Where it fits
Self-hosted speech synthesis
Self-hosted does not mean zero infrastructure cost. This requires deployment support; entering a provider key alone does not provision a Piper server.
Configure the connection
Ask the deployment operator to provision the Piper service and installed voices. Select Piper in the assistant after the service is available.
Assistant configuration fragment. Merge this into your assistant; select current model and voice IDs from your account before saving.
{
"pipeline_mode": "cascading",
"tts_provider": "piper"
}Keep provider secrets in workspace credentials. The public MCP provider matrix describes capabilities; it does not connect your provider account.
Test this boundary first
Test concurrency as well as a single call. Measure time to first audio under the load the host will actually run.
Save a known working configuration and move one test route first. Inspect the call log before increasing traffic. Follow the staged migration guide.
Understand the bill
APIFleet adds $0.03 per connected AI minute, billed per second. Provider and carrier usage are additional. With your own keys, provider charges go directly to the provider. No monthly subscription or free call credits; prepaid top-ups start at $10.