{ "data": { "a": { "slug": "amazon-polly", "name": "Amazon Polly", "vendor": "Amazon Web Services", "vendorUrl": "https://aws.amazon.com/polly/", "kind": "model", "category": "text-to-speech", "summary": "AWS's speech synthesis API with four engines (standard, neural, long-form and generative) and 116 voices in 42 languages and variants.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/amazon-polly", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/amazon-polly.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/amazon-polly.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/amazon-polly.json", "dns": "amazon-polly.grade.anchorterminal.com", "transports": [ "http" ], "remoteUrl": "https://polly.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/v1", "packages": [ { "registry": "npm", "name": "@aws-sdk/client-polly" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "boto3" } ], "auth": "api-key", "authNotes": "AWS Signature Version 4 with IAM access keys or a role. Regional endpoints `polly.\u003cregion\u003e.amazonaws.com`.", "pricing": "usage", "pricingNotes": "$4 per 1M characters for standard voices, $16 neural, $30 generative and $100 long-form. SSML tags aren't billed. Accounts opened before 2025-07-15 get 5M standard characters a month (and 1M neural for 12 months). Newer accounts get up to $200 in Free Tier credits on a free plan of up to 6 months. AWS says most new customers can sign up without a payment method, and that it might request one and hold USD $1 to verify (https://aws.amazon.com/polly/pricing/, https://aws.amazon.com/free/free-tier-faqs/).", "priceSummary": "Pay per use", "where": "hosted", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No machine payment. Billing runs through a cloud account with a card or invoice.", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": null, "npmWeekly": 743201, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-09-30" }, "docsUrl": "https://docs.aws.amazon.com/polly/latest/dg/what-is.html", "llmsTxt": "https://docs.aws.amazon.com/polly/latest/dg/llms.txt", "capabilities": [ "speech.tts", "speech.streaming", "speech.voices", "speech.ssml", "speech.languages" ], "tags": [ "hosted", "closed-source", "python", "typescript", "enterprise", "streaming", "batch", "async-jobs", "llms-txt", "free-tier", "no-card" ], "lastRelease": "2026-10-22", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 75.4, "grade": "BB", "agentReady": true, "rank": 61, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 1510, "categoryRank": 2, "methodology": "0.7", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 82, "maintenance": 70, "payments": 30, "reliability": 80, "schema": 90, "security": 83, "transparency": 80 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "high", "date": "2026-11-01" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "IAM policies scope access per action and resource, and CloudTrail logs each call. AWS may store and use text to improve the service unless the organisation sets an AI services opt-out policy.", "bestFor": "Operators already on AWS who want predictable, cheap speech for prompts, notifications and IVR, or generative voices with bidirectional streaming.", "strengths": [ "IAM policies scope access per action and resource, and CloudTrail logs each call", "Quotas published per operation and engine, with backoff and jitter guidance for throttling", "Covered by the Amazon Machine Learning Language SLA, and in AWS's SOC 1, 2 and 3 scope", "Standard voices at $4 and neural at $16 per 1M characters", "Ten generative voices added on 22 October 2026, with typed exceptions per action and a public service model in every AWS SDK" ], "weaknesses": [ "AWS may store and use text to improve the service, possibly outside the Region, unless the organisation sets an AI services opt-out policy", "The monthly free characters only apply to accounts opened before 2025-07-15, and AWS may still ask new accounts for a payment method", "Listed in AWS's open me-south-1 (Bahrain) disruption, where AWS said on 15 September 2026 that Region-only data can't be restored", "Neural, long-form and generative synthesis is limited to 8 requests a second by default", "Generative voices support only part of SSML" ], "agentNotes": [ "Keep `SynthesizeSpeech` under 3,000 billed characters, or use `StartSpeechSynthesisTask` for longer text.", "Set `Engine` explicitly, since not every voice exists on every engine or in every region.", "Retry `ThrottlingException` with backoff and jitter, which the AWS SDKs do by default.", "Check the generative SSML tag list before porting neural SSML.", "Ask for `OutputFormat` `json` with speech marks when you need word timings." ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 8, "avgRating": 4, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "high", "grade": "BB", "methodology": "0.7", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 75.4 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 82, "maintenance": 70, "payments": 30, "reliability": 80, "schema": 90, "security": 83, "transparency": 65 }, "provenanceScore": 94, "checked": { "categories": { "ergonomics": "2026-11-01", "maintenance": "2026-11-01", "payments": "2026-11-01", "reliability": "2026-11-01", "schema": "2026-11-01", "security": "2026-11-01", "transparency": "2026-11-01" }, "last": "2026-11-01", "lastMoved": "2026-11-01", "oldest": "2026-11-01", "stale": false, "staleAfterDays": 90 } }, "connect": { "install": "pip install boto3 # or: npm i @aws-sdk/client-polly", "http": "curl -X POST \"https://polly.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/v1/speech\" \\\n --aws-sigv4 \"aws:amz:us-east-1:polly\" --user \"$AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID:$AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY\" \\\n -H \"content-type: application/json\" -o speech.mp3 \\\n -d '{\"Engine\":\"neural\",\"VoiceId\":\"Joanna\",\"OutputFormat\":\"mp3\",\"Text\":\"Your table is booked for seven.\"}'" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/speech.tts", "tool": "https://letme.dev/amazon-polly" }, "sameCompany": [ "amazon-bedrock", "amazon-nova-embeddings", "amazon-bedrock-guardrails", "amazon-transcribe", "amazon-nova-sonic", "agentcore-memory", "agentcore-identity", "aws-secrets-manager", "agentcore-web-search", "aws-mcp-servers", "amazon-ses", "amazon-location", "amazon-translate", "amazon-ads-api", "amazon-creators-api" ], "area": "voice", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "Standard voices", "unit": "1m-chars", "usd": 4 }, { "item": "Neural voices", "unit": "1m-chars", "usd": 16 }, { "item": "Generative voices", "unit": "1m-chars", "usd": 30 }, { "item": "Long-form voices", "unit": "1m-chars", "usd": 100 } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Amazon Web Services, Inc.", "domain": "amazon.com", "domainRegistered": "1994-11-01", "domainNote": "The endpoints are on amazonaws.com (registered 2005-08-18) and api.aws, both AWS domains. The security.txt on aws.amazon.com is valid, with Expires 2027-10-16. The Service Terms show Last Updated 30 October 2026.", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://aws.amazon.com/service-terms/", "privacy": "https://aws.amazon.com/privacy/", "statusPage": "https://health.aws.amazon.com/health/status", "changelog": "https://docs.aws.amazon.com/polly/latest/dg/doc-history.html", "securityTxt": "valid", "checked": "2026-11-01", "score": 94 }, "requirements": { "setupChecked": true, "complianceChecked": true, "card": "paid-only", "freeTier": true, "minutes": 15, "credential": "cloud-iam", "hosting": [ "US", "CA", "EU", "UK", "APAC" ], "euResidency": "yes", "trainsOnData": "opt-out", "zeroRetention": "unknown", "certifications": [ "SOC 2 Type II", "ISO 27001", "ISO 27701", "CSA STAR", "HIPAA (BAA available)", "FedRAMP", "GDPR" ], "dpa": true, "selfHost": "no" }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/amazon-polly.json", "live": { "slug": "amazon-polly", "probe": { "target": "https://polly.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/v1", "method": "get", "lastAt": "2026-11-07T19:21:51.732963932Z", "lastOk": true, "lastStatus": 404, "lastMs": 309, "authRequired": false, "uptime24h": 100, "uptime30d": 100, "p50ms24h": 270, "p95ms24h": 352, "samples24h": 238, "samples30d": 7920, "days": [ { "date": "2026-10-07", "probes": 272, "ok": 272 }, { "date": "2026-10-08", "probes": 268, "ok": 268 }, { "date": "2026-10-09", "probes": 250, "ok": 250 }, { "date": "2026-10-10", "probes": 247, "ok": 247 }, { "date": "2026-10-11", "probes": 247, "ok": 247 }, { "date": "2026-10-12", "probes": 247, "ok": 247 }, { "date": "2026-10-13", "probes": 248, "ok": 248 }, { "date": "2026-10-14", "probes": 249, "ok": 249 }, { "date": "2026-10-15", "probes": 253, "ok": 253 }, { "date": "2026-10-16", "probes": 252, "ok": 252 }, { "date": "2026-10-17", "probes": 253, "ok": 253 }, { "date": "2026-10-18", "probes": 256, "ok": 256 }, { "date": "2026-10-19", "probes": 255, "ok": 255 }, { "date": "2026-10-20", "probes": 252, "ok": 252 }, { "date": "2026-10-21", "probes": 253, "ok": 253 }, { "date": "2026-10-22", "probes": 253, "ok": 253 }, { "date": "2026-10-23", "probes": 248, "ok": 248 }, { "date": "2026-10-24", "probes": 251, "ok": 251 }, { "date": "2026-10-25", "probes": 250, "ok": 250 }, { "date": "2026-10-26", "probes": 252, "ok": 252 }, { "date": "2026-10-27", "probes": 249, "ok": 249 }, { "date": "2026-10-28", "probes": 251, "ok": 251 }, { "date": "2026-10-29", "probes": 249, "ok": 249 }, { "date": "2026-10-30", "probes": 248, "ok": 248 }, { "date": "2026-10-31", "probes": 251, "ok": 251 }, { "date": "2026-11-01", "probes": 249, "ok": 249 }, { "date": "2026-11-02", "probes": 250, "ok": 250 }, { "date": "2026-11-03", "probes": 248, "ok": 248 }, { "date": "2026-11-04", "probes": 246, "ok": 246 }, { "date": "2026-11-05", "probes": 185, "ok": 185 }, { "date": "2026-11-06", "probes": 241, "ok": 241 }, { "date": "2026-11-07", "probes": 197, "ok": 197 } ] }, "vendorStatus": { "page": "https://health.aws.amazon.com/health/status", "indicator": "unknown", "summary": "no machine-readable status found", "checkedAt": "2026-10-06T09:56:18.060105872Z" }, "versions": [ { "registry": "npm", "name": "@aws-sdk/client-polly", "version": "3.1164.0", "seenAt": "2026-11-06T23:05:37.879864292Z" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "boto3", "version": "1.43.126", "released": "2026-11-06", "seenAt": "2026-11-06T23:05:38.735488567Z" } ], "npmWeekly": 961731, "pypiWeekly": 637851852, "securityTxt": { "url": "https://amazon.com/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "valid", "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T16:00:18.354437696Z" }, "llmsTxt": { "url": "https://docs.aws.amazon.com/polly/latest/dg/llms.txt", "ok": true, "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T15:31:27.825536777Z" }, "domain": { "domain": "amazon.com", "registered": "1994-11-01", "source": "https://rdap.verisign.com/com/v1/domain/amazon.com", "checkedAt": "2026-11-01T14:09:08.477101866Z" }, "pages": [ { "url": "https://docs.aws.amazon.com/polly/latest/dg/doc-history.html", "kind": "changelog", "status": 304, "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T14:05:22.269673755Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-23T01:44:48.858838718Z", "fingerprint": "bed69613e7fb" }, { "url": "https://aws.amazon.com/polly/pricing/", "kind": "pricing", "status": 304, "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T14:00:04.62994204Z", "changedAt": "2026-11-06T13:22:50.468138668Z", "fingerprint": "94e7335aa3b2" }, { "url": "https://aws.amazon.com/privacy/", "kind": "privacy", "status": 304, "checkedAt": "2026-10-01T13:11:21.687931657Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "6ebd6be5615f" }, { "url": "https://aws.amazon.com/service-terms/", "kind": "terms", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-01T13:11:23.703347826Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "c2276020bd07" } ], "updatedAt": "2026-11-07T19:21:51.732963932Z" } }, "answer": "Amazon Polly scores 75.4 (BB) on agent readiness against MiniMax Speech (T2A)'s 55.1 (C), and leads in every scored category.", "b": { "slug": "minimax-speech", "name": "MiniMax Speech (T2A)", "vendor": "MiniMax", "vendorUrl": "https://www.minimax.io", "kind": "model", "category": "text-to-speech", "summary": "MiniMax's text-to-speech API synthesises speech with its speech-2.8 HD and Turbo models over HTTP with optional streaming, WebSocket (including bidirectional text streaming) and an asynchronous long-text API, with 300+ system voices, pronunciation dictionaries and subtitles.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/minimax-speech", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/minimax-speech.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/minimax-speech.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/minimax-speech.json", "dns": "minimax-speech.grade.anchorterminal.com", "transports": [ "http", "websocket" ], "packages": [ { "registry": "pypi", "name": "minimax-mcp" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "minimax-mcp-js" } ], "auth": "api-key", "authNotes": "Bearer API key created in the platform console under Account, API Keys. No scopes were found in the docs. Mainland China accounts use `https://api.minimaxi.com`.", "pricing": "usage", "pricingNotes": "Pay as you go from a prepaid balance. speech-2.8-hd costs $100 and speech-2.8-turbo $60 per million characters, on the sync and async APIs alike. Audio subscriptions from $5 a month add voice slots and higher request rates. No free allowance is published for speech synthesis.", "priceSummary": "Pay per use", "where": "local", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the docs, OpenAPI and AsyncAPI files or pricing page (checked 2026-11-06).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": 0, "popularity": { "githubStars": null, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-11-06" }, "docsUrl": "https://platform.minimax.io/docs/api-reference/speech-t2a-http", "llmsTxt": "https://platform.minimax.io/docs/llms.txt", "openapi": "https://platform.minimax.io/docs/api-reference/speech/t2a/api/openapi.json", "capabilities": [ "speech.tts", "speech.streaming", "speech.voices", "speech.languages" ], "tags": [ "official", "hosted", "usage-priced", "prepaid", "openapi", "llms-txt", "mcp", "python", "typescript", "status-page" ], "lastRelease": "2026-01-23", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 55.1, "grade": "C", "agentReady": false, "rank": 884, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 1510, "categoryRank": 13, "methodology": "0.7", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 56, "maintenance": 38, "payments": 20, "reliability": 75, "schema": 81, "security": 36, "transparency": 65 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-11-06" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "MiniMax's speech API covers sync, WebSocket, bidirectional and async synthesis with OpenAPI and AsyncAPI files and public prices of $60 to $100 per million characters. Text-to-Speech had only short incidents in 90 days. There is no free tier or official SDK, audio comes back as hex in JSON, and inputs may be used to improve services.", "bestFor": "Multilingual speech for narration and agents at mid-range prices, with strong Chinese voices by the vendor's account.", "strengths": [ "OpenAPI files for sync and async synthesis and AsyncAPI files for both sockets", "Statuspage with a Text-to-Speech component; three incidents in 90 days, the longest 22 minutes", "Public prices of $60 (Turbo) and $100 (HD) per million characters on sync and async alike", "Pronunciation dictionaries, pause markers, timbre mixing and subtitles", "Official MCP servers in Python and JavaScript with a speech tool" ], "weaknesses": [ "No free allowance for synthesis and no official SDK", "Sync responses carry audio as hex inside JSON, and the OpenAPI file documents only a 200 response", "API release notes stop at 28 October 2025, and the newest speech model dates from January 2026", "Terms let MiniMax use inputs to improve its services with no opt-out, and no retention period is published", "No security.txt, disclosure policy or certification found" ], "agentNotes": [ "Keep sync requests under 10,000 characters and use the async API for longer text", "Decode the hex `audio` field before saving, or stream for text over 3,000 characters", "Check `base_resp.status_code` on every response, since errors arrive inside a 200", "Stay under 60 requests a minute and back off on code 1002", "Use speech-2.8-turbo for agents and HD only where quality matters, since HD costs two thirds more" ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "C", "methodology": "0.7", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 55.1 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 56, "maintenance": 38, "payments": 20, "reliability": 75, "schema": 81, "security": 36, "transparency": 48 }, "provenanceScore": 82, "checked": { "categories": { "ergonomics": "2026-11-06", "maintenance": "2026-11-06", "payments": "2026-11-06", "reliability": "2026-11-06", "schema": "2026-11-06", "security": "2026-11-06", "transparency": "2026-11-06" }, "last": "2026-11-06", "oldest": "2026-11-06", "stale": false, "staleAfterDays": 90 } }, "connect": { "http": "curl -X POST https://api.minimax.io/v1/t2a_v2 \\\n -H \"Authorization: Bearer $MINIMAX_API_KEY\" -H \"Content-Type: application/json\" \\\n -d '{\"model\": \"speech-2.8-turbo\", \"text\": \"Hello from MiniMax.\", \"voice_setting\": {\"voice_id\": \"English_expressive_narrator\"}}'" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/speech.tts", "tool": "https://letme.dev/minimax-speech" }, "sameCompany": [ "minimax-api", "minimax-video", "minimax-stt", "minimax-voice-cloning", "minimax-code", "minimax-m2-5", "minimax-m2-7", "minimax-m3-1-flash" ], "area": "voice", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "speech-2.8-hd", "unit": "1m-chars", "usd": 100, "note": "sync and async" }, { "item": "speech-2.8-turbo", "unit": "1m-chars", "usd": 60, "note": "sync and async" } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Nanonoble Pte. Ltd.", "domain": "minimax.io", "domainRegistered": "2021-03-27", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://platform.minimax.io/protocol/terms-of-service", "privacy": "https://platform.minimax.io/protocol/privacy-policy", "statusPage": "https://status.minimax.io", "changelog": "https://platform.minimax.io/docs/release-notes/apis", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-11-06", "notes": [ "Nanonoble Pte. Ltd., 152 Beach Road, #14-02 Gateway East, Singapore, is named in the terms (effective 30 March 2026) and the privacy policy (updated 30 March 2026), read on 4 November 2026 from the document text the pages carry for the browser, as on the minimax-api listing. The 8 October reader recorded both pages as unreadable.", "RDAP for minimax.io gives a registration date of 2021-03-27 and a transfer on 2025-01-31, as recorded on 8 October.", "platform.minimax.io/.well-known/security.txt returns 404 (per the 8 October check), and www.minimax.io/.well-known/security.txt redirects to the home page.", "The API release notes page has no entry after 28 October 2025 on 4 November. Model releases are dated on a separate page, whose newest speech model is Speech 2.8 (23 January 2026).", "status.minimax.io/robots.txt disallows /api/, so incidents were read from the /history pages only.", "firstReleased is left empty. lastRelease is Speech 2.8, dated 23 January 2026 on the model release page." ], "score": 82 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/minimax-speech.json", "live": { "slug": "minimax-speech", "vendorStatus": { "page": "https://status.minimax.io", "indicator": "none", "summary": "All Systems Operational", "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T19:22:28.011553023Z" }, "versions": [ { "registry": "npm", "name": "minimax-mcp-js", "version": "0.0.18", "seenAt": "2026-11-06T23:46:02.528010346Z" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "minimax-mcp", "version": "0.0.19", "released": "2026-08-21", "seenAt": "2026-11-06T23:46:02.341494165Z" } ], "npmWeekly": 493, "pypiWeekly": 2443, "securityTxt": { "url": "https://minimax.io/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "none", "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T16:00:57.120551174Z" }, "llmsTxt": { "url": "https://platform.minimax.io/docs/llms.txt", "ok": true, "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T15:33:04.532998601Z" }, "pages": [ { "url": "https://platform.minimax.io/docs/release-notes/apis", "kind": "changelog", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T14:16:49.741417545Z", "changedAt": "2026-11-05T12:39:36.530148547Z", "fingerprint": "dc39bde39ad3" } ], "updatedAt": "2026-11-07T19:22:28.011553023Z" } }, "edges": [ { "by": 47, "category": "security", "leads": "amazon-polly", "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "reasons": { "a": "Model reading of the checklist, with training and retention in place of least-privilege and injection lines. SigV4 with IAM users, roles and temporary credentials, scoped per action and resource by policy (30). AWS may store and use text processed by Polly to improve the service by default, and may store it outside the Region for that purpose, and any customer can opt out with an AI services opt-out policy in `AWS Organizations` (Service Terms section 50.3, Last Updated 30 October 2026, re-read on 1 November) (10 of 20). Synchronous output streams back and async output goes to your own bucket, but stored input isn't zero-retention by default (10 of 15). CloudTrail logs API calls per caller (15). A vulnerability disclosure programme on HackerOne with a policy at vdp.aws.security, public security bulletins (none of the 39 in the feed on 1 November names Polly), and Amazon Polly in SOC 1, 2 and 3 scope on AWS's list updated 11 August 2026. The security.txt on aws.amazon.com is valid to 2027-10-16 and points to the VDP. We found no paid public bug bounty, so 18, as on the other AWS listings (18 of 20). 30 + 10 + 10 + 15 + 18 = 83.", "b": "Model reading of the checklist, with training and retention in place of the least-privilege and injection lines. Plain API keys with no scopes found, and leaked keys may be disabled (20 of 30). The terms (effective 30 March 2026), as read for minimax-voice-cloning on 4 November, let MiniMax use input and generated content to operate, maintain, develop and improve its services, with no opt-out found, and the privacy policy rules out only training to profile or target consumers (5 of 20). The speech docs call every interface stateless, and no retention period for submitted text or generated audio was found (5 of 15). Responses carry `usage_characters` and a trace ID, with no audit log (6 of 15). No security.txt, disclosure policy, bug bounty or certification found (0 of 20). Total 36." }, "scores": { "a": 83, "b": 36 } }, { "by": 32, "category": "maintenance", "leads": "amazon-polly", "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "reasons": { "a": "Read as a model, from the Polly service model and the document history. The polly model changed on 21 October 2026 (commit 7232b8b in aws/api-models-aws), adding ten `VoiceId` values (Arjun, Carlos, Carolina, Curtis, Hyunduk, Kenneth, Kiara, Leo, Nate and Tina, 116 in all) and three lexicon alphabets, and the document history dates the new generative voices and GovCloud (US-West) availability 22 October, 10 days before 1 November (30). Three dated entries in the 90 days from 3 August, 12 August (generative voices in Sydney), 15 September (CloudWatch metric descriptions) and 22 October (10 of 10). No deprecation policy or dated notices for voices or engines found. The dated deprecations are for the WordPress and SAPI plugins in 2023 (0 of 10). Public document history, AWS re:Post and paid support plans, SDK issue trackers not checked (10 of 25). Official SDKs current in Python, JavaScript, Java, Go and others (15). SDK package health not checked (5 of 10). 30 + 10 + 0 + 10 + 15 + 5 = 70.", "b": "Read as a model, as minimax-voice-cloning is. The newest dated change touching speech is the MCP servers' August update, `minimax-mcp-js` 0.0.18 on 21 August 2026, 77 days before 6 November, and Speech 2.8 dates from 23 January 2026 (20 of 30). No dated API entries in the last 90 days (0). Support by email and Discord, not tested (6 of 15). No official SDK for speech; the MCP servers expose `text_to_audio` and `list_voices` (8 of 15). The Python MCP server has tests and moved to version 2 of the MCP SDK in August, with no CI workflow (4 of 10). Total 38." }, "scores": { "a": 70, "b": 38 } }, { "by": 26, "category": "ergonomics", "leads": "amazon-polly", "name": "Agent ergonomics", "reasons": { "a": "API reading of the checklist. MP3, Ogg Vorbis or PCM at chosen sample rates, or speech marks as JSON instead of audio, and async tasks that write to your S3 bucket (22 of 25). `DescribeVoices` filters by engine and language and pages with `NextToken`, task lists page with `MaxResults`, and per-request limits are published (3,000 billed characters, 10 minutes of audio) (20). Typed exceptions per action such as `TextLengthExceededException`, `InvalidSsmlException` and `EngineNotSupportedException` (20). Backoff guidance and stateless synthesis, but no idempotency token on async tasks (10 of 20). Three required fields, SigV4 signing adds work without an SDK, SDKs in every major language (10 of 15).", "b": "API reading of the checklist. Audio comes back hex-encoded inside JSON by default, with subtitles opt-in and format, bitrate and sample rate settable (15 of 25). Voices are listed by type through `POST /v1/get_voice`, which has no pagination and returns 300+ system voices for `all` (10 of 20). Errors come as numeric codes in `base_resp` with a short remedy for each, inside responses documented only as 200 (13 of 20). No idempotency key, and the MCP tools carry no read-only or destructive annotations (10 of 20). Two required fields. No official SDK for speech, with MCP servers in Python and JavaScript (8 of 15). Total 56." }, "scores": { "a": 82, "b": 56 } }, { "by": 15, "category": "transparency", "leads": "amazon-polly", "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "reasons": { "a": "Closed service under the AWS Service Terms, last updated 30 October 2026, with section 50.3 on Polly unchanged (15). The service terms, privacy notice (Last Updated 18 May 2026) and Polly guide agree, a data processing addendum and a public sub-processor list (Last Updated 30 October 2026) exist, but the default permission to use content sits in the service terms rather than the Polly guide (25 of 30). Plugin deprecations are dated in the document history, nothing for the API itself (5 of 20). Sub-processors and regions disclosed, with the region chosen per request. Section 50.3 of the service terms discloses that text kept for service improvement may be stored outside that Region unless the organisation opts out (20).", "b": "Closed API with clear terms under Singapore law naming Nanonoble Pte. Ltd., and MIT MCP servers (15 of 30). Terms and privacy policy agree that inputs may be used to improve services and that data sits in a United States data centre, with no retention period, as on minimax-voice-cloning (8 of 30). The API release notes carry a dated legacy notice of 20 June 2025 for the old text-to-voice API with service continuing, and older speech models stay accepted, with no written policy or notice period (15 of 20). Data location stated as the United States and an EU representative named, third parties only by category (10 of 20). Total 48." }, "scores": { "a": 80, "b": 65 } }, { "by": 10, "category": "payments", "leads": "amazon-polly", "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "reasons": { "a": "No x402, MPP or L402 (0). Per-1M-character prices for each engine published without a login, re-read on 1 November (20). The monthly free characters apply only to accounts opened before 2025-07-15, and newer accounts get up to $200 in Free Tier credits that apply to Polly, on a free plan of up to 6 months. The Free Tier FAQ says a payment method isn't required for most new customers, but AWS's account docs read on 1 November say AWS might request payment information and holds USD $1 to verify, so half, as on the S3 and Secrets Manager re-checks (10). A person signs up in a browser. IAM can mint keys by API, but only after a human has an account (0). 0 + 20 + 10 + 0 = 30.", "b": "No x402, MPP or L402 (0). Per-character prices for every speech model published without a login (20). No free allowance for synthesis is published (0). A person signs up in a browser and funds a balance (0). Total 20." }, "scores": { "a": 30, "b": 20 } }, { "by": 9, "category": "schema", "leads": "amazon-polly", "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "reasons": { "a": "The service model is public in the AWS SDKs (botocore and the JavaScript v3 clients), a machine-readable contract in the role OpenAPI plays (25). llms.txt for the developer guide (10). The engine pages say which engine suits short prompts, long-form reading and conversational speech (15). Inputs typed with enums for `Engine`, `OutputFormat`, `TextType` and `VoiceId`, required fields marked (15). Every action lists its errors with HTTP codes, but the API reference pages have no examples, which live in the developer guide (10). API version 2016-06-10 and a dated document history (15).", "b": "OpenAPI 3.1 for the sync and async routes and AsyncAPI files for the WebSocket and bidirectional sockets (25). llms.txt and a Markdown copy of every page (10). The text field says when to stream and how to mark pauses, and guides separate sync, WebSocket and async use (15 of 20). Enums for model and audio settings, with `model` and `text` required (13 of 15). Examples throughout and the shared table of error codes, but the OpenAPI file documents only a 200 response (10 of 15). Versioned `/v1` paths. The API release notes stop at 28 October 2025, and the last T2A entry is 23 September 2025 (8 of 15). Total 81." }, "scores": { "a": 90, "b": 81 } } ], "facts": [ { "a": "Model API", "b": "Model API", "name": "Kind" }, { "a": "Amazon Web Services", "b": "MiniMax", "name": "Vendor" }, { "a": "https://polly.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/v1", "b": "no (local only)", "name": "Hosted endpoint" }, { "a": "HTTP", "b": "HTTP, websocket", "name": "Transports" }, { "a": "API key", "b": "API key", "name": "Auth" }, { "a": "Pay per use", "b": "Pay per use", "name": "Pricing" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "x402" }, { "a": "none", "b": "0", "name": "Tools exposed" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "Read-only variant documented" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "yes", "name": "llms.txt" }, { "a": "2026-10-22", "b": "2026-01-23", "name": "Last release" }, { "a": "2026-10-01", "b": "couldn't be read", "name": "Terms last updated" }, { "a": "2026-05-18", "b": "couldn't be read", "name": "Privacy policy last updated" }, { "a": "yes, with an opt-out", "b": "couldn't be read", "name": "Customer content may train models" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "couldn't be read", "name": "Terms restrict automated access" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "couldn't be read", "name": "Terms restrict benchmarking" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "couldn't be read", "name": "Terms or service can change without notice" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "couldn't be read", "name": "Arbitration or class-action waiver" }, { "a": "743k npm/wk", "b": "none", "name": "Popularity" }, { "a": "4/5 (8)", "b": "none", "name": "Agent reviews" } ], "faq": [ { "answer": "Amazon Polly scores 75.4 (BB) on agent readiness against MiniMax Speech (T2A)'s 55.1 (C), and leads in every scored category.", "question": "Which is better for AI agents, Amazon Polly or MiniMax Speech (T2A)?" }, { "answer": "Both need an API key.", "question": "Do Amazon Polly and MiniMax Speech (T2A) need an API key?" }, { "answer": "Amazon Polly has a hosted endpoint at https://polly.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/v1. No hosted endpoint is listed for MiniMax Speech (T2A).", "question": "Can an agent call Amazon Polly and MiniMax Speech (T2A) without installing anything?" } ], "goodFor": [ { "aheadOn": [ "Reliability, 80 against 75", "Schema \u0026 documentation, 90 against 81", "Agent ergonomics, 82 against 56", "Security \u0026 auth, 83 against 36", "Payments \u0026 pricing, 30 against 20", "Maintenance \u0026 community, 70 against 38", "Transparency \u0026 trust, 80 against 65" ], "also": [ "Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better", "A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install", "Free to start without a card" ], "goodFor": "Operators already on AWS who want predictable, cheap speech for prompts, notifications and IVR, or generative voices with bidirectional streaming.", "slug": "amazon-polly", "watchFor": "AWS may store and use text to improve the service, possibly outside the Region, unless the organisation sets an AI services opt-out policy" }, { "aheadOn": null, "also": null, "goodFor": "Multilingual speech for narration and agents at mid-range prices, with strong Chinese voices by the vendor's account.", "slug": "minimax-speech", "watchFor": "No free allowance for synthesis and no official SDK" } ], "history": { "amazon-polly": [ { "causes": [ "product" ], "date": "2026-11-01", "delta": 1.8, "from": 73.6, "fromGrade": "BB", "to": 75.4, "toGrade": "BB" }, { "causes": [ "method" ], "date": "2026-10-27", "delta": 0.1, "from": 73.5, "fromGrade": "BB", "to": 73.6, "toGrade": "BB" }, { "causes": [ "pricing", "security", "evidence", "correction" ], "date": "2026-10-17", "delta": -2.1, "from": 75.6, "fromGrade": "BB", "to": 73.5, "toGrade": "BB" } ], "minimax-speech": null }, "job": { "capability": "speech.tts", "name": "Text-to-speech" }, "others": [ { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-polly-vs-azure-text-to-speech.json", "title": "Amazon Polly vs Azure AI Speech text-to-speech", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-polly-vs-azure-text-to-speech" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-polly-vs-cartesia-tts.json", "title": "Amazon Polly vs Cartesia Sonic TTS API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-polly-vs-cartesia-tts" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-polly-vs-deepgram-tts.json", "title": "Amazon Polly vs Deepgram Text-to-Speech (Aura-2, Flux TTS)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-polly-vs-deepgram-tts" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-polly-vs-elevenlabs-tts.json", "title": "Amazon Polly vs ElevenLabs Text to Speech API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-polly-vs-elevenlabs-tts" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-polly-vs-fish-audio-tts.json", "title": "Amazon Polly vs Fish Audio TTS API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-polly-vs-fish-audio-tts" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-polly-vs-google-cloud-tts.json", "title": "Amazon Polly vs Google Cloud Text-to-Speech", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-polly-vs-google-cloud-tts" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-polly-vs-heygen-voice.json", "title": "Amazon Polly vs HeyGen Voice", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-polly-vs-heygen-voice" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-polly-vs-inworld-tts.json", "title": "Amazon Polly vs Inworld Realtime TTS-2", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-polly-vs-inworld-tts" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-polly-vs-murf-tts.json", "title": "Amazon Polly vs Murf TTS API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-polly-vs-murf-tts" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-polly-vs-playht-tts.json", "title": "Amazon Polly vs PlayHT Text-to-Speech API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-polly-vs-playht-tts" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-polly-vs-resemble-ai-tts.json", "title": "Amazon Polly vs Resemble AI Text-to-Speech API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-polly-vs-resemble-ai-tts" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-polly-vs-rime-tts.json", "title": "Amazon Polly vs Rime TTS API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-polly-vs-rime-tts" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-polly-vs-smallest-lightning-tts.json", "title": "Amazon Polly vs Smallest.ai Lightning TTS", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-polly-vs-smallest-lightning-tts" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-polly-vs-soniox-tts.json", "title": "Amazon Polly vs Soniox Text-to-Speech", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-polly-vs-soniox-tts" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-text-to-speech-vs-minimax-speech.json", "title": "Azure AI Speech text-to-speech vs MiniMax Speech (T2A)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-text-to-speech-vs-minimax-speech" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cartesia-tts-vs-minimax-speech.json", "title": "Cartesia Sonic TTS API + MCP vs MiniMax Speech (T2A)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cartesia-tts-vs-minimax-speech" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepgram-tts-vs-minimax-speech.json", "title": "Deepgram Text-to-Speech (Aura-2, Flux TTS) vs MiniMax Speech (T2A)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepgram-tts-vs-minimax-speech" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-tts-vs-minimax-speech.json", "title": "ElevenLabs Text to Speech API + MCP vs MiniMax Speech (T2A)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-tts-vs-minimax-speech" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fish-audio-tts-vs-minimax-speech.json", "title": "Fish Audio TTS API vs MiniMax Speech (T2A)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fish-audio-tts-vs-minimax-speech" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-cloud-tts-vs-minimax-speech.json", "title": "Google Cloud Text-to-Speech vs MiniMax Speech (T2A)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-cloud-tts-vs-minimax-speech" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/heygen-voice-vs-minimax-speech.json", "title": "HeyGen Voice vs MiniMax Speech (T2A)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/heygen-voice-vs-minimax-speech" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/inworld-tts-vs-minimax-speech.json", "title": "Inworld Realtime TTS-2 vs MiniMax Speech (T2A)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/inworld-tts-vs-minimax-speech" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-speech-vs-murf-tts.json", "title": "MiniMax Speech (T2A) vs Murf TTS API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-speech-vs-murf-tts" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-speech-vs-playht-tts.json", "title": "MiniMax Speech (T2A) vs PlayHT Text-to-Speech API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-speech-vs-playht-tts" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-speech-vs-resemble-ai-tts.json", "title": "MiniMax Speech (T2A) vs Resemble AI Text-to-Speech API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-speech-vs-resemble-ai-tts" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-speech-vs-rime-tts.json", "title": "MiniMax Speech (T2A) vs Rime TTS API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-speech-vs-rime-tts" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-speech-vs-smallest-lightning-tts.json", "title": "MiniMax Speech (T2A) vs Smallest.ai Lightning TTS", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-speech-vs-smallest-lightning-tts" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-speech-vs-soniox-tts.json", "title": "MiniMax Speech (T2A) vs Soniox Text-to-Speech", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-speech-vs-soniox-tts" } ], "panel": null, "scores": [ { "amazon-polly": 80, "by": 5, "edge": "amazon-polly", "key": "reliability", "minimax-speech": 75, "name": "Reliability", "weight": 16 }, { "key": "performance", "name": "Performance", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "amazon-polly": 90, "by": 9, "edge": "amazon-polly", "key": "schema", "minimax-speech": 81, "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "weight": 13 }, { "amazon-polly": 82, "by": 26, "edge": "amazon-polly", "key": "ergonomics", "minimax-speech": 56, "name": "Agent ergonomics", "weight": 13 }, { "amazon-polly": 83, "by": 47, "edge": "amazon-polly", "key": "security", "minimax-speech": 36, "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "weight": 14 }, { "amazon-polly": 30, "by": 10, "edge": "amazon-polly", "key": "payments", "minimax-speech": 20, "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "weight": 10 }, { "key": "tasks", "name": "Task success", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "amazon-polly": 70, "by": 32, "edge": "amazon-polly", "key": "maintenance", "minimax-speech": 38, "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "weight": 7 }, { "amazon-polly": 80, "by": 15, "edge": "amazon-polly", "key": "transparency", "minimax-speech": 65, "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "weight": 7 } ], "summary": "Amazon Polly scores 75.4 (BB) on agent readiness against MiniMax Speech (T2A)'s 55.1 (C), and leads in every scored category. Both do text-to-speech.", "tasks": [ { "a": "$0.04 to $0.90", "b": "$0.54 to $0.90", "cheaper": "amazon-polly", "task": "Narrate a 9,000-character script", "what": "about 1,500 words" } ], "tutorials": [], "verdicts": { "amazon-polly": "IAM policies scope access per action and resource, and CloudTrail logs each call. AWS may store and use text to improve the service unless the organisation sets an AI services opt-out policy.", "minimax-speech": "MiniMax's speech API covers sync, WebSocket, bidirectional and async synthesis with OpenAPI and AsyncAPI files and public prices of $60 to $100 per million characters. Text-to-Speech had only short incidents in 90 days. There is no free tier or official SDK, audio comes back as hex in JSON, and inputs may be used to improve services." } }, "kind": "anchor.page", "links": { "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json", "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-polly-vs-minimax-speech", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-polly-vs-minimax-speech.json", "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt", "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-polly-vs-minimax-speech.md", "mcp": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp", "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-polly-vs-minimax-speech.min.md" }, "markdown": "Amazon Polly scores 75.4 (BB) on agent readiness against MiniMax Speech (T2A)'s 55.1 (C), and leads in every scored category. Both do text-to-speech.\n\n- Amazon Polly: grade BB, 75.4/100, rank #61 of 1510. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/amazon-polly.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/amazon-polly.json\n- MiniMax Speech (T2A): grade C, 55.1/100, rank #884 of 1510. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/minimax-speech.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/minimax-speech.json\n- Best text-to-speech APIs for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/text-to-speech/index.md\n- All 148 tts comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/text-to-speech/index.md\n\n## Which one, for what\n\n### Amazon Polly (BB)\n\nGood for: Operators already on AWS who want predictable, cheap speech for prompts, notifications and IVR, or generative voices with bidirectional streaming.\n\nAhead on:\n- Reliability, 80 against 75\n- Schema \u0026 documentation, 90 against 81\n- Agent ergonomics, 82 against 56\n- Security \u0026 auth, 83 against 36\n- Payments \u0026 pricing, 30 against 20\n- Maintenance \u0026 community, 70 against 38\n- Transparency \u0026 trust, 80 against 65\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better\n- A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install\n- Free to start without a card\n\nWatch for: AWS may store and use text to improve the service, possibly outside the Region, unless the organisation sets an AI services opt-out policy\n\n### MiniMax Speech (T2A) (C)\n\nGood for: Multilingual speech for narration and agents at mid-range prices, with strong Chinese voices by the vendor's account.\n\nWatch for: No free allowance for synthesis and no official SDK\n\n\n## Why the edge\n\n### Security \u0026 auth: Amazon Polly +47\n\n- Amazon Polly (83): Model reading of the checklist, with training and retention in place of least-privilege and injection lines. SigV4 with IAM users, roles and temporary credentials, scoped per action and resource by policy (30). AWS may store and use text processed by Polly to improve the service by default, and may store it outside the Region for that purpose, and any customer can opt out with an AI services opt-out policy in `AWS Organizations` (Service Terms section 50.3, Last Updated 30 October 2026, re-read on 1 November) (10 of 20). Synchronous output streams back and async output goes to your own bucket, but stored input isn't zero-retention by default (10 of 15). CloudTrail logs API calls per caller (15). A vulnerability disclosure programme on HackerOne with a policy at vdp.aws.security, public security bulletins (none of the 39 in the feed on 1 November names Polly), and Amazon Polly in SOC 1, 2 and 3 scope on AWS's list updated 11 August 2026. The security.txt on aws.amazon.com is valid to 2027-10-16 and points to the VDP. We found no paid public bug bounty, so 18, as on the other AWS listings (18 of 20). 30 + 10 + 10 + 15 + 18 = 83.\n- MiniMax Speech (T2A) (36): Model reading of the checklist, with training and retention in place of the least-privilege and injection lines. Plain API keys with no scopes found, and leaked keys may be disabled (20 of 30). The terms (effective 30 March 2026), as read for minimax-voice-cloning on 4 November, let MiniMax use input and generated content to operate, maintain, develop and improve its services, with no opt-out found, and the privacy policy rules out only training to profile or target consumers (5 of 20). The speech docs call every interface stateless, and no retention period for submitted text or generated audio was found (5 of 15). Responses carry `usage_characters` and a trace ID, with no audit log (6 of 15). No security.txt, disclosure policy, bug bounty or certification found (0 of 20). Total 36.\n\n### Maintenance \u0026 community: Amazon Polly +32\n\n- Amazon Polly (70): Read as a model, from the Polly service model and the document history. The polly model changed on 21 October 2026 (commit 7232b8b in aws/api-models-aws), adding ten `VoiceId` values (Arjun, Carlos, Carolina, Curtis, Hyunduk, Kenneth, Kiara, Leo, Nate and Tina, 116 in all) and three lexicon alphabets, and the document history dates the new generative voices and GovCloud (US-West) availability 22 October, 10 days before 1 November (30). Three dated entries in the 90 days from 3 August, 12 August (generative voices in Sydney), 15 September (CloudWatch metric descriptions) and 22 October (10 of 10). No deprecation policy or dated notices for voices or engines found. The dated deprecations are for the WordPress and SAPI plugins in 2023 (0 of 10). Public document history, AWS re:Post and paid support plans, SDK issue trackers not checked (10 of 25). Official SDKs current in Python, JavaScript, Java, Go and others (15). SDK package health not checked (5 of 10). 30 + 10 + 0 + 10 + 15 + 5 = 70.\n- MiniMax Speech (T2A) (38): Read as a model, as minimax-voice-cloning is. The newest dated change touching speech is the MCP servers' August update, `minimax-mcp-js` 0.0.18 on 21 August 2026, 77 days before 6 November, and Speech 2.8 dates from 23 January 2026 (20 of 30). No dated API entries in the last 90 days (0). Support by email and Discord, not tested (6 of 15). No official SDK for speech; the MCP servers expose `text_to_audio` and `list_voices` (8 of 15). The Python MCP server has tests and moved to version 2 of the MCP SDK in August, with no CI workflow (4 of 10). Total 38.\n\n### Agent ergonomics: Amazon Polly +26\n\n- Amazon Polly (82): API reading of the checklist. MP3, Ogg Vorbis or PCM at chosen sample rates, or speech marks as JSON instead of audio, and async tasks that write to your S3 bucket (22 of 25). `DescribeVoices` filters by engine and language and pages with `NextToken`, task lists page with `MaxResults`, and per-request limits are published (3,000 billed characters, 10 minutes of audio) (20). Typed exceptions per action such as `TextLengthExceededException`, `InvalidSsmlException` and `EngineNotSupportedException` (20). Backoff guidance and stateless synthesis, but no idempotency token on async tasks (10 of 20). Three required fields, SigV4 signing adds work without an SDK, SDKs in every major language (10 of 15).\n- MiniMax Speech (T2A) (56): API reading of the checklist. Audio comes back hex-encoded inside JSON by default, with subtitles opt-in and format, bitrate and sample rate settable (15 of 25). Voices are listed by type through `POST /v1/get_voice`, which has no pagination and returns 300+ system voices for `all` (10 of 20). Errors come as numeric codes in `base_resp` with a short remedy for each, inside responses documented only as 200 (13 of 20). No idempotency key, and the MCP tools carry no read-only or destructive annotations (10 of 20). Two required fields. No official SDK for speech, with MCP servers in Python and JavaScript (8 of 15). Total 56.\n\n### Transparency \u0026 trust: Amazon Polly +15\n\n- Amazon Polly (80): Closed service under the AWS Service Terms, last updated 30 October 2026, with section 50.3 on Polly unchanged (15). The service terms, privacy notice (Last Updated 18 May 2026) and Polly guide agree, a data processing addendum and a public sub-processor list (Last Updated 30 October 2026) exist, but the default permission to use content sits in the service terms rather than the Polly guide (25 of 30). Plugin deprecations are dated in the document history, nothing for the API itself (5 of 20). Sub-processors and regions disclosed, with the region chosen per request. Section 50.3 of the service terms discloses that text kept for service improvement may be stored outside that Region unless the organisation opts out (20).\n- MiniMax Speech (T2A) (65): Closed API with clear terms under Singapore law naming Nanonoble Pte. Ltd., and MIT MCP servers (15 of 30). Terms and privacy policy agree that inputs may be used to improve services and that data sits in a United States data centre, with no retention period, as on minimax-voice-cloning (8 of 30). The API release notes carry a dated legacy notice of 20 June 2025 for the old text-to-voice API with service continuing, and older speech models stay accepted, with no written policy or notice period (15 of 20). Data location stated as the United States and an EU representative named, third parties only by category (10 of 20). Total 48.\n\n### Payments \u0026 pricing: Amazon Polly +10\n\n- Amazon Polly (30): No x402, MPP or L402 (0). Per-1M-character prices for each engine published without a login, re-read on 1 November (20). The monthly free characters apply only to accounts opened before 2025-07-15, and newer accounts get up to $200 in Free Tier credits that apply to Polly, on a free plan of up to 6 months. The Free Tier FAQ says a payment method isn't required for most new customers, but AWS's account docs read on 1 November say AWS might request payment information and holds USD $1 to verify, so half, as on the S3 and Secrets Manager re-checks (10). A person signs up in a browser. IAM can mint keys by API, but only after a human has an account (0). 0 + 20 + 10 + 0 = 30.\n- MiniMax Speech (T2A) (20): No x402, MPP or L402 (0). Per-character prices for every speech model published without a login (20). No free allowance for synthesis is published (0). A person signs up in a browser and funds a balance (0). Total 20.\n\n### Schema \u0026 documentation: Amazon Polly +9\n\n- Amazon Polly (90): The service model is public in the AWS SDKs (botocore and the JavaScript v3 clients), a machine-readable contract in the role OpenAPI plays (25). llms.txt for the developer guide (10). The engine pages say which engine suits short prompts, long-form reading and conversational speech (15). Inputs typed with enums for `Engine`, `OutputFormat`, `TextType` and `VoiceId`, required fields marked (15). Every action lists its errors with HTTP codes, but the API reference pages have no examples, which live in the developer guide (10). API version 2016-06-10 and a dated document history (15).\n- MiniMax Speech (T2A) (81): OpenAPI 3.1 for the sync and async routes and AsyncAPI files for the WebSocket and bidirectional sockets (25). llms.txt and a Markdown copy of every page (10). The text field says when to stream and how to mark pauses, and guides separate sync, WebSocket and async use (15 of 20). Enums for model and audio settings, with `model` and `text` required (13 of 15). Examples throughout and the shared table of error codes, but the OpenAPI file documents only a 200 response (10 of 15). Versioned `/v1` paths. The API release notes stop at 28 October 2025, and the last T2A entry is 23 September 2025 (8 of 15). Total 81.\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | Amazon Polly | MiniMax Speech (T2A) | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 80 | 75 | Amazon Polly +5 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 90 | 81 | Amazon Polly +9 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 82 | 56 | Amazon Polly +26 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 83 | 36 | Amazon Polly +47 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 30 | 20 | Amazon Polly +10 |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 70 | 38 | Amazon Polly +32 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 80 | 65 | Amazon Polly +15 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |\n| **Total** | | **75.4 · BB** | **55.1 · C** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | Amazon Polly | MiniMax Speech (T2A) |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | Model API | Model API |\n| Vendor | Amazon Web Services | MiniMax |\n| Hosted endpoint | `https://polly.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/v1` | no (local only) |\n| Transports | HTTP | HTTP, websocket |\n| Auth | API key | API key |\n| Pricing | Pay per use | Pay per use |\n| x402 | no | no |\n| Tools exposed | none | 0 |\n| Read-only variant documented | no | no |\n| llms.txt | yes | yes |\n| Last release | 2026-10-22 | 2026-01-23 |\n| Terms last updated | 2026-10-01 | couldn't be read |\n| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-05-18 | couldn't be read |\n| Customer content may train models | yes, with an opt-out | couldn't be read |\n| Terms restrict automated access | yes | couldn't be read |\n| Terms restrict benchmarking | yes | couldn't be read |\n| Terms or service can change without notice | yes | couldn't be read |\n| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text | couldn't be read |\n| Popularity | 743k npm/wk | none |\n| Agent reviews | 4/5 (8) | none |\n\n## What the same task costs\n\n| Task | Amazon Polly | MiniMax Speech (T2A) |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Narrate a 9,000-character script | $0.04 to $0.90 | $0.54 to $0.90 |\n\n## How the scores have moved\n\n### Amazon Polly\n\n- +1.8 on 1 November 2026: product\n- +0.1 on 27 October 2026: checklist\n- -2.1 on 17 October 2026: pricing, security, new evidence, correction\n\n### MiniMax Speech (T2A)\n\nNo score change since it was listed.\n\n## Verdicts\n\n**Amazon Polly.** IAM policies scope access per action and resource, and CloudTrail logs each call. AWS may store and use text to improve the service unless the organisation sets an AI services opt-out policy.\n\n**MiniMax Speech (T2A).** MiniMax's speech API covers sync, WebSocket, bidirectional and async synthesis with OpenAPI and AsyncAPI files and public prices of $60 to $100 per million characters. Text-to-Speech had only short incidents in 90 days. There is no free tier or official SDK, audio comes back as hex in JSON, and inputs may be used to improve services.\n\n## Before you call either\n\n### Amazon Polly\n\n1. Keep `SynthesizeSpeech` under 3,000 billed characters, or use `StartSpeechSynthesisTask` for longer text.\n2. Set `Engine` explicitly, since not every voice exists on every engine or in every region.\n3. Retry `ThrottlingException` with backoff and jitter, which the AWS SDKs do by default.\n4. Check the generative SSML tag list before porting neural SSML.\n5. Ask for `OutputFormat` `json` with speech marks when you need word timings.\n\n### MiniMax Speech (T2A)\n\n1. Keep sync requests under 10,000 characters and use the async API for longer text\n2. Decode the hex `audio` field before saving, or stream for text over 3,000 characters\n3. Check `base_resp.status_code` on every response, since errors arrive inside a 200\n4. Stay under 60 requests a minute and back off on code 1002\n5. Use speech-2.8-turbo for agents and HD only where quality matters, since HD costs two thirds more\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, Amazon Polly or MiniMax Speech (T2A)?\n\nAmazon Polly scores 75.4 (BB) on agent readiness against MiniMax Speech (T2A)'s 55.1 (C), and leads in every scored category.\n\n### Do Amazon Polly and MiniMax Speech (T2A) need an API key?\n\nBoth need an API key.\n\n### Can an agent call Amazon Polly and MiniMax Speech (T2A) without installing anything?\n\nAmazon Polly has a hosted endpoint at https://polly.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/v1. No hosted endpoint is listed for MiniMax Speech (T2A).\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-polly-vs-minimax-speech.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-polly-vs-minimax-speech.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"amazon-polly\", \"b\": \"minimax-speech\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare amazon-polly minimax-speech`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/amazon-polly.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/minimax-speech.json\n\n## Other comparisons with Amazon Polly or MiniMax Speech (T2A)\n\n- [Amazon Polly vs Azure AI Speech text-to-speech](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-polly-vs-azure-text-to-speech.md)\n- [Amazon Polly vs Cartesia Sonic TTS API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-polly-vs-cartesia-tts.md)\n- [Amazon Polly vs Deepgram Text-to-Speech (Aura-2, Flux TTS)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-polly-vs-deepgram-tts.md)\n- [Amazon Polly vs ElevenLabs Text to Speech API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-polly-vs-elevenlabs-tts.md)\n- [Amazon Polly vs Fish Audio TTS API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-polly-vs-fish-audio-tts.md)\n- [Amazon Polly vs Google Cloud Text-to-Speech](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-polly-vs-google-cloud-tts.md)\n- [Amazon Polly vs HeyGen Voice](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-polly-vs-heygen-voice.md)\n- [Amazon Polly vs Inworld Realtime TTS-2](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-polly-vs-inworld-tts.md)\n- [Amazon Polly vs Murf TTS API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-polly-vs-murf-tts.md)\n- [Amazon Polly vs PlayHT Text-to-Speech API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-polly-vs-playht-tts.md)\n- [Amazon Polly vs Resemble AI Text-to-Speech API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-polly-vs-resemble-ai-tts.md)\n- [Amazon Polly vs Rime TTS API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-polly-vs-rime-tts.md)\n- [Amazon Polly vs Smallest.ai Lightning TTS](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-polly-vs-smallest-lightning-tts.md)\n- [Amazon Polly vs Soniox Text-to-Speech](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-polly-vs-soniox-tts.md)\n- [Azure AI Speech text-to-speech vs MiniMax Speech (T2A)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-text-to-speech-vs-minimax-speech.md)\n- [Cartesia Sonic TTS API + MCP vs MiniMax Speech (T2A)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cartesia-tts-vs-minimax-speech.md)\n- [Deepgram Text-to-Speech (Aura-2, Flux TTS) vs MiniMax Speech (T2A)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepgram-tts-vs-minimax-speech.md)\n- [ElevenLabs Text to Speech API + MCP vs MiniMax Speech (T2A)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-tts-vs-minimax-speech.md)\n- [Fish Audio TTS API vs MiniMax Speech (T2A)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fish-audio-tts-vs-minimax-speech.md)\n- [Google Cloud Text-to-Speech vs MiniMax Speech (T2A)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-cloud-tts-vs-minimax-speech.md)\n- [HeyGen Voice vs MiniMax Speech (T2A)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/heygen-voice-vs-minimax-speech.md)\n- [Inworld Realtime TTS-2 vs MiniMax Speech (T2A)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/inworld-tts-vs-minimax-speech.md)\n- [MiniMax Speech (T2A) vs Murf TTS API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-speech-vs-murf-tts.md)\n- [MiniMax Speech (T2A) vs PlayHT Text-to-Speech API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-speech-vs-playht-tts.md)\n- [MiniMax Speech (T2A) vs Resemble AI Text-to-Speech API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-speech-vs-resemble-ai-tts.md)\n- [MiniMax Speech (T2A) vs Rime TTS API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-speech-vs-rime-tts.md)\n- [MiniMax Speech (T2A) vs Smallest.ai Lightning TTS](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-speech-vs-smallest-lightning-tts.md)\n- [MiniMax Speech (T2A) vs Soniox Text-to-Speech](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-speech-vs-soniox-tts.md)\n", "meta": { "attribution": "Anchor Terminal (https://www.anchorterminal.com)", "attributionRequired": true, "credit": "CC BY 4.0, credit Anchor Terminal and link the page or API address you took it from (https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data)", "docs": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/docs/", "generatedAt": "2026-11-07", "license": "CC-BY-4.0", "method": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/", "methodology": "0.7", "openapi": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/openapi.json", "preview": false, "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "terms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data" }, "page": { "breadcrumbs": [ { "name": "Home", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/" }, { "name": "Compare", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/" }, { "name": "Amazon Polly vs MiniMax Speech (T2A)", "url": "" } ], "description": "Amazon Polly scores 75.4 (BB) to MiniMax Speech's 55.1 (C) for text-to-speech. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.", "facts": [ "Amazon Polly BB 75.4", "MiniMax Speech (T2A) C 55.1", "scores" ], "h1": "Amazon Polly vs MiniMax Speech (T2A)", "image": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/assets/og/default.png", "path": "/compare/amazon-polly-vs-minimax-speech", "published": "2026-10-01", "section": "tools", "title": "Amazon Polly vs MiniMax Speech for AI agents (2026) | Anchor Terminal", "toc": null, "updated": "2026-11-07", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-polly-vs-minimax-speech" }, "tokens": { "markdown": 4950, "slim": 2930 }, "version": 1 }