# Text to Speech: AI Voices, MP3 + SRT Subtitles, No API Key (`manageable_gully/text-to-speech`) Actor Turn text, scripts and Markdown into natural speech with the open Kokoro AI model: 41 voices in English (US/UK), Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese and Hindi. MP3, WAV, Opus, M4A, FLAC plus SRT/VTT subtitles. Bulk, voice blending, no API key. $0.04 per 1,000 characters. - **URL**: https://apify.com/manageable_gully/text-to-speech.md - **Developed by:** [WebIntel Tools](https://apify.com/manageable_gully) (community) - **Categories:** AI, Videos - **Stats:** 2 total users, 2 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing from $4.00 / 1,000 100 characters spokens This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event ## What's an Apify Actor? An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes. In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours, and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store. In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server. Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md. ## How to integrate an Actor? If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects. You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready. Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run. For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below. Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`). # README ## Text to Speech: Natural AI Voices, MP3 + SRT Subtitles (Kokoro TTS, No API Key) Turn **text, scripts, articles and Markdown into natural-sounding speech** with **Kokoro**, the open-source AI voice model that tops community TTS rankings for its size. Choose from **41 voices in 7 languages** (US and UK English, Spanish, French, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, Hindi), get **MP3, WAV, Opus, M4A or FLAC** audio plus **SRT/WebVTT subtitles with exact sentence timings**, and convert **hundreds of texts in one run**. No ElevenLabs or OpenAI account, no API key, no setup. You pay only for what you convert: **$0.04 per 1,000 characters**. ### What you can use it for - **YouTube, TikTok and Reels voiceovers:** turn a script into a clean voice track plus matching SRT captions for your editor. - **Faceless video channels and shorts automation:** generate dozens of voiceovers in one batch from n8n, Make, Zapier or your own code. - **Audiobooks and article narration:** read long chapters (up to 200,000 characters per text) and merge them into one file. - **E-learning and product demos:** consistent narration for courses, explainer videos and onboarding flows. - **Podcast intros, ads and IVR / phone menus:** short prompts in MP3 or WAV. - **Accessibility:** listen-to-this-article audio for blogs and newsletters. - **AI agents:** give an LLM agent a voice via the Apify API or MCP server. ### How to use it 1. Paste one or more texts (each becomes its own audio file), or pass `items` with an id, voice and speed per text, or link `.txt`/`.md` files. 2. Pick a **voice**, **speed** and **audio format**. Optionally blend two voices into your own custom voice. 3. Click **Start**. Each text becomes one result row with links to the audio file and subtitle files. ### Pricing Billing is per started 100 characters of each text ($0.004), counted after Markdown cleanup, plus a tiny start fee. **Subtitles, merged files and texts that fail are free.** | Job | Characters | Price | |---|---|---| | A 60-second YouTube Short script | ~900 | **$0.036** | | 50 product video voiceovers | 50 x 600 = 30,000 | **$1.20** | | A 10-minute explainer narration | ~9,000 | **$0.36** | | A full 60,000-word audiobook | ~350,000 (split into chapters) | **$14.00** | That's less than half the price of the other Kokoro Actor on the Store, and a fraction of what ElevenLabs charges per character. ### Voices | Language | Voices (female / male) | |---|---| | English (US) | `af_heart` (best), `af_bella`, `af_nicole`, `af_aoede`, `af_kore`, `af_sarah`, `af_nova`, `af_sky`, `af_alloy`, `af_jessica`, `af_river` / `am_michael`, `am_fenrir`, `am_puck`, `am_echo`, `am_eric`, `am_liam`, `am_onyx`, `am_adam`, `am_santa` | | English (UK) | `bf_emma`, `bf_isabella`, `bf_alice`, `bf_lily` / `bm_george`, `bm_fable`, `bm_lewis`, `bm_daniel` | | Spanish | `ef_dora` / `em_alex`, `em_santa` | | French | `ff_siwis` | | Italian | `if_sara` / `im_nicola` | | Portuguese (Brazil) | `pf_dora` / `pm_alex`, `pm_santa` | | Hindi | `hf_alpha`, `hf_beta` / `hm_omega`, `hm_psi` | The first letter of the voice sets the language and accent. **Voice blending:** `af_heart:0.6, af_bella:0.4` mixes two (or more) voices of the same language into a new voice that nobody else on your niche is using. ### Features - **Natural AI voices** from the Kokoro-82M model (Apache-2.0, 8-bit quantized), run inside the Actor on CPU. Your text is never sent to a third-party AI API. - **5 audio formats:** MP3, WAV, Opus (OGG), M4A/AAC and FLAC, with selectable bitrate. - **Exact SRT and WebVTT subtitles:** every sentence is generated separately and timed to the millisecond, then split into readable 2-line captions. - **Bulk:** up to 1,000 texts and 1,000,000 characters per run; per-text voice and speed overrides. - **Markdown-aware:** headings, bold, bullet points, code blocks and link URLs are cleaned up so they are not read aloud (ChatGPT/Claude scripts work as-is). - **Natural pacing:** configurable pauses between sentences and paragraphs; speed from 0.5x to 2.0x. - **Merge into one file:** optional `all-texts.mp3` with merged subtitles, for audiobooks and playlists. - **Sentence timings in JSON** for karaoke captions, video editors and word highlighting. - **Budget safe:** before each text it checks your run's max cost and skips texts that would exceed it (not charged). ### Input example ```json { "texts": ["# Why speed matters\n\nA slow page loses visitors before they ever see your offer. This **tool** checks every page on your site and tells you what to fix first."], "items": [ {"id": "es-promo", "text": "El informe mensual estará listo el próximo lunes por la mañana.", "voice": "ef_dora"}, {"id": "uk-intro", "text": "Please check the website before the meeting on Thursday.", "voice": "bm_george", "speed": 1.1} ], "voice": "af_heart", "format": "mp3", "subtitles": "both", "mergeIntoOneFile": true } ``` ### Output example (one item per text) ```json { "id": "text-1", "source": "input", "voice": "af_heart", "language": "English (US)", "speed": 1.0, "characters": 206, "textPreview": "Why speed matters.\n\nA slow page loses visitors before they ever see your offer. This tool checks every page on your site and tells you what to fix first. ...", "audioUrl": "https://api.apify.com/v2/key-value-stores//records/text-1.mp3", "format": "mp3", "fileSizeKB": 207.0, "durationSeconds": 13.16, "sentenceCount": 4, "processingSeconds": 3.6, "srtUrl": "https://api.apify.com/v2/key-value-stores//records/text-1.srt", "vttUrl": "https://api.apify.com/v2/key-value-stores//records/text-1.vtt", "billedUnits": 3 } ``` SRT file: ``` 1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:01,173 Why speed matters. 2 00:00:01,773 --> 00:00:05,421 A slow page loses visitors before they ever see your offer. ``` ### Use it from code, n8n or AI agents Call it through the Apify API (`POST https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/manageable_gully~text-to-speech/run-sync-get-dataset-items`), the Apify Python/JavaScript clients, the Apify n8n/Make/Zapier integrations, or as a tool for AI agents through the Apify MCP server. The `audioUrl` in each result is a direct download link. ### FAQ **Do I need an ElevenLabs, OpenAI or Google API key?** No. The voice model runs inside the Actor. **Can I use the audio commercially (YouTube monetization, ads, courses)?** The Kokoro model and its voices are released under the Apache-2.0 license, which allows commercial use. You are responsible for the text you convert. **Can it clone my voice or a celebrity voice?** No, on purpose. You can only use the built-in voices or blend them. **Japanese or Chinese?** Not yet. Kokoro needs a special phonemizer for them and the quality isn't good enough to charge for. **How long can a text be?** Up to 200,000 characters per text (about 3.5 hours of speech) and 1,000,000 characters per run. Split whole books into chapters. **How fast is it?** Roughly 50-75 seconds of processing per 1,000 characters (about 1 minute of speech) at the default 4 GB memory. Long jobs run unattended in the cloud; schedule them or call the API and collect the files when the run finishes. **Can I read a web page aloud?** Convert it to clean text first with [Web Page to Markdown](https://apify.com/manageable_gully/page-to-markdown), then pass the text here. ### More tools from WebIntel Tools - [Audio & Video Transcriber (speech to text)](https://apify.com/manageable_gully/audio-video-transcriber) - [Web Page to Markdown for LLMs](https://apify.com/manageable_gully/page-to-markdown) - [PDF & Image OCR to Text/Markdown](https://apify.com/manageable_gully/pdf-ocr-extractor) - [URL to PDF & Screenshot](https://apify.com/manageable_gully/url-to-pdf-screenshot) # Actor input Schema ## `texts` (type: `array`): One audio file per text. Plain text or Markdown (headings, bold, links and lists are cleaned up before reading). Up to 200,000 characters per text. ## `items` (type: `array`): For batch jobs from code, a spreadsheet or n8n/Make/Zapier: \[{"id": "intro", "text": "...", "voice": "bm_george", "speed": 1.1}]. id becomes the file name; voice and speed are optional and override the defaults below. ## `textFileUrls` (type: `array`): Direct links to plain text or Markdown files (max 2 MB each), e.g. a chapter for an audiobook. Web pages are not read: convert them to text first. ## `voice` (type: `string`): 41 voices in 7 languages. The first letter sets the language: a = US English, b = UK English, e = Spanish, f = French, h = Hindi, i = Italian, p = Brazilian Portuguese. ## `voiceBlend` (type: `string`): Mix voices of the same language into a unique custom voice, e.g. af_heart:0.6, af_bella:0.4. Leave empty to use the voice above. ## `speed` (type: `string`): Speaking rate (1.0 = natural). Items can set any value from 0.5 to 2.0. ## `format` (type: `string`): MP3 works everywhere. Opus is the smallest; M4A suits Apple devices; WAV and FLAC are lossless for editing. ## `bitrate` (type: `string`): For MP3, Opus and M4A. 64 is fine for speech in Opus; 128 for MP3. ## `subtitles` (type: `string`): Sentence-level subtitle files with exact timings (we time every sentence as it is generated). Free. ## `mergeIntoOneFile` (type: `boolean`): Adds all-texts. (and merged subtitles) to the key-value store, with 1 s between texts. Handy for audiobooks and playlists. Free. ## `stripMarkdown` (type: `boolean`): Removes Markdown/HTML symbols, code blocks and link URLs so they are not read aloud. Turn off for plain text that uses \* or # on purpose. ## `sentencePauseMs` (type: `integer`): Extra silence between sentences. 250 ms sounds natural; raise it for slow, calm narration. ## `paragraphPauseMs` (type: `integer`): Extra silence between paragraphs (blank lines) and after headings. ## `includeSentenceTimings` (type: `boolean`): Adds a sentences array (start, end, text) to every result, e.g. for karaoke-style captions or video editors. ## Actor input object example ```json { "texts": [ "Welcome to our channel! Today we test three website speed tools and show you which one is worth your time." ], "voice": "af_heart", "speed": "1.0", "format": "mp3", "bitrate": "128", "subtitles": "srt", "mergeIntoOneFile": false, "stripMarkdown": true, "sentencePauseMs": 250, "paragraphPauseMs": 600, "includeSentenceTimings": false } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `results` (type: `string`): One item per text: voice, language, characters, duration and links to the audio and subtitle files. ## `files` (type: `string`): MP3/WAV/Opus/M4A/FLAC audio and SRT/VTT subtitles in the run's key-value store. # API You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup. ## JavaScript example ```javascript import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client'; // Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token // Replace the '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "texts": [ "Welcome to our channel! Today we test three website speed tools and show you which one is worth your time." ] }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("manageable_gully/text-to-speech").call(input); // Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any) console.log('Results from dataset'); console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`); const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems(); items.forEach((item) => { console.dir(item); }); // 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs ``` ## Python example ```python from apify_client import ApifyClient # Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token # Replace '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "texts": ["Welcome to our channel! Today we test three website speed tools and show you which one is worth your time."] } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("manageable_gully/text-to-speech").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}") for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items(): print(item) # 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start ``` ## CLI example ```bash echo '{ "texts": [ "Welcome to our channel! Today we test three website speed tools and show you which one is worth your time." ] }' | apify call manageable_gully/text-to-speech --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "type": "http", "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,manageable_gully/text-to-speech" } } } ``` The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer ` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations). ## OpenAPI specification Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/223939FxHyzH3mkvl/builds/vDaqFrz9LJjidJy36/openapi.json