Best of · Voice & speech
Best voice cloning and custom voice APIs for AI agents
All 10 ranked voice cloning and custom voice APIs on the Anchor benchmark, with a pick for each need and where each one falls short. Scores come from public evidence, re-checked as vendors change.
- 10 ranked
- 2 agent-ready
- 10 hosted endpoints
- Updated 8 October 2026
Top three
Picks by need
Worked out from the scores, prices and facts, so they change when the research does.
Highest score overall
Speechify API Voice Cloning BB
BB, 74.1/100 on the benchmark.
Also ElevenLabs Voice Cloning and Voice Design API, BB, 73.6/100.
Agent ergonomics
ElevenLabs Voice Cloning and Voice Design API BB
85/100 on agent ergonomics, against 82 for the overall leader.
Security & auth
ElevenLabs Voice Cloning and Voice Design API BB
84/100 on security & auth, against 73 for the overall leader.
Maintenance & community
ElevenLabs Voice Cloning and Voice Design API BB
85/100 on maintenance & community, against 75 for the overall leader.
Transparency & trust
ElevenLabs Voice Cloning and Voice Design API BB
82/100 on transparency & trust, against 65 for the overall leader.
The shortlist
| # | Tool | Grade | Best for | Price | Where |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Speechify API Voice Cloning Speechify |
BB 74.1 | Best where a consent record from the vendor matters, such as cloning staff or talent voices for a product. | $10 / mo | hosted |
| 2 | ElevenLabs Voice Cloning and Voice Design API ElevenLabs |
BB 73.6 | Teams that need instant clones, professional clones and prompt-designed voices in one account, with consent checks on the professional tier. | $6 / mo | hosted and local |
| 3 | Cartesia Voice Cloning API + MCP Cartesia |
C 59.5 | Teams that want cheap instant clones and fast streaming TTS in the same account, especially voice agents. | $5 / mo | hosted and local |
| 4 | Soniox Voice Cloning Soniox |
C 58.6 | A quick clone that has to speak many languages, from a vendor with clean data terms. | Pay per use | hosted |
| 5 | Hume Octave Voice Design and Cloning + MCP Hume AI |
C 54.6 | Designing a voice from a description, and for teams already on EVI. | $14 / mo | hosted and local |
| 6 | Resemble AI Voice Cloning API Resemble AI |
C 54 | Teams already paying for Resemble's detection and watermarking who want clones in the same account. | $1.50 / mo | hosted |
| 7 | MiniMax Voice Clone and Voice Design MiniMax |
D 53.1 | Teams already using MiniMax speech models that want quick clones or prompt-designed voices at a flat fee per voice across 40 languages. | $1.50 / tx | hosted and local |
| 8 | Fish Audio Voice Cloning API Fish Audio |
D 51.3 | Cheap, quick clones of your own voice and for prompt-designed voices at volume. | $0.01 / call | hosted |
| 9 | Murf Voice Cloning API Murf |
D 46.1 | Enterprises already on Murf Falcon 2 that want a cloned voice in the same contract. | Paid | hosted |
| 10 | Ultravox Voice Cloning Ultravox (Fixie.ai) |
E 40.8 | Giving an Ultravox voice agent a custom voice. | $100 / mo | hosted |
How to choose
- Sample length neededCheck the shortest and longest sample each API accepts and how similarity changes between them, because the audio you hold may be short.
- Consent and verification stepsCheck what consent or verification a voice needs before cloning, since a missed step can leave it unusable in the agent later.
- Licence on the resulting voiceRead who owns a cloned voice and under which licence it can be used, because terms for commercial calls and for keeping the voice after you cancel may differ.
How the benchmark tests this category. The same consented sample through every API, short and long. We judge similarity blind, check what consent or verification each vendor asks for, note the licence on the resulting voice, and price a clone and an hour of speech from it.
Each one in detail
Speechify API Voice Cloning
BB 74.1/100Zero-shot voice cloning on the SpeechifyAI API from a 10 to 30 second sample, with verified spoken consent.
Verdict Verified consent on every clone, phrase and speaker matched, recording kept. No cloning on the Free plan.
Choose it for Best where a consent record from the vendor matters, such as cloning staff or talent voices for a product.
Strengths
- Verified consent on every clone, phrase and speaker matched, recording kept
Idempotency-Keyon voice creation with a 24 hour replay window- Scoped service-account keys and minted child keys capped at 24 hours
Weaknesses
- No cloning on the Free plan
- Self-serve clones cover English and five other languages only
- API terms forbid end-user uploads, which the consent guide presents as a supported flow
Price $10 / moAuth API keyx402 nohosted
ElevenLabs Voice Cloning and Voice Design API
BB 73.6/100ElevenLabs' voice cloning service creates voices from audio samples. Professional cloning uses verified recordings, while Voice Design generates voices from text prompts.
Verdict Instant clones from 1 to 2 minutes of audio on the $6 Starter plan. Instant clones rely on an attestation, not a check.
Choose it for Teams that need instant clones, professional clones and prompt-designed voices in one account, with consent checks on the professional tier.
Strengths
- Instant clones from 1 to 2 minutes of audio on the $6 Starter plan
- Professional clones gated by a spoken verification matched to the training audio
- Voice Design from a text prompt on every plan, including Free
Weaknesses
- Instant clones rely on an attestation, not a check
- Training on your content is on by default until switched off in settings
- Terms take a perpetual, irrevocable licence to User Voice Models
Price $6 / moAuth API keyx402 nohosted and local
Cartesia Voice Cloning API + MCP
C 59.5/100Instant voice clones for Sonic from 10 to 60 seconds of audio, and Pro Voice Clones fine-tuned on 30 minutes or more, trained in up to 3 hours.
Verdict Instant clones from 10 seconds of audio, up to 60 seconds used on Sonic 3.6. No consent or speaker verification in the clone API.
Choose it for Teams that want cheap instant clones and fast streaming TTS in the same account, especially voice agents.
Strengths
- Instant clones from 10 seconds of audio, up to 60 seconds used on Sonic 3.6
- Pro clone training is free on Startup ($49) and Scale ($299)
- Clones carried over to Sonic 3.6 with the same voice IDs
Weaknesses
- No consent or speaker verification in the clone API
- Terms allow training on uploads by default, with opt-out only by form
- Zero Data Retention doesn't cover voice cloning
Price $5 / moAuth OAuth or keyx402 nohosted and local
Soniox Voice Cloning
C 58.6/100Instant clones for Soniox TTS from one reference clip of up to 2 minutes, made in the Console or with POST /v1/voices.
Verdict One API call and a clip of up to 2 minutes. No consent capture or speaker verification, and the terms say so.
Choose it for A quick clone that has to speak many languages, from a vendor with clean data terms.
Strengths
- One API call and a clip of up to 2 minutes
- Clones speak all 60+ TTS languages
- Audio never used for training, and clips stay only until the voice is deleted
Weaknesses
- No consent capture or speaker verification, and the terms say so
- Instant clones only, no professional tier or voice design
- 20 voices per organisation and 3 concurrent TTS requests by default
Price Pay per useAuth API keyx402 nohosted
Hume Octave Voice Design and Cloning + MCP
C 54.6/100Custom voices for Hume's Octave TTS and EVI.
Verdict Voice design from a natural-language description, saved with one call. Cloning over the API is Enterprise-only. Hume ends API access on 13 November 2026.
Choose it for Designing a voice from a description, and for teams already on EVI.
Strengths
- Voice design from a natural-language description, saved with one call
- Official MCP server with 5 tools to design, save, list and delete voices
- Public OpenAPI and AsyncAPI files and named error codes
Weaknesses
- Hume ends access to the TTS and EVI APIs on 13 November 2026 and deletes account data after that date
- Cloning over the API is Enterprise-only
- Consent is a legal checkbox in the Platform, not a check
Price $14 / moAuth API keyx402 nohosted and local
Resemble AI Voice Cloning API
C 54/100Resemble AI's service for creating custom voices for speech generation.
Verdict Rapid clones from 10 seconds of audio, ready in under a minute. Cloning API only on Business ($1,000 a month) and Enterprise.
Choose it for Teams already paying for Resemble's detection and watermarking who want clones in the same account.
Strengths
- Rapid clones from 10 seconds of audio, ready in under a minute
- Training webhook through
callback_uri, and STOI, PESQ and SI-SDR scores for problem recordings - Privacy policy says customer voice data isn't used to train general-purpose models, and synthesis text and audio aren't kept after delivery
Weaknesses
- Cloning API only on Business ($1,000 a month) and Enterprise
- No consent or speaker verification step in the API reference
- Seven older TTS models are end of life and their voices can't generate audio until upgraded. The 29 June 2026 changelog entry gave no notice period
Price $1.50 / moAuth API keyx402 nohosted
MiniMax Voice Clone and Voice Design
D 53.1/100MiniMax's API clones a voice from a 10 second to 5 minute audio sample and designs voices from a text description. The resulting voice IDs work with its speech-2.8 text-to-speech models.
Verdict Typed OpenAPI files, published prices of $1.50 a cloned voice and $3 a designed voice, and optional transcript and watermark checks. Cloning needs individual or enterprise account verification, the terms and privacy policy could not be read without a browser, and no statement on training with uploaded voice audio was found in the docs.
Choose it for Teams already using MiniMax speech models that want quick clones or prompt-designed voices at a flat fee per voice across 40 languages.
Strengths
- OpenAPI 3.1 files for clone, upload, design, list and delete, with llms.txt and Markdown copies of every docs page
- A cloned voice costs $1.50 and a designed voice $3, charged on first synthesis and not at creation
- Rate limits are published, 60 requests a minute for cloning and 20 for voice design
Weaknesses
- The terms of service and privacy policy render only in a browser, so voice ownership, training use and retention terms were not read
- No field records the speaker's consent. The documented gate is individual or enterprise verification of the account
- The voice design reference prices preview audio at $30 per million characters and the pricing page at $60
Price $1.50 / txAuth API keyx402 nohosted and local
Fish Audio Voice Cloning API
D 51.3/100Fish Audio's API creates reusable voice clones from audio samples and generates candidate voices from text prompts.
Verdict Usable clone from about 10 seconds of audio, available as soon as it's created. No consent or speaker verification in the API.
Choose it for Cheap, quick clones of your own voice and for prompt-designed voices at volume.
Strengths
- Usable clone from about 10 seconds of audio, available as soon as it's created
- Inline cloning per request, with no model to store
- Voice design at $0.01 per successful request, failed requests not billed
Weaknesses
- No consent or speaker verification in the API
- Terms take a perpetual, irrevocable licence to uploads, including for training, with no opt-out
- Changelog stops at March 2026, s2.1-pro and voice design aren't in it
Price $0.01 / callAuth API keyx402 nohosted
Murf Voice Cloning API
D 46.1/100Murf's service for creating voices from audio samples, with instant cloning and a managed professional option.
Verdict One sample of up to 30 seconds, ready in a few minutes. Enterprise only, with no self-serve or trial access.
Choose it for Enterprises already on Murf Falcon 2 that want a cloned voice in the same contract.
Strengths
- One sample of up to 30 seconds, ready in a few minutes
- No charge to create or keep a clone, speech billed at Falcon 2 rates
- Clones speak every Falcon 2 locale whatever the sample's language
Weaknesses
- Enterprise only, with no self-serve or trial access
- No consent verification, only a written rule
- No public status page
Price PaidAuth API keyx402 nohosted
Ultravox Voice Cloning
E 40.8/100Instant voice cloning inside Ultravox Realtime.
Verdict One multipart request with a 30 to 60 second sample. No consent or speaker verification, only a warranty in the terms.
Choose it for Giving an Ultravox voice agent a custom voice.
Strengths
- One multipart request with a 30 to 60 second sample
- No fee on top of the $0.05 a minute call rate
- One clone on the free Pay as You Go plan with 30 free minutes
Weaknesses
- No consent or speaker verification, only a warranty in the terms
- Clones work only inside Ultravox calls
- No documented errors, retry guidance or REST SDK
Price $100 / moAuth API keyx402 nohosted
Head to head
- ElevenLabs Voice Cloning and Voice Design API vs Speechify API Voice Cloning BB 73.6 vs BB 74.1
- Cartesia Voice Cloning API + MCP vs Speechify API Voice Cloning C 59.5 vs BB 74.1
- Soniox Voice Cloning vs Speechify API Voice Cloning C 58.6 vs BB 74.1
- Hume Octave Voice Design and Cloning + MCP vs Speechify API Voice Cloning C 54.6 vs BB 74.1
- Cartesia Voice Cloning API + MCP vs ElevenLabs Voice Cloning and Voice Design API C 59.5 vs BB 73.6
- ElevenLabs Voice Cloning and Voice Design API vs Soniox Voice Cloning BB 73.6 vs C 58.6
- ElevenLabs Voice Cloning and Voice Design API vs Hume Octave Voice Design and Cloning + MCP BB 73.6 vs C 54.6
- Cartesia Voice Cloning API + MCP vs Soniox Voice Cloning C 59.5 vs C 58.6
- Cartesia Voice Cloning API + MCP vs Hume Octave Voice Design and Cloning + MCP C 59.5 vs C 54.6
- Hume Octave Voice Design and Cloning + MCP vs Soniox Voice Cloning C 54.6 vs C 58.6
Questions
What are the highest-rated voice cloning and custom voice APIs for AI agents?
Speechify API Voice Cloning has the highest benchmark score of the 10 ranked voice cloning and custom voice APIs, 74.1 (BB). ElevenLabs Voice Cloning and Voice Design API is second with 73.6 (BB).
How many voice cloning and custom voice APIs are agent-ready?
2 of the 10 ranked here grade BB or better, the bar for agent-ready on the Anchor benchmark.
Which voice cloning and custom voice APIs accept x402 payments?
None of the ranked listings here accepts x402 for its main call yet.
How is this list ranked?
By the Anchor benchmark score out of 100, a weighted mean of the scored categories minus deductions for negative events, from public evidence re-checked as vendors change. Listings cannot pay for a place. The latest assessment behind this page is from 8 October 2026.
How this list is made
The order is the Anchor benchmark score, the same number as on each listing and in the top list. Each listing is graded from public evidence against the benchmark checklist, and the picks above are worked out from those grades, prices and facts. No listing pays for its place, and paid audits or listing help never change a score.
Full ranked table · 55 head-to-head comparisons · Best tools in every category