Play.HT API Replacement — One Base-URL Change, OpenAI-Compatible
Play.HT's API servers have been offline since December 31, 2025, and by September 2026 its own domains had gone too: play.ht no longer resolves, and playht.com redirects to unrelated ad content (both checked live, September 2026). There is nothing left to wait for. If your product's audio has been down for months, you don't need another feature comparison — you need the replacement with the least code.
EasyVoice's TTS API is OpenAI-compatible: POST /api/v1/audio/speech with a Bearer key and an 'input' field. If your stack already speaks the OpenAI TTS shape, the migration is one base-URL and key change; the six OpenAI voice names work as they are. If it speaks Play.HT's SDK, the stdlib-HTTP example in our migration guide shows the call. $9.99/mo flat unlimited when you're ready; a free key to prove it works first.
Verified July 2026. Vendor-status and pricing claims dated and re-checked before publication.
PlayHT status — Verified July 2026
Play.HT's API servers have been offline since December 31, 2025 (re-verified July 2026). The marketing site still loads, but API calls fail — production integrations built on Play.HT are currently dead, with no restoration timeline published.
The 30-second answer
Switch to EasyVoice if…
- Your Play.HT integration has been failing since New Year's Eve and you need audio back this week
- Your code already speaks the OpenAI TTS request shape — the swap is a base-URL change
- Your TTS volume is real — $9.99/mo flat unlimited vs metered billing everywhere else
- You want to test with production scripts before paying — 5,000 chars/day free, no card
Look elsewhere if…
- You genuinely need Play.HT's long-tail languages — EasyVoice covers 9; 142 was the draw, offline or not
- You need streaming time-to-first-byte for realtime voice agents — EasyVoice returns complete audio files per request
- You need 800-voice variety — EasyVoice ships 66 curated voices; every one answers, but it's a smaller palette
Why people are leaving PlayHT
- “My Play.HT API calls have been failing since New Year's Eve — no fix, no timeline”
- “The silence is the worst part — I can't tell my users when their audio comes back”
- “I don't want to rebuild my integration from scratch — I need a quick swap, not a rewrite”
- “800 voices meant nothing the day the endpoint stopped answering”
What TTS actually costs per 1M characters (Checked September 2026)
| Provider | Price | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| Play.HT | API offline | API offline since Dec 31, 2025 — $/1M is moot while requests fail |
| EasyVoice Pro | $9.99/mo flat | Unlimited characters — the bill is $9.99 at any volume |
| DeepInfra (Kokoro-82M) | per character; see provider | Raw endpoint only — no app, no long-form studio, no cloning |
| OpenAI tts-1 | $15/1M | List price checked September 2026; no free tier — bills from the first character |
| ElevenLabs Creator | $22/mo = 121K credits | ≈$182/1M effective (checked September 2026) |
| Metered credit APIs (AnySpeech and similar) | Billed per month | A flat-looking price that meters the characters |
Checked September 2026 against public pricing pages. Effective $/1M for credit-based plans computed from the advertised credit allowance.
How to switch, step by step
1. Get a free API key
Sign up at easyvoice.ae (no card required) and create a key in the dashboard — under a minute end to end.
2. Swap the base URL
EasyVoice's endpoint is OpenAI-compatible: POST /api/v1/audio/speech with a Bearer key and an 'input' field. If your code already speaks the OpenAI TTS shape, you change the base URL and the API key; the six OpenAI voice names work as they are. If it speaks Play.HT's shape, the migration guide at /openai-tts-alternative/migration-guide covers Python and JavaScript.
3. Choose voices
Play.HT voice names don't exist here. Browse /voices, listen to the free samples, and pick the closest match — am_michael for a measured male narrator, af_heart for a warm female voice — then hard-code the mapping. A free key can use the 12 free voices (such as af_nova, af_heart and am_michael); the other voices need Pro and return 403 plan_required on a free key.
4. Test on the free tier
5,000 characters/day free is enough to A/B your real production scripts before you switch traffic.
5. Upgrade when volume does
Pro is $9.99/mo unlimited characters — monthly billing, cancel in-app anytime.
Frequently asked questions
Is Play.HT still working?▾
No. Play.HT's API servers have been offline since December 31, 2025, and by September 2026 its own domains no longer served the product either: play.ht had no DNS record, and playht.com resolved to an unrelated ad/domain-parking redirect (both checked live, September 2026). There is no published restoration timeline. If your product depends on the Play.HT API, it has been down for months.
How do I replace the Play.HT API with an OpenAI-compatible one?▾
Point your TTS calls at EasyVoice's OpenAI-compatible endpoint: POST https://easyvoice.ae/api/v1/audio/speech with a Bearer API key and an 'input' field for the text. If your code already uses the OpenAI TTS request shape, the migration is a base-URL and key change; the six OpenAI voice names work as they are. If it uses Play.HT's SDK, the migration guide at /openai-tts-alternative/migration-guide is the fastest path — most teams are generating audio again within an hour.
Does EasyVoice support as many languages as PlayHT?▾
No. EasyVoice covers 9 languages (Arabic, American and British English, Spanish, French, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese), each with voices made for it. PlayHT advertised 142 — but breadth doesn't help while the API is offline. If you genuinely need long-tail languages, you'll need a different vendor either way; for the high-volume locales most apps actually ship to, EasyVoice covers you at $9.99/mo flat.
No card — 5,000 characters/day free to test your production scripts