Kokoro TTS
Kokoro TTS is an 82-million-parameter open-weight TTS: type a line, pick a voice (Heart), set speed, and Generate — or Tokenize to inspect stress marks.
OUR TAKE
Pick Kokoro TTS for developers who want a small local voice with readable phonemes. The public demo is English-first.
Good fit
Developers who want a small local voice with readable phonemes.
Poor fit
Producers who need a cloned actor VO (ElevenLabs).
Self-host
USD, before tax · Checked 2026-10-27 · github.com/hexgrad/kokoro
OUR TAKE
Pick Kokoro TTS for developers who want a small local voice with readable phonemes. The public demo is English-first. ; other languages need the raw model.
Good fit
Developers who want a small local voice with readable phonemes.
Poor fit
Producers who need a cloned actor VO (ElevenLabs).
Self-host
USD, before tax · Checked 2026-10-27 · github.com/hexgrad/kokoro
What it costs
USD, before tax · Checked 2026-10-27 · github.com/hexgrad/kokoro
Self-host
Apache-2.0
$0
Space
Not published by the vendor
Not published by the vendor
Checked 2026-10-27·github.com/hexgrad/kokoro
Before you pay
Good fit
Developers who want a small local voice with readable phonemes.
Poor fit
Producers who need a cloned actor VO (ElevenLabs).
Watch out
The public demo is English-first. ; other languages need the raw model.
Instead, try
Piper if local ONNX Speak desk (MIT $0); MeloTTS if MIT multi-lingual Gradio
Compare Kokoro TTS with
Limits, in full
- 01
The public demo is English-first. ; other languages need the raw model.
- 02
82M is small. not a 3B conversational voice.
- 03
Space hardware can be ZeroGPU. and queue.
If Kokoro TTS isn't it
Why: local ONNX Speak desk (MIT $0).
Free· open source,MIT
Quality is “fast local,” not studio cloneChecked 2026-10-27·github.com/rhasspy/piper
vs Kokoro TTS
Why: MIT multi-lingual Gradio.
Free· open source,MIT
The Space is unofficialChecked 2026-10-27·github.com/myshell-ai/MeloTTS
vs Kokoro TTS
Why: hosted clones.
Free· paid from$6/mo
Credits are not minutesChecked 2026-10-19·elevenlabs.io/pricing
vs Kokoro TTSLimits & alternatives3 limits · Piper, MeloTTS, ElevenLabs instead
Limits, in full
- 01
The public demo is English-first. ; other languages need the raw model.
- 02
82M is small. not a 3B conversational voice.
- 03
Space hardware can be ZeroGPU. and queue.
If Kokoro TTS isn't it
Why: local ONNX Speak desk (MIT $0).
Free· open source,MIT
Quality is “fast local,” not studio cloneChecked 2026-10-27·github.com/rhasspy/piper
vs Kokoro TTSWhy: MIT multi-lingual Gradio.
Free· open source,MIT
The Space is unofficialChecked 2026-10-27·github.com/myshell-ai/MeloTTS
vs Kokoro TTSWhy: hosted clones.
Free· paid from$6/mo
Credits are not minutesChecked 2026-10-19·elevenlabs.io/pricing
vs Kokoro TTS