A GLM-TTS and Maya-1 alternative that runs on a CPU
GLM-TTS and Maya-1 are two expressive open text to speech models built on large language models. GLM-TTS, released under MIT, clones a voice from 3 to 10 seconds of audio, controls emotion with reinforcement learning and is optimized for mixed Chinese and English. Maya-1 has about 3.3 billion parameters and builds a voice from a written description, with more than 20 emotions and vocal styles.
SuperClonica runs Supertonic 3, about 99 million parameters, in 31 languages on an ordinary processor. This guide compares them with facts from their model cards; we have not benchmarked GLM-TTS or Maya-1, so there are no speed or quality scores for them here.
GLM-TTS
A two-stage system: a Llama-based language model turns text into speech tokens, then a decoder makes audio. It clones any speaker from a 3 to 10 second prompt, streams for interactive apps and uses reinforcement learning to make prosody and emotion more natural. It is strongest for Chinese and English mixed text, under the permissive MIT license.
Maya-1
Instead of cloning or picking a preset, you describe the voice in words, such as age, timbre, accent and pace, and add inline expressive cues. Its card reports about 3.3 billion parameters and lists Apache 2.0 in the repository metadata, with notes on component licenses worth reading before commercial use.
What SuperClonica does differently
Supertonic 3 is about 99 million parameters, small enough for an ordinary CPU; we estimate the engine at 6.4 to 9.7 times real time on a desktop 8-core processor. It speaks 31 languages, and every voice speaks all of them. Install it with python -m pip install superclonica-cpu and run superclonica --text "Hello" --voice F1 --lang en --output hello.mp3.
Ready voices instead of prompts
Rather than cloning or describing a voice each time, SuperClonica offers about 190 catalog voices, from narrators and announcers to game and anime characters, each a small file bought once; the ten stock voices are free and may be used commercially. Any voice page plays a line of 30 to 100 characters free.
Which to choose
Choose GLM-TTS for Chinese, quick cloning and emotion, Maya-1 for designing new voices from text, if you have GPU hardware for large models. Choose SuperClonica for 31 languages on a CPU, ready character voices and a speech API with a free tier of 3 minutes a day.