Overview

Emotionally intelligent TTS. Hume’s Octave model interprets a script’s meaning and lets you steer tone with plain-English prompts, delivering nuanced, expressive speech. The pick when emotional authenticity matters most; for storytelling, characters, and coaching with a genuine free tier.

Features

Octave TTS
Context-aware, LLM-based model that interprets meaning to perform speech

Voice control
Direct delivery with natural-language instructions, not technical sliders

Empathic Voice Interface
Speech-to-speech model that detects and responds to emotion

Voice cloning
Custom voice creation, available even on the free tier

Character consistency
Maintains distinct character voices across long-form projects

Multilingual support
Expanded language coverage added with Octave 2

Developer API
WebSocket (EVI) and HTTP (Octave) access with tiered usage

Pros and Cons

What Works Well
  • Best-in-class emotional expressiveness and context awareness
  • Intuitive plain-English control over delivery
  • Genuine free tier including voice cloning
  • Competitive per-character pricing at scale (undercuts rivals)
WHAT could be better
  • Narrower language support than ElevenLabs
  • Developer/creator-oriented, not a polished no-code studio
  • Free tier’s character cap exhausts quickly
  • Expression Measurement API being deprecated mid-2026

Pricing Plans

Starter (Monthly)
$ 3
per month
Creator (Monthly)
$ 14
per month
Pro (Monthly)
$ 70
per month
Scale (Monthly)
$ 200
per month
Business (Monthly)
$ 500
Contact for Pricing
Enterprise
Custom
Contact for Pricing

Customers

  • Audiobook and podcast producers needing character-specific, emotive voices
  • Developers building empathic voice assistants and companions
  • Wellness, coaching, and mental-health apps requiring warm delivery
  • Game and media creators voicing expressive characters
  • Teams that want plain-English control over tone and emotion

Company Information

Company Name
Hume AI
Company Founded Year
2019
Company Location
New York City, USA

Frequently Asked Questions

How many characters do I get, and what do overages cost?
Included monthly characters scale from 10,000 (Free) up to 10,000,000 (Business). Overage rates fall from $0.15 per 1,000 characters on Creator to $0.05 per 1,000 on Business.
What’s the difference between Octave and EVI?
Octave is the text-to-speech model (used for narration, audiobooks, voiceover). EVI (Empathic Voice Interface) is the speech-to-speech model that detects emotion and responds in real time; it’s metered separately in minutes.
Is voice cloning available, and on which plans?
Voice cloning is available on every tier, including Free, unlimited create-and-use, with API access to cloned voices on Enterprise.
Is commercial use allowed?
A commercial license is included on the paid tiers; the Free tier is intended for testing without commercial rights.
Can I control the emotion or tone of the voice?
Yes. Octave interprets the meaning of the text and lets you steer delivery with natural-language prompts rather than technical sliders.
Does Hume support compliance standards like HIPAA?
SOC 2 Type II, GDPR, and HIPAA are provided at the Enterprise tier.
How many concurrent connections do I get?
Concurrency scales by plan, from 1 on Free up to 30 on Business (custom on Enterprise).

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