Lightning V3.1 Pro (Jul 2026) text-to-speech model

Smallest.aiReleased Jul 2026.

Lightning V3.1 Pro (Jul 2026) is a text-to-speech (TTS) model from Smallest.ai. It ranks #25 of 98 on the Artificial Analysis TTS arena with Elo 1171 (95% CI ±12, 2,859 samples). On TTS Arena V2 it scores Elo 1525 (±29, 598 votes). List price is about $19.5 per 1M characters. Released Jul 2026.

Data updated Oct 25, 2026
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Key facts

AA Elo1171±12#25 / 98

TTS Arena Elo1525±29TTS Arena votes 598

Price (per 1M chars)$19.5USD

ReleasedJul 2026Open weights：–

Provider: Smallest.ai
AA rank: #25 / 98
AA Elo (95% CI): 1171 ±12
AA samples: 2,859
TTS Arena Elo (uncertainty): 1525 ±29
TTS Arena votes: 598
TTS Arena win rate: 51.7%
Price (per 1M chars): $19.5
Released: Jul 2026
Open weights: –
License: –
Voices tested by AA: 8
Languages: –
Voice cloning: –

"–" means the upstream sources do not provide this value; we do not guess.

Nearby models

By AA Elo; this model highlighted

#	Model	AA Elo	Arena Elo	Price $/1M chars	Open weights
22	SSoniox TTS Real-Time v2 Soniox	1182	–	$14.2	–
23	GGradium TTS (Sep 2026) Gradium	1177	–	$47.8	–
24	Speech 2.8 HD MiniMax	1176	1532	$100	–
25	SLightning V3.1 Pro (Jul 2026) Smallest.ai	1171	1525	$19.5	–
26	MFalcon 2 Murf AI	1158	–	$10	–
27	Speech 2.8 Turbo MiniMax	1156	1517	$60	–
28	GGradium TTS (Aug 2026) Gradium	1154	–	$47.2	–

Alternatives · Cheaper with AA Elo ≥ 1141

#	Model	AA Elo	Arena Elo	Price $/1M chars	Open weights
3	Qwen-Audio-3.1-TTS-Plus Alibaba	1307	–	$19.3	–
5	Gemini 3.8 Flash TTS Google	1280	–	$16.5	–
7	Qwen-Audio-3.0-TTS-Plus Alibaba	1266	–	$19.3	–
8	Gemini 3.8 Flash-Lite TTS Google	1252	–	$11	–
9	Fish Audio Drama 3 Preview Fish Audio	1248	–	$15	Open

Alternatives · More from Smallest.ai

#	Model	AA Elo	Arena Elo	Price $/1M chars	Open weights
79	SLightning v3.1 Smallest.ai	1023	–	$25	–

Alternatives · Top 5 open-weight by AA Elo

#	Model	AA Elo	Arena Elo	Price $/1M chars	Open weights
9	Fish Audio Drama 3 Preview Fish Audio	1248	–	$15	Open
11	BBreeze TTS 2 BreezeBlue	1230	–	$34	Open
19	Ming-3.0-tts Ant Group	1191	–	–	Open
38	Fish Audio S2 Pro Fish Audio	1110	–	$15	Open
41	Step Audio EditX (Mar 2026) StepFun	1100	–	–	Open

FAQ

Where does Lightning V3.1 Pro (Jul 2026) rank among TTS models?

As of Oct 25, 2026, Lightning V3.1 Pro (Jul 2026) ranks #25 of 98 on the Artificial Analysis TTS leaderboard with Elo 1171 (±12).

Is Lightning V3.1 Pro (Jul 2026) open source?

The sources do not list Lightning V3.1 Pro (Jul 2026) as open-weight; it is generally used through the Smallest.ai API.

What is the best Chinese TTS model?

By AA Elo, the top model from a Chinese provider is Qwen-Audio-3.1-TTS-Plus by Alibaba (Elo 1307, #3 overall).

Which top-10 TTS model is cheapest?

Among the AA top 10, the lowest list price is Simba 3.2 (SpeechifyAI) at $6.6 per 1M characters, Elo 1246.

What is the best open-source TTS model?

By AA Elo, the top open-weight model is Fish Audio Drama 3 Preview by Fish Audio (Elo 1248, #9 overall); 18 open-weight models have an AA score.

Sources