> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.bland.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Speech Limits

> Concurrency, voice clone, and professional clone limits for Bland Speech: what they are, how the $5 unlock works, and how to raise them.

Bland Speech is pay-as-you-go: generation is billed per character against your wallet balance, and there are no subscription tiers. Limits are per organization and are unlocked by funding your wallet.

## Default limits

| Limit                    | Before your first top-up | After a one-time \$5 top-up |
| ------------------------ | ------------------------ | --------------------------- |
| Concurrent generations   | 1                        | 5                           |
| Instant voice clones     | 1                        | 10                          |
| Live professional clones | 0                        | 1                           |

The unlock is **cumulative**: once your total wallet deposits reach \$5, the higher limits apply. They are not tied to your current balance, so spending your wallet down doesn't lower them. The starting credit new accounts receive does not count toward the \$5.

## Instant voice clones

Every organization can create **one** instant clone before its first top-up, so you can try cloning before funding your wallet; the one-time \$5 top-up raises the limit to 10.

Instant clone limits are counted per organization against your **current-generation (V3) voices**. Voice clones created with earlier model generations don't count against the limit. If your limit is 10, that's 10 active V3 clones, and deleting one frees the slot.

The limit applies when creating a new clone; existing voices are never affected by a limit change. Limits are raisable; see [Raising your limits](#raising-your-limits).

## Concurrency and the 429 response

Your concurrency limit is the number of speech generations you may have **in flight at the same moment**, across every speech surface, including `POST /v2/tts`, the `/v1/speak` family, streaming input over WebSocket, and shared audio links (which count against the link owner's organization).

When you exceed it, the API responds `429` with:

```json theme={null}
{
  "error": "concurrency_limit_reached",
  "limit": 5,
  "message": "You're at 5 concurrent generations. Email tts@bland.ai to raise your limit.",
  "docs": "https://docs.bland.ai/speech/limits"
}
```

**This is not ordinary rate limiting.** A rate limit meters requests per unit of time; the concurrency limit only counts generations that are still running. A slot frees the moment one of your generations finishes, so the correct client behavior is:

* Wait the number of **seconds** given in the `Retry-After` header (it is seconds, not milliseconds), then retry.
* Or simply await one of your in-flight generations before submitting the next.

Avoid tight retry loops. They cannot make a slot free faster, and the wait is typically only a few seconds.

## Professional clones

Professional (studio-trained) voices follow a **draft / live** model:

* You may hold **unlimited drafts**. Drafts can be trained and previewed in the studio, but cannot be downloaded, used through the API, or used in calls.
* You may promote up to your live limit (default **1** after the \$5 unlock). Only live voices are usable everywhere.
* Training a professional voice requires a funded organization (the \$5 unlock) and passing Bland's **consent and rights review** for the voice being cloned.

## Raising your limits

If you haven't made your first top-up yet, the \$5 unlock *is* the raise. It takes you to 10 instant clones, 1 live professional clone, and 5 concurrent generations.

To go beyond the unlocked limits: for **instant clones** and **live professional clones**, use the **Request a raise** option in the studio (on the billing page when you're at your limit, or in the clone dialog); requests are reviewed by hand and answered by email. For **concurrency**, email [tts@bland.ai](mailto:tts@bland.ai) with your organization ID and expected volume, and those are sized case by case. Raises are applied directly to your organization, no plan change required.

***

Docs for agents: [llms.txt](/llms.txt)