Shortlist by what you need
Start here if you know why you are leaving Cartesia.
Want the closest match?
SpeechmaticsMost similar to Cartesia in what it does, its category and its price.
Visit (opens Speechmatics in a new tab)Need a free plan?
DeepgramHas a free plan, rated 4.5 out of 5.
Visit (opens Deepgram in a new tab)Want the lowest price?
Fish AudioFrom $5/mo, the lowest starting price here.
Visit (opens Fish Audio in a new tab)Want the best rated?
Vapi
Rated 4.4 out of 5 in our review, against 4.4 for Cartesia.
Visit (opens Vapi in a new tab)
At a glance
Green means better than Cartesia, red means worse. Prices are starting prices per month.
| Tool | Our rating | Starts at | Free plan | Best for | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 CartesiaBaseline | 4.4 | Free | Yes | A different model architecture built for real-time voice agents | |
| Speechmatics | 3.9−0.5 | $0.13/mo | Yes | Enterprise speech API platform for speech-to-text and voice agents in 55+ languages, with $100 in free usage and no card required. | vs Cartesia |
 Voicegain | 4.0−0.4 | Free | Yes | Voice AI platform with speech-to-text APIs, voice agents and healthcare call automation that runs on its cloud, a private VPC or fully on-premises. | vs Cartesia |
| Vapi | 4.4Same | Not listed | No | Infrastructure for building voice agents, not a voice model itself | vs Cartesia |
 Applied Brain Research | 3.7−0.7 | Not listed | No | Patented state space models bring real-time speech AI directly to edge devices - no cloud, ultra-low power, with first-silicon hardware demoed in November 2025. | vs Cartesia |
| Fish Audio | 4.3−0.1 | $5/mo | Yes | Built on an open-sourced model, with a two-million-voice library | vs Cartesia |
 Inworld | 4.2−0.2 | Free | Yes | Cut voice AI pricing by more than 50% while topping the Artificial Analysis Speech Arena | vs Cartesia |
 Voicemaker | 4.1−0.3 | $5/mo | Yes | One simple interface over several cloud providers' TTS voices | vs Cartesia |
| Deepgram | 4.5+0.1 | Free | Yes | Trains its own speech models from scratch, built for call centers | vs Cartesia |
The alternatives in detail
In order of how closely each one matches Cartesia.
Speechmatics
3.9$0.13/mo
vs Cartesia−0.5
Enterprise speech API platform for speech-to-text and voice agents in 55+ languages, with $100 in free usage and no card required.
- Speech-to-text in 55+ languages and dialects
- Low-latency mode built for real-time voice agents
- English text-to-speech for voice-agent responses
A meaningful free credit to test the API before paying
Enterprise pricing is not public and needs a sales conversation
Voicegain
4.0Free
vs Cartesia−0.4
Voice AI platform with speech-to-text APIs, voice agents and healthcare call automation that runs on its cloud, a private VPC or fully on-premises.
- Omega, Kappa and Voicegain-Whisper speech recognition models
- Casey voice AI suite for healthcare payer calls
- Clara ambient listening and medical scribe
$50 free credit with no credit card
Aimed at developers and healthcare organizations, not casual users
Vapi
4.4Not listed
vs CartesiaSame
Infrastructure for building voice agents, not a voice model itself.
- Orchestration layer connecting STT, LLM, and TTS providers
- Provider-agnostic, swap components without rebuilding
- Built-in telephony and call handling infrastructure
Removes the integration work of combining separate voice AI providers
Requires development work, not a ready-made consumer app
Applied Brain Research
3.7Not listed
vs Cartesia−0.7
Patented state space models bring real-time speech AI directly to edge devices - no cloud, ultra-low power, with first-silicon hardware demoed in November 2025.
- Patented state space models for real-time speech processing
- On-device speech-to-text and text-to-speech, no cloud required
- Ultra-low power consumption for extended battery life
On-device processing eliminates cloud latency and network dependency entirely
No pricing disclosed - a B2B/OEM licensing model, not self-serve
Fish Audio
4.3$5/mo
vs Cartesia−0.1
Built on an open-sourced model, with a two-million-voice library.
- Open-sourced underlying model (Fish Speech) available on GitHub
- Voice cloning from about ten seconds of audio
- Emotion tags for direct delivery control
Open-source model option, unusual for this category
Company background and history are thinly documented
Inworld
4.2Free
vs Cartesia−0.2
Cut voice AI pricing by more than 50% while topping the Artificial Analysis Speech Arena.
- Realtime TTS-2 model reads emotional context and pacing, not just words
- One consistent voice identity preserved across 100-plus languages
- Mid-utterance language switching inside a single voice generation
Emotionally aware voice output goes beyond flat text-to-speech reading
Usage-based per-character pricing still requires monitoring at high volume
Voicemaker
4.1$5/mo
vs Cartesia−0.3
One simple interface over several cloud providers' TTS voices.
- Aggregates TTS voices from Amazon, Google, and Microsoft
- Single interface and billing for multiple cloud voice providers
- Wide language and accent coverage
Low, accessible pricing compared to proprietary neural voice platforms
Voice realism trails dedicated neural voice-cloning platforms
Deepgram
4.5Free
vs Cartesia+0.1
Trains its own speech models from scratch, built for call centers.
- Speech recognition models trained from scratch, not fine-tuned Whisper
- Real-time streaming transcription API
- Built for call center and voice agent use cases
Own model training gives more control over accuracy and speed tradeoffs
No consumer app, requires engineering integration
FAQ
Questions people ask
Is Cartesia free?
Cartesia has a free plan.
What is the best free alternative to Cartesia?
Deepgram is the highest-rated alternative here with a free plan (4.5 out of 5). Other free options: Fish Audio, Inworld, Voicemaker.
What is the cheapest alternative to Cartesia?
Among paid plans, Speechmatics has the lowest starting price (from $0.13/mo). If you need it free, start with Deepgram.
How did you pick these alternatives?
We match tools on what they do, their category and their price, using the details in our directory. Ratings come from our reviews and reader reviews.