# Amazon Polly vs. IBM Watson

The best way to compare Amazon Polly vs. IBM Watson: audio samples, features, plans, pricing, and more.

# Live Demo

Non-Fiction  
Fiction  
News  
Blog  
Conversation  
0/250

**Voice**  
Sierra  
Autumn  
Melody  
Hannah  
Emily  
Ivy  
Kaitlyn  
Luna  
Willow  
Lauren  
Sierra  
Noah  
Jasper  
Caleb  
Ronan  
Ethan  
Daniel  
Zane  
Rowan

**Language**  
🇺🇸 US English  
🇺🇸 US English  
🇬🇧 UK English  
🇨🇳 Mandarin Chinese  
🇮🇳 Hindi  
🇪🇸 Spanish  
🇧🇷 Portuguese  
🇯🇵 Japanese  
🇫🇷 French  
🇮🇹 Italian

**Format**  
Standard  
Standard  
MP3  
Phone Call  
PCM µ-law  
Normal

**Speed**  
1.0  
**Pitch**  
**Bitrate**  
192k  
192k  
128k  
96k  
64k  
48k  
32k  
16k

_Synthesize_

**Speed**  
0 s  
**Filesize**  
0 kb

## [Amazon Polly](https://aws.amazon.com/polly/)

Text-to-speech service to transform text into natural-sounding speech using deep learning technologies.

## [IBM Watson](https://www.ibm.com/products/text-to-speech)

Convert text into natural-sounding speech in a variety of languages and voices.

### Voice Quality

#### Amazon Polly Samples

**Mean Opinion Score**  
Fiction  
3.00  
Non-Fiction  
2.51  
Conversation  
2.63

#### IBM Watson Samples

**Mean Opinion Score**  
Fiction  
N/A  
Non-Fiction  
N/A  
Conversation  
N/A

Mean Opinion Score (MOS) is a numerical measure that represents the perceived quality of audio samples, commonly used in evaluating text-to-speech systems.  
The score ranges from 1 to 5, with 1 indicating poor quality and 5 signifying excellent quality.  
These scores are derived from comprehensive, professionally-conducted evaluations, and are anonymized to ensure unbiased results.

### Features

#### Amazon Polly Features

- Voice Cloning
- Multi-lingual
- Per-word Timestamps
- Pitch Control
- Speed Control
- Phone Formats (e.g. pcm_mulaw)

#### IBM Watson Features

- Voice Cloning
- Multi-lingual
- Per-word Timestamps
- Pitch Control
- Speed Control
- Phone Formats (e.g. pcm_mulaw)

#### Features - Conclusion

- Both **Amazon Polly** and **IBM Watson** offer a comprehensive set of features for text-to-speech services, including multi-lingual support, per-word timestamps, pitch and speed control, and compatibility with phone formats.
- However, **IBM Watson** distinguishes itself with the addition of voice cloning, a feature not available in **Amazon Polly**.

### Pricing & Plans

#### Amazon Polly Pricing

- **Free**  
$0/mo  
1M characters (for first 12 months only)
- **Pay As You Go**  
$16 per  
1M characters

#### IBM Watson Pricing

- **Free**  
$0/mo  
10,000 characters
- **Standard**  
$20 per  
1M characters

#### Pricing & Plans - Conclusion

- In a direct comparison of text-to-speech services based on pricing, **Amazon Polly** emerges as the more cost-effective option over **IBM Watson**.
- **Amazon Polly**'s pricing structure offers a 20% cost advantage, making it a preferable choice for users looking for a budget-friendly solution.

### Customer Reviews

#### Amazon Polly Reviews

**4.4 out of 5**  
Average of 68 ratings from leading review sites.

Customers appreciate **Amazon Polly** for its natural-sounding voices, ease of use, and integration with AWS services. They find it beneficial for various applications like IVR systems, content creation, and multilingual support. However, concerns about cost, limited customization options, and occasional unnatural inflections in the voices are common. The service's scalability and fast response times are highlighted as significant advantages, helping businesses efficiently manage large-scale projects.

- Ease of use
- Natural-sounding voices
- Integration with AWS
- Scalability
- Voice inflection
- Cost
- Customization options

#### IBM Watson Reviews

**4.1 out of 5**  
Average of 44 ratings from leading review sites.

Customers appreciate **IBM Watson** Text to Speech for its ease of integration, speed, and support for multiple languages, making it versatile for various applications like education, customer service, and accessibility for the disabled. The ability to customize voice and tone is highly valued. However, some users note issues with pronunciation accuracy, limited language options, and occasional software glitches. The pricing is also considered high for small businesses or individual users.

- Ease of integration
- Speed
- Language support
- Customization
- Pronunciation accuracy
- Software reliability
- Pricing
- Language diversity

### Summary

- In comparing **Amazon Polly** and **IBM Watson** for text-to-speech services, **Amazon Polly** offers a more cost-effective solution with slightly lower voice quality scores, while **IBM Watson** stands out for its advanced feature set, including voice cloning.
- Both services provide comprehensive features like multi-lingual support, pitch and speed control, making them versatile options for various text-to-speech needs.
- Ultimately, the choice between **Amazon Polly** and **IBM Watson** may hinge on the specific requirements of users, balancing between cost efficiency and the need for advanced features like voice cloning.