In years gone by, text to speech software was rather expensive, but these days there are excellent text to speech tools available free of charge. We're here to help you find the very best tools that will make converting written documents to audio files as easy as possible.

Mac OS X’s Text To Speech Feature Good news for Mac OS users if you have been wondering that you have fewer options that I have mentioned above only because you have already got the world’s best inbuilt TTS natural language talker sounding just like your Siri.

Text to speech software can be enormously helpful for anyone who's visually impaired, or has a condition like dyslexia that makes reading on screens tricky. It can also help overcome language barriers for people who read a language but don't speak it, or are in the process of learning.

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  1. Converts text, PDFs and e-books to Speech. TTSReader text to speech extracts the text from common files such as txt, pdf, epub and more. Want to listen to websites without having to copy their content to here? Then you should get our free extension for Chrome.
  2. Text to Speech Software for Ubuntu Linux – Gespeaker. This is actually a graphical front-end that uses the “espeak” (command-line based speech synthesizer, cross-platform tool) as the engine. But because Gespeaker is a GUI, anyone can use the “espeak” engine easily to do things like to add few additional voices, easily add texts.
  3. Mac OS X’s Text To Speech Feature. If your OS of choice is Mac OS X, and all you need is basic but extremely solid text to speech (TTS) functionality, you don’t even have to bother with a third party software application, as the OS’ native Text to Speech feature has you covered.

Text to speech software is also ideal if you want to listen to a document while doing something else, if you find it easier to retain information you've heard, or if you want to sense-check something you've written.

Here's our pick of the best free text to speech software for reading either individual paragraphs or whole documents aloud.

1. Balabolka

Save text as a spoken audio file, with customizable voices

Lots of voices to choose from

There are a couple of ways to use Balabolka's free text to speech software: you can either copy and paste text into the program, or you can open a number of supported file formats (including DOC, PDF, and HTML) in the program directly. In terms of output you can use SAPI 4 complete with eight different voices to choose from, SAPI 5 with two, or the Microsoft Speech Platform if you download and install the necessary files. Whichever route you choose, you can adjust the speech, pitch and volume of playback to create custom voice.

In addition to reading words aloud, this free text to speech software can also save narrations as audio files in a range of formats including MP3 and WAV. For lengthy documents you can create bookmarks to make it easy to jump back to a specific location and there are excellent tools on hand to help you to customize the pronunciation of words to your liking.

With all these features to make life easier when reading text on a screen isn't an option, Balabolka is best free text to speech software around.

2. Natural Reader

Free text to speech software with its own web browser

Choice of interfaces

Natural Reader is a free text to speech tool that can be used in a couple of ways. The first option is to load documents into its library and have them read aloud from there. This is a neat way to manage multiple files, and the number of supported file types is impressive, including ebook formats. There's also OCR, which enables you to load up a photo or scan of text, and have it read to you.

The second option takes the form of a floating toolbar. In this mode, you can highlight text in any application and use the toolbar controls to start and customize text to speech. This means you can very easily use the feature in your web browser, word processor and a range of other programs. There's also a built-in browser to convert web content to speech more easily.

3. Panopretor Basic

Easy text to speech conversion, with WAV and MP3 output

Exports in WAV and MP3 formats

As the name suggests, Panopreter Basic delivers free text to speech conversion without frills. It accepts plain and rich text files, web pages and Microsoft Word documents as input, and exports the resulting sound in both WAV and MP3 format (the two files are saved in the same location, with the same name).

The default settings work well for quick tasks, but spend a little time exploring Panopreter Basic's Settings menu and you'll find options to change the language, destination of saved audio files, and set custom interface colors. The software can even play a piece of music once it's finished reading – a nice touch you won't find in other free text-to-speech software.

If you need something more advanced, a premium version of Panopreter is available for US$29.95 (about £20, AU$40). This edition offers several additional features including toolbars for Microsoft Word and Internet Explorer, the ability to highlight the section of text currently being read, and extra voices.

4. WordTalk

An extension that adds text to speech to your word processor

Customizable voices

Developed by the University of Edinburgh, WordTalk is a toolbar add-on for Word that brings customizable text to speech to Microsoft Word. It works with all editions of Word and is accessible via the toolbar or ribbon, depending on which version you're using.

The toolbar itself is certainly not the most attractive you'll ever see, appearing to have been designed by a child. Nor are all of the buttons' functions very clear, but thankfully there's a help file on hand to help.

There's no getting away from the fact that WordTalk is fairly basic, but it does support SAPI 4 and SAPI 5 voices, and these can be tweaked to your liking. The ability to just read aloud individual words, sentences or paragraphs is a particularly nice touch. You also have the option of saving narrations, and there are a number of keyboard shortcuts that allow for quick and easy access to frequently used options.

5. Zabaware Text-to-Speech Reader

A great choice for converting text from websites to speech

Good file format support

Despite its basic looks, Zabaware Text-to-Speech Reader has more to offer than you might first think. You can open numerous file formats directly in the program, or just copy and paste text.

Alternatively, as long as you have the program running and the relevant option enables, Zabaware Text-to-Speech Reader can read aloud any text you copy to the clipboard – great if you want to convert words from websites to speech – as well as dialog boxes that pop up. Zabaware Text-to-Speech Reader can also convert text files to WAV format.

Unfortunately the selection of voices is limited, and the only settings you can customize are volume and speed unless you burrow deep into settings to fiddle with pronunciations. Additional voices are available for a US$25 fee (about £20, AU$30), which seems rather steep, holding it back from a higher place in our list.

Text to Speech (TTS) software allows you to have text read aloud to you. This is useful for struggling readers and for writers, when editing and revising their work. You can also convert eBooks to audiobooks so you can listen to them on long drives.

We’ve posted some websites here where you can find some good TTS software programs and online tools that are free or at least have free versions available.

NaturalReader

NaturalReader is a free TTS program that allows you to read aloud any text. The free version of the software converts Microsoft Word files, webpages, PDF files, and emails into spoken words. It includes Microsoft Voices and allows you to change voices and adjust the reading speed. Simply select any text and press one hotkey to have NaturalReader read the text to you. There are also paid versions that offer more features and more available voices.

Ubuntu Text To Speech

Ultra Hal TTS Reader

Ultra Hal TTS Reader is a program that will read text out loud in one of its many high quality voices. The free version includes many high quality computerized voices and reads text files out loud, as well as instant messages, standard Windows dialogs, and text from the clipboard, which allows the program to read text from webpages and emails. You can also use Ultra HAL TTS Reader to convert a document into a WAV audio file, which can be burned to a CD or converted to an MP3 file.

ReadClip

ReadClip is a TTS reader that also offers a rich text editor that can read and spell check any text document, and allows you to manage several text and picture clips on the clipboard, and generate MP3 files. The TTS reader part of the software is free and will never expire. However, the other features are “try before you buy” features and you must buy the software to continue using them. You can keep the TTS reader hidden or it can display the text it’s reading in the clipboard and highlight each word as it’s read aloud. Besides monitoring the clipboard, you can also copy and paste text into the program, or type the text into the program, or load the text from a file.

Read4Me TTS Clipboard Reader

The Read4Me TTS Clipboard Reader allows you to read the contents of the clipboard aloud using a pre-installed SAPI5 TTS voice when you press a hotkey. Multiple hotkeys can be set for different languages, voices, speech rates, and volumes. Read4Me can also convert text files to MP3 files.

Kyrathasoft Text To Speech

Kyrathasoft Text To Speech is a portable program that allows you to use the default installed Microsoft Voice and SAPI to convert text files to the spoken word, that it saves into a WAV audio file. It is completely free and fully functional. There is no evaluation period and no crippled features.

FeyRecorder

FeyRecorder is a TTS conversion tool with natural voices that allows you to listen to any text document spoken aloud. You can also use the software to convert other sound sources into audio files, such as CDs, tapes, DVDs, online radio, and video games. The formats FeyRecorder can generate include MP3, WMA, OGG, VOX, AU, and AIFF. The audio files can be transferred to any portable device that handles them for on-the-go listening.

Linux Text To Speech Pdf Files

yRead

yRead3 allows you to load a plain text (TXT) file in a resizable window to be read out loud using human speech. Use yRead to listen to eBooks, your own writing, or any other piece of text.

yRead3 is an updated version of the software that runs on XP, Vista, and Windows 7, and requires at least .NET Framework 3.0 to run. You can also download yRead2 and run both versions on the same computer.

Panopreter

The free version of Panopreter Basic will read a text file, an RTF file, an MS Word document, or an HTML webpage to you aloud. You can also input text into the program window to be read aloud. It supports a variety of languages and voices and allows you to create WAV audio files and MP3 audio files from the text.

Text2Speech

Text2Speech is a free program that converts text into audible speech. You can play the text at a custom rate and volume, have the text be highlighted as it’s read, and export the text into a WAV file or an MP3 file. The program required .NET Framework 2.0 to run.

DeskBot

DeskBot is a free program that includes a clipboard reader, text reader, and time announcer for Windows. Select text in any application and press Ctrl + C to have it read aloud. For available commands and options, right-click on the DeskBot icon in the system tray. DeskBot will also read the contents of the clipboard when it changes.

DeskBot adds a “Read with DeskBot” item to the Internet Explorer context menu, when you right-click on a webpage.

PowerTalk

PowerTalk is a free program that allows you to have your Microsoft PowerPoint presentations spoken out loud. When you open a PowerPoint presentation and let it run as usual, PowerTalk speaks the text on the slides as it appears, and also hidden text attached to images. The speech in PowerTalk is provided by synthesized computer voices that come with Windows 7, Vista, and XP.

ClipSpeak

ClipSpeak is a small, portable, TTS tool that speaks text copied or cut to the clipboard. It’s compatible with all SAPI5 speech synthesizers. You can also use ClipSpeak to convert text to MP3 files for listening to on CDs, computers, smartphones, and portable media players. If you want other languages, look at eSpeak, which is a compact, open source speech synthesizer for English and other languages that works in Windows and Linux.

DSpeech

DSpeech is a free, portable TTS program that can read written text files in different formats aloud (such as TXT, RTF, DOC, DOCX, and HTML files) and also has Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) functionality. The ASR allows you to use DSpeech to convert your own voice to text.

Speech

DSpeech allows you to save the output as a WAV, MP3, AAC, WMA, or OGG file. You can select different voices, or combine them to create dialogs among different voices for books or scripts, and DSpeech is compatible with all the vocal engines (SAPI4 and SAPI5 compliant). You can also have the content of the clipboard read to you.

Balabolka

Balabolka is a TTS program that allows you to read clipboard content and text from several types of files, such as DOC, EPUB, HTML, MOBI, LIT, CHM, PRC, PDF, and RTF files. The program uses various versions of the Microsoft Speech API (SAPI). This allows you to change a voice’s parameters, including rate and pitch.

To use the Microsoft SAPI4 voices, download and install the Microsoft Speech API file. You can also download the MS Speech Control Panel for the Windows Control Panel that allows you to easily list the compatible TTS engines installed on your system and customize their settings.

Balabolka also allows you to create digital audio files from text, including MP3, WMA, OGG, WAV, AAC, and AMR (Adaptive Multi-Rate).

One interesting feature of Balabolka is that you can save subtitled text in the LRC format or in the metadata of the audio file. This allows you to follow along with the text as the audio plays.

ReadTheWords.com

Linux Pdf Text To Speech Software

ReadTheWords.com is an online TTS tool that can generate a clear sounding audio file from almost any written material. Simply copy text from your file into their text box, or upload a Microsoft Office document, PDF file, TXT file, or HTML document. You can also enter a web address, or RSS feed URL, and ReadTheWords.com will read the text from that webpage or RSS feed out loud.

ReadTheWords.com allows you to save what it’s reading. You can download it to your computer or portable music player or smartphone. You can even embed the file in your website.

Odiogo

Odiogo allows you to create TTS podcasts from RSS feeds that can be downloaded to a PC, iPods/MP3 players, and mobile phones. People wanting to listen to your content can subscribe to your podcasts through iTunes, iPodder, or other similar services. You can also promote your audio content on podcast directories.

If you run a blog, you can have your blog posts turned into high quality audio files. Odiogo is compatible with all blog engines that publish RSS feeds, such as WordPress, Typepad, and Blogger. They generate MP3 files that are stored on their servers, and they let you know when the audio version of your blog is ready.

You can also make money from embedded ads in the audio versions of your blog posts and RSS feeds.

NOTE: As of the writing of this article, Odiogo was upgrading their service and they were not accepting new signups.

TTSReader

TTSReader is a free, TTS program that allows you to read TXT files or RTF files aloud and save them to WAV or MP3 files. It highlights the text being currently read and allows you to skip sentences or paragraphs while reading. TTSReader supports rich text formatting and both SAPI4 and SAPI5 voices. It can automatically read what’s in the clipboard and you can convert multiple documents to audio at a time.

TTS Add-ons for Browsers

You can also read text using add-ons or extensions in web browsers.

  • SpeakIt! – SpeakIt for Google Chrome reads selected text using TTS technology with language auto-detection. It can read text in more than 50 languages.
  • FoxVox – FoxVox for Firefox allows you to turn your blogs and articles into podcasts. It speaks any text you highlight in a webpage, and it can create audiobooks from the text in MP3, OGG, and WAV formats.
  • SpokenText – The SpokenText Firefox extension allows you to easily record any text on public webpages simply by clicking a Record Web Page button on the toolbar. This extension is also available for Chrome.
  • SpeakingFox – The SpeakingFox add-on for Firefox for Mac OS X converts text to audible speech.

Simultaneous Stanza Reader – For Mac

Simultaneous Stanza Reader for Mac OS X is a free, TTS reader that reads text files aloud and displays the text stanza-after-stanza. You can easily use this program to read books from Project Gutenberg aloud.

If you’ve found any other useful TTS readers, let us know.

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