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Amazon Polly Reviews

Vendor: Amazon Web Services (AWS)
3.7 out of 5
Badge Ranked 1
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What is Amazon Polly?

Amazon Polly is a service that turns text into lifelike speech, allowing you to create applications that talk, and build entirely new categories of speech-enabled products. Polly's Text-to-Speech (TTS) service uses advanced deep learning technologies to synthesize natural sounding human speech. With dozens of lifelike voices across a broad set of languages, you can build speech-enabled applications that work in many different countries.

Get the Amazon Polly Buyer's Guide and find out what your peers are saying about Amazon Polly, Microsoft Azure Speech Service, Google Cloud Text-to-Speech and more!
Amazon Polly is the #1 ranked solution in top Text-To-Speech Services. PeerSpot users give Amazon Polly an average rating of 7.4 out of 10. Amazon Polly is most commonly compared to Microsoft Azure Speech Service: Amazon Polly vs Microsoft Azure Speech Service. Amazon Polly is popular among the large enterprise segment, accounting for 54% of users researching this solution on PeerSpot. The top industry researching this solution are professionals from a computer software company, accounting for 13% of all views.
Buyer's Guide
Amazon Polly
May 2025
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Amazon Polly mindshare

As of May 2025, the mindshare of Amazon Polly in the Text-To-Speech Services category stands at 29.9%, down from 38.5% compared to the previous year, according to calculations based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Text-To-Speech Services

PeerResearch reports based on Amazon Polly reviews

TypeTitleDate
CategoryText-To-Speech ServicesMay 31, 2025Download
ProductReviews, tips, and advice from real usersMay 31, 2025Download
ComparisonAmazon Polly vs Google Cloud Text-to-SpeechMay 31, 2025Download
ComparisonAmazon Polly vs Microsoft Azure Speech ServiceMay 31, 2025Download
ComparisonAmazon Polly vs DeepgramMay 31, 2025Download
Suggested products
TitleRatingMindshareRecommending
Microsoft Azure Speech Service4.520.8%100%3 interviewsAdd to research
Google Cloud Text-to-Speech4.328.6%100%2 interviewsAdd to research
 
 
Key learnings from peers

Valuable Features

Amazon Polly excels with realistic neural voices, customizable pitch and speed, language options including Spanish and German, and SSML for controlling voice behavior. Users appreciate its integration capabilities with AWS services like Lambda and storage in DynamoDB and S3. It supports multilingual text-to-speech conversion for global connections and customer interaction enhancements. Additionally, features like personal lexicons and browser-like functionality for reading material are valuable to those who need flexibility in accessibility.
  • "The most beneficial aspect of Amazon Polly is its ability to convert text to speech in multiple languages."
  • "We can use the SSML tags in Amazon Polly to modify text-to-speech by controlling speech patterns and behaviour."
  • "Amazon Polly is useful because it's helpful to hear the words on top of it when I can't take in information in a general way. Sometimes, it's very taxing if I'm trying to read cases.They have the neural voices, and they're so realistic. You don't even know that a person is not reading to you, making things much better. I know that they do have the ability to provide you with your own lexicon that's personal to you. I like that you can adjust the pitch and the speed of the voice because some people talk way too fast. Or if you're reading, I read slowly, so that's always helpful.One of the functions that I find helpful is that when reading material on the web, it's like it has its own browser. You go to the URL, and you don't have to read the whole thing, and you can stick the cursor on the place where you want it to start. Then if you want it to skip over something, you put it somewhere else, and that's ideal for reading case law because you skip around a lot. You don't really read it from start to finish. It helps if someone's going to read all those citations because they definitely want to be able to skip that."

Room for Improvement

Amazon Polly users suggest reducing costs. They desire lexicon packages tailored for various professions. There is a call for improved accessibility and more diverse use cases beyond commercial applications, enhancing aid for those with disabilities. Users find the setup process complex, urging a more user-friendly interface. There is interest in enabling imitation of well-known voices and in improving text-to-speech capabilities. Enhancements like new languages and better phone integration are also sought.
  • "Amazon Polly's standard text-to-speech feature could be enhanced to deliver more natural and expressive human-like speech."
  • "When you put more tags inside Amazon Polly to define break time and instruct the speech to be conversational, sometimes it gives you an error."
  • "The price could be better. I wish it weren't so expensive to do because it's really cool. I would love to see them have lexicon packages of them like, this is for lawyers, this is for accountants, and it's going to have a lot of things in it.I also think they could do a better job at showing use cases other than telemarketing or contact center stuff like bots that are very commercial. I know that's where the money is, but it's such a huge hole that's missing for people with disabilities that are even worse than mine. Some people cannot see or hear at all, but they're not just cognitively impaired."

Pricing

Amazon Polly offers a pay-as-you-go pricing model, starting at approximately $4 per million characters for standard voices and $10 for neural voices. It is free for the first twelve months. While some users find the pricing reasonable, neural voices can be significantly more expensive. Usage and business scale affect the perceived affordability. Some companies integrate it with hybrid cloud solutions like Genesys and Cisco Webex for better cost efficiency.
  • "The solution has a pay-as-you-go pricing model, where you must pay according to your usage."
  • "The price could be better. Neural voices are so realistic, and I want to say that they have it so that you can try to tell where the voice is coming from or something like that. But if I have more than one, it's so expensive to have to listen to a bunch of cases on my phone and have the neural voice read to me. It really wouldn't be worth it. It'd be paying probably more than what I make in the case.Right now, I'm on the free tier, and I think the number of minutes that you get is reasonable as long as you're not doing this all the time and you're using it judiciously. I have some credits that I think I can use, but I don't know how fast they'll go through."

Popular Use Cases

Amazon Polly is primarily used to convert text into audio. It is employed in creating spoken audio for meditations, checking SSML tag performance, and deploying Amazon Connect in contact centers. Companies utilize it to deliver voice messages to disabled users and via IVR calls.

Deployment

Amazon Polly's initial setup receives mixed feedback. Some say it is simple, requiring only a few clicks, while others feel it is complex and time-consuming due to multiple steps like setting up AWS and creating a Lambda function. Once deployed, users can configure call flows with a drag-and-drop interface to use Amazon Polly features. The setup involves passing parameters such as text and voice settings to return audio files.

Scalability

Users find Amazon Polly scalable, highlighting customization options for language and voice. They note that it operates efficiently across different regions like APAC, EMEA, and NAM. Some mention leveraging AWS services like Elastic Beanstalk and elastic containers to enhance scalability. While scalability is praised, some users express concerns regarding its price. Overall, the general sentiment indicates satisfaction with Amazon Polly's scalability features and capabilities.

Stability

Amazon Polly is described as stable by users, with one rating its stability a perfect ten. Some testers have encountered glitches related to internet bandwidth during text-to-speech conversion. Stability has reportedly been an initial concern but improved over time, as evidenced by users transitioning to Amazon Connect from Cisco. Others have experienced no performance issues, suggesting reliable operation. The app development aspect remains challenging for those uncertain about creation details.
These insights are based on the in-depth reviews provided by peers to help you make a better buying decision.
Download our Amazon Polly Buyer's Guide for additional reliable information.

Top industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
University
7%
Educational Organization
6%
Healthcare Company
5%
Retailer
5%
Government
5%
Real Estate/Law Firm
4%
Energy/Utilities Company
4%
Hospitality Company
4%
Media Company
3%
Construction Company
3%
Wholesaler/Distributor
2%
Engineering Company
2%
Insurance Company
2%
Non Profit
1%
Outsourcing Company
1%
Recreational Facilities/Services Company
1%
Legal Firm
1%
Transportation Company
1%
Logistics Company
1%
Consumer Goods Company
1%
Performing Arts
1%

Compare Amazon Polly with alternative products

Go!

Learn more about Amazon Polly

In addition to Standard TTS voices, Amazon Polly offers Neural Text-to-Speech (NTTS) voices that deliver advanced improvements in speech quality through a new machine learning approach. Polly’s Neural TTS technology also supports two speaking styles that allow you to better match the delivery style of the speaker to the application: a Newscaster reading style that is tailored to news narration use cases, and a Conversational speaking style that is ideal for two-way communication like telephony applications.

Finally, Amazon Polly Brand Voice can create a custom voice for your organization. This is a custom engagement where you will work with the Amazon Polly team to build an NTTS voice for the exclusive use of your organization.

Amazon Polly customers

GoAnimate, Duolingo, Bandwidth

Related questions

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When evaluating Text-To-Speech Services, what aspect do you think is the most important to look for?
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Product Categories

Product Categories
Text-To-Speech Services

Popular Comparisons

Popular Comparisons
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Amazon Polly reviews

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AG
Senior Software Developer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Verified user of Amazon Polly
Apr 22, 2025
Text has been converted to speech across multiple languages with customizable voice settings

Pros

"The most beneficial aspect of Amazon Polly is its ability to convert text to speech in multiple languages."

Cons

"Amazon Polly's standard text-to-speech feature could be enhanced to deliver more natural and expressive human-like speech."

What is our primary use case?

We are using Amazon Polly to convert text into speech. It is being utilized to provide speech and voice messages to disabled users and also to deliver these speech messages over IVR calls.

What is most valuable?

The most beneficial aspect of Amazon Polly is its ability to convert text to speech in multiple languages. It allows us to change the voice configurations for both male and female voices, and enables adjustments in pronunciation and delays. These features help us effectively target our users. Additionally, the integration capabilities with AWS services like Lambda aid us in storing Polly voice messages in DynamoDB and S3. It also offers configurations in multiple languages, enhancing our service reach.
*Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Read full review (501 words)
AA
Works
Verified user of Amazon Polly
Apr 2, 2025
Generative app makes meditations sound natural while setup process could streamline for better usability

What is our primary use case?

I built an app that uses AI to create meditations, and the sound generated is from Amazon Polly.

What is most valuable?

The sound generated by Amazon Polly is very natural. I appreciate the options to select different voices, including an expensive or cheaper one. More importantly, there is a feature called Structured Speech Markup Language (SSML), which allows me to specify if I want a warmer or higher tune. This has helped make the meditations sound very natural.
*Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Read full review (450 words)
Buyer's Guide
Amazon Polly
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Find out what your peers are saying about Amazon Polly. Updated May 2025
853,831 professionals have used our research since 2012.
VK
Sr. Manager - Advanced Solutions Delivery
Verified user of Amazon Polly
Apr 2, 2025
Enhancing customer experience with diverse voice and language options

What is our primary use case?

I have worked with Amazon Polly for deploying Amazon Connect. Amazon Polly is one of the feature sets we deliver to the customer when providing the Amazon Connect solution. In the contact center industry, product-based companies often use Amazon Connect, where Amazon Polly is an integral part of the deployment.

What is most valuable?

Amazon Polly offers significant features like the ability to select different voice categories and language options, such as Spanish, Portuguese, German, and French. This capability is particularly useful for maintaining worldwide contact centers and enhances customer experience by allowing us to give voice responses instead of text-based responses. Additionally, Amazon Polly's integration with Amazon chat provides added value to the customers, making the interaction seem more human-like.
*Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Read full review (668 words)
SB
Lead Engineer at HCLTech
Verified user of Amazon Polly
Jul 5, 2024
Helps modify text-to-speech by controlling speech patterns, but putting more tags gives an error

Pros

"We can use the SSML tags in Amazon Polly to modify text-to-speech by controlling speech patterns and behaviour."

Cons

"When you put more tags inside Amazon Polly to define break time and instruct the speech to be conversational, sometimes it gives you an error."

What is our primary use case?

We use Amazon Polly to check the SSML tags to see how they play the prompt.

What is most valuable?

We can play text-to-speech when we need to play some prompts inside Amazon Connect. Any number we provide will be played as digits when we play text-to-speech. By using SSML tags in a conversational manner in Amazon Polly, we can convert those digits into numbers. We can use the SSML tags in Amazon Polly to modify text-to-speech by controlling speech patterns and behaviour.

*Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Read full review (351 words)
PeerSpot user
Owner at a non-profit with 1-10 employees
Verified user of Amazon Polly
Sep 7, 2021
A text to spoken audio solution with a realistic neural voice feature, but the price could be better

Pros

"Amazon Polly is useful because it's helpful to hear the words on top of it when I can't take in information in a general way. Sometimes, it's very taxing if I'm trying to read cases. They have the neural voices, and they're so realistic. You don't even know that a person is not reading to you, making things much better. I know that they do have the ability to provide you with your own lexicon that's personal to you. I like that you can adjust the pitch and the speed of the voice because some people talk way too fast. Or if you're reading, I read slowly, so that's always helpful. One of the functions that I find helpful is that when reading material on the web, it's like it has its own browser. You go to the URL, and you don't have to read the whole thing, and you can stick the cursor on the place where you want it to start. Then if you want it to skip over something, you put it somewhere else, and that's ideal for reading case law because you skip around a lot. You don't really read it from start to finish. It helps if someone's going to read all those citations because they definitely want to be able to skip that."

Cons

"The price could be better. I wish it weren't so expensive to do because it's really cool. I would love to see them have lexicon packages of them like, this is for lawyers, this is for accountants, and it's going to have a lot of things in it. I also think they could do a better job at showing use cases other than telemarketing or contact center stuff like bots that are very commercial. I know that's where the money is, but it's such a huge hole that's missing for people with disabilities that are even worse than mine. Some people cannot see or hear at all, but they're not just cognitively impaired. "

What is our primary use case?

I use Amazon Polly to turn text into spoken audio.

What is most valuable?

Amazon Polly is useful because it's helpful to hear the words on top of it when I can't take in information in a general way. Sometimes, it's very taxing if I'm trying to read cases.

They have the neural voices, and they're so realistic. You don't even know that a person is not reading to you, making things much better. I know that they do have the ability to provide you with your own lexicon that's personal to you. I like that you can adjust the pitch and the speed of the voice because some people talk way too fast. Or if you're reading, I read slowly, so that's always helpful.

One of the functions that I find helpful is that it feels like it has its own browser when reading material on the web. You go to the URL, and you don't have to read the whole thing, and you can stick the cursor on the place where you want it to start. Then if you want it to skip over something, you put it somewhere else, and that's ideal for reading case law because you skip around a lot. You don't really read it from start to finish. It helps if someone's going to read all those citations because they definitely want to be able to skip that.

*Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Read full review (813 words)