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IBM Watson Text To Speech vs Microsoft Azure Speech Service comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

IBM Watson Text To Speech
Ranking in Text-To-Speech Services
5th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
2.5
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Azure Speech Service
Ranking in Text-To-Speech Services
2nd
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
Speech-To-Text Services (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Text-To-Speech Services category, the mindshare of IBM Watson Text To Speech is 1.1%, down from 2.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Azure Speech Service is 23.3%, up from 23.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Text-To-Speech Services
 

Featured Reviews

SJ
High-quality voice output improves user engagement with text-to-speech solutions
Watson's voice quality is exceptional, and the SSML tags for speed and pitch control are particularly useful. The documentation is comprehensive, making it easy to understand and integrate with our Node.js-based platform. One suggestion would be to add more voices to IBM Watson Text To Speech. This would be beneficial for pushing new voices as many customers are seeking specific voices for particular use cases, such as movie trailers or news reading.
Abhishek-Rana - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers ease of use and the availability of documentation is great
The simplicity impressed me the most. We just needed a single API key. The documentation was also great. I developed the AI application using Unity, a game engine that uses C#. Then, I searched online for instructions on how to use it. I found Microsoft's GitHub repository, which provided the necessary code for integrating the Speech Service into Unity with C#. The ease of use and the availability of documentation made the process smooth and impressed me the most. The documentation and boilerplate code [a template of code] was available, which I incorporated into my application with modifications. Initially, the code functioned so that when a button was clicked, the microphone would activate and recognize my speech. One of the benefits was the ability to see my spoken words visually on the screen as I spoke. For example, if I said "I am Abhishek Rana," I could see the sentence appear in real-time. When I stopped speaking, it automatically recognized the silence and ceased, sending the text for further processing. So, the real-time translation feature has helped me a lot.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"Watson's voice quality is exceptional, and the SSML tags for speed and pitch control are particularly useful."
"Overall, in my opinion, the transcription service is rated as ten out of ten."
"Useful text-to-speech and speech-to-text features."
"The documentation and boilerplate code [a template of code] was available."
 

Cons

"Matching these competitive prices would be advantageous."
"The product is limited when it comes to integrating with different platforms and using many other APIs."
"Lacks a voice recording option."
"It can improve based on the native language."
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865,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Computer Software Company
13%
Educational Organization
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Healthcare Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with IBM Watson Text To Speech?
There aren't many improvements needed; however, adding more voices would be beneficial. Regarding pricing, Google or Amazon Polly offer services at $16 per million characters, while IBM Watson Text...
What is your primary use case for IBM Watson Text To Speech?
We use IBM Watson Text To Speech extensively with our systems. IBM Watson Text To Speech provides exceptional functionality because many of our customers are using it for conversational AI. They ar...
What advice do you have for others considering IBM Watson Text To Speech?
The overall rating for IBM Watson Text To Speech is 8 out of 10.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Azure Speech Service?
The product is included and does not incur any additional costs. Pricing information is not available at the moment.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Azure Speech Service?
The product is limited when it comes to integrating with different platforms and using many other APIs. The marketplace is very limited and it's difficult to implement solutions in it. Enhancing fe...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Azure Speech Service?
I use Microsoft Azure Speech Service ( /products/microsoft-azure-speech-service-reviews ) for communication between different countries. It facilitates communication via emails, documents, and temp...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Azure Speech Service, MS Azure Speech Service
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

American Airlines, UBank, Bitly, Eurobits
KPMG
Find out what your peers are saying about Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft, Google and others in Text-To-Speech Services. Updated: July 2025.
865,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.