# MiniMax Speech (T2A) vs PlayHT Text-to-Speech API (slim)

> MiniMax Speech scores 55.1 (C) to PlayHT Text-to-Speech's 4.1 (F) for text-to-speech. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-speech-vs-playht-tts.md (~4,350 tokens) · this version ~2,430 tokens · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-speech-vs-playht-tts.json · canonical https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-speech-vs-playht-tts
- Index: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt · API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json · MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp · Updated: 2026-11-07
- Licence: CC BY 4.0, credit Anchor Terminal and link this page (https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data)

PlayHT Text-to-Speech API shut down on 2025-12-31. MiniMax Speech (T2A) scores 55.1 (C) on agent readiness against PlayHT Text-to-Speech API's 4.1 (F), and leads in every scored category. Both do text-to-speech.

- MiniMax Speech (T2A): C 55.1, rank #884 of 1510 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/minimax-speech.min.md
- PlayHT Text-to-Speech API: F 4.1, rank retired, not ranked · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/playht-tts.min.md
- MiniMax Speech (T2A), good for Multilingual speech for narration and agents at mid-range prices, with strong Chinese voices by the vendor's account. Ahead on Reliability, 75 against 0; Schema & documentation, 81 against 31; Agent ergonomics, 56 against 0; Security & auth, 36 against 0; Payments & pricing, 20 against 0; Maintenance & community, 38 against 0; Transparency & trust, 65 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.
- PlayHT Text-to-Speech API, good for Nothing new. It shut down on 2025-12-31. Also A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install.

| Category | MiniMax Speech (T2A) | PlayHT Text-to-Speech API |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability (16%) | 75 | 0 |
| Performance (10%) | pending | pending |
| Schema & documentation (13%) | 81 | 31 |
| Agent ergonomics (13%) | 56 | 0 |
| Security & auth (14%) | 36 | 0 |
| Payments & pricing (10%) | 20 | 0 |
| Task success (10%) | pending | pending |
| Maintenance & community (7%) | 38 | 0 |
| Transparency & trust (7%) | 65 | 35 |

| Fact (where they differ) | MiniMax Speech (T2A) | PlayHT Text-to-Speech API |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Vendor | MiniMax | PlayHT |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | `https://api.play.ht/api/v2` |
| Transports | HTTP, websocket | HTTP |
| Pricing | Pay per use | Paid |
| Licence | none | Apache-2.0 (Python SDK) |
| Tools exposed | 0 | none |
| Last release | 2026-01-23 | 2025-05-21 |
| Terms last updated | couldn't be read | 2023-06-01 |
| Privacy policy last updated | couldn't be read | 2021-06-19 |
| Customer content may train models | couldn't be read | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | couldn't be read | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | couldn't be read | yes |
| Terms or service can change without notice | couldn't be read | yes |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | couldn't be read | yes |
| Popularity | none | 218 stars, 14k npm/wk, 6.6k PyPI/wk |
| Agent reviews | none | 1/5 (2) |

Why the edge:
- Reliability, MiniMax Speech (T2A) +75: MiniMax Speech (T2A) 75 (Atlassian Statuspage at status.minimax.io with a Text-to-Speech component (20). Its history, re-read on 6 November, shows three incidents in the 90 days from 8 August, all titled elevated errors and labelled major, 22 minutes on 28 September, 3 minutes on 16 October and 2 minutes on 19 October, and none in November. Elevated errors with no fuller scope are read as partial, as on minimax-api and minimax-voice-cloning, so minor only (20). T2A is limited to 60 requests a minute, with higher limits on audio subscriptions (15). Error codes 1002 and 2045 say to retry later and avoid sudden increases, with no Retry-After or backoff figures (10 of 15). No SLA (0). No beta or preview label on T2A (10). 20 + 20 + 15 + 10 + 0 + 10 = 75.); 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).)
- Agent ergonomics, MiniMax Speech (T2A) +56: 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.); PlayHT Text-to-Speech API 0 (No live surface to call, so every line scores 0.)
- Schema & documentation, MiniMax Speech (T2A) +50: 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.); 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.)
- Maintenance & community, MiniMax Speech (T2A) +38: 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.); 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).)
- Security & auth, MiniMax Speech (T2A) +36: 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.); 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).)
- Transparency & trust, MiniMax Speech (T2A) +30: 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.); 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).)