kitio.aiAmazon Polly vs Kokoro
A side-by-side look at pricing plans, free tiers, features, pros and cons, updated for 2026. Kokoro is completely free, while Amazon Polly is freemium.
At a glance
Best for
Category
Pricing model
Starting price
Free plan
Made by
Based in
Rating
Key features
- Neural and generative voices
- SSML support
- Custom lexicons
- Speech marks
- Long-form voices
- 82M parameter model
- Preset multilingual voices
- CPU-friendly inference
- ONNX and browser ports
- Apache 2.0 license
| Feature | Amazon Polly | Kokoro |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | AWS text-to-speech service for apps, IVR and content at scale | Tiny open-weight text-to-speech model that runs on almost anything |
| Category | Audio & voice | Audio & voice |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Free |
| Starting price | See pricing page | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes, fully free |
| Made by | Amazon Web Services | hexgrad |
| Based in | United States | – |
| Rating | No ratings yet | No ratings yet |
| Key features |
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Pricing compared
Kokoro is completely free, while Amazon Polly is freemium.
Free plan
Cheapest paid plan
Top plan
Free trial
5 plans
Free tier
Free
- Millions of free characters per month
- For new AWS accounts
Standard voices
$4 / 1M characters
- Pay-as-you-go
Neural voices
$16 / 1M characters
- More natural speech
Generative voices
$30 / 1M characters
- Most humanlike voices
Long-form voices
$100 / 1M characters
- For long-form content
Prices in USD, checked Oct 28, 2026 or later. Plans change often, so confirm on each tool's site before you buy.
Pros and cons
Amazon Polly
- Reliable at very high volume
- Fits existing AWS setups
- Low price for standard voices
- Less expressive than newer startups
- Requires an AWS account and setup
Kokoro
- Very fast even without a GPU
- Permissive commercial license
- Easy to embed in apps
- No voice cloning
- Fewer voices than commercial services
Which one should you choose?
Choose Amazon Polly if you want:
- Reliable at very high volume
- Fits existing AWS setups
- Low price for standard voices
Watch out: less expressive than newer startups.
Choose Kokoro if you want:
- Very fast even without a GPU
- Permissive commercial license
- Easy to embed in apps
Watch out: no voice cloning.
Amazon Polly vs Kokoro FAQ
What is the difference between Amazon Polly and Kokoro?
Amazon Polly: AWS text-to-speech service for apps, IVR and content at scale. Kokoro: Tiny open-weight text-to-speech model that runs on almost anything. Both are audio & voice tools.
Is Amazon Polly or Kokoro cheaper?
Kokoro is completely free, while Amazon Polly is freemium.
Do Amazon Polly and Kokoro have free plans?
Amazon Polly: Yes. Kokoro: Yes, fully free.
Who makes Amazon Polly?
Amazon Polly is made by Amazon Web Services, based in United States.
Who makes Kokoro?
Kokoro is made by hexgrad.
Which should I choose, Amazon Polly or Kokoro?
Choose Amazon Polly if you value reliable at very high volume and fits existing aws setups. Choose Kokoro if you value very fast even without a gpu and permissive commercial license.