Voiceover Website or Direct Hire: Which Delivers the Best Results?

Not sure whether to use a voiceover website or work directly with a voice artist through their own website? Here’s how they compare and why direct collaboration often leads to better results.

If you’re looking for a voice for your video, commercial, or eLearning course, you’ve probably typed “best voiceover sites” into Google and been hit with a wall of casting platforms promising thousands of voices at the click of a button.

But is using a voiceover website always the smartest move? Or could working directly with a professional voiceover artist give you more value, better quality, and less stress?

Now before we dive into this blog It’s worth mentioning I’ve used some of these casting sites in the past and booked work from them, but most of my work comes from referrals or my website.

However, having been a voiceover on these sites I know what the auditions look like and for someone posting on these platforms, it’s worth you knowing how they work and what it can mean for you

Let’s take a look at both routes and help you decide what’s best for your project.

1. Voiceover Websites: Convenience Comes at a Cost

Sites like Voices.com, Fiverr, and Voice123 (among others) are popular for one reason: choice. They give you access to hundreds, sometimes thousands, of voice talents in one place.

But here’s what they don’t tell you:

• You’ll spend hours sifting through auditions
• Audio quality and professionalism can vary wildly
• There’s no vetting process on the voices for a lot of them
• Fees and commissions mean you often pay more than going direct

Plus, you’re dealing with a platform, not a person. If something goes wrong, you’re stuck in a ticket queue.

2. Direct Collaboration: Personal, Focused, Reliable

When you work directly with a professional voiceover artist, you get more than just a voice, you get:

• Direct communication (no middlemen or automated messages)
• Custom samples for your script
• Faster turnarounds
• Guaranteed Studio quality audio tailored to your specs
• Script feedback, retakes, pickups, and clarity, without having to explain it over and over
• Ability to learn more about the voiceover, their experience and reviews before starting with them

It’s a real working relationship, not a transaction.

3. What Clients Say About Skipping the Platforms

Many of my own clients started out on voiceover sites. But after one or two inconsistent experiences, they realised working directly:

• Saved time
• Gave them better control over tone, delivery, and deadlines
• Let them build a reliable go-to for future projects

In fact, most of my long-term relationships started with one message:

“We’ve been using xxx casting site and it’s just not working anymore…”

4. Are Voiceover Websites Ever the Right Choice?

To be fair, yes, in some cases:

• If you’re casting in a language or accent you’ve never sourced before
• If you’re working on a massive, global casting project
• If you need dozens of voices at once

But for most businesses, production teams, and agencies, building a direct relationship with a voice you trust will save you time, money, and hassle and improve the final product.

5. Looking for a Voice? Start with a Conversation

So seen as you’re already here….You don’t need to roll the dice on a voiceover website!

If you’ve got a script ready, or even just an idea, I’d be happy to record a short custom demo for free so you can hear how it could sound.

Depending on the project you have in mind, you can listen to some examples of my work below

My voiceover website was built to make it easy to navigate so you can find the category of voiceover work you’re interested in booking me for

You can read more about my experience, and reviews on the home page Manchester VO or Check out my demos page for an extensive list of my portfolio including videos

📩 Get in touch for a custom sample

There’s a general feeling amongst many voiceovers that are the nature of casting sites now is mass amounts of voices, which doesn’t help the client. Add to that the fees that can be levied on both sides, it can mean less for the Voiceover and more for the client, so alot more customers are coming to direct to us now for certain types of projects.

The best voiceover sites offer scale and for certain niches have their place, such as specialist agencies. But direct collaboration offers quality and consistency. I’m forever grateful at the extensive list of clients i’ve had the pleasure to work with over the years and the positive working relationships Ive built with them, not to mention their repeat work!

Seen as you’re already hear on my voiceover website, take a look through my work and see if I could be a good fit for your project and if so, drop me a message about how I can help!