The Curious AI Guy

Library / AI voice & music

Piper

Fast, local text-to-speech.

Replaces
LicenseGPL-3.0
GitHub stars5.8k
Last code update11 October 2026
SetupIntermediate about 15 minOur estimate
Paid version costs about$22/moElevenLabs Creator, monthly billing
Per year~$264

New to this? What open source means and how to read this page.

Want to run it? Read the voice guide: install and your first audio file.

What it is

A fast neural text-to-speech engine that runs locally, even on small devices, with many voices and languages.

Good for

Offline voice for apps, home automation and accessibility.

The catch

The voices sound good for the size, but not as expressive as the best cloud voices. Check the voice licenses, as each voice has its own.

Piper versus

Piper
PriceFreeThe software is free.ca. $22/moElevenLabs Creator, monthly billing
LicenseGPL-3.0Commercial license
Source codePublic, you can read and check itNot public
SetupIntermediate, about 15 minSign up and pay
Where it runsOn your own computerThe vendor's app or service, under their terms

The paid product's own plans and terms change. Check its site before you decide.

Install it with an AI assistant

Paste this into Claude, ChatGPT or another assistant that can work on your computer (Claude Code or Claude Desktop, for example). It is written from the project's official repository and tells the assistant to show you every command first. Setup time is our estimate: about 15 min.

I want to install and try Piper on my own computer.

Official repository: https://github.com/OHF-Voice/piper1-gpl
Official site: https://github.com/OHF-Voice/piper1-gpl
License: GPL-3.0

Before you do anything:
1. Read the README and install notes in the official repository above, and nothing else. Do not follow third-party tutorials or mirrors.
2. Tell me in plain words what will be installed, what it needs (operating system, memory, graphics card, disk space, accounts) and what it will cost me, if anything.
3. Check my computer against those needs and tell me honestly if it will not work well.

Install it in an isolated environment so it does not touch the rest of my system (a virtual environment, pipx, or the official install script after I have seen what it does). Use the official install command from the README.

Rules:
- Show me each command before you run it, and say what it does.
- Ask before anything that deletes files, changes system settings, opens a network port or needs an administrator password.
- Never put my passwords or keys on a command line, or in a file I did not choose.
- When it is installed, help me check it with one small test, and tell me how to start and stop it.
- If something goes wrong, explain it in plain words and do not guess your way around it.

Good to know before you start: The voices sound good for the size, but not as expressive as the best cloud voices. Check the voice licenses, as each voice has its own.

We have not run this prompt ourselves yet. Read what the assistant plans to do before you say yes.

Facts checked on 12 October 2026. We have not yet run a hands-on test of this tool. When we do, it gets a "Tested" mark here. Approximate US list prices for an individual plan, from third-party price trackers checked on 12 Oct 2026. Monthly billing where it exists. Regions, taxes and promotions change them. Confirm at the vendor before you decide.

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