MiniMax Audio is a powerful new AI tool created by a Chinese startup called MiniMax. It lets you turn text into realistic human speech, clone voices, create music, and even clean up audio. If you are a content creator, developer, teacher, or business owner, MiniMax Audio might be just the tool you need to save time and sound more professional.
Let’s explore what this tool does, how it works, and why it is becoming a strong alternative to more expensive platforms like ElevenLabs.
What is MiniMax Audio
MiniMax Audio is an AI voice generation and audio creation platform. It was built by MiniMax, a startup founded by people who used to work at SenseTime, a well-known AI company. The tool started with a model called Speech 01 and later upgraded to newer models like Speech 02 HD and Speech 02 Turbo.
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In late 2024, MiniMax brought all its AI tools into one easy-to-use platform. Now, users can access features like text-to-speech, voice cloning, and even music generation from a single website or through its API.
Key Features of MiniMax Audio
1. Text to Speech
The most popular feature of MiniMax Audio is its ability to turn written text into natural-sounding speech. It supports more than 30 languages including English, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, French, and many others. You can choose voices based on gender, age, or accent.
What makes it unique is that it can add emotions to the voice. Whether the tone is happy, sad, angry, or surprised, the system tries to match the mood in your text. It works best in English and Chinese.
You can also adjust how the voice sounds by changing the pitch or speed or adding effects like echo or a robotic sound. The tool can read long documents and even accept uploads in PDF or Word format.
2. Voice Cloning
MiniMax Audio allows you to create a new voice based on your own. Just upload a short voice recording or record it live. In just five to ten seconds, the system will generate a similar voice that you can reuse.
While it does not produce an exact copy for safety reasons, it still sounds very close to the original. This is great for voice-over artists or content creators who want to save time by using a virtual version of their voice.
3. Voice Design
This is one of the most creative features. If you do not want to use a real voice, you can describe the kind of voice you want. For example, you can type “a friendly female radio host” or “a deep movie trailer voice,” and the system will create voice options based on your description.
4. Audio Enhancement
MiniMax Audio can also clean up audio recordings. It removes background noise to give you a clearer voice. This is useful for podcasters, teachers, or anyone working with recorded speech.
5. AI Music Generation
The platform can create original, copyright-free music based on text input. You can either write a short description and let the system generate music or use an advanced mode where you write lyrics and structure your song.
While this feature is still in early development, it already shows great potential for musicians and content creators.
6. Speech to Text
You can also upload audio files and get the text version. This is helpful for converting interviews, podcasts, or meetings into written documents.
7. API Access
For developers or businesses, MiniMax offers full access to its features through an API. You can integrate the voice tools into apps, websites, or other digital services.
How to Use MiniMax Audio
Here is a simple guide to using the platform
- Go to the MiniMax Audio website and create an account
- Choose the tool you want to use: text to speech, voice cloning, voice design, or music
- Enter your text or upload a file
- Select your voice settings and click generate
- Download the final audio or music
MiniMax Audio Pricing
MiniMax Audio has both free and paid plans.
- The free plan gives you 10,000 credits each month, which equals about 10 minutes of audio. You can also clone up to three voices.
- Paid plans start at just five US dollars per month. These come with 100,000 credits, commercial usage rights, and support for more voices.
- If you use advanced models like Speech 02 HD or Turbo, prices are 50 dollars and 30 dollars per million characters, which is more affordable than ElevenLabs, where it costs around 100 dollars.
How It Compares to ElevenLabs
Let us take a quick look at how MiniMax compares to ElevenLabs
| Feature | MiniMax Audio | ElevenLabs |
|---|---|---|
| Free voice cloning | Yes | No |
| Multilingual support | Over 30 languages | Limited |
| Long text support | Up to 10 million characters | Limited |
| Custom voice design | Yes | No |
| Music generation | Yes | No |
| Price per million characters | 30 to 50 dollars | Around 100 dollars |
MiniMax has received high scores on independent platforms like Hugging Face and Artificial Analysis, often beating ElevenLabs and OpenAI models in tests for quality and user satisfaction.
Who Should Use MiniMax Audio
MiniMax Audio is a great fit for
- Content creators who need voiceovers for videos
- Podcasters and YouTubers looking for clean and engaging audio
- Teachers and educators creating learning materials in multiple languages
- Developers who want to add voice features to apps or chatbots
- Businesses offering customer support or product narration in different languages
A Few Limitations
While MiniMax Audio is powerful, it is not perfect. Emotional voices may not sound as accurate in less-supported languages. Also, some languages still have fewer voice options. The music creation tool is still basic, but it is expected to improve over time.
Final Thoughts
MiniMax Audio extends beyond its text-to-speech capabilities. It offers voice cloning, audio cleaning, music generation, and even custom voice creation — all at a price much lower than many of its competitors. Whether you are a solo creator or a business building voice-enabled tools, MiniMax is worth trying.
With strong AI models, excellent voice quality, and support for dozens of languages, MiniMax Audio is quickly becoming one of the most promising tools in the AI voice space.