Compare pricing, sound quality, and use cases across AI voice subscriptions, professional voice talent, voiceover services, and other options for your business phone system.

There are a lot of ways to handle the messages that play to callers on your business phone system—and yes, it actually matters. The voice heard in your main menu greeting, what plays on hold, or even in voicemail, is often your first and last chance to make a good impression. Get it wrong, and you risk losing a customer. Get it right, and you can build trust, set expectations, and maybe even drive a little extra business.

The Big Problem we all Face:

When you’re setting up a business phone system, one thing providers often overlook is helping you nail the voices that callers actually hear—on greetings, IVR menus, prompts, voicemail, and on-hold messages. Sure, they might throw in some generic robotic TTS voices or default hold music you can use—but none of it really captures your brand or sounds like your business.

In 2025, you’ve got four options to look at:

• Professional voice talent – studio-quality recordings with human nuance
• AI Voice (text-to-speech) – fast, flexible, and easy to update
• Budget and DIY tools – self-service solutions for smaller teams
• Enterprise & multi-location platforms – scalable systems for dozens of offices

Every option comes with trade-offs—price, quality, scalability, and use case. We’ll walk you through the best ones so you can pick the voice or service that actually works for your business.

Best AI Voice Providers for Phone Systems  (Text-to-Speech)

Fast, flexible, scalable voice for phone greetings, IVRs, and on-hold messages.

AI TTS platforms give businesses the ability to generate professional-sounding voice messages without needing to wait for a real talent to record and deliver a finished audio file. They excel for rapid updates, multi-location rollouts, or last-minute campaigns, and can be cost-effective for small teams or frequent revisions. The trade-off is that while AI is extremely lifelike today, subtle human nuance can still be missed.

1. Phonzai (Snap Recordings AI)

Best for: Phone-system optimized AI voices and ready to use on-hold music

Phonzai is built specifically for creating and managing all types of phone system messages. It generates messages with AI-powered voices that are telecom-ready, and can automatically mix voice announcements with licensed music for on-hold messages. Phonzai integrates with many major platforms like RingCentral for easy deployments. Perfect for businesses that need fast, consistent, multi-location updates. Message editors are built for creating phone messages like IVR menus, on-hold messages, and bilingual scripts—and include AI writing assistance and translation. For higher level plans, enterprise-grade tools for bulk message creation and team management, can help you scale up.

Pros

• Made for Phone-systems ( specialized message editors, optimized audio formats, ready-to-use on-hold messages)
• Automatic background music mixing for on-hold messages
• Voices are optimized for quickly creating phone messages
• Integration with major phone systems (e.g., RingEX Manager for RingCentral)

Cons

• Licensed for Phone System and Contact Center use only
  
  

2. WellSaid Labs

Best for: Natural-sounding AI voices for professional business applications

WellSaid Labs offers highly realistic AI voices suitable for phone greetings, IVRs, and internal communications. Their web-based platform is easy to use, allows quick editing, and supports commercial licensing for businesses.

Pros

• Extremely natural-sounding voices for video narration, e-learning, podcasts, and presentations
• Easy-to-use browser interface
• Commercial licensing makes it safe for marketing, internal communications, and multimedia project

Cons

• Audio formats are not optimized for phone-system playback
• No music integration — must be licensed from other providers & combined in external audio/video software
  
  

3. ElevenLabs

Best for: Expressive AI voices with advanced control

ElevenLabs provides a broad range of voice styles, intonation, and expressiveness. Businesses can generate highly lifelike recordings for greetings, prompts, and on-hold messaging.

Pros

• Wide variety of expressive voices ideal for advertising, gaming, film-making, audiobooks, and podcasts
• Fast generation and iteration for creative projects
• Good for multi-language needs

Cons

• Requires manual music mixing for on-hold messages
• Phone-system optimization is not built-in. ElevenLabs is aimed at general media like audiobooks, podcasts, and creative projects - not telephony.
  
  

4. Murf.ai

Best for: Multi-language AI voiceovers with polished output

Murf is a versatile AI voice platform offering a range of natural voices and multi-language support. Suitable for companies looking for quick TTS deployment without hiring talent.

Pros

• Multi-language support for corporate presentations, training, and international content
• Polished, professional-quality voices for video, podcasts, and e-learning
• Simple workflow for fast updates

Cons

• No automatic music integration
• Slightly less lifelike than top-tier human VO

AI Voices(Text-to-Speech) - Reality Check

AI is fast, flexible, and scalable - but it’s not human. Subtle emphasis, warmth, and nuance can be missing, though many of these details are much less noticeable when played over a phone line. Some customer audiences expecting a more personal touch may call out your use of an AI voice, and respond better to real voices. AI shines for speed, consistency, and frequent updates, making it ideal for multi-location businesses or rapidly changing content; but you might also find yourself fiddling around with rewriting messages to get the correct pronunciation or read-style. For high-stakes branding ( think high-end luxury products, or single-location small  businesses that just need a few messages, a real human voice might be the better choice. Mixing background music with AI may require extra attention for hold messages, so look for a provider that handles it automatically, like Phonzai.

Best Professional Voice Talent Service for Business Phone Systems

When it comes to first impressions, nothing beats a real human voice. Professional voice talent brings nuance, emotion, and credibility that AI just can’t fully replicate. This makes it ideal for business phone greetings, IVR menus, voicemail messages, and on-hold audio—anywhere you want callers to feel heard, valued, and confident in your brand.

When you work with a service like Snap Recordings, you get way more than just a nice sounding voice. Compared with hiring talent directly, any credible service saves your business operations a lot of potential headaches by giving you white-glove convenience like easy invoicing, management of the talent on your behalf, handling all the technical production (audio codecs/formats: not fun!), and quality-control review so your messaging is consistent and professional across your phone system. Sure, it might cost a bit more than hiring a voice talent directly or recording someone in the office - but you’re paying for no-nonsense service with vetted, reliable talent and a workflow that's proven and repeatable, instead of rolling the dice on finding individual voice actors and hoping everything works out.

If you want the polish of professional talent but also the flexibility to make fast updates, some providers—like Snap Recordings—offer both real human voices and AI voice in the same workspace.

Here are some of the top options:

1. Snap Recordings – RealVoice

Best for: Telecom-optimized voice talent & fast, predictable turnaround

Snap Recordings takes a modern, purpose-built approach to professional phone-system audio. Instead of general commercial voice-over, their roster is made up of trained telephony voice actors—people who know how to deliver greetings, IVRs, and on-hold messages that will sound professional, clear and engaging in your phone system. Because Snap focuses exclusively on business phone messaging, the workflow is faster, more predictable, and has way more “phone-system friendly” workflows than other traditional VO agencies. You get script templates, optional writing support, licensed music for ready-to-use on-hold messages, and phone sytem-formatted audio baked right into the process.

The BIG differentiator 

Snap integrates with many major phone system providers, including platforms like RingCentral (via RingEX Manager) and others. That means you can log in with your provider credentials and upload your messages directly into your phone system—no downloading, renaming, or manual file management. And while this is huge for large deployments, multi-location businesses it’s just as helpful for any team that wants fast, reliable updates without the busywork of jumping from platform to platform.

Pros

• Professional telecom-specialized voice talent
• Offers IVR Menus, Prompts, On-Hold Messages, Announcements, and Voicemail
• Telecom-ready file formatting included
• Consistent delivery for large or multi-location businesses
• Thousands of fully licensed on-hold music tracks
• Responsive Support team
• Integrations for major phone system providers

Cons

• Not designed for commercial, broadcast, or video voiceover usage

2. Spectrio

Best for: Traditional on-hold and IVR messaging across multiple industries

Spectrio provides professional voice recordings for on-hold messages, IVR prompts, and auto-attendants. They offer licensed music, script support, and voice talent that covers multiple genders and languages. While Spectrio can manage multi-location deployments, their process is more traditional, often requiring longer lead times for edits or updates compared with modern services like Snap.

Pros

• Established provider with experience across industries (retail, healthcare, finance)
• Offers a wide range of marketing tools like digital signage, in-store overhead music, and interactive kiosks
• Provides on-premises streaming music equipment for for retail locations

Cons

• Support response times and issue resolution have been flagged in online reviews.
• While the service is comprehensive, some customers feel it’s expensive relative to the quality and reliability.
• Many users report difficulties with backend portal for changing content and UI issues

3. Mood Media

Best for: Brand-focused audio across phone systems and in-store experiences

Mood Media specializes in creating professional audio for businesses that want a consistent brand voice, including phone-system VO, in-store messaging, and other digital audio. They integrate voice talent with sound design, licensed music, and multi-channel delivery, making them a good fit for companies that want a cohesive audio brand.

Pros

• Strong focus on brand consistency
• Multi-channel support (phone, retail, digital signage)
• Professional sound design and licensing included

Cons

• More expensive than single-channel providers
• May be overkill for smaller businesses that only need phone-system VO
• Updates and edits can take longer than SaaS solutions

4. PHMG

Best for: Global enterprises needing vetted talent and full-service production

PHMG offers a global network of professional voice actors and full-service production for Audio Branding. They manage the entire process from scriptwriting to recording to delivery, ensuring consistency across regions and languages.

Pros

• Extensive international voice talent pool
• Full-service production branding, including scriptwriting and audio engineering
• Strong QA and consistency across multi-location deployments

Cons

• Higher cost than DIY or AI options
• Lead times can be longer than platforms focused solely on rapid updates
• Less flexibility for ad-hoc edits without additional fees

Voiceover Service Reality Check: What to Keep in Mind

Even the best professional voices come with some trade-offs:

• Scaling is tough: One voice can’t always keep up with the needs of a business. Frequent updates mean scheduling, recording, and editing each time.
• Availability issues: People take vacations, get sick, or change careers—leaving you with gaps or inconsistencies. A service may be able to provide a temporary replacement or suggest a new voice that sounds similar if an issue arises.
• Cost adds up: High-quality talent and supporting production team isn’t cheap, especially if you need frequent updates.
• Consistency headaches: Maintaining a single voice across greetings, IVR prompts, voicemail, and on-hold can be tricky—patchwork or slightly different tones often creep in.
• Limited flexibility: Frequent script changes or testing variations aren’t as easy as with AI Voices.

Bottom line: Working with a professional service gives you the best of both worlds: human nuance and polish, plus support, consistency, and convenience that’s hard to get when working directly with freelance talent. Hybrid solutions like Snap Recordings even let you mix real human voices with AI TTS for updates that are fast, reliable, and always on-brand.

Best Options for Budget friendly Phone system Messages: DIY, Freelancer, Online Marketplaces

If you’re running a small business or just need a few messages like a main menu greeting and a voice mail - you don’t always need a full white-glove service or subscription commitment to an AI platform. DIY and budget tools let you get your voice messages out fast, without breaking the bank. The trade-off? You’re the one juggling talent, file formats, and edits, and it can get messy if you need more than a couple of recordings, or if you have updates after your initial deployment - like for future promos, new services, menu changes etc... Think of these options as “fast and flexible, but bring your own seatbelt.

1. Freelancer Marketplaces (Fiverr, Upwork, Voices.com, VoiceBunny, Voice123)
Best for: One-off projects or budget-conscious businesses

These platforms connect you directly with individual freelancers. You can browse portfolios, find a style that matches your brand, and pay per project or per word. Voice-specific platforms like Voices.com, VoiceBunny, and Voice123 can get pricier depending on the talent’s experience and their portals can lack the polish of larger all-purpose freelance platforms like Fiverr or Upwork, but they’re still considered DIY because you’re managing the relationship, scheduling, and production yourself.

Pros

• Wide range of pricing options from premium top-tier talent to cut-rate
• Large pool of talent with diverse voices and accents
• Can hire quickly for one-off projects

Cons

• Quality/Professionalism varies significantly between freelancers
• No Guarantee for future availability or rate-matching for future updates
• Difficult to manage conversations and notifications with Freelancers to discuss project details depending on platform

2. DIY: Record messages yourself

Best for: Micro-businesses with no budget 

If you’ve got a decent microphone and a quiet room, you can handle your own recordings. This is the ultimate DIY approach: you control the voice, pacing, and script entirely. It’s fast, cheap, and gives you full creative control.

Pros

• Zero cost aside from equipment
• Total creative control over tone and delivery
• Immediate turnaround — no scheduling required

Cons

• Expectations rarely meet reality - Voice over is a skill that requires training and experience
• Audio quality depends entirely on your equipment and technique
• No professional mixing or mastering; background noise can be a problem
• Proper File formatting and deployment to phone systems is fully on you

3. Hiring a Voice Talent Directly

Best for: One-off recordings with a specific voice in mind

If you know exactly what you want, you can reach out to an individual voice actor and hire them directly. This is a more personal approach than using a marketplace or platform — you can build a relationship with the talent, give detailed direction, and maintain more creative control.

Pros

• Direct relationship allows for personalized guidance and feedback without a facilitator
• Can search for a voice that matches your brand perfectly
• Potential for negotiable rates and contract terms

Cons

• Artists have their own rules: What seems perfect at first can get tricky down the line. There’s no guarantee they will be available for future updates, that they will keep their original rates, or they will voice your project.
• No backing platform means managing payments, contracts, and file formats is all on you
• Hard to scale if you need multiple messages, frequent updates, or multi-location deployments
• No support for music licensing for On-hold messages

Budget Voice - Reality Check

DIY and budget options are great for small projects, fast turnaround, or limited budgets — but there’s a trade-off. You’re responsible for:

• Maintaining quality, consistency, and formatting across your phone system
• Managing schedules, deadlines, revisions, and invoices
• Integrating background music or optimizing for VoIP/PBX

Bottom line: These options are fine for a single location or a handful of messages, but scaling or maintaining consistent, polished messaging across multiple locations can quickly become a headache, and you might be looking for a replacement in the middle of a deployment or system update. Keep in mind: some structured platforms are surprisingly flexible, though: for example, Snap Recordings lets you pay $30 for a one-month Phonzai subscription—enough for a main menu greeting, voicemail, and few other messages—or $240/year for an active subscription. You could also pay-as-you-go professional voiceovers starting at $80 for 100 words, with Snap Recordings Realvoice for small businesses who want quality without committing to a large-scale service.

Best Voice Solutions for Enterprise & Multi-Location Business Phone Systems

When your business has multiple locations, frequent updates, or high call volume, managing messages manually or through DIY/budget options quickly becomes a nightmare. Enterprise platforms handle the heavy lifting — from centralized management to automated deployment — so your phone greetings, IVR prompts, and on-hold messages stay consistent across all offices and can be created at scale. These solutions often include built-in integrations with major phone systems, and support for scaling without headaches.

1. Snap Recordings (Realvoice & Phonzai)

Best for: Multi-location deployments with professional voice talent or AI voices

Snap Recordings is built from the ground up for business phone systems, with both studio-quality human voice (RealVoice) and a telecom-optimized AI Voice powered message creator, Phonzai that provides scalable, consistent phone-system messaging solutions to help you manage and create across any nu mber of locations. Deep integrations with major providers, like RingCentral via RingEX Manager, let you log in with your account and deploy messages directly—no manual uploads, renaming, or inconsistent audio.

• RealVoice - A roster of real, professional voice talent ready to record phone system messages.
• Phonzai - the only AI Voice Solution purpose-built for creating phone-system messages without the headache
• Robust integrations into leading telephone platforms.
  
  

Key Enterprise Features:

• Consistent messaging across dozens or thousands of locations
• Centralized management and automatic updates
• Bulk Message Editing – Preview, swap voices or music, approve, and download multiple messages with a single click
• Spreadsheet Support – Quickly create or update hundreds of messages by importing/exporting project spreadsheets
• Choice of professional human voice or AI TTS for speed, scalability, and reliability
• Integration with major phone systems - Connect your provider account to Snap Recordings to create and deploy messages instantly into your phone system from one platform.
• Team Management - Invite, assign roles, and delegate management without giving access to your entire phone system

Reality Check + Next Steps?

Snap Recordings solves the scaling and consistency problem— and enterprise-grade convenience comes at a cost, but for businesses managing large deployments, frequent updates, or multiple locations, the time and labor savings can quickly outweigh the subscription price.

If you’re running multiple offices or store locations, need polished, phone-system optimized messaging at scale, and want updates deployed without juggling talent or file formats, Snap Recordings might have the tools you need. 

Want to see if it’s the right solution for your business? Contact Snap Recordings and discover how we can simplify and scale your phone messaging.