{ "data": { "a": { "slug": "google-cloud-tts", "name": "Google Cloud Text-to-Speech", "vendor": "Google Cloud", "vendorUrl": "https://cloud.google.com/text-to-speech", "kind": "model", "category": "text-to-speech", "summary": "Google Cloud's Text-to-Speech API synthesises speech from text or SSML over REST and gRPC, with streaming, long-audio jobs, Chirp 3 HD voices, Gemini-TTS models steered by natural-language prompts, and older WaveNet, Neural2 and Standard voices.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/google-cloud-tts", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/google-cloud-tts.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/google-cloud-tts.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/google-cloud-tts.json", "dns": "google-cloud-tts.grade.anchorterminal.com", "repo": "https://github.com/googleapis/google-cloud-python/tree/main/packages/google-cloud-texttospeech", "transports": [ "http" ], "packages": [ { "registry": "pypi", "name": "google-cloud-texttospeech" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@google-cloud/text-to-speech" } ], "auth": "oauth", "authNotes": "OAuth 2.0 bearer token from a service account or `gcloud` (Application Default Credentials) on a project with billing and the API turned on, scoped through IAM. The discovery document also accepts `access_token` and `key` as URL query parameters.", "pricing": "usage", "pricingNotes": "Chirp 3 HD $30 per million characters after 1 million free a month, Neural2 $16, Studio $160 and Standard and WaveNet $4 after 4 million free. Gemini-TTS is billed per token, from $0.50 per million text tokens and $10 per million audio tokens on Gemini 2.5 Flash TTS. Billing must be enabled.", "priceSummary": "Pay per use", "where": "local", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the docs or pricing page (checked 2026-11-06). Billing runs through a Cloud Billing account.", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": 0, "popularity": { "githubStars": null, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-11-06" }, "docsUrl": "https://docs.cloud.google.com/text-to-speech/docs", "openapi": "https://texttospeech.googleapis.com/$discovery/rest?version=v1", "capabilities": [ "speech.tts", "speech.streaming", "speech.voices", "speech.ssml", "speech.languages" ], "tags": [ "hosted", "freemium", "closed-source", "python", "typescript", "enterprise", "streaming", "batch", "async-jobs", "card-required" ], "lastRelease": "2025-12-30", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 66.9, "grade": "B", "agentReady": false, "rank": 350, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 1486, "categoryRank": 8, "methodology": "0.7", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 65, "maintenance": 25, "payments": 20, "reliability": 85, "schema": 80, "security": 80, "transparency": 87 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-11-06" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "Cloud TTS has a typed discovery document, a 99.9 per cent SLA, no logging of text or audio, and voices from $4 to $160 per million characters. Its release notes stop at 30 December 2025, the newest Gemini TTS models ship only on the Agent Platform API, and tokens can travel in the URL.", "bestFor": "Teams already on Google Cloud wanting many languages, SSML and an SLA.", "strengths": [ "Google says it doesn't log any customer Cloud TTS text or audio, and the service is stateless", "99.9 per cent monthly uptime SLA with financial credits", "Text-to-Speech appears in none of the Google Cloud incidents since 8 August 2026", "Discovery document and gRPC protos type every method", "Monthly free allowances of 1 million Chirp 3 HD and 4 million Standard or WaveNet characters" ], "weaknesses": [ "No release note since 30 December 2025, though a Gemini 3.1 TTS preview model is listed", "Gemini 3.8 Flash TTS is GA only on the Agent Platform API, not the Cloud TTS API", "The discovery document accepts tokens and keys as URL query parameters", "Billing with a card is needed even for the free allowance", "No llms.txt, and no guidance on quota errors or backoff" ], "agentNotes": [ "Send OAuth tokens in the Authorization header, never as `access_token` or `key` in the URL", "Use `synthesizeLongAudio` with a Cloud Storage bucket for long text, and `text:synthesize` for short replies", "Pick Chirp 3 HD for natural voices with SSML, and Gemini-TTS when the delivery needs prompt steering", "Check whether the Gemini TTS model you want is on the Cloud TTS API or only on the Agent Platform API", "Stay within 200 requests a minute on Chirp 3 voices, which have their own quota" ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "B", "methodology": "0.7", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 66.9 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 65, "maintenance": 25, "payments": 20, "reliability": 85, "schema": 80, "security": 80, "transparency": 75 }, "provenanceScore": 98, "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": { "install": "pip install google-cloud-texttospeech" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/speech.tts", "tool": "https://letme.dev/google-cloud-tts" }, "sameCompany": [ "gemini-api", "vertex-ai", "gemini-embedding", "vertex-ai-tuning", "cloud-run-gpus", "google-model-armor", "google-imagen", "google-veo", "google-lyria", "google-speech-to-text", "gemini-live", "google-adk", "google-memory-bank", "google-secret-manager", "google-cloud-document-ai", "google-weather-api", "chrome-devtools-mcp", "google-maps-platform", "google-cloud-translation", "google-calendar-api", "firebase-cloud-messaging", "google-cloud-storage", "google-drive-api", "gemini-enterprise", "gemini-cli", "google-search-console", "google-ads-api", "google-forms", "google-sheets-api", "gmail-api", "google-people-api" ], "area": "voice", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "Chirp 3 HD voices", "unit": "1m-chars", "usd": 30, "note": "after 1 million free characters a month" }, { "item": "Neural2 voices", "unit": "1m-chars", "usd": 16, "note": "after 1 million free characters a month" }, { "item": "Standard and WaveNet voices", "unit": "1m-chars", "usd": 4, "note": "after 4 million free characters a month" }, { "item": "Studio voices", "unit": "1m-chars", "usd": 160 }, { "item": "Gemini 2.5 Flash TTS audio output", "unit": "1m-tokens", "usd": 10, "note": "25 audio tokens a second; text input $0.50 per million tokens" } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Google LLC", "domain": "google.com", "domainRegistered": "1997-09-15", "domainNote": "The endpoint is on googleapis.com, Google's API domain. google.com was registered in 1997.", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://cloud.google.com/terms", "privacy": "https://policies.google.com/privacy", "statusPage": "https://status.cloud.google.com", "changelog": "https://docs.cloud.google.com/text-to-speech/docs/release-notes", "securityTxt": "valid", "checked": "2026-11-06", "notes": [ "Cloud TTS is offered under the Google Cloud terms, with Google LLC as the contracting party, as on google-speech-to-text.", "docs.cloud.google.com and cloud.google.com robots.txt allow the documentation, pricing and SLA pages read. status.cloud.google.com/robots.txt allows all paths.", "No llms.txt was found at docs.cloud.google.com/llms.txt or under /text-to-speech/." ], "score": 98 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/google-cloud-tts.json", "live": { "slug": "google-cloud-tts", "versions": [ { "registry": "github", "name": "googleapis/google-cloud-python", "version": "google-maps-solar-v0.6.3", "released": "2026-11-05", "seenAt": "2026-11-06T23:29:18.173118344Z" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@google-cloud/text-to-speech", "version": "7.2.0", "seenAt": "2026-11-06T23:29:16.557801912Z" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "google-cloud-texttospeech", "version": "2.38.0", "released": "2026-10-01", "seenAt": "2026-11-06T23:29:16.41496035Z" } ], "githubStars": 5415, "npmWeekly": 443672, "pypiWeekly": 2259800, "securityTxt": { "url": "https://google.com/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "valid", "expires": "2030-04-01T00:00:00z", "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T16:01:22.068349931Z" }, "pages": [ { "url": "https://docs.cloud.google.com/text-to-speech/docs/release-notes", "kind": "changelog", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-11-07T14:05:56.03164941Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "cc773af4f925" } ], "updatedAt": "2026-11-07T16:01:22.068349931Z" } }, "answer": "Google Cloud Text-to-Speech scores 66.9 (B) on agent readiness against PlayHT Text-to-Speech API's 4.1 (F), and leads in every scored category.", "b": { "slug": "playht-tts", "name": "PlayHT Text-to-Speech API", "vendor": "PlayHT", "vendorUrl": "https://play.ht", "kind": "model", "category": "text-to-speech", "summary": "Discontinued text-to-speech API from PlayHT, formerly supporting streaming audio and batch generation.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/playht-tts", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/playht-tts.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/playht-tts.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/playht-tts.json", "dns": "playht-tts.grade.anchorterminal.com", "repo": "https://github.com/playht/pyht", "license": "Apache-2.0 (Python SDK)", "transports": [ "http" ], "remoteUrl": "https://api.play.ht/api/v2", "packages": [ { "registry": "npm", "name": "playht" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "pyht" } ], "auth": "api-key", "authNotes": "Two headers, `X-USER-ID` and `AUTHORIZATION` with the secret key, both from the dashboard. The endpoints no longer answer.", "pricing": "paid", "pricingNotes": "Sold as monthly API plans named Hacker or Pro, Startup, Growth and Enterprise, with rate limits set by plan. The plan prices couldn't be recovered from a primary source, since the API pricing tab wasn't archived and play.ht is gone. The last archived pricing page shows Studio plans only (https://web.archive.org/web/20250625003728/https://play.ht/pricing/).", "priceSummary": "Paid", "where": "hosted", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "Service shut down. No x402 or machine payment was ever documented (checked 2026-09-30).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": 218, "npmWeekly": 14219, "pypiWeekly": 6561, "asOf": "2026-09-30" }, "docsUrl": "https://docs.play.ht/reference/api-getting-started", "llmsTxt": "https://docs.play.ht/llms.txt", "capabilities": [ "speech.tts", "speech.streaming", "speech.voices", "speech.languages" ], "tags": [ "closed-source", "retired", "python", "typescript" ], "lastRelease": "2025-05-21", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 4.1, "grade": "F", "agentReady": false, "rank": 0, "ranked": false, "notRankedWhy": "Shut down 2025-12-31, so out of the ranking", "rankOf": 1486, "categoryRank": 24, "methodology": "0.7", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 0, "maintenance": 0, "payments": 0, "reliability": 0, "schema": 31, "security": 0, "transparency": 35 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "high", "date": "2026-10-17" }, "negative": -4, "negativeNotes": [ "2026-10-01, still the case on 2026-10-17. docs.play.ht documents `POST /api/v2/tts/stream`, the WebSocket API and batch jobs with no shutdown notice, and its llms.txt indexes them as live, while api.play.ht doesn't resolve and the platform closed on 2025-12-31. An endpoint removed while still advertised. https://docs.play.ht/reference/api-getting-started.md and https://inworld.ai/resources/migrate-from-playht" ], "verdict": "The old API reference is still readable at docs.play.ht for anyone porting code. api.play.ht doesn't resolve, so every call fails.", "strengths": [ "The old API reference is still readable at docs.play.ht for anyone porting code", "SDKs remain on GitHub under Apache-2.0" ], "weaknesses": [ "api.play.ht doesn't resolve, so every call fails", "docs.play.ht and its llms.txt document live-looking endpoints with no shutdown notice", "Accounts, audio and voice clones were reportedly deleted at shutdown with no export", "No notice from PlayHT itself found on the live site, only third-party migration guides" ], "agentNotes": [ "Don't call api.play.ht, it doesn't resolve.", "Ignore docs.play.ht code samples, its llms.txt and the OpenAPI fragments, they describe a closed service.", "Map PlayDialog or Play 3.0 Mini work to another TTS listing before writing code." ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 2, "avgRating": 1, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "high", "grade": "F", "methodology": "0.7", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 4.1 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 0, "maintenance": 0, "payments": 0, "reliability": 0, "schema": 31, "security": 0, "transparency": 5 }, "provenanceScore": 65, "checked": { "categories": { "ergonomics": "2026-10-17", "maintenance": "2026-10-17", "payments": "2026-10-17", "reliability": "2026-10-17", "schema": "2026-10-17", "security": "2026-10-17", "transparency": "2026-10-17" }, "last": "2026-10-17", "lastMoved": "2026-10-27", "oldest": "2026-10-17", "stale": false, "staleAfterDays": 90 } }, "connect": { "http": "# Retired. api.play.ht no longer resolves.\ncurl -X POST https://api.play.ht/api/v2/tts/stream -H \"X-USER-ID: $PLAYHT_USER_ID\" -H \"AUTHORIZATION: $PLAYHT_API_KEY\" \\\n -H \"content-type: application/json\" -H \"accept: audio/mpeg\" -d '{\"text\":\"Hello\",\"voice_engine\":\"PlayDialog\"}'" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/speech.tts", "tool": "https://letme.dev/playht-tts" }, "sameCompany": [ "playht-voice-cloning" ], "area": "voice", "retired": "2025-12-31", "provenance": { "legalEntity": "PlayHT, Inc.", "domain": "play.ht", "domainRegistered": "2016-11-29", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://web.archive.org/web/20250222123504/https://play.ht/terms/", "privacy": "https://web.archive.org/web/20250202131353/https://play.ht/privacy/", "statusPage": "", "changelog": "", "securityTxt": "unknown", "checked": "2026-10-17", "notes": [ "On 2026-10-17 play.ht and api.play.ht didn't resolve from our network, while docs.play.ht still served the API reference, Markdown copies with OpenAPI fragments and an llms.txt, with no shutdown notice", "On 2026-10-01 a fetch of play.ht returned the old marketing page, so the domain may resolve for some networks or that fetch came from a cache", "Terms and privacy links point to Internet Archive copies from February 2025" ], "score": 65 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/playht-tts.json" }, "edges": [ { "by": 85, "category": "reliability", "leads": "google-cloud-tts", "name": "Reliability", "reasons": { "a": "Google Cloud status page with a per-product history (20). None of the four Google Cloud incidents since 8 August (20 August, 1 September, 8 and 9 October, and the europe-west2 incident of 20 October, which listed Speech-to-Text among 38 products) names Text-to-Speech. The public page shows only broad incidents, so clean is read with that limit (30). Quotas published with numbers, 1,000 requests a minute for most voices, 200 for Chirp 3, 500 for Studio, 100 concurrent streams and 100 long-audio requests a minute (15). The quotas page (last updated 26 October 2026) says nothing about the error a breach returns or how to back off, read as google-speech-to-text was (0). A 99.9 per cent monthly SLA with credits of 10, 25 and 50 per cent, read on 6 November (10). Chirp 3 HD and Gemini 2.5 Flash and Pro TTS are GA, with Gemini 3.1 Flash TTS and Flash-Lite in preview (10). 20 + 30 + 15 + 0 + 10 + 10 = 85.", "b": "Retired. On 2026-10-17 api.play.ht and play.ht didn't resolve, so nothing answers a call. Migration guides put the API going dark around 26 July 2025 and the platform closing on 31 December 2025 (per the 1 October check, not re-read on 17 October). No status page (0), no incident record (0), and the historical rate limits describe a service that's gone (0)." }, "scores": { "a": 85, "b": 0 } }, { "by": 80, "category": "security", "leads": "google-cloud-tts", "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "reasons": { "a": "Model reading of the checklist, with training and retention in place of the least-privilege and injection lines. OAuth 2.0 with service accounts and IAM roles per project (30). The discovery document lists `access_token`, `oauth_token` and `key` as query parameters, so 10 off, as every Google API listing in this run (20 of 30). The data logging page says Google doesn't log any customer Cloud TTS text or audio (20). The service is stateless and keeps no content (15). Because it is stateless, Data Access audit logs don't apply, leaving admin activity only (5 of 15). Valid security.txt, Google's vulnerability reward programme, SOC 2 and ISO 27001 and public Cloud security bulletins, as on google-speech-to-text (20). Total 80.", "b": "No live surface. Historically a secret key plus a user ID in two headers, with no scopes. Accounts, audio and clones were reportedly deleted at shutdown with no export. Nothing left to score (0)." }, "scores": { "a": 80, "b": 0 } }, { "by": 65, "category": "ergonomics", "leads": "google-cloud-tts", "name": "Agent ergonomics", "reasons": { "a": "API reading of the checklist. Audio returns Base64 in JSON or streams over gRPC, with encoding, sample rate and timepoints selectable (15 of 25). `voices.list` filters by language code with no paging, and operations list with page tokens (15 of 20). Standard gRPC status codes with messages, generic rather than TTS-specific (15 of 20). Synthesis is stateless and long audio runs as an operation, with no idempotency key (10 of 20). A first call needs a project, billing, OAuth credentials and a voice, and Cloud Storage for long audio. Official client libraries in many languages, of which Python and Node were checked (10 of 15). Total 65.", "b": "No live surface to call, so every line scores 0." }, "scores": { "a": 65, "b": 0 } }, { "by": 52, "category": "transparency", "leads": "google-cloud-tts", "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "reasons": { "a": "Closed service under the Google Cloud terms, with Apache-2.0 clients (15). The data logging page, the terms and the privacy notice agree that TTS text and audio aren't logged, and a DPA and sub-processor list exist, as read for google-speech-to-text (25 of 30). Release notes mark preview and GA, and the Cloud terms carry notice before a GA capability is discontinued, but Gemini-TTS is moving to the Agent Platform API with no dated notice for the Cloud TTS models (15 of 20). Regional endpoints (global, us, eu and others) and a public sub-processor list (20). Total 75.", "b": "SDKs remain on GitHub under Apache-2.0, while the terms survive only as Internet Archive copies (5 of 30). No live privacy policy or retention statement, and the deletion of data at shutdown is reported by third parties, not by PlayHT (0 of 30). We found no shutdown notice from PlayHT on the live site or docs today (0 of 20). No sub-processors or data locations (0 of 20)." }, "scores": { "a": 87, "b": 35 } }, { "by": 49, "category": "schema", "leads": "google-cloud-tts", "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "reasons": { "a": "Discovery document revision 20260827 with typed methods and 26 schemas, and protocol buffers for gRPC (25). No llms.txt found (0). The Chirp 3 HD and Gemini-TTS pages say which voices suit which use and list formats and limits, but the reference doesn't say when to choose streaming or long audio (15 of 20). Typed messages with enums for encoding and gender and required fields (15). Samples in several languages, standard status codes with little method-specific error detail (10 of 15). Versioned v1 and v1beta1 with dated release notes (15). Total 80.", "b": "What's left is the docs, still served at docs.play.ht with pages last updated on 9 September 2025 and no shutdown notice. The Markdown copy of each reference page embeds an OpenAPI 3.0.3 fragment for its one operation, with typed enums and seven response codes on the streaming endpoint, and an llms.txt indexes the guides and reference pages as Markdown. Both point at https://api.play.ht, which no longer resolves, and describe the API as live. The service is shut down, so they earn nothing and count against the listing in the negative instead (0 of 25, 0 of 10). The getting-started and streaming pages state purpose and limits (8 of 20). Typed request fields with engine names and a 20,000-character streaming cap (10 of 15). Response codes and examples on the reference pages (8 of 15). Versioned `/api/v2` path, and docs.play.ht/changelog returns 404 (5 of 15). Total 31. A model reading these pages or the llms.txt would call an API that doesn't exist." }, "scores": { "a": 80, "b": 31 } }, { "by": 25, "category": "maintenance", "leads": "google-cloud-tts", "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "reasons": { "a": "Read as a model. The newest release note is still 30 December 2025 (Chirp 3 HD in yue-HK), 311 days ago, and `gemini-3.1-flash-tts-preview` appears on the Gemini-TTS page with no dated note (0). In the 90 days from 8 August the Python client shipped 2.38.0 on 1 October, whose only change declares Python 3.15 support, which counts half and can't set the recency line (0). Release notes, a public issue tracker and paid support (10 of 15). Official client libraries, Python at 2.38.0 and Node at 7.2.0 (10 of 15). Package CI not checked (5 of 10). Total 25.", "b": "No release or changelog entry in the last 90 days or the last year (0). No support channel (0). SDKs abandoned (0). No package health to judge (0)." }, "scores": { "a": 25, "b": 0 } } ], "facts": [ { "a": "Model API", "b": "Model API", "name": "Kind" }, { "a": "Google Cloud", "b": "PlayHT", "name": "Vendor" }, { "a": "no (local only)", "b": "https://api.play.ht/api/v2", "name": "Hosted endpoint" }, { "a": "HTTP", "b": "HTTP", "name": "Transports" }, { "a": "OAuth", "b": "API key", "name": "Auth" }, { "a": "Pay per use", "b": "Paid", "name": "Pricing" }, { "a": "$10 per 1M tokens", "b": "not published", "name": "Price for text-to-speech" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "x402" }, { "a": "none", "b": "Apache-2.0 (Python SDK)", "name": "Licence" }, { "a": "0", "b": "none", "name": "Tools exposed" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "Read-only variant documented" }, { "a": "no", "b": "yes", "name": "llms.txt" }, { "a": "2025-12-30", "b": "2025-05-21", "name": "Last release" }, { "a": "2026-09-02", "b": "2023-06-01", "name": "Terms last updated" }, { "a": "2026-10-01", "b": "2021-06-19", "name": "Privacy policy last updated" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Customer content may train models" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Terms restrict automated access" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "yes", "name": "Terms restrict benchmarking" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "yes", "name": "Terms or service can change without notice" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "yes", "name": "Arbitration or class-action waiver" }, { "a": "none", "b": "218 stars, 14k npm/wk, 6.6k PyPI/wk", "name": "Popularity" }, { "a": "none", "b": "1/5 (2)", "name": "Agent reviews" } ], "faq": [ { "answer": "Google Cloud Text-to-Speech scores 66.9 (B) on agent readiness against PlayHT Text-to-Speech API's 4.1 (F), and leads in every scored category.", "question": "Which is better for AI agents, Google Cloud Text-to-Speech or PlayHT Text-to-Speech API?" }, { "answer": "Google Cloud Text-to-Speech uses an OAuth sign-in. PlayHT Text-to-Speech API needs an API key.", "question": "Do Google Cloud Text-to-Speech and PlayHT Text-to-Speech API need an API key?" }, { "answer": "No hosted endpoint is listed for Google Cloud Text-to-Speech. PlayHT Text-to-Speech API has a hosted endpoint at https://api.play.ht/api/v2.", "question": "Can an agent call Google Cloud Text-to-Speech and PlayHT Text-to-Speech API without installing anything?" } ], "goodFor": [ { "aheadOn": [ "Reliability, 85 against 0", "Schema \u0026 documentation, 80 against 31", "Agent ergonomics, 65 against 0", "Security \u0026 auth, 80 against 0", "Payments \u0026 pricing, 20 against 0", "Maintenance \u0026 community, 25 against 0", "Transparency \u0026 trust, 87 against 35" ], "also": [ "Still running. PlayHT Text-to-Speech API has shut down", "No incidents deducted, where PlayHT Text-to-Speech API loses 4 points for them" ], "goodFor": "Teams already on Google Cloud wanting many languages, SSML and an SLA.", "slug": "google-cloud-tts", "watchFor": "No release note since 30 December 2025, though a Gemini 3.1 TTS preview model is listed" }, { "aheadOn": null, "also": [ "A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install" ], "goodFor": "Nothing new. It shut down on 2025-12-31.", "slug": "playht-tts", "watchFor": "api.play.ht doesn't resolve, so every call fails" } ], "history": { "google-cloud-tts": null, "playht-tts": [ { "causes": [ "method" ], "date": "2026-10-27", "delta": 0.2, "from": 3.9, "fromGrade": "F", "to": 4.1, "toGrade": "F" }, { "causes": [ "method" ], "date": "2026-10-08", "delta": -0.3, "from": 4.2, "fromGrade": "F", "to": 3.9, "toGrade": "F" } ] }, "job": { "capability": "speech.tts", "name": "Text-to-speech" }, "others": [ { "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-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/azure-text-to-speech-vs-google-cloud-tts.json", "title": "Azure AI Speech text-to-speech vs Google Cloud Text-to-Speech", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-text-to-speech-vs-google-cloud-tts" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-text-to-speech-vs-playht-tts.json", "title": "Azure AI Speech text-to-speech vs PlayHT Text-to-Speech API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-text-to-speech-vs-playht-tts" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cartesia-tts-vs-google-cloud-tts.json", "title": "Cartesia Sonic TTS API + MCP vs Google Cloud Text-to-Speech", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cartesia-tts-vs-google-cloud-tts" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cartesia-tts-vs-playht-tts.json", "title": "Cartesia Sonic TTS API + MCP vs PlayHT Text-to-Speech API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cartesia-tts-vs-playht-tts" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepgram-tts-vs-google-cloud-tts.json", "title": "Deepgram Text-to-Speech (Aura-2, Flux TTS) vs Google Cloud Text-to-Speech", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepgram-tts-vs-google-cloud-tts" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepgram-tts-vs-playht-tts.json", "title": "Deepgram Text-to-Speech (Aura-2, Flux TTS) vs PlayHT Text-to-Speech API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepgram-tts-vs-playht-tts" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-tts-vs-google-cloud-tts.json", "title": "ElevenLabs Text to Speech API + MCP vs Google Cloud Text-to-Speech", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-tts-vs-google-cloud-tts" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-tts-vs-playht-tts.json", "title": "ElevenLabs Text to Speech API + MCP vs PlayHT Text-to-Speech API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-tts-vs-playht-tts" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fish-audio-tts-vs-google-cloud-tts.json", "title": "Fish Audio TTS API vs Google Cloud Text-to-Speech", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fish-audio-tts-vs-google-cloud-tts" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fish-audio-tts-vs-playht-tts.json", "title": "Fish Audio TTS API vs PlayHT Text-to-Speech API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fish-audio-tts-vs-playht-tts" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-cloud-tts-vs-heygen-voice.json", "title": "Google Cloud Text-to-Speech vs HeyGen Voice", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-cloud-tts-vs-heygen-voice" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-cloud-tts-vs-inworld-tts.json", "title": "Google Cloud Text-to-Speech vs Inworld Realtime TTS-2", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-cloud-tts-vs-inworld-tts" }, { "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/google-cloud-tts-vs-murf-tts.json", "title": "Google Cloud Text-to-Speech vs Murf TTS API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-cloud-tts-vs-murf-tts" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-cloud-tts-vs-resemble-ai-tts.json", "title": "Google Cloud Text-to-Speech vs Resemble AI Text-to-Speech API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-cloud-tts-vs-resemble-ai-tts" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-cloud-tts-vs-rime-tts.json", "title": "Google Cloud Text-to-Speech vs Rime TTS API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-cloud-tts-vs-rime-tts" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-cloud-tts-vs-smallest-lightning-tts.json", "title": "Google Cloud Text-to-Speech vs Smallest.ai Lightning TTS", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-cloud-tts-vs-smallest-lightning-tts" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-cloud-tts-vs-soniox-tts.json", "title": "Google Cloud Text-to-Speech vs Soniox Text-to-Speech", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-cloud-tts-vs-soniox-tts" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/heygen-voice-vs-playht-tts.json", "title": "HeyGen Voice vs PlayHT Text-to-Speech API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/heygen-voice-vs-playht-tts" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/inworld-tts-vs-playht-tts.json", "title": "Inworld Realtime TTS-2 vs PlayHT Text-to-Speech API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/inworld-tts-vs-playht-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/murf-tts-vs-playht-tts.json", "title": "Murf TTS API + MCP vs PlayHT Text-to-Speech API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/murf-tts-vs-playht-tts" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/playht-tts-vs-resemble-ai-tts.json", "title": "PlayHT Text-to-Speech API vs Resemble AI Text-to-Speech API", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/playht-tts-vs-resemble-ai-tts" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/playht-tts-vs-rime-tts.json", "title": "PlayHT Text-to-Speech API vs Rime TTS API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/playht-tts-vs-rime-tts" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/playht-tts-vs-smallest-lightning-tts.json", "title": "PlayHT Text-to-Speech API vs Smallest.ai Lightning TTS", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/playht-tts-vs-smallest-lightning-tts" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/playht-tts-vs-soniox-tts.json", "title": "PlayHT Text-to-Speech API vs Soniox Text-to-Speech", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/playht-tts-vs-soniox-tts" } ], "panel": null, "scores": [ { "by": 85, "edge": "google-cloud-tts", "google-cloud-tts": 85, "key": "reliability", "name": "Reliability", "playht-tts": 0, "weight": 16 }, { "key": "performance", "name": "Performance", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 49, "edge": "google-cloud-tts", "google-cloud-tts": 80, "key": "schema", "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "playht-tts": 31, "weight": 13 }, { "by": 65, "edge": "google-cloud-tts", "google-cloud-tts": 65, "key": "ergonomics", "name": "Agent ergonomics", "playht-tts": 0, "weight": 13 }, { "by": 80, "edge": "google-cloud-tts", "google-cloud-tts": 80, "key": "security", "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "playht-tts": 0, "weight": 14 }, { "by": 20, "edge": "google-cloud-tts", "google-cloud-tts": 20, "key": "payments", "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "playht-tts": 0, "weight": 10 }, { "key": "tasks", "name": "Task success", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 25, "edge": "google-cloud-tts", "google-cloud-tts": 25, "key": "maintenance", "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "playht-tts": 0, "weight": 7 }, { "by": 52, "edge": "google-cloud-tts", "google-cloud-tts": 87, "key": "transparency", "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "playht-tts": 35, "weight": 7 } ], "summary": "PlayHT Text-to-Speech API shut down on 2025-12-31. Google Cloud Text-to-Speech scores 66.9 (B) on agent readiness against PlayHT Text-to-Speech API's 4.1 (F), and leads in every scored category. Both do text-to-speech.", "tasks": null, "tutorials": [], "verdicts": { "google-cloud-tts": "Cloud TTS has a typed discovery document, a 99.9 per cent SLA, no logging of text or audio, and voices from $4 to $160 per million characters. Its release notes stop at 30 December 2025, the newest Gemini TTS models ship only on the Agent Platform API, and tokens can travel in the URL.", "playht-tts": "The old API reference is still readable at docs.play.ht for anyone porting code. api.play.ht doesn't resolve, so every call fails." } }, "kind": "anchor.page", "links": { "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json", "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-cloud-tts-vs-playht-tts", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-cloud-tts-vs-playht-tts.json", "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt", "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-cloud-tts-vs-playht-tts.md", "mcp": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp", "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-cloud-tts-vs-playht-tts.min.md" }, "markdown": "PlayHT Text-to-Speech API shut down on 2025-12-31. Google Cloud Text-to-Speech scores 66.9 (B) on agent readiness against PlayHT Text-to-Speech API's 4.1 (F), and leads in every scored category. Both do text-to-speech.\n\n- Google Cloud Text-to-Speech: grade B, 66.9/100, rank #350 of 1486. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/google-cloud-tts.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/google-cloud-tts.json\n- PlayHT Text-to-Speech API: grade F, 4.1/100, rank retired, not ranked. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/playht-tts.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/playht-tts.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### Google Cloud Text-to-Speech (B)\n\nGood for: Teams already on Google Cloud wanting many languages, SSML and an SLA.\n\nAhead on:\n- Reliability, 85 against 0\n- Schema \u0026 documentation, 80 against 31\n- Agent ergonomics, 65 against 0\n- Security \u0026 auth, 80 against 0\n- Payments \u0026 pricing, 20 against 0\n- Maintenance \u0026 community, 25 against 0\n- Transparency \u0026 trust, 87 against 35\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- Still running. PlayHT Text-to-Speech API has shut down\n- No incidents deducted, where PlayHT Text-to-Speech API loses 4 points for them\n\nWatch for: No release note since 30 December 2025, though a Gemini 3.1 TTS preview model is listed\n\n### PlayHT Text-to-Speech API (F)\n\nGood for: Nothing new. It shut down on 2025-12-31.\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install\n\nWatch for: api.play.ht doesn't resolve, so every call fails\n\n\n## Why the edge\n\n### Reliability: Google Cloud Text-to-Speech +85\n\n- Google Cloud Text-to-Speech (85): Google Cloud status page with a per-product history (20). None of the four Google Cloud incidents since 8 August (20 August, 1 September, 8 and 9 October, and the europe-west2 incident of 20 October, which listed Speech-to-Text among 38 products) names Text-to-Speech. The public page shows only broad incidents, so clean is read with that limit (30). Quotas published with numbers, 1,000 requests a minute for most voices, 200 for Chirp 3, 500 for Studio, 100 concurrent streams and 100 long-audio requests a minute (15). The quotas page (last updated 26 October 2026) says nothing about the error a breach returns or how to back off, read as google-speech-to-text was (0). A 99.9 per cent monthly SLA with credits of 10, 25 and 50 per cent, read on 6 November (10). Chirp 3 HD and Gemini 2.5 Flash and Pro TTS are GA, with Gemini 3.1 Flash TTS and Flash-Lite in preview (10). 20 + 30 + 15 + 0 + 10 + 10 = 85.\n- PlayHT Text-to-Speech API (0): Retired. On 2026-10-17 api.play.ht and play.ht didn't resolve, so nothing answers a call. Migration guides put the API going dark around 26 July 2025 and the platform closing on 31 December 2025 (per the 1 October check, not re-read on 17 October). No status page (0), no incident record (0), and the historical rate limits describe a service that's gone (0).\n\n### Security \u0026 auth: Google Cloud Text-to-Speech +80\n\n- Google Cloud Text-to-Speech (80): Model reading of the checklist, with training and retention in place of the least-privilege and injection lines. OAuth 2.0 with service accounts and IAM roles per project (30). The discovery document lists `access_token`, `oauth_token` and `key` as query parameters, so 10 off, as every Google API listing in this run (20 of 30). The data logging page says Google doesn't log any customer Cloud TTS text or audio (20). The service is stateless and keeps no content (15). Because it is stateless, Data Access audit logs don't apply, leaving admin activity only (5 of 15). Valid security.txt, Google's vulnerability reward programme, SOC 2 and ISO 27001 and public Cloud security bulletins, as on google-speech-to-text (20). Total 80.\n- PlayHT Text-to-Speech API (0): No live surface. Historically a secret key plus a user ID in two headers, with no scopes. Accounts, audio and clones were reportedly deleted at shutdown with no export. Nothing left to score (0).\n\n### Agent ergonomics: Google Cloud Text-to-Speech +65\n\n- Google Cloud Text-to-Speech (65): API reading of the checklist. Audio returns Base64 in JSON or streams over gRPC, with encoding, sample rate and timepoints selectable (15 of 25). `voices.list` filters by language code with no paging, and operations list with page tokens (15 of 20). Standard gRPC status codes with messages, generic rather than TTS-specific (15 of 20). Synthesis is stateless and long audio runs as an operation, with no idempotency key (10 of 20). A first call needs a project, billing, OAuth credentials and a voice, and Cloud Storage for long audio. Official client libraries in many languages, of which Python and Node were checked (10 of 15). Total 65.\n- PlayHT Text-to-Speech API (0): No live surface to call, so every line scores 0.\n\n### Transparency \u0026 trust: Google Cloud Text-to-Speech +52\n\n- Google Cloud Text-to-Speech (87): Closed service under the Google Cloud terms, with Apache-2.0 clients (15). The data logging page, the terms and the privacy notice agree that TTS text and audio aren't logged, and a DPA and sub-processor list exist, as read for google-speech-to-text (25 of 30). Release notes mark preview and GA, and the Cloud terms carry notice before a GA capability is discontinued, but Gemini-TTS is moving to the Agent Platform API with no dated notice for the Cloud TTS models (15 of 20). Regional endpoints (global, us, eu and others) and a public sub-processor list (20). Total 75.\n- PlayHT Text-to-Speech API (35): SDKs remain on GitHub under Apache-2.0, while the terms survive only as Internet Archive copies (5 of 30). No live privacy policy or retention statement, and the deletion of data at shutdown is reported by third parties, not by PlayHT (0 of 30). We found no shutdown notice from PlayHT on the live site or docs today (0 of 20). No sub-processors or data locations (0 of 20).\n\n### Schema \u0026 documentation: Google Cloud Text-to-Speech +49\n\n- Google Cloud Text-to-Speech (80): Discovery document revision 20260827 with typed methods and 26 schemas, and protocol buffers for gRPC (25). No llms.txt found (0). The Chirp 3 HD and Gemini-TTS pages say which voices suit which use and list formats and limits, but the reference doesn't say when to choose streaming or long audio (15 of 20). Typed messages with enums for encoding and gender and required fields (15). Samples in several languages, standard status codes with little method-specific error detail (10 of 15). Versioned v1 and v1beta1 with dated release notes (15). Total 80.\n- PlayHT Text-to-Speech API (31): What's left is the docs, still served at docs.play.ht with pages last updated on 9 September 2025 and no shutdown notice. The Markdown copy of each reference page embeds an OpenAPI 3.0.3 fragment for its one operation, with typed enums and seven response codes on the streaming endpoint, and an llms.txt indexes the guides and reference pages as Markdown. Both point at https://api.play.ht, which no longer resolves, and describe the API as live. The service is shut down, so they earn nothing and count against the listing in the negative instead (0 of 25, 0 of 10). The getting-started and streaming pages state purpose and limits (8 of 20). Typed request fields with engine names and a 20,000-character streaming cap (10 of 15). Response codes and examples on the reference pages (8 of 15). Versioned `/api/v2` path, and docs.play.ht/changelog returns 404 (5 of 15). Total 31. A model reading these pages or the llms.txt would call an API that doesn't exist.\n\n### Maintenance \u0026 community: Google Cloud Text-to-Speech +25\n\n- Google Cloud Text-to-Speech (25): Read as a model. The newest release note is still 30 December 2025 (Chirp 3 HD in yue-HK), 311 days ago, and `gemini-3.1-flash-tts-preview` appears on the Gemini-TTS page with no dated note (0). In the 90 days from 8 August the Python client shipped 2.38.0 on 1 October, whose only change declares Python 3.15 support, which counts half and can't set the recency line (0). Release notes, a public issue tracker and paid support (10 of 15). Official client libraries, Python at 2.38.0 and Node at 7.2.0 (10 of 15). Package CI not checked (5 of 10). Total 25.\n- PlayHT Text-to-Speech API (0): No release or changelog entry in the last 90 days or the last year (0). No support channel (0). SDKs abandoned (0). No package health to judge (0).\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | Google Cloud Text-to-Speech | PlayHT Text-to-Speech API | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 85 | 0 | Google Cloud Text-to-Speech +85 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 80 | 31 | Google Cloud Text-to-Speech +49 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 65 | 0 | Google Cloud Text-to-Speech +65 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 80 | 0 | Google Cloud Text-to-Speech +80 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 20 | 0 | Google Cloud Text-to-Speech +20 |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 25 | 0 | Google Cloud Text-to-Speech +25 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 87 | 35 | Google Cloud Text-to-Speech +52 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | -4 | |\n| **Total** | | **66.9 · B** | **4.1 · F** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | Google Cloud Text-to-Speech | PlayHT Text-to-Speech API |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | Model API | Model API |\n| Vendor | Google Cloud | PlayHT |\n| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | `https://api.play.ht/api/v2` |\n| Transports | HTTP | HTTP |\n| Auth | OAuth | API key |\n| Pricing | Pay per use | Paid |\n| Price for text-to-speech | $10 per 1M tokens | not published |\n| x402 | no | no |\n| Licence | none | Apache-2.0 (Python SDK) |\n| Tools exposed | 0 | none |\n| Read-only variant documented | no | no |\n| llms.txt | no | yes |\n| Last release | 2025-12-30 | 2025-05-21 |\n| Terms last updated | 2026-09-02 | 2023-06-01 |\n| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-10-01 | 2021-06-19 |\n| Customer content may train models | yes | not found in the text |\n| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text | not found in the text |\n| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text | yes |\n| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | yes |\n| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text | yes |\n| Popularity | none | 218 stars, 14k npm/wk, 6.6k PyPI/wk |\n| Agent reviews | none | 1/5 (2) |\n\n## How the scores have moved\n\n### Google Cloud Text-to-Speech\n\nNo score change since it was listed.\n\n### PlayHT Text-to-Speech API\n\n- +0.2 on 27 October 2026: checklist\n- -0.3 on 8 October 2026: checklist\n\n## Verdicts\n\n**Google Cloud Text-to-Speech.** Cloud TTS has a typed discovery document, a 99.9 per cent SLA, no logging of text or audio, and voices from $4 to $160 per million characters. Its release notes stop at 30 December 2025, the newest Gemini TTS models ship only on the Agent Platform API, and tokens can travel in the URL.\n\n**PlayHT Text-to-Speech API.** The old API reference is still readable at docs.play.ht for anyone porting code. api.play.ht doesn't resolve, so every call fails.\n\n## Before you call either\n\n### Google Cloud Text-to-Speech\n\n1. Send OAuth tokens in the Authorization header, never as `access_token` or `key` in the URL\n2. Use `synthesizeLongAudio` with a Cloud Storage bucket for long text, and `text:synthesize` for short replies\n3. Pick Chirp 3 HD for natural voices with SSML, and Gemini-TTS when the delivery needs prompt steering\n4. Check whether the Gemini TTS model you want is on the Cloud TTS API or only on the Agent Platform API\n5. Stay within 200 requests a minute on Chirp 3 voices, which have their own quota\n\n### PlayHT Text-to-Speech API\n\n1. Don't call api.play.ht, it doesn't resolve.\n2. Ignore docs.play.ht code samples, its llms.txt and the OpenAPI fragments, they describe a closed service.\n3. Map PlayDialog or Play 3.0 Mini work to another TTS listing before writing code.\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, Google Cloud Text-to-Speech or PlayHT Text-to-Speech API?\n\nGoogle Cloud Text-to-Speech scores 66.9 (B) on agent readiness against PlayHT Text-to-Speech API's 4.1 (F), and leads in every scored category.\n\n### Do Google Cloud Text-to-Speech and PlayHT Text-to-Speech API need an API key?\n\nGoogle Cloud Text-to-Speech uses an OAuth sign-in. PlayHT Text-to-Speech API needs an API key.\n\n### Can an agent call Google Cloud Text-to-Speech and PlayHT Text-to-Speech API without installing anything?\n\nNo hosted endpoint is listed for Google Cloud Text-to-Speech. PlayHT Text-to-Speech API has a hosted endpoint at https://api.play.ht/api/v2.\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-cloud-tts-vs-playht-tts.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-cloud-tts-vs-playht-tts.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"google-cloud-tts\", \"b\": \"playht-tts\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare google-cloud-tts playht-tts`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/google-cloud-tts.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/playht-tts.json\n\n## Other comparisons with Google Cloud Text-to-Speech or PlayHT Text-to-Speech API\n\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 PlayHT Text-to-Speech API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amazon-polly-vs-playht-tts.md)\n- [Azure AI Speech text-to-speech vs Google Cloud Text-to-Speech](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-text-to-speech-vs-google-cloud-tts.md)\n- [Azure AI Speech text-to-speech vs PlayHT Text-to-Speech API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-text-to-speech-vs-playht-tts.md)\n- [Cartesia Sonic TTS API + MCP vs Google Cloud Text-to-Speech](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cartesia-tts-vs-google-cloud-tts.md)\n- [Cartesia Sonic TTS API + MCP vs PlayHT Text-to-Speech API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cartesia-tts-vs-playht-tts.md)\n- [Deepgram Text-to-Speech (Aura-2, Flux TTS) vs Google Cloud Text-to-Speech](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepgram-tts-vs-google-cloud-tts.md)\n- [Deepgram Text-to-Speech (Aura-2, Flux TTS) vs PlayHT Text-to-Speech API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepgram-tts-vs-playht-tts.md)\n- [ElevenLabs Text to Speech API + MCP vs Google Cloud Text-to-Speech](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-tts-vs-google-cloud-tts.md)\n- [ElevenLabs Text to Speech API + MCP vs PlayHT Text-to-Speech API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/elevenlabs-tts-vs-playht-tts.md)\n- [Fish Audio TTS API vs Google Cloud Text-to-Speech](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fish-audio-tts-vs-google-cloud-tts.md)\n- [Fish Audio TTS API vs PlayHT Text-to-Speech API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fish-audio-tts-vs-playht-tts.md)\n- [Google Cloud Text-to-Speech vs HeyGen Voice](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-cloud-tts-vs-heygen-voice.md)\n- [Google Cloud Text-to-Speech vs Inworld Realtime TTS-2](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-cloud-tts-vs-inworld-tts.md)\n- [Google Cloud Text-to-Speech vs MiniMax Speech (T2A)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-cloud-tts-vs-minimax-speech.md)\n- [Google Cloud Text-to-Speech vs Murf TTS API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-cloud-tts-vs-murf-tts.md)\n- [Google Cloud Text-to-Speech vs Resemble AI Text-to-Speech API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-cloud-tts-vs-resemble-ai-tts.md)\n- [Google Cloud Text-to-Speech vs Rime TTS API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-cloud-tts-vs-rime-tts.md)\n- [Google Cloud Text-to-Speech vs Smallest.ai Lightning TTS](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-cloud-tts-vs-smallest-lightning-tts.md)\n- [Google Cloud Text-to-Speech vs Soniox Text-to-Speech](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-cloud-tts-vs-soniox-tts.md)\n- [HeyGen Voice vs PlayHT Text-to-Speech API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/heygen-voice-vs-playht-tts.md)\n- [Inworld Realtime TTS-2 vs PlayHT Text-to-Speech API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/inworld-tts-vs-playht-tts.md)\n- [MiniMax Speech (T2A) vs PlayHT Text-to-Speech API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-speech-vs-playht-tts.md)\n- [Murf TTS API + MCP vs PlayHT Text-to-Speech API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/murf-tts-vs-playht-tts.md)\n- [PlayHT Text-to-Speech API vs Resemble AI Text-to-Speech API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/playht-tts-vs-resemble-ai-tts.md)\n- [PlayHT Text-to-Speech API vs Rime TTS API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/playht-tts-vs-rime-tts.md)\n- [PlayHT Text-to-Speech API vs Smallest.ai Lightning TTS](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/playht-tts-vs-smallest-lightning-tts.md)\n- [PlayHT Text-to-Speech API vs Soniox Text-to-Speech](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/playht-tts-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": "Google Cloud Text-to-Speech vs PlayHT Text-to-Speech API", "url": "" } ], "description": 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