Qwen Audio 3.1 TTS vs Qwen Audio 3.1 TTS Next

Qwen Audio 3.1 TTS vs Qwen Audio 3.1 TTS Next at a glance

Qwen Audio 3.1 TTS and Qwen Audio 3.1 TTS Next are both Alibaba Cloud models in the Audio Generation category, available through the EmpirioLabs API.

Key differences

• Both models were released on Sep 23, 2026.
• Qwen Audio 3.1 TTS returns up to 60,000 output tokens per response, Qwen Audio 3.1 TTS Next up to 50,000.
• Input types only Qwen Audio 3.1 TTS Next accepts: Audio.
• Capabilities listed only for Qwen Audio 3.1 TTS: multilingual, expressive prosody, emotion control, voice tags, low latency, streaming.
• Capabilities listed only for Qwen Audio 3.1 TTS Next: audio generation, multi speaker, sound effects, podcast.
• Qwen Audio 3.1 TTS lists the lower rate for Input (per 1M prompt tokens).
• Qwen Audio 3.1 TTS Next lists the lower rate for Output (per 1M generated tokens).

Qwen Audio 3.1 TTS vs Qwen Audio 3.1 TTS Next: specs

Qwen Audio 3.1 TTS vs Qwen Audio 3.1 TTS Next: API pricing

Live rates from the EmpirioLabs catalog for both models. Each rate card always matches what the API charges.

Qwen Audio 3.1 TTS vs Qwen Audio 3.1 TTS Next: API parameters

Request parameters each model lists on EmpirioLabs, with the allowed values or range where one applies. A dash marks a parameter the model does not list.

Qwen Audio 3.1 TTS vs Qwen Audio 3.1 TTS Next: limits and notes

Qwen Audio 3.1 TTS

Voices

• 19 voices: 15 English voices and 4 multilingual voices. Emily, Luna, Eric, and Luca have British accents. Abby, Annie, Ava, Beth, Betty, Cally, Cindy, Donna, Andy, Brian, and David have American accents. The multilingual voices longanhuan_v3.1, longanlingxin_v3.1, longanfengyue_v3.1, and xunanchuan_v3.1 read Chinese, English, and other languages.
• Every voice id ends in _v3.1, for example Emily_v3.1.

Custom voices

• Set voice to custom and pass voice_audio_url, an https URL to 10 to 20 seconds of clear speech from one speaker.
• WAV, MP3, M4A, OGG, WEBM and FLAC are accepted, up to 15 MB. Record in a quiet room, without music or other voices.
• The response includes voice_id and voice_id_expires_at. Pass the voice_id as voice to reuse the voice for 7 days, on POST /v1/audio/speech, POST /v1/audio/speech:stream or the realtime socket, where session.update takes the same fields and session.updated returns the voice_id. Only the account that created it can use it.
• Each account can hold 10 custom voices on this model at a time.
• GET /v1/voices?model=qwen-audio-3-1-tts lists the model's voices, including your custom voices with their ids. Add type=custom to list custom voices alone.
• DELETE /v1/voices/{voice_id}?model=qwen-audio-3-1-tts deletes a custom voice, which frees its place at once.
• In the Playground, set Voice to Custom to use a saved voice again, copy its id, or delete it.
• Creating, listing and deleting custom voices adds no charge.

Delivery direction

• instruction sets emotion, tone, character, pace, and speaking style in natural language, up to 1,000 characters.
• Inline tags inside the text change the delivery from that point, for example [excited] or [whispers], or add a one-time sound such as [laughing] or [sighing]. The full list of tags is on the input parameter.
• SSML input is not supported.

Input limits

• Up to 10,000 characters per request.
• language_hints biases pronunciation for mixed-language text.

Output

• MP3, WAV, PCM, or Opus at 8,000 to 48,000 Hz.
• POST /v1/audio/speech:stream sends audio chunks while the speech is generated.

Realtime

• WEBSOCKET /v1/realtime?model=qwen-audio-3-1-tts takes text while it is still being written and returns audio as it is generated. Send input_text_buffer.append events, then input_text_buffer.commit, or session.finish to end the session.
• Audio arrives in response.audio.delta events: 16-bit PCM at 24,000 Hz by default, or MP3 or Opus. Set the voice, instruction, format and other options with session.update; a change applies from the next segment.
• Text is spoken in segments that end at sentence boundaries, and each segment ends with a response.done event carrying its usage.

Billing

• Input tokens are the text, and output tokens are the generated audio at 12.5 tokens per second.
• Speed and pitch change the length of the rendered audio but not the billed tokens. An instruction that slows the delivery adds output tokens.

Qwen Audio 3.1 TTS Next

What it makes

• One finished audio file from a written description: narration, dialogue, sound effects, ambience, and music together.
• Describe each voice, the delivery, and the sounds in input. There is no voice list.
• Chinese and English.

Voices from reference clips

• references takes up to 3 clips as URLs or base64 audio data URIs, each up to 30 seconds and 10 MB, in WAV, MP3, or OGG Opus.
• Name them in input as @voice1, @voice2, and @voice3, in order, for example: @voice1 cheerfully says: "What a lovely day."

Input limits

• Up to 3,000 characters per request.
• instruction and SSML are not used: all direction goes in input.

Output

• MP3 (the default), WAV, or PCM at 8,000 to 48,000 Hz, mono or stereo; the defaults are 48,000 Hz and stereo.
• Up to 120 seconds per request, or 240 seconds for a podcast.
• One complete file per request. This model does not stream.

Billing

• Input tokens are the description plus each reference clip. Output tokens are the generated audio, about 200 per second.

How to call Qwen Audio 3.1 TTS and Qwen Audio 3.1 TTS Next

Qwen Audio 3.1 TTS serves speech through POST /v1/audio/speech and returns playable audio. Send the text to speak as input with the model id qwen-audio-3-1-tts. Both models are called through the same endpoint. Set model to qwen-audio-3-1-tts or qwen-audio-3-1-tts-next. Get an API key from the EmpirioLabs dashboard.

curl https://api.empiriolabs.ai/v1/audio/speech \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $EMPIRIOLABS_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "qwen-audio-3-1-tts",
    "input": "Welcome to EmpirioLabs. Your build just finished."
  }' \
  --output speech.mp3

Qwen Audio 3.1 TTS vs Qwen Audio 3.1 TTS Next: common questions

What is the difference between Qwen Audio 3.1 TTS and Qwen Audio 3.1 TTS Next?

Both models were released on Sep 23, 2026. Qwen Audio 3.1 TTS returns up to 60,000 output tokens per response, Qwen Audio 3.1 TTS Next up to 50,000. Input types only Qwen Audio 3.1 TTS Next accepts: Audio. The specs, rate cards, and parameters on this page come from the live EmpirioLabs catalog.

Which has the lower rate, Qwen Audio 3.1 TTS or Qwen Audio 3.1 TTS Next?

Qwen Audio 3.1 TTS lists the lower rate for Input (per 1M prompt tokens). Qwen Audio 3.1 TTS Next lists the lower rate for Output (per 1M generated tokens). Both live rate cards are on this page and always match what the API charges.

Can I switch between Qwen Audio 3.1 TTS and Qwen Audio 3.1 TTS Next without rebuilding my integration?

Yes. Both models use POST /v1/audio/speech with the same EmpirioLabs API key, so most integrations switch by changing the model value. Check the parameters table on this page first if you rely on a model-specific parameter.