5.5k stars · GPL-3.0 · v1.8.0 (2026-09-04)
Fast local neural speech on plain CPU — the licensed replacement for edge-tts's grey area.
▶Repo detailsthe review · specs · pros & cons · install
What it is
A small speech program that runs on a normal processor. It is fast rather than beautiful. It is the voice behind Home Assistant, and it is now maintained by the Open Home Foundation. A new version came out three days before this report.
Why it matters
In Edition 3 I gave you edge-tts for free draft narration. I also said honestly that it calls a private Microsoft address and sits in a grey area for commercial use. That is fine for drafts. It is not something to build a habit on. Piper does the same job with a real licence and no dependence on a private service staying open. In practice it covers the parts of your channel that are not your voice: chapter intros, menu prompts, and test versions of a line while you decide on the wording.
- Instant on a normal processor, and fully offline. Drafts cost nothing and reveal nothing.
- The Russian voices are genuinely good. Most small tools of this kind are not.
- Released steadily. Version 1.8.0 came out on 4 September, the newest release on this page.
- It sounds like a machine, not like you. Use it for drafts only. The final voice stays with #1 or ElevenLabs.
- GPL-3.0-or-later licence. Run it as a separate program. Never build it into something you sell.
- You have to download and manage the voice files yourself. Choosing the right Russian voice takes some listening.
source venv/bin/activate pip install piper-tts
