Play.ht
AIAI text-to-speech platform acquired by Meta in July 2025 and permanently shut down on December 31, 2025. No longer available.
Best for: Historical reference only — Play.ht shut down permanently on December 31, 2025; not available for new projects
Cheaper than 10 of 17 tools · this price is per month
Tools at this price point typically fit a Professional Stack ($2,000+ total).
Details
- Service Type
- Ai Narration
- Narration Type
- AI, Automated
- Distribution Channels
Play.ht shut down permanently on December 31, 2025. The platform was acquired by Meta in July 2025 — the entire 35-person team joined Meta's Superintelligence Labs in an acquihire. The API was taken offline on July 26, 2025, ahead of the announced shutdown date, leaving paying users and AppSumo lifetime deal holders without recourse. New registrations halted at acquisition. If you are researching this tool based on older recommendations, it is no longer available.
What It Was
Play.ht (which had rebranded as PlayAI) was a cloud-based AI text-to-speech platform with 800-900 voices in 142 languages. Its primary strength for authors was bulk generation — converting multiple titles simultaneously — and API access for developers building automated audiobook pipelines. A voice cloning feature allowed authors to replicate their own voice from short audio samples.
The platform had no dedicated audiobook workflow: no ACX-compliant export tools, no chapter marker support, no EPUB input, and no built-in distribution. Authors exported MP3 or WAV files and handled distribution separately. Trustpilot rating before shutdown: 2.4/5 from 316 reviews, reflecting chronic billing issues and concerns about account reliability.
Alternatives
- ElevenLabs — best voice quality, 1,200+ voices, includes ElevenReader distribution and 60% royalty on direct sales. The recommended replacement for most Play.ht use cases.
- Murf AI — timeline editor, 200+ voices, strong for nonfiction and business audiobooks.
- NarrationBox — 1,500+ voices, 80+ languages, specifically built for long-form audio content with EPUB input.
Historical pricing for reference: Free (12,500 chars/month); Creator ~$31.20/month annual ($39 monthly); Pro ~$49-75/month annual.
More Audiobook Production Tools
Showing 3 of 24 alternatives
See all 24 toolsElevenLabs
AI audiobook narration with 1,200+ voices in 29+ languages, professional voice cloning, and integrated ElevenReader Publishing at 60% direct-sale royalty plus $0.20/hour streamed (now global) with no exclusivity requirement.
Also offers Ai Narration
- Best For:
- AI narration with best-in-class voice quality; pairs with Author's Republic for 50+ channel distribution; Pro plan required for full-length novels
- Royalty Rate:
- 60% of direct sales on ElevenReader; $0.20 per hour streamed by premium users (global; capped at $2.50/user/title)
AuthorVoices.ai
AI narration platform for authors with voice cloning and 55 licensed narrator voices, offered as pay-as-you-go credits or monthly Studio subscriptions for whole-book rendering.
Also offers Ai Narration
Higher price than Play.ht
- Best For:
- Authors wanting AI narration with voice cloning outside the Audible ecosystem; Studio subscriptions suit producers shipping multiple titles per month, pay-as-you-go credits suit infrequent producers
- Royalty Rate:
- 25–50% of sales price (retailer-dependent); AuthorVoices.ai retains 15% of net — distribution service status unverified in 2026
Free AI-powered auto-narration tool that converts your ebook into an audiobook using Google's text-to-speech technology.
Also offers Ai Narration
- Best For:
- Budget-conscious authors wanting zero-cost AI narration for nonfiction or backlist titles; Google Play Books only
- Royalty Rate:
- 52% list price
Complete Your Toolkit
Other tools authors typically need alongside audiobook production.