Connected Container Commitment Tier – Standard Speech to Text, 50,000 hours | — | $23.8K /month |
| Disconnected Container – Standard Speech to Text Realtime & Batch, 600,000 hours/year | — | Custom |
| Commitment Tier – Standard Speech to Text, 50,000 hours | — | $25K /month |
| Connected Container Commitment Tier – Custom Speech to Text, 50,000 hours | — | $28.5K /month |
| Disconnected Container – Custom Speech to Text Realtime & Batch, 600,000 hours/year | — | Custom |
| Commitment Tier – Custom Speech to Text, 50,000 hours | — | $30K /month |
| Pay-as-you-go | — | Custom |
| Custom Neural Voice (Professional) | — | Custom |
Cost at Scale
Total cost of ownership — licenses, implementation, and hidden costs included.
Amazon Polly
4 scenarios$1.60/month
Small Mobile App
$20/month
E-learning Platform
$160/month
Enterprise IVR System
Microsoft Speech Services
3 scenariosFree (within 0.5M limit)
Mobile App Development
$160/month (10M × $16/1M)
E-learning Platform
$1,200/month (50M × $24/1M)
Enterprise Call Center
+ $2,900 hosting (24/7 × $4.04)
Market Intelligence
Amazon Polly
- Median annual cost
- $5,600
- Based on
- 4 deals
Microsoft Speech Services
- Median annual cost
- $600
- Based on
- 60 deals
Contract Terms
| Term | Amazon Polly | Microsoft Speech Services |
|---|---|---|
| Auto-renewal | — | Yes |
| Cancellation | Cancellation for pay-as-you-go is typically at any time, while public offers with contract pricing may allow a full refund if canceled within 48 hours of purchase. | — |
| Minimum commitment | — | — |