diff --git a/api/cache/getLogStores.js b/api/cache/getLogStores.js
index ad181c4c9e8..4d064fb28f6 100644
--- a/api/cache/getLogStores.js
+++ b/api/cache/getLogStores.js
@@ -60,6 +60,8 @@ const namespaces = {
   message_limit: createViolationInstance('message_limit'),
   token_balance: createViolationInstance(ViolationTypes.TOKEN_BALANCE),
   registrations: createViolationInstance('registrations'),
+  [ViolationTypes.TTS_LIMIT]: createViolationInstance(ViolationTypes.TTS_LIMIT),
+  [ViolationTypes.STT_LIMIT]: createViolationInstance(ViolationTypes.STT_LIMIT),
   [ViolationTypes.FILE_UPLOAD_LIMIT]: createViolationInstance(ViolationTypes.FILE_UPLOAD_LIMIT),
   [ViolationTypes.ILLEGAL_MODEL_REQUEST]: createViolationInstance(
     ViolationTypes.ILLEGAL_MODEL_REQUEST,
diff --git a/api/server/middleware/speech/index.js b/api/server/middleware/speech/index.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..1cf0bc4cc9b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/api/server/middleware/speech/index.js
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+const createTTSLimiters = require('./ttsLimiters');
+const createSTTLimiters = require('./sttLimiters');
+
+module.exports = {
+  createTTSLimiters,
+  createSTTLimiters,
+};
diff --git a/api/server/middleware/speech/sttLimiters.js b/api/server/middleware/speech/sttLimiters.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..76f2944f0a1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/api/server/middleware/speech/sttLimiters.js
@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+const rateLimit = require('express-rate-limit');
+const { ViolationTypes } = require('librechat-data-provider');
+const logViolation = require('~/cache/logViolation');
+
+const getEnvironmentVariables = () => {
+  const STT_IP_MAX = parseInt(process.env.STT_IP_MAX) || 100;
+  const STT_IP_WINDOW = parseInt(process.env.STT_IP_WINDOW) || 1;
+  const STT_USER_MAX = parseInt(process.env.STT_USER_MAX) || 50;
+  const STT_USER_WINDOW = parseInt(process.env.STT_USER_WINDOW) || 1;
+
+  const sttIpWindowMs = STT_IP_WINDOW * 60 * 1000;
+  const sttIpMax = STT_IP_MAX;
+  const sttIpWindowInMinutes = sttIpWindowMs / 60000;
+
+  const sttUserWindowMs = STT_USER_WINDOW * 60 * 1000;
+  const sttUserMax = STT_USER_MAX;
+  const sttUserWindowInMinutes = sttUserWindowMs / 60000;
+
+  return {
+    sttIpWindowMs,
+    sttIpMax,
+    sttIpWindowInMinutes,
+    sttUserWindowMs,
+    sttUserMax,
+    sttUserWindowInMinutes,
+  };
+};
+
+const createSTTHandler = (ip = true) => {
+  const { sttIpMax, sttIpWindowInMinutes, sttUserMax, sttUserWindowInMinutes } =
+    getEnvironmentVariables();
+
+  return async (req, res) => {
+    const type = ViolationTypes.STT_LIMIT;
+    const errorMessage = {
+      type,
+      max: ip ? sttIpMax : sttUserMax,
+      limiter: ip ? 'ip' : 'user',
+      windowInMinutes: ip ? sttIpWindowInMinutes : sttUserWindowInMinutes,
+    };
+
+    await logViolation(req, res, type, errorMessage);
+    res.status(429).json({ message: 'Too many STT requests. Try again later' });
+  };
+};
+
+const createSTTLimiters = () => {
+  const { sttIpWindowMs, sttIpMax, sttUserWindowMs, sttUserMax } = getEnvironmentVariables();
+
+  const sttIpLimiter = rateLimit({
+    windowMs: sttIpWindowMs,
+    max: sttIpMax,
+    handler: createSTTHandler(),
+  });
+
+  const sttUserLimiter = rateLimit({
+    windowMs: sttUserWindowMs,
+    max: sttUserMax,
+    handler: createSTTHandler(false),
+    keyGenerator: function (req) {
+      return req.user?.id; // Use the user ID or NULL if not available
+    },
+  });
+
+  return { sttIpLimiter, sttUserLimiter };
+};
+
+module.exports = createSTTLimiters;
diff --git a/api/server/middleware/speech/ttsLimiters.js b/api/server/middleware/speech/ttsLimiters.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..5619a49b634
--- /dev/null
+++ b/api/server/middleware/speech/ttsLimiters.js
@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+const rateLimit = require('express-rate-limit');
+const { ViolationTypes } = require('librechat-data-provider');
+const logViolation = require('~/cache/logViolation');
+
+const getEnvironmentVariables = () => {
+  const TTS_IP_MAX = parseInt(process.env.TTS_IP_MAX) || 100;
+  const TTS_IP_WINDOW = parseInt(process.env.TTS_IP_WINDOW) || 1;
+  const TTS_USER_MAX = parseInt(process.env.TTS_USER_MAX) || 50;
+  const TTS_USER_WINDOW = parseInt(process.env.TTS_USER_WINDOW) || 1;
+
+  const ttsIpWindowMs = TTS_IP_WINDOW * 60 * 1000;
+  const ttsIpMax = TTS_IP_MAX;
+  const ttsIpWindowInMinutes = ttsIpWindowMs / 60000;
+
+  const ttsUserWindowMs = TTS_USER_WINDOW * 60 * 1000;
+  const ttsUserMax = TTS_USER_MAX;
+  const ttsUserWindowInMinutes = ttsUserWindowMs / 60000;
+
+  return {
+    ttsIpWindowMs,
+    ttsIpMax,
+    ttsIpWindowInMinutes,
+    ttsUserWindowMs,
+    ttsUserMax,
+    ttsUserWindowInMinutes,
+  };
+};
+
+const createTTSHandler = (ip = true) => {
+  const { ttsIpMax, ttsIpWindowInMinutes, ttsUserMax, ttsUserWindowInMinutes } =
+    getEnvironmentVariables();
+
+  return async (req, res) => {
+    const type = ViolationTypes.TTS_LIMIT;
+    const errorMessage = {
+      type,
+      max: ip ? ttsIpMax : ttsUserMax,
+      limiter: ip ? 'ip' : 'user',
+      windowInMinutes: ip ? ttsIpWindowInMinutes : ttsUserWindowInMinutes,
+    };
+
+    await logViolation(req, res, type, errorMessage);
+    res.status(429).json({ message: 'Too many TTS requests. Try again later' });
+  };
+};
+
+const createTTSLimiters = () => {
+  const { ttsIpWindowMs, ttsIpMax, ttsUserWindowMs, ttsUserMax } = getEnvironmentVariables();
+
+  const ttsIpLimiter = rateLimit({
+    windowMs: ttsIpWindowMs,
+    max: ttsIpMax,
+    handler: createTTSHandler(),
+  });
+
+  const ttsUserLimiter = rateLimit({
+    windowMs: ttsUserWindowMs,
+    max: ttsUserMax,
+    handler: createTTSHandler(false),
+    keyGenerator: function (req) {
+      return req.user?.id; // Use the user ID or NULL if not available
+    },
+  });
+
+  return { ttsIpLimiter, ttsUserLimiter };
+};
+
+module.exports = createTTSLimiters;
diff --git a/api/server/routes/files/index.js b/api/server/routes/files/index.js
index 1490b4ec90c..7f93018d1cb 100644
--- a/api/server/routes/files/index.js
+++ b/api/server/routes/files/index.js
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 const express = require('express');
 const { uaParser, checkBan, requireJwtAuth, createFileLimiters } = require('~/server/middleware');
+const { createTTSLimiters, createSTTLimiters } = require('~/server/middleware/speech');
 const { createMulterInstance } = require('./multer');
 
 const files = require('./files');
@@ -15,8 +16,10 @@ const initialize = async () => {
   router.use(uaParser);
 
   /* Important: stt/tts routes must be added before the upload limiters */
-  router.use('/stt', stt);
-  router.use('/tts', tts);
+  const { sttIpLimiter, sttUserLimiter } = createSTTLimiters();
+  const { ttsIpLimiter, ttsUserLimiter } = createTTSLimiters();
+  router.use('/stt', sttIpLimiter, sttUserLimiter, stt);
+  router.use('/tts', ttsIpLimiter, ttsUserLimiter, tts);
 
   const upload = await createMulterInstance();
   const { fileUploadIpLimiter, fileUploadUserLimiter } = createFileLimiters();
@@ -24,9 +27,6 @@ const initialize = async () => {
   router.post('/', upload.single('file'));
   router.post('/images', upload.single('file'));
 
-  router.use('/stt', stt);
-  router.use('/tts', tts);
-
   router.use('/', files);
   router.use('/images', images);
   router.use('/images/avatar', avatar);
diff --git a/api/server/services/Config/handleRateLimits.js b/api/server/services/Config/handleRateLimits.js
index 19fb808ec21..5e81c5f68dc 100644
--- a/api/server/services/Config/handleRateLimits.js
+++ b/api/server/services/Config/handleRateLimits.js
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+const { RateLimitPrefix } = require('librechat-data-provider');
+
 /**
  *
  * @param {TCustomConfig['rateLimits'] | undefined} rateLimits
@@ -6,24 +8,41 @@ const handleRateLimits = (rateLimits) => {
   if (!rateLimits) {
     return;
   }
-  const { fileUploads, conversationsImport } = rateLimits;
-  if (fileUploads) {
-    process.env.FILE_UPLOAD_IP_MAX = fileUploads.ipMax ?? process.env.FILE_UPLOAD_IP_MAX;
-    process.env.FILE_UPLOAD_IP_WINDOW =
-      fileUploads.ipWindowInMinutes ?? process.env.FILE_UPLOAD_IP_WINDOW;
-    process.env.FILE_UPLOAD_USER_MAX = fileUploads.userMax ?? process.env.FILE_UPLOAD_USER_MAX;
-    process.env.FILE_UPLOAD_USER_WINDOW =
-      fileUploads.userWindowInMinutes ?? process.env.FILE_UPLOAD_USER_WINDOW;
-  }
 
-  if (conversationsImport) {
-    process.env.IMPORT_IP_MAX = conversationsImport.ipMax ?? process.env.IMPORT_IP_MAX;
-    process.env.IMPORT_IP_WINDOW =
-      conversationsImport.ipWindowInMinutes ?? process.env.IMPORT_IP_WINDOW;
-    process.env.IMPORT_USER_MAX = conversationsImport.userMax ?? process.env.IMPORT_USER_MAX;
-    process.env.IMPORT_USER_WINDOW =
-      conversationsImport.userWindowInMinutes ?? process.env.IMPORT_USER_WINDOW;
-  }
+  const rateLimitKeys = {
+    fileUploads: RateLimitPrefix.FILE_UPLOAD,
+    conversationsImport: RateLimitPrefix.IMPORT,
+    tts: RateLimitPrefix.TTS,
+    stt: RateLimitPrefix.STT,
+  };
+
+  Object.entries(rateLimitKeys).forEach(([key, prefix]) => {
+    const rateLimit = rateLimits[key];
+    if (rateLimit) {
+      setRateLimitEnvVars(prefix, rateLimit);
+    }
+  });
+};
+
+/**
+ * Set environment variables for rate limit configurations
+ *
+ * @param {string} prefix - Prefix for environment variable names
+ * @param {object} rateLimit - Rate limit configuration object
+ */
+const setRateLimitEnvVars = (prefix, rateLimit) => {
+  const envVarsMapping = {
+    ipMax: `${prefix}_IP_MAX`,
+    ipWindowInMinutes: `${prefix}_IP_WINDOW`,
+    userMax: `${prefix}_USER_MAX`,
+    userWindowInMinutes: `${prefix}_USER_WINDOW`,
+  };
+
+  Object.entries(envVarsMapping).forEach(([key, envVar]) => {
+    if (rateLimit[key] !== undefined) {
+      process.env[envVar] = rateLimit[key];
+    }
+  });
 };
 
 module.exports = handleRateLimits;
diff --git a/client/src/components/Chat/Input/StreamAudio.tsx b/client/src/components/Chat/Input/StreamAudio.tsx
index 52df1d6f2f6..8edf93b517e 100644
--- a/client/src/components/Chat/Input/StreamAudio.tsx
+++ b/client/src/components/Chat/Input/StreamAudio.tsx
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import type { TMessage } from 'librechat-data-provider';
 import { useCustomAudioRef, MediaSourceAppender, usePauseGlobalAudio } from '~/hooks/Audio';
 import { useAuthContext } from '~/hooks';
 import { globalAudioId } from '~/common';
+import { getLatestText } from '~/utils';
 import store from '~/store';
 
 function timeoutPromise(ms: number, message?: string) {
@@ -47,13 +48,14 @@ export default function StreamAudio({ index = 0 }) {
   );
 
   useEffect(() => {
+    const latestText = getLatestText(latestMessage);
     const shouldFetch =
       token &&
       automaticPlayback &&
       isSubmitting &&
       latestMessage &&
       !latestMessage.isCreatedByUser &&
-      (latestMessage.text || latestMessage.content) &&
+      latestText &&
       latestMessage.messageId &&
       !latestMessage.messageId.includes('_') &&
       !isFetching &&
diff --git a/client/src/hooks/Messages/useMessageHelpers.tsx b/client/src/hooks/Messages/useMessageHelpers.tsx
index 412ab5ab459..3442dd307b8 100644
--- a/client/src/hooks/Messages/useMessageHelpers.tsx
+++ b/client/src/hooks/Messages/useMessageHelpers.tsx
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import { useEffect, useRef, useCallback } from 'react';
 import { isAssistantsEndpoint } from 'librechat-data-provider';
 import type { TMessageProps } from '~/common';
 import { useChatContext, useAssistantsMapContext } from '~/Providers';
+import { getLatestText, getLengthAndFirstFiveChars } from '~/utils';
 import useCopyToClipboard from './useCopyToClipboard';
 
 export default function useMessageHelpers(props: TMessageProps) {
@@ -26,20 +27,25 @@ export default function useMessageHelpers(props: TMessageProps) {
   const isLast = !children?.length;
 
   useEffect(() => {
-    let contentChanged = message?.content
-      ? message?.content?.length !== latestText.current
-      : message?.text !== latestText.current;
-
+    if (conversation?.conversationId === 'new') {
+      return;
+    }
+    if (!message) {
+      return;
+    }
     if (!isLast) {
-      contentChanged = false;
+      return;
     }
 
-    if (!message) {
+    const text = getLatestText(message);
+    const textKey = `${message?.messageId ?? ''}${getLengthAndFirstFiveChars(text)}`;
+
+    if (textKey === latestText.current) {
       return;
-    } else if (isLast && conversation?.conversationId !== 'new' && contentChanged) {
-      setLatestMessage({ ...message });
-      latestText.current = message?.content ? message.content.length : message.text;
     }
+
+    latestText.current = textKey;
+    setLatestMessage({ ...message });
   }, [isLast, message, setLatestMessage, conversation?.conversationId]);
 
   const enterEdit = useCallback(
diff --git a/client/src/store/settings.ts b/client/src/store/settings.ts
index 0c7f41dc0a0..e50387ebfff 100644
--- a/client/src/store/settings.ts
+++ b/client/src/store/settings.ts
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ const localStorageAtoms = {
   autoScroll: atomWithLocalStorage('autoScroll', false),
   showCode: atomWithLocalStorage('showCode', false),
   hideSidePanel: atomWithLocalStorage('hideSidePanel', false),
-  modularChat: atomWithLocalStorage('modularChat', false),
+  modularChat: atomWithLocalStorage('modularChat', true),
   LaTeXParsing: atomWithLocalStorage('LaTeXParsing', true),
   UsernameDisplay: atomWithLocalStorage('UsernameDisplay', true),
   TextToSpeech: atomWithLocalStorage('textToSpeech', true),
diff --git a/client/src/utils/index.ts b/client/src/utils/index.ts
index 27adb709d74..a0cf9d54b92 100644
--- a/client/src/utils/index.ts
+++ b/client/src/utils/index.ts
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ export * from './latex';
 export * from './convos';
 export * from './presets';
 export * from './textarea';
+export * from './messages';
 export * from './languages';
 export * from './endpoints';
 export * from './sharedLink';
diff --git a/client/src/utils/messages.ts b/client/src/utils/messages.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..1d83db49581
--- /dev/null
+++ b/client/src/utils/messages.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+import { ContentTypes } from 'librechat-data-provider';
+import type { TMessage } from 'librechat-data-provider';
+
+export const getLengthAndFirstFiveChars = (str?: string) => {
+  const length = str ? str.length : 0;
+  const firstFiveChars = str ? str.substring(0, 5) : '';
+  return `${length}${firstFiveChars}`;
+};
+
+export const getLatestText = (message?: TMessage | null) => {
+  if (!message) {
+    return '';
+  }
+  if (message.text) {
+    return message.text;
+  }
+  if (message.content?.length) {
+    for (let i = message.content.length - 1; i >= 0; i--) {
+      const part = message.content[i];
+      if (part.type === ContentTypes.TEXT && part[ContentTypes.TEXT]?.value?.length > 0) {
+        return part[ContentTypes.TEXT].value;
+      }
+    }
+  }
+  return '';
+};
diff --git a/packages/data-provider/src/config.ts b/packages/data-provider/src/config.ts
index c842326c5ac..a6bdcacec91 100644
--- a/packages/data-provider/src/config.ts
+++ b/packages/data-provider/src/config.ts
@@ -273,6 +273,13 @@ const sttSchema = z.object({
     .optional(),
 });
 
+export enum RateLimitPrefix {
+  FILE_UPLOAD = 'FILE_UPLOAD',
+  IMPORT = 'IMPORT',
+  TTS = 'TTS',
+  STT = 'STT',
+}
+
 export const rateLimitSchema = z.object({
   fileUploads: z
     .object({
@@ -290,6 +297,22 @@ export const rateLimitSchema = z.object({
       userWindowInMinutes: z.number().optional(),
     })
     .optional(),
+  tts: z
+    .object({
+      ipMax: z.number().optional(),
+      ipWindowInMinutes: z.number().optional(),
+      userMax: z.number().optional(),
+      userWindowInMinutes: z.number().optional(),
+    })
+    .optional(),
+  stt: z
+    .object({
+      ipMax: z.number().optional(),
+      ipWindowInMinutes: z.number().optional(),
+      userMax: z.number().optional(),
+      userWindowInMinutes: z.number().optional(),
+    })
+    .optional(),
 });
 
 export enum EImageOutputType {
@@ -646,6 +669,14 @@ export enum ViolationTypes {
    * An issued ban.
    */
   BAN = 'ban',
+  /**
+   * TTS Request Limit Violation.
+   */
+  TTS_LIMIT = 'tts_limit',
+  /**
+   * STT Request Limit Violation.
+   */
+  STT_LIMIT = 'stt_limit',
 }
 
 /**
@@ -749,7 +780,7 @@ export enum Constants {
   /** Key for the app's version. */
   VERSION = 'v0.7.2',
   /** Key for the Custom Config's version (librechat.yaml). */
-  CONFIG_VERSION = '1.1.3',
+  CONFIG_VERSION = '1.1.4',
   /** Standard value for the first message's `parentMessageId` value, to indicate no parent exists. */
   NO_PARENT = '00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000',
   /** Fixed, encoded domain length for Azure OpenAI Assistants Function name parsing. */