Speech API migration

When this helps

For teams where speech API costs, latency or deployment limits are hard to manage. Useful when considering alternatives to a service like ElevenLabs, with voice quality, language coverage and product integration as key decision factors.

Map the speech workload and service contract

List the speech tasks your product uses: recognition, generated voice, streaming output or an LLM step. Document current API inputs, outputs, timing expectations, error handling and integration points.

Identify the languages, accents, names and pronunciations that matter in use. Include voice selection or streaming behaviour users rely on, so the comparison reflects the product, not a generic audio sample.

Evaluate voice quality and language support

Compare candidate models on representative recordings and generated phrases. Review recognition quality, pronunciation, voice character and intelligibility for required languages and accents. Note where a candidate differs from the current service.

Check streaming behaviour and response timing if the product relies on partial results or early audio. Confirm you can use the intended voices and audio examples for evaluation, and understand any required permissions before migration starts.

Compare cost on representative traffic

Use your traffic patterns to compare current API charges with the costs and operating needs of a controlled deployment. Include the expected mix of recognition, generation and LLM processing, plus the hardware and capacity needed.

Cost depends on usage, quality requirements and infrastructure assumptions. Record these assumptions. Compare successful tasks and latency against spend, rather than extrapolating from a small or unrepresentative sample.

Integrate and migrate in stages

Plan how the alternative models fit the existing API contract and product integration. Identify changes needed for streaming, errors, request formats and monitoring. Evaluate these changes before routing production traffic.

A staged migration compares old and new routes on agreed traffic, retaining a fallback while you observe quality, errors and response behaviour. Define rollout and rollback conditions with the team. Scope, price and timing are agreed before implementation.

What you receive

• A map of speech tasks, current API contracts, integration points and required languages or voices.
• A quality and timing comparison for representative recognition and generated speech samples.
• A traffic-based API and deployment cost comparison with documented assumptions.
• Where agreed, integrated speech endpoints and a staged rollout with fallback and rollback instructions.

Common questions