Bark
One of the first open models to voice text with intonation, laughter and pauses. Supports about ten languages, including Russian. Now outdated.
The last open version came out in Jul 2023. The family has not been updated for a long time: the model still works, but do not expect fixes or new sizes.
- Developer
- Suno, USA
- First release
- Apr 2023
- Latest release
- Jul 2023
- Sizes
- about 300M – 1B
- License
- Commercial use allowedMIT
- Russian
- Supported
- Ready-made builds
- GGUF
- Running
- On your own serverAlso runs without a GPU
- Industries
- Media and production, Marketing and content
What it does
- Draft voiceovers for videos
- Voice service prototypes
- Sound effects in speech
Where it is used
Hardware requirements
Versions
- Bark Small
- Bark
How to run it
I can set this up end to end: pick the model size, deploy it on your server and connect it to your systems. Quantization compresses a model so it takes less video memory and runs on more modest hardware. Answers change slightly, so quality is checked on your own examples.
Frequently asked questions
Can Bark be used in a commercial project?
Yes. License: MIT. It allows commercial use, but it is still worth having a lawyer review the license before launch.
What hardware does Bark need?
At minimum: Laptop or regular PC, up to 8 GB of VRAM — smaller versions. Some versions also run on an ordinary CPU, without a GPU. You can calculate the exact VRAM for your model size and context in the hardware calculator.
Does Bark support Russian?
Yes, Russian is listed on the model card.
Where can I download Bark and what does it cost?
The Bark weights are open and free to download. You only pay for the hardware it runs on and for the setup. Source links are at the bottom of this page.
How I deploy it for clients
- SelectionI pick the model size for your task and hardware and test it on your examples.
- DeploymentI deploy it on your server or in a closed network and provide an API.
- Fine-tuningI fine-tune it on your data (LoRA) or connect a knowledge base — whichever is cheaper for the task.
- IntegrationI connect it to your CRM, ERP, bot, website or team chat and set up monitoring.
Similar models
A popular model for cloning a voice from a short sample in 17 languages, including Russian. Coqui has shut down and development has stopped.
DetailsText to speechF5-TTSShanghai Jiao Tong University and partners · ChinaNon-commercial onlyA voice cloning model that needs only a few seconds of a sample, in English and Chinese. The community has released many fine-tuned versions for other languages, including Russian.
DetailsText to speechChatterboxResemble AI · USACommercial use allowedSpeech synthesis with voice cloning and adjustable expressiveness. The multilingual version supports 23 languages, including Russian; Turbo and Flash are sped up for live dialogue.
DetailsSource: huggingface.co/suno/bark-small. Data checked against the model card on 22 Sep 2026. Have a lawyer review the license before commercial launch.


