kitio.aiCartesia Sonic vs Audio.co
A side-by-side look at pricing plans, free tiers, features, pros and cons, updated for 2026. Cartesia Sonic has the lower starting price: about $5 a month, against $19 for Audio.co.
At a glance
Best for
Category
Pricing model
Starting price
Free plan
Made by
Based in
Rating
Key features
- Real-time speech under 90ms
- 44 languages
- Instant voice cloning
- Emotion and laughter control
- Voice localisation
- AI newscasts
- Automated weather reports
- Local traffic updates
- Audio ad production
- Custom cloned voices
| Feature | Cartesia Sonic | Audio.co |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Low-latency text-to-speech API for voice agents | AI-voiced news, weather, traffic and ads ready for radio |
| Category | Audio & voice | Audio & voice |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Paid |
| Starting price | $5/mo | $19/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Made by | Cartesia | Aiir |
| Based in | United States | United Kingdom |
| Rating | No ratings yet | No ratings yet |
| Key features |
|
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Pricing compared
Cartesia Sonic has the lower starting price: about $5 a month, against $19 for Audio.co.
Free plan
Cheapest paid plan
Top plan
Free trial
5 plans
Free
Free
- 20K credits per month
- Text to speech and speech to text
- $1 of prepaid voice agent usage
Pro
$5/mo
- 100K credits per month
- Commercial use license
- Instant voice cloning
Startup
$49/mo
- 1.25M credits per month
- Professional voice cloning
- $49 of prepaid agent usage
Scale
$299/mo
- 8M credits per month
- Priority support
- High concurrency limits
Enterprise
Contact sales
- Custom credits and volume pricing
- SSO and DPAs
- Shared Slack channel
4 plans
10 minutes
$19/mo
- 10 minutes of AI audio
- Then $0.03 per second
50 minutes
$49/mo
- 50 minutes of AI audio
- 1 cloned voice
100 minutes
$99/mo
- 100 minutes of AI audio
- 2 cloned voices
250 minutes
$199/mo
- 250 minutes of AI audio
- 4 cloned voices
Prices in USD, checked Oct 29, 2026 or later. Plans change often, so confirm on each tool's site before you buy.
Pros and cons
Cartesia Sonic
- Very fast time to first audio
- Wide language coverage in one model
- Cloning from ten seconds of audio
- Aimed at developers more than casual users
- Credit system takes a while to understand
- Commercial license needs a paid plan
Audio.co
- Built for broadcast workflows
- Reports update automatically
- All tools on every plan
- Entry plan includes only 10 minutes
- Voice cloning not on the cheapest plan
- Overage billed per second
Which one should you choose?
Choose Cartesia Sonic if you want:
- Very fast time to first audio
- Wide language coverage in one model
- Cloning from ten seconds of audio
Watch out: aimed at developers more than casual users.
Choose Audio.co if you want:
- Built for broadcast workflows
- Reports update automatically
- All tools on every plan
Watch out: entry plan includes only 10 minutes.
Cartesia Sonic vs Audio.co FAQ
What is the difference between Cartesia Sonic and Audio.co?
Cartesia Sonic: Low-latency text-to-speech API for voice agents. Audio.co: AI-voiced news, weather, traffic and ads ready for radio. Both are audio & voice tools.
Is Cartesia Sonic or Audio.co cheaper?
Cartesia Sonic has the lower starting price: about $5 a month, against $19 for Audio.co.
Do Cartesia Sonic and Audio.co have free plans?
Cartesia Sonic: Yes. Audio.co: No.
Who makes Cartesia Sonic?
Cartesia Sonic is made by Cartesia, based in United States.
Who makes Audio.co?
Audio.co is made by Aiir, based in United Kingdom.
Which should I choose, Cartesia Sonic or Audio.co?
Choose Cartesia Sonic if you value very fast time to first audio and wide language coverage in one model. Choose Audio.co if you value built for broadcast workflows and reports update automatically.