---
title: "Piper | Tarka Utilities"
description: "CPU-friendly English TTS with a pinned, predictable voice."
url: "https://tarkahq.com/utilities/piper/"
---

Text to speech

# Piper

CPU-friendly English TTS with a pinned, predictable voice.

[Sign up](https://tarkahq.com/console?auth=signup) [Utility model docs](https://tarkahq.com/docs/inference/utility-models/)

- **Status**: Live
- **Languages**: English on the current alias
- **License**: GPL-3.0 runtime; voice licenses vary

## Model ID

| Model ID | Designed for |
| --- | --- |
| `piper` | Efficient English speech with a fixed voice |

Confirm access with `GET /v1/models`, then follow the [utility-model docs](https://tarkahq.com/docs/inference/utility-models/) for the canonical v1 REST or native gRPC request contract.

## Pricing

`piper`: Free for a limited time. ~~$0.00005~~ $0.00 per audio second

 USD · catalog 2026-11-04.1. Release verified 2026-11-04. EUR uses the catalog conversion. [Live catalog](https://tarka.rest/control/v1/pricing).

## Overview

Piper is a compact, CPU-friendly speech engine. Tarka currently exposes one pinned English voice through the `piper` alias for efficient prompts, notifications, and test audio.

## When to pick it

- Volume is high enough that CPU efficiency dominates
- The output is going to be heard once and discarded (notifications, one-off briefings)

## When to pick something else

- **Voice cloning** → [Qwen3-TTS](https://tarkahq.com/utilities/qwen3-tts/)
- **Named English voices** → [Kokoro](https://tarkahq.com/utilities/kokoro/)
- **Nepali speech** → [Nepali Parler TTS](https://tarkahq.com/utilities/nepali-parler-tts/)

## Limits

Send `voice: “default”` to `POST /v1/audio/speech` or the native gRPC speech method. Use model discovery and your organization limits as the source of truth for access and request limits.