Lifetime Deal: $199 one-time — PRO forever56d 11h 50m 02s99/100claimed·99 leftClaim your spot →
Honest comparison . Updated May 23, 2026
FreeTTS vs Murf: Voiceover Studio or Pure TTS Power?
Murf is a voiceover studio: TTS engine plus a slide-by-slide timeline editor plus a team workspace plus stock images. FreeTTS is pure text-to-speech with a free public API. If you already use CapCut, DaVinci, or Premiere for video, FreeTTS PRO at $19/month gives you about 14 hours of finished audio per month while Murf Basic at $23/month caps you at 24 hours per year. Same dollars, 7x more audio. Here is the side-by-side that matters.
Last updated by the FreeTTS editorial team . Methodology and sources at the bottom of the page
7x
More monthly audio at entry tier ($19 vs $23)
322
Verified voices vs Murf 200+
75
Languages vs Murf 20+ (3.75x wider)
$199
FreeTTS lifetime; Murf has none
The 30-second answer
Pick the one that fits your workflow
Pick Murf if
You need a built-in slide-to-voice timeline editor (drag slide, generate voiceover, export project from one tool)
You run a corporate L&D team with 5+ people and need shared workspace, comments, and version history
You do not have a separate video editor in your stack and want one tool for slides, audio, and video
You need their stock image and video library inside the same app
You produce under 24 hours of audio per year (Murf Basic 24 hrs/yr cap fits)
Pick FreeTTS if
You already use CapCut, DaVinci Resolve, or Premiere for video (Murf timeline duplicates work)
You need more than 24 hours of audio per year (FreeTTS PRO gives ~14 hours per MONTH)
You want a free public API with no key (15 req/min free, 200/min on PRO)
You publish in non-English languages (75 vs 20)
You want a real lifetime price option ($199 one-time, locked forever)
You need full W3C SSML with phoneme tags for technical content
You want native SRT subtitle generation alongside every audio file
Tie / depends on use case
Solo YouTube creators with light volume can fit on either; default to FreeTTS PRO for the volume buffer.
L&D consultants who deliver finished decks to clients: Murf if the deck-to-voice motion is the deliverable, FreeTTS if you hand off audio files only.
Marketing teams: same call. Use Murf if the team is collaborating on voiceovers in-app; use FreeTTS if a single producer generates and the team consumes finished audio.
The data
Side by side, every category that matters
All 50+ rows, grouped into 10 categories. Pricing verified May 23, 2026 from each provider's public pricing page.
Feature
FreeTTS
Murf
Free tier
Free chars per month
5,000
~12,000 (10 min audio)
Audio watermark on free
Short audio tag at end
None on Murf trial
Commercial use on free tier
Voices available on free
All 322 neural voices
Limited subset
API on free
Yes, 15 req/min, no key
Paid pricing (the structural difference)
Billing unit
Characters per month
Hours per year
Entry tier
PRO $19/mo (1M chars/mo)
Basic ~$23/mo (24 hrs/yr total)
Mid tier
Creator $39/mo (5M chars/mo)
Pro ~$29/mo (48 hrs/yr)
Enterprise tier
(custom on request)
Enterprise custom
Lifetime option
$199 PRO / $349 Creator
Annual discount
20% off
~17% off
Refund window
7 days
30 days (per their TOS)
Volume per dollar (the headline math)
Hours of audio per month at entry tier
~14 hrs
~2 hrs (24 hrs/yr divided by 12)
Hours per month at mid tier
~70 hrs
~4 hrs
Cost per hour at entry tier . FreeTTS is roughly 8x cheaper per hour at entry tier
~$1.36/hr
~$11.50/hr
Cost per 1,000 chars at mid tier . FreeTTS is about 11x cheaper per char at mid tier
$0.0078
~$0.087
Voices and languages
Total voices
322 (marketed as 400+)
200+
HD multilingual voices
12 verified*
Limited multilingual support
Languages (unique)
75
20+
Locale variants
142
~30
Female / Male balance
163 / 159
Roughly balanced
Community voice library
Quality and expressiveness
Expressive speaking styles
95 (with intensity slider)
Limited per voice
Voice cloning
Yes (PRO 3 / Creator 10)
Yes, on higher tiers
Min sample for cloning
30 seconds
10+ minutes (per their docs)
Cloning quality (subjective)
Good for most use cases
Good, limited tier access
Pronunciation library per project
Background music library
Workflow surfaces (this is where Murf wins)
Slide-to-voice timeline editor . Murf's flagship feature: upload slides, line up voiceover per slide, export full project
Stock image and video library
Built-in video editor
Team workspace with seats
Comments and review workflow
Multi-speaker dialogue studio
Yes, in /studio
Output and formats
MP3 export
WAV export
PRO+
OGG export
PRO+
SRT subtitle generation
Native, every gen
Manual / post-processing
Multi-voice per file
PRO 2 / Creator unlimited
Yes, dialogue mode
SSML support
Full W3C SSML
Limited markup
IPA phoneme tags
Developer / API
Free public API
Yes, no key, 15 req/min
API rate limit on PRO
200 req/min
Varies by plan
API rate limit on top tier
1,000 req/min (Creator)
Higher on Enterprise
Streaming endpoint
Webhooks
Enterprise only
Browser surface
Chrome extension (free)
v1.3 with MP3 download
Limited extension
Mobile app . Both are web-only; FreeTTS is fully mobile-responsive
PDF to audiobook tool
Yes, with chapter detection
Pronunciation library per project
Trust and policy
Privacy: voice clone samples retained?
No, deleted after use
Per their TOS
Voice clone samples used for training?
GDPR / EU hosting
Yes, German data center
Mixed (US-primary)
SOC 2 / enterprise compliance
Yes, on Enterprise tier
Public roadmap
*HD multilingual voices: 12 verified in the public API today (Andrew, Ava, Brian, Emma, William, Vivienne, Remy, Seraphina, Florian, Giuseppe, Hyunsu, Thalita). Marketed as "30 HD voices" when counted with their per-voice expressive style variants.
The real math
Six user types, real costs, the right pick for each
A narration-heavy minute uses ~1,300 characters. 1,000,000 chars/mo on FreeTTS PRO is roughly 14 hours of finished audio every month. Murf Basic gives you 24 hours per YEAR, total.
Hobbyist (1k chars/mo)
Pick: Tie, both have a free tier
FreeTTS: Free
Murf: Free (10 min/mo)
Shorts creator (25k chars/mo, ~20 min)
Pick: FreeTTS PRO
FreeTTS: PRO $19
Murf: Basic $23 (uses 17% of yearly)
YouTube creator (50k chars/mo, ~38 min)
Pick: FreeTTS PRO
FreeTTS: PRO $19
Murf: Basic $23 (33% of yearly hours)
Podcaster (200k chars/mo, ~2.5 hrs)
Pick: FreeTTS PRO
FreeTTS: PRO $19
Murf: Pro $29 (caps at 4 hrs/mo)
Audiobook author (500k chars/mo, ~6.5 hrs)
Pick: FreeTTS PRO
FreeTTS: PRO $19
Murf: Pro $29 (over cap, needs Enterprise)
Studio / agency (2M chars/mo, ~26 hrs)
Pick: FreeTTS Creator
FreeTTS: Creator $39
Murf: Enterprise (custom $$$)
Per-hour math at entry tier: FreeTTS PRO $19 / ~14 hrs = $1.36 per hour. Murf Basic $23 / ~2 hrs (24/12) = $11.50 per hour. That is roughly 8x cheaper per finished hour at the entry tier. The price gap widens as your volume grows.
Voice mapping
Your favorite Murf voice, mapped to FreeTTS HD
If you are coming from Murf, here is the closest FreeTTS HD multilingual voice for each of their flagship paid voices. PRO HD voices, not free-tier voices, mapped against Murf's paid Basic-tier roster.
Warm female narrator
Murf: Ariana (paid Basic+)
FreeTTS: en-US-AvaMultilingualNeural (PRO HD)
Both natural, conversational warmth. Ariana is slightly brighter; Ava holds tone better across long-form narration.
Authoritative male
Murf: Wayne (paid Basic+)
FreeTTS: en-US-BrianMultilingualNeural (PRO HD)
Closest pairing for explainer and corporate content. Brian is neutral and even; Wayne is slightly more polished/announcer.
Conversational male
Murf: Roger (paid Basic+)
FreeTTS: en-US-AndrewMultilingualNeural (PRO HD)
Both work for documentary and YouTube narration. Andrew is slightly lower-pitched; Roger more friendly-conversational.
Bright female
Murf: Charlotte (paid Basic+)
FreeTTS: en-US-EmmaMultilingualNeural (PRO HD)
Both upbeat, suitable for marketing scripts and product demos. Emma is slightly more grounded; Charlotte is breezier.
We are not going to pretend they are not better at things. They are.
Slide-to-voice timeline editor
Murf Studio lets you upload slides or video, line up voiceover per slide, sync background music, and export the whole project from one tool. That is a real feature. FreeTTS has no equivalent. If your workflow is slide-by-slide voiceover for L&D, training, or product demos, and you do not already use a video editor, Murf saves you setup time.
Team workspace and collaboration
Shared folders, project comments, version history, role-based access on Enterprise. FreeTTS is built for the individual creator and developer. If you have a 5-person L&D or marketing team working on voiceovers together, Murf is structurally better suited.
Built-in stock library
Stock images, video clips, and background music inside Murf Studio. Reduces the toolchain for someone building explainers from scratch. FreeTTS expects you to have your own assets.
Corporate compliance on Enterprise
SSO, audit logs, dedicated account management on Murf Enterprise. FreeTTS does not have those compliance features. For Fortune 500 L&D buying TTS through procurement, Murf is the safer call.
Background music library
Royalty-free music tracks bundled in their app. Useful if you are producing explainers and do not have a separate music source. FreeTTS does not include music; we assume you use Epidemic Sound, Artlist, or YouTube Audio Library.
Brand recognition with corporate buyers
If you sell L&D services and your clients have heard of Murf, that is a real factor. FreeTTS is the under-the-radar choice. For B2B work where the buyer wants a known brand, Murf name-drops better.
The other side
Where FreeTTS wins, with hard numbers
7x more audio per month at entry tier
PRO at $19/month gives you 1,000,000 characters, roughly 14 hours of finished audio every month. Murf Basic at $23/month gives you 24 hours per YEAR, total. Same dollars, 7x more monthly audio. For anyone publishing more than 2 hours per month, FreeTTS PRO is the obvious pick.
3.75x more languages
75 unique languages and 142 locale variants on FreeTTS. About 20 languages on Murf. If you publish in non-English content (especially Asian, MENA, or smaller European languages), FreeTTS coverage is dramatically wider. Particularly strong: Arabic dialects, Hindi, Tamil, Bengali, Korean, Japanese.
2x more voices
322 verified voices on FreeTTS public API. Murf has 200+. More voice variety means more brand-fit options and fewer 'all my videos sound the same' problems.
Free public API with no key
15 requests per minute on the free tier, 200 requests per minute on PRO, 1,000 requests per minute on Creator. No API key required for free tier. Murf has API access only on paid plans, with sales-led onboarding.
Lifetime deal exists
$199 one-time for PRO Lifetime. $349 one-time for Creator Lifetime. Limited to the first 100 buyers, real countdown on the site. Murf has no lifetime offering. Two years of Murf Basic is $552; the FreeTTS lifetime saves you $353 minimum and gives you 7x the volume.
Full W3C SSML with phoneme tags
Need to fix the pronunciation of "methotrexate" or your client's last name? FreeTTS supports IPA phoneme tags out of the box. Murf uses a more limited markup style. For technical, medical, or international content, FreeTTS is the better fit.
Native SRT subtitle output
Every FreeTTS generation produces an MP3 plus a perfectly synced SRT subtitle file. Word-level timing comes directly from the synthesis engine, not from post-processing. Murf does not generate SRT directly; you build them yourself or run a separate tool.
PDF to audiobook tool
FreeTTS includes a free PDF-to-audiobook tool that auto-detects chapters from the document outline and generates per-chapter MP3s. Murf has no equivalent product. For anyone converting books, courseware, or papers, this is a substantial feature gap.
Browser surface
Chrome extension comparison
Both tools are web-first, but how do they handle "I am reading an article and want to hear it"?
Open your Murf billing page and cancel. Cancellation takes effect at the end of your current billing cycle, so you keep access during the migration. No reason to lose work; you have buffer time.
2
Sign up free for FreeTTS
1 min
Visit freetts.org. The first three generations work without signup. After that, free account requires only an email address (no credit card). The free tier covers 5,000 characters per month; PRO at $19/mo unlocks 1,000,000.
3
Map your favorite voices
10 min
Use the voice mapping table earlier on this page. Generate the same 100-word sample script in both your old Murf voice and the suggested FreeTTS HD multilingual voice. Pick the one that fits your brand. For most creators, the closest match is one of Andrew, Ava, Brian, or Emma Multilingual.
4
Replace the Murf timeline workflow
15 min
If you used Murf Studio's slide-by-slide timeline, switch to a free video editor: CapCut (web + desktop, free), DaVinci Resolve (free professional grade), or Adobe Premiere if you have CC. All three accept FreeTTS MP3 plus SRT exports natively. If you used Murf for API integration, replace endpoints with the FreeTTS public API at https://freetts.org/api.
5
Test the same script side by side
5 min
Run a 200-word reference script through both tools. Listen blind. If you cannot tell which one your audience would prefer, the cheaper one wins. For most use cases that is FreeTTS at a fraction of the per-hour cost.
FAQ
Questions buyers keep asking
Is FreeTTS as good as Murf?▼
Different products. Murf is a voiceover studio (TTS engine plus a slide-by-slide timeline editor plus team collaboration plus corporate L&D features). FreeTTS is a focused text-to-speech tool with a free public API. If your workflow is 'paste script, generate MP3, drop into CapCut or DaVinci or Premiere,' FreeTTS is faster and cheaper. If your workflow is 'I want one tool that does my slides, my voiceover, and my video editing in a single timeline,' Murf is the cleaner pick. Both produce broadcast-quality neural audio. Murf has 200+ voices, FreeTTS has 322 verified.
Why is Murf so much pricier than FreeTTS?▼
Murf is bundling a video editor and a corporate workspace, not just TTS. Their Basic plan at about $23 per month gives you 24 hours of audio per year (creating, total). FreeTTS PRO at $19 per month gives you 1,000,000 characters per month, which is roughly 14 hours of finished audio every single month. So at the entry tier, FreeTTS gets you about 7 times more audio for $4 less, plus a free public API. The premium on Murf pays for the slide-to-voice timeline editor, team collaboration, and corporate L&D compliance features.
Does Murf charge by time and FreeTTS by characters?▼
Yes. This is the structural difference. Murf bills hours of audio (10 hours of creating, 24 hours total on Basic). FreeTTS bills characters (1,000,000 per month on PRO, 5,000,000 on Creator). 1,000,000 characters is roughly 14 hours of conversational English narration. So FreeTTS PRO at $19 gives you about 14 hours per month, while Murf Basic at $23 gives you 24 hours per year. If you do the math by month, FreeTTS gives you about 7x the volume for $4 less.
Does FreeTTS have a slide-to-voice editor like Murf?▼
No, and we are not going to pretend we do. Murf's Studio timeline lets you upload slides or video, line up voiceover per slide, sync background music, and export the whole project. That is their core differentiator and it is genuinely useful for L&D teams. FreeTTS is API-first and tool-first. The expected workflow is: generate MP3 in FreeTTS, drop it into CapCut, DaVinci Resolve, or Premiere, sync to your video there. If you are already using a video editor, Murf's timeline duplicates work; if you are not, Murf's timeline is a real value-add.
Does FreeTTS have voice cloning like Murf?▼
Yes. FreeTTS Voice Clone v1 is live since May 2026, with 32-language support from a single English sample. PRO ($19/mo) includes 3 cloned voices and 100k characters per month for cloned audio. Creator ($39/mo) includes 10 cloned voices and 500k characters. Murf has voice cloning at higher tiers but pricing is opaque on their public page. For a quick instant clone of a podcaster or narrator voice, both work. Voice samples on FreeTTS are not retained on our servers and are not used for model training.
Can I use FreeTTS commercially like Murf?▼
Yes, on PRO ($19/mo) and Creator ($39/mo). Free tier is personal use only with a short 'Generated with FreeTTS' audio tag at the end of every clip. PRO removes the tag and grants full commercial license for YouTube monetization, paid courses, podcasts, client work, and any commercial application. Same commercial framing as Murf Basic and above. See our full TTS licensing matrix →
How many languages does Murf support vs FreeTTS?▼
Murf supports about 20 languages. FreeTTS supports 75 unique languages with 142 locale variants. If your work is English-only, both have what you need. If you publish in Spanish, French, German, or Asian/MENA languages, FreeTTS coverage is roughly 3.75x wider. Particularly strong on FreeTTS: Arabic (multiple dialects), Hindi, Tamil, Bengali, Korean, Japanese, plus 50+ smaller European and African languages where Murf has no coverage at all.
Does Murf have an API?▼
Yes, but it is gated behind their paid plans (no free tier, no anonymous access). FreeTTS has a free public API at freetts.org/api with no key required, 15 requests per minute on the free tier, 200 per minute on PRO, 1,000 per minute on Creator. If you are a developer prototyping a TTS feature, FreeTTS lets you start in seconds. Murf requires a sales conversation or a paid signup before you can call their API.
Murf has team collaboration. Does FreeTTS?▼
Not in the same way. Murf includes a workspace with shared folders, comments, version history, and team seats with admin controls. That is their L&D and corporate use case. FreeTTS is built for the individual creator and the developer. We have shared API access on Creator (1,000 req/min) but no formal team workspace today. If you are a 5-person L&D team that needs Murf's collaboration features, stay on Murf. If you are a solo creator, freelancer, or developer, FreeTTS is leaner and cheaper.
What about Murf's slide library and stock images?▼
Murf includes a stock image and video library inside their Studio timeline so you can build a slide-by-slide voiceover deck without leaving the app. FreeTTS has none of that. We assume you are using Canva, Figma, Keynote, or PowerPoint for slides and video editor (CapCut, DaVinci, Premiere) for putting it all together. If you want one-stop-shop, Murf wins. If you already have those tools, FreeTTS plus your existing stack costs less and is more flexible.
Is FreeTTS as polished as Murf for corporate L&D?▼
Murf has corporate features FreeTTS does not, and we should be straightforward. Murf has SSO support on Enterprise, audit logs, role-based access, and dedicated account management. FreeTTS does not have those compliance features. If you are buying TTS for a Fortune 500 L&D team that requires SOC 2 and SSO, Murf or ElevenLabs Enterprise is the safer call. For everyone else, FreeTTS is fine.
How do I cancel Murf and switch to FreeTTS?▼
Cancel Murf from your account billing page (it takes effect at the end of your billing cycle so you keep access until then). Sign up free at freetts.org, no credit card required. Generate the same script in FreeTTS and listen blind side-by-side. For most explainer or YouTube content, the FreeTTS HD multilingual voices (Andrew, Ava, Brian, Emma) match Murf's flagship voices (Wayne, Ariana, Roger, Charlotte) closely enough that your audience will not notice the swap.
Does FreeTTS have a Chrome extension?▼
Yes. FreeTTS Chrome extension v1.3 (Manifest V3, free, no signup) lets you right-click any text on any webpage and either hear it read aloud or download an MP3 directly. All 322+ voices accessible from the popup. Murf has a limited extension that primarily integrates with their Studio app. For the 'I am reading an article and want an MP3' workflow, FreeTTS wins. Get our extension free at the Chrome Web Store: chromewebstore.google.com/detail/freetts-%E2%80%94-free-text-to-sp/akadnehffdhihfhpmcbokdlfjpgooffe
Lifetime deal: real or marketing fluff?▼
Real. FreeTTS PRO Lifetime is $199 one-time, locked in. Creator Lifetime is $349 one-time. Limited to the first 100 buyers and there is a real countdown on the page. Murf has no lifetime offering. If you plan to use TTS for two years or more, the FreeTTS lifetime math beats every Murf monthly subscription on the market.
If I only used Murf for voiceover, should I switch?▼
Yes, in most cases. Murf's value is the bundled slide editor, team workspace, and stock library. If your actual workflow was: paste script, pick voice, export MP3, drop into a separate video editor, then you were paying $23-77 per month for features you never used. Switching to FreeTTS PRO at $19/mo plus free CapCut or DaVinci Resolve covers the same workflow at lower cost with 7x more monthly audio. The only reason to stay on Murf is if you actively use the slide-to-voice timeline editor.
Sources
Where the numbers come from
Murf pricing
All Murf prices verified May 23, 2026 from murf.ai/pricing. Hours-per-year figures pulled from their public plan comparison.
FreeTTS voice count of 322 verified by GET https://freetts.org/api/voices on May 23, 2026. Marketed as "400+" including expressive style variants per voice.
Hour-to-character math
~1,200-1,500 characters of finished narration per minute in conversational English at default speed. Measured across 30 sample videos. We use 1,300 char/min average so 1M chars equals ~12.8 hours; we round to 14 to include the buffer of slower-paced narration.
Latency benchmarks
Internal benchmark, single-region test, 100-character payloads, 50-run average. Methodology forthcoming on a dedicated benchmarks page; Q3 2026.
No affiliate links
Zero affiliate links on this page. We own FreeTTS, the bias is up front, and Murf is recommended on merit where it wins.
Try FreeTTS free, decide for yourself
First three generations work without signup. PRO at $19/mo if you publish more than ~2 hours of audio per month. Lifetime $199 if you plan to use TTS for two years or more.