Kokoro vs Speaches
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted self-hosted ai options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Kokoro
Compact, high-quality open text-to-speech model
VS
Speaches
OpenAI-compatible speech-to-text and text-to-speech server
| Feature | Kokoro | Speaches |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Self-Hosted AI | Self-Hosted AI |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | JavaScript | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 4,096 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | source, docker | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 8,327 | ★ 3,575 |
| First released | 2024 | 2024 |
| Replaces | ElevenLabs, OpenAI TTS | OpenAI Audio API, ElevenLabs |
Why pick each one
Choose Kokoro if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 8.3k GitHub stars
- Written in JavaScript
Choose Speaches if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (3.6k GitHub stars)
- Written in Python
Frequently asked questions
Is Kokoro or Speaches better?
Neither is universally better. Kokoro has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Kokoro and Speaches free and open-source?
Yes. Kokoro is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Speaches under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Kokoro and Speaches with Docker?
Kokoro: yes. Speaches: yes.