E 
ElevenLabs
TTS got cheap, but quality and voice cloning still command a premium.
NOT REALLY
why this verdict
Keep paying — OpenAI has not replaced it
OpenAI's version overlaps, but does not finish the voice & audio job, so this one still earns its $5/mo.
- A named launch, not a vibe named, unlinked
- OpenAI TTS voices. OpenAI, June 6, 2024 — no announcement link recorded yet.
- How much of the job it covers not the job editorial call
- Parts of it. The job still needs the tool to get finished.
- Is there a free way to do it? yes
- 1 of 2 listed replacements have a usable free tier: Coqui / Piper (local).
- What the call is worth $60/yr
- $5/mo at the entry paid tier — $60 a year per seat.
Reason composed from the fields above missing: announcement linked recorded: free replacement listed recorded: two or more escape hatches
- Threatened by
- OpenAI
- Since
- June 6, 2024
- List price
- $5/mo
- Per year
- $60
The backstory
OpenAI's cheap, good TTS pressured the whole voice-synthesis market. ElevenLabs survived on sheer quality, emotional range, low-latency streaming, and a voice-cloning library that developers standardized on. A rare case where being clearly best keeps pricing power intact.
Escape hatches
O 
OpenAI TTS Cheap, solid quality for most uses.
platform.openai.com open_in_new C 
Coqui / Piper (local) Open-source TTS you can run offline.
github.com open_in_new1 of 2 replacements have a usable free tier.