Is Deepgram (Aura) still around? (2026)

What sets it apart Aura's TTS can run self-hosted in a customer's own VPC or on-premises (via Docker, Kubernetes, or bare metal) alongside Deepgram's speech-to-text, so audio need not leave the customer's infrastructure, which is uncommon among conversational-TTS vendors

Best for Developers and enterprises building real-time conversational voice agents (contact centers, virtual agents, IVR replacements) who want text-to-speech that pairs with their speech-to-text stack, including self-hosted or on-prem deployments for data-privacy requirements · Pricing model Usage-based / pay-as-you-go with no monthly minimum. Aura-2 text-to-speech is billed per character at $0.030 per 1,000 characters (a lower Growth-tier rate of $0.027 is cited for volume customers), with all 40+ voices charged at a single rate. New accounts receive $200 in free credits; there is no described perpetual free tier (consistent with the DB flag free_tier=false). Deepgram separately meters speech-to-text per minute.

Within Deepgram's speech-API stack, Aura is the text-to-speech component built for real-time voice agents rather than media narration or audiobook production. The current model, Aura-2, released in April 2025, ships more than 40 English voices aimed at support, sales, and healthcare calls and reports sub-200ms time-to-first-byte on streaming output. Billing is usage-based at $0.030 per 1,000 characters with every voice at the same rate, and the model runs in Deepgram's cloud or self-hosted in a VPC or on-premises alongside the company's speech-to-text engines. That pairing fits teams already building conversational voice AI who want TTS on the same infrastructure as their transcription, or who must keep audio inside their own environment.

Sources Deepgram - Introducing Aura-2: Enterprise-Grade Text-to-Speech · Businesswire - Deepgram Unveils Aura-2 (Apr 15, 2025) · Businesswire - Deepgram Launches Aura (Mar 12, 2024) · Deepgram - Pricing