Streamlabs TTS alternative: what a streamer should choose
Updated November 11, 2026 · 4 min read
In Streamlabs, text to speech is an Alert Box feature: when a viewer sends a tip or Bits, their message plays on stream. It's an easy way to make donations more fun.
Chat2Speech solves a different problem: it reads your whole Twitch chat in character voices and gives the streamer a separate income, half of every viewer voice subscription. Let's compare them.
If you're weighing a Streamlabs TTS alternative, this page has both options compared side by side so you can decide what you should use, or whether to run both.
How Streamlabs TTS works
According to the Streamlabs help center, TTS runs through the Alert Box source: you add it to your scene, then on the Streamlabs website open the tip or Bits alert settings and enable Text-to-Speech. There you set the minimum tip amount and the voice, with over 50 voices in different languages to choose from.
There's a spam filter that limits how much of a message is read, and a profanity filter that removes bad words from the message and the audio.
How Chat2Speech works
Chat2Speech reads Twitch chat messages in character voices. There are more than 250: game, anime and movie characters, announcers and meme voices. Premium voices carry emotion: a viewer writes (laughing) or (whispering), and the voice laughs or whispers.
The widget is a single link that OBS opens as a Browser source. No alerts to configure and no donation service to connect.
Side by side
The main differences:
What gets read: Streamlabs — tip and Bits messages; Chat2Speech — chat messages, Channel Points rewards and voice subscribers.
Voices: Streamlabs — over 50 speech synthesis voices; Chat2Speech — 250+ character voices and premium voices with emotions.
Who picks the voice: Streamlabs — the streamer, in alert settings; Chat2Speech — the viewer, at random or with Channel Points.
Moderation: Streamlabs — minimum amount, spam and profanity filters; Chat2Speech — who can speak, link and bot command skipping, a length cap and mod commands like !tts skip and !tts mute @name.
Setup: Streamlabs — Alert Box and alert settings; Chat2Speech — one link in OBS.
Earnings: Streamlabs — TTS encourages tips; Chat2Speech — 50% of every viewer voice subscription.
How setup differs
In Streamlabs, TTS is turned on in your alert settings: you pick a voice and a minimum amount for a message to be read. Only tips and Bits speak; regular chat stays as text.
In Chat2Speech you sign in with Twitch, copy one link and add it to OBS as a Browser source. No bot, the whole chat speaks, and you choose the scheme: everyone speaks, voice by command, roulette, Channel Points or voice subscribers only.
Voices and emotions
Streamlabs offers 50+ voices for tip TTS. Chat2Speech has 250+, including characters and premium voices with emotions: a message can play with a laugh or a whisper. On stream that's the difference between TTS you merely hear and TTS that becomes part of the show.
What it costs
Streamlabs tip TTS is free for the streamer; viewers pay with their tips. Chat2Speech gives 7 free minutes of TTS a day, about 100 messages, and plans cost $5, $10 and $20 a month for 70 minutes, 200 minutes or unlimited a day. It can also pay for itself: viewers buy voice subscriptions on your channel, and half of each goes to you.
Why chat TTS is better for a small channel
On a small channel tips are rare, so donation TTS hardly ever plays. Chat TTS works from the first message: viewers don't have to pay to hear themselves in a character's voice. That engages and keeps viewers, and the channel grows with them.
Once viewers love the voices, some will buy a voice subscription, and you get half. Subscribers speak in a premium voice, even after your daily limit runs out.
Can I use both?
Yes. The Streamlabs Alert Box keeps reading tips, and Chat2Speech reads chat. They are two separate sources in OBS, each with its own volume in the mixer.
One-off tips or a voice subscription
Tips come now and then: many viewers never tip, and those who do, tip when the mood strikes. TTS tied to tips gives the viewer nothing lasting: pay once, be heard once.
A Chat2Speech voice subscription is a clear product: their own premium voice with emotions for 30 days, priority after the daily limit, and a voice and name they can change. The viewer pays once and is heard all month, and each renewal brings you half again. It's recurring income that grows with your chat's activity.
Which one to choose
Streamlabs suits you if you only need tip and Bits TTS in alerts you already have. Chat2Speech suits you if you want your whole chat to come alive in character voices and to earn from TTS itself. You can start free with 7 minutes of audio a day and no card.
Questions
How many voices does Streamlabs TTS have?
According to the Streamlabs help center, over 50 voices in different languages. Chat2Speech has more than 250 character voices plus premium voices with emotions.
Do I need Streamlabs Desktop for Chat2Speech?
No. Any streaming app that can add a Browser source works: OBS Studio, Streamlabs Desktop and others.
How much does Chat2Speech cost?
7 free minutes of audio every day. Plans start at $5 a month, and $20 gets you no limit.