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Lazybird vs Speechify

Two fact sheets from our own research, side by side — pricing, platforms, API access and status re-checked by us rather than quoted from the vendors. Lazybird starts at $4, Speechify at $29. Both have a free tier. Both ship a public API.

LazybirdPaste a script, pick from 200+ voices across 100+ languages and download the voiceover; cloning on paid tiersSpeechifyReads PDFs, web pages and email out loud

Side by side

FactLazybirdSpeechify
CategoryText-to-SpeechText-to-Speech
Pricing modelFreemiumFreemium
Starts at$4 month$29 month
Public APIYesYes
PlatformsWeb, APIiOS, Android, Chrome Ext, Web, macOS, API
CompanyLazybird Co LtdSpeechify Inc.
Launched—2017
Last verifiedSep 6, 2026Sep 6, 2026

What our research says

Lazybird

Lazybird undercuts the well-known TTS vendors by a wide margin — $49 a year for 200,000 credits with commercial rights and cloning is aggressive pricing. The long-document import that auto-splits into script blocks is a genuinely useful workflow touch for audiobooks and courses. The reason for caution is the voice catalogue, which is advertised with real celebrity and cartoon character names.

Pros

  • Entry paid tier is $49 a year with commercial rights and voice cloning included
  • Long document import that splits text into script blocks automatically
  • 200+ voices with 100+ language coverage
  • Public text-to-speech API for embedding the synthesis elsewhere
  • Free tier lets you audition every voice before paying

Cons

  • Free tier is listen-only — no downloads
  • Voice library leans on celebrity and character names of dubious provenance
  • Vietnamese governing law makes enforcement awkward for EU or US buyers
  • The Max tier is mentioned without published limits

Speechify

The most complete listen-to-anything reader on a phone, but the $29 monthly sticker is a trap — the same thing is $139 a year, and the free tier is deliberately unpleasant.

Pros

  • Handles almost any input, including scanned pages captured through the camera
  • Voices stay intelligible all the way up to 5x playback
  • One library syncs between phone, browser extension and Mac

Cons

  • Monthly billing costs about 2.5x the annual rate for the same features
  • Free tier is held to 10 robotic voices and 1.5x speed
  • Studio and the developer API are separate products on a separate domain
  • API pricing is unpublished and gated behind a sales conversation

Which one fits

Choose Lazybird if you need

  • Course, tutorial and explainer narration on a small budget
  • Long-form audio where import-and-split saves real time
  • Developers who want cheap TTS behind an API

Choose Speechify if you need

  • Students and professionals working through long PDFs and articles by ear
  • Readers with dyslexia or low vision who need OCR capture plus playback
  • Developers who want the Simba voices without building a reader app

More comparisons

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