15 Best Text-to-Speech (TTS) Software Tools in 2023 (Free & Online)

One of the biggest problems of a creator is speech—not everyone can speak flawlessly and sound like a radio jock. The good news is that text-to-speech software has significantly improved over the years.

I tried a lot of them, and I was amazed at the AI voices I heard. These realistic voice generator programs can help you make your audio sound better.

Today, I will provide you with a list of the best text-to-speech software programs so you can convert text to speech and get more subscribers and fans.

Pro Tip:

Many speech software programs, especially those that have a free version, cannot be used commercially. It means that you cannot use the voices for ads and songs or anything you can directly monetize. As such, you must never use the free TTS in a commercial project.

What are the Best Text-to-Speech Software Apps?

1. Murf AI

2. TTS Reader

3. Speechelo

4. Synthesys

5. Wideo

6. Nuance Dragon

7. ReadSpeaker

8. Notevibes

9. Natural Readers

10. Watson

11. Linguatec Voice Reader

12. Google Text to Speech

13. Amazon Polly

14. Capti Voice

15. Azure Text To Speech

1. Murf AI

Best for people who want to clone voices.

Murf AI is one of those speech solutions that you can use for amateur and professional production. It does not only offer the standard text-to-speech service but also voice changers and voice cloners.

Murf AI Features

• Text to Speech – the outputs of the AI are natural-sounding voices; your audio will not sound like it came from a robot.
• Languages – the voice generation software provides up to 20 languages. You can use it in professional videos.
• Voice Cloning – few text-to-speech apps provide voice cloning. Voice cloning is a process where you can customize the sound of the AI.

Murf AI Pricing

• Basic – costs $13 per month; you get unlimited downloads and over 60 voices in ten languages
• Pro – costs $26 per month; get 96 hours of voice generation and 48 hours of transcription per year
• Enterprise – costs $167 per month; add up to five users and get an unlimited voice generation and transcription

Get the free account if this is what you want, but there are limitations to it.

2. TTS Reader

Best for people who do not mind the sound of a robot.

TTS Reader is the best text-to-speech program for you if you want a simple solution in converting your text to audio. It does not offer a human voice—it is a robot that is best fit for sci-fi characters.

TTS Reader Features

• File Upload – this speech solutions program allows you to upload a Microsoft Word document or PDF document; then, the system will read it.
• Document Support – you can upload text, PDF, or even eBook files.
• Silence Insertion – you can add silence in some parts of the recording if you want the AI to pause.
• Voice Recorder – the only way to get natural-sounding voices is to record your own, which you can do with this program.

TTS Reader Pricing

TTS Reader is completely free, and you can use it as many times as you want.

3. Speechelo

Best for people who need a natural-sounding speech for professional use.

Speechelo is one of the best text-to-speech programs I have ever used. It is also affordable, as there is no need to pay monthly fees.

Speechelo Features

• Voice Dream Reader – you can upload files, and then the software will read them.
• Many Voices – there are more than 30 human-sounding voices here with both male and female versions.
• Ease of Use – you simply have to paste your text, and the software will start reading it.

Speechelo Pricing

This speech solutions program costs only $47. It is a one-time payment, and you get to access many features.

4. Play.HT

Best for people who want unlimited previews and downloads.

Play.HT is an AI-powered TTS that uses synthetic voice from other providers such as Google, Amazon, and IBM.

What it does is it allows you to instantly convert text to speech online. You can also download the speech output in either a WAV or MP3 file.

Related Article: YouTube to WAV converters

Play.HT Features

• Integrations – you can integrate the tool with WordPress, Medium, and even get the API from the developer for your use.
• Text-to-Voice Editor – it is a tool that gives you access to edit the text that you have in the document. The AI will read it instantly once you change it.
• Pronunciations and Phonetics – you can create custom names and pronunciations. It is an excellent tool for people that have unique-sounding brand names.

Play.HT Pricing

• Personal – costs $10 per month; convert up to 20,000 words
• Professional – costs $39 per month; convert up to 50,000 words
• Growth – costs $99 per month; convert up to 200,000 words
• Business – costs $199 per month; convert up to 500,000 words

You can try the software for free here.

5. Wideo

Best for people who also need a story-telling platform where they can create a video.

Wideo is ideal for those who want to convert text to speech online. There are natural voices here, and the output of your project will not sound like it was read by a robot.

Wideo Features

• Multiple Languages – there are several languages that you can choose from, such as Arabic, Catalan, and Chinese.
• Multiple Voices – there are different male and female English voices with US and UK accents.
• Ease of Use – you need to upload written text on the site and then click on the preview to hear the output.

Wideo Pricing

• Basic – costs $19 per month; get access to 10 downloads and 1.5-minute videos per month
• Pro – costs $39 per month; you can now upload and create videos ten minutes in length
• Pro+ – costs $79 per month; get access to unlimited downloads and videos up to 30 minutes in length.

Wideo is free to try, but you must sign up first. Although there is a free account, you can only use the text-to-speech software for one-minute videos.

6. Nuance Dragon

Best for people who have big corporate businesses.

Nuance Dragon has been around for many years, and the company specializes in the documentation. It has a suite of speech solutions meant for big businesses. Particularly, they call this service a kind of documentation that writes itself.

Nuance Dragon Features

• Import and Export – you can import and export word lists to customize the software program.
• Custom Commands – the program is not only text to speech program but also a speech-to-text software program. You can add custom voice commands if you want to.
• Form-Based Templates – you can create templates that the software would fill out at any length.

Nuance Dragon Pricing

There are many Nuance Dragon products that range from $200 to $500.

7. ReadSpeaker

Best for people who need a dream reader or a speech online software.

ReadSpeaker adds more to its text-to-speech software as it also has a voice dream reader. Here, you can upload a document, and the program will read it. It can also read speech online.

ReadSpeaker Features

• Languages – there are several languages you can choose from, such as Flemish, French, Arabic, Cantonese, etc.
• WebReader – as one of the best text-to-speech programs, it can read a document straight from the web. You can also download the speech once the program has completed the reading.
• DocReader – you can make your document accessible. Let people know that the text files are uploaded, and they can listen to them.
• Speech Cloud AI – apart from reading speech online, the program has the capacity to integrate systems in the cloud. The entire program is cloud-based, giving you an opportunity to have your clients or customers understand your text in their language through audio.

ReadSpeaker Pricing

ReadSpeaker is free to use, but they also have some services that require payment. You must contact them for the price.

8. Notevibes

Best for people who want more than 200 voices.

Notevibes prides itself as one of the best text-to-speech tools because of its custom voice.

Notevibes Features

• Lots of Voices – there are over 200 male and female voices you can choose from.
• Copy and Paste – there is an online version of the program where you can paste text like you would in Google text, and then the machine will read it.
• Languages – if you are not satisfied with English only, you can choose from several languages such as Italian, Dutch, Japanese, etc.

Notevibes Pricing

• Personal – costs $19 per month; get access to 200,000 characters for the software to read. This output is for personal use only.
• Commercial Pack – costs $99 per month; get access to speech online, more AI voices, and use the product for commercial use.

You can try it for free by creating an account.

9. Natural Readers

Best for people who have a lot of documents to convert.

Natural Readers is a powerful tool that can produce speech online. It can convert written text to voice, and there is an option to convert the finished product to an MP3 file.

Natural Readers Features

• Supports Documents – you can upload PDF and other documents on this best text-to-speech program, and it will do the rest. It supports TXT, Google Text, pages, ODS, PowerPoint, and epub files with no DRM.
• Chrome Extension – you can convert text directly from your browser. Install the plug-in to Google Chrome for better and faster use.
• Scanned Files – the program can do speech synthesis on scanned files. What it means is that you can upload a picture and it can convert it into voice.

Natural Readers Pricing

• Free – unlimited use of voices, but you can only use it for 20 minutes a day.
• Premium – costs $9.99 per month; get access to OCR reading and MP3 conversion.
• Plus – it costs $19 per month; get access to unlimited premium voices and half a million characters or text to convert per day.

The text-to-speech software is free to use. However, you must use the Commerical version to be able to get a license to use it on YouTube and eLearning platforms.

10. Watson

Best for people who want a branded voice.

Watson is an IBM product. There is a free version and a paid version. I can say that this best text-to-speech program is ideal for large companies that need a dedicated program for their training material

Watson Features

• Multiple Languages – you can choose from 16 languages and dialects from this text-to-speech software.
• Encryption – every speech online you make is encrypted and accessible only by you.
• Custom-branded neural voice – create a custom voice from the best text to speech so you can ensure that the voice you use is branded.

Watson Pricing

• Free – the limit is 10,000 characters per month.
• Standard – costs $0.02 per one thousand characters with access to 35 voices.

Get the free plan to try it now. There is also a premium plan where the price has to be negotiated with the company.

11. Linguatec Voice Reader

Best for people who want to own the software.

The Linguatec Voice Reader is an excellent program for private users. You can buy the software, and it is yours forever. The voices here have a natural tone, sound, and even a wide selection of languages.

Linguatec Voice Reader Features

• Multiple Documents – the program recognizes different file formats such as MS Word, PDFs, and ePubs. You can upload them, and the program will read these files.
• Languages – the program has 45 languages that you can choose from.
• Voices – there are 67 different voices that you can use.

Linguatec Voice Reader Pricing

The program has two prices, and you can choose between an online software that you can download or a physical parcel. The cost is €49 and €499, respectively.

12. Google Text to Speech

Best for people who want to stay on the Android platform.

Google Cloud Text to Speech is free to use, but a paid version is best used by companies. The Google Text to Speech can transcribe your audio and also enable you to create captions.

Google Text to Speech Features

• File Upload – you can upload files, and the program will start reading the document.
• Speech Adaptation – the system can improve its transcription accuracy as it continuously learns.
• Domain-Specific – you can choose from a selection of voice models that Google made for specific industries.
• On-Premises – you have the option to use the service in the cloud or have the program installed in your offices.

Google Text to Speech Pricing

The app is free to use. If you want more from the service, you must contact sales to get a price for your specific use.

13. Amazon Polly

Best for big businesses using the Amazon website infrastructure.

Amazon Polly is text-to-speech software that comes with the Amazon AWS free tier. It can help empower your business through speech-enabled products.

Amazon Polly Features

• Single-Use API – Amazon will give you a code that you can integrate into your system. This API is a speech synthesis application. You can also send your text to Amazon, and they will convert it for you.
• Multiple Languages – you can choose from various languages and male or female voices such as Arabic, Austrian German, Brazilian Portuguese, Dutch, etc.
• Streaming Audio – you can stream your program in real-time, and the program will convert that into optimized audio in real-time.

Amazon Polly Pricing

Amazon Polly has a free plan that is part of its AWS tiers. It gives you five million free characters per year.

14. Capti Voice

Best for schools and other types of academic institutions.

Capti Voice is a tool that the creators market to educational institutions. Nevertheless, it has text-to-speech tools that you can use for personal reasons.

Capti Voice Features

• Integrations – you can integrate the app with Clever, Google Classroom, Canvas, and many more.
• Capti Accommodate – use it to help students read web pages. It can define English words and translate them into over 100 languages.
• Capti Assess – it is a diagnostic reading assessment. You can use it as a tool for educational intervention.
• Capti Personal – this feature is the main text-to-speech tool. Upload documents and the system will read them.

Capti Voice Pricing

Personal use is free, but you must buy some apps or features. For schools, the price starts at $300 for ten students, and this price is annual.

15. Azure Text To Speech

Best for big companies in the Microsoft platform.

Azure is a product of Microsoft. What sets it apart from the rest on this list is that you can build apps that can talk. It is why this tool is best for big brands that want to stand out from the crowd.

Azure Text To Speech Features

• Voices – the are over 270 neural voices available to you.
• Languages – the system has 119 languages and dialects.
• Flexibility – you can build a program around this system that can talk to your consumers.

Azure Text To Speech Pricing

Microsoft offers Azure in a free trial mode. There is also an online demo where you can paste texts. However, you must contact them for pricing if you want the full service.

What is Text-to-Speech Software

Text-to-speech software programs refer to apps where you type a text, and the robot will read it as a human being would. So, in essence, you can convert text to sound as the AI robots read aloud what you wrote.

Who uses these speech software programs or text-to-speech apps? Most of the users are educators and content creators, particularly on YouTube.

Some people cannot speak clearly or are shy. However, their video content needs audio. They type the text in a speech software app, let the robot read it, and then launch the video using the audio files of the speech software app.

How to Choose the Best Text-to-Speech Software?

Here are my tips on how to choose the best text-to-speech software program.

1. Voice Quality

The last thing that you want is audio that sounds like a robot. There are many shows on YouTube that use poorly made text-to-speech software. The result? They do not produce natural-sounding voices.

When people hear these sounds, they know immediately that it is not a human being. As such, they leave. People seem to have an aversion to robots, and they do not want to watch videos when the sound does not come from a human being.

2. Free Version

Choose a text-to-voice software that has a free version. The best ones offer free accounts, but then you must know that there is a limitation to what you can do.

I am okay with a free trial, too. It is better than paying outright since you do not even know how the speech synthesis will sound after the AI reads your text.

This decision really depends on your situation. There are creators who publish infrequently, and then there are those who do it regularly.

In addition, you may want a free tool if the words or speech in your videos are minimal. However, if you need narration for the entire duration of the video, you must get a paid text-to-speech tool to get the most out of it.

3. Female and Male Voices

I strongly recommend that you get a text-to-speech software program that has male and female voices. While it may not come in handy to you right now, it will serve a purpose soon.

The best text-to-speech software programs synthesize natural-sounding speech. You need male and female voices, so you have the option later should you want to change your “personality” on your YouTube video channel.

4. File Conversion

The last thing you must think about is the type of conversion you can do with the audio files. There are many audio files, and not all of them may be compatible with your video editing software.

I am no expert in audio files, but I know some creators are picky about it. The kind of file by which you exported the audio impacts its quality, so pick one that applies to what you need.

FAQs – Most Used TTS Software

Wrap Up

The best speech-to-text software that I recommend is Synthesys. It is a little pricey, but it is all worth it. If you are on a budget, get Speechelo. It has wonderful voice output, and it is not heavy on the pocket.

In addition, Speechelo is available as a one-time payment product. If you have hundreds of texts to convert to speech, use Speechelo as it allows you to save a lot of money.

To finish off, here is my list of the best Text-to-Speech (TTS) software:

1. Murf AI – Best for people who want to clone voices

2. TTS Reader – Best for people who do not mind the sound of a robot

3. Speechelo – Best for people who need a natural-sounding speech for professional use

4. Synthesys – Best for people who want unlimited previews and downloads

5. Wideo – Best for people who also need a story-telling platform where they can create a video

6. Nuance Dragon – Best for people who have big corporate businesses.

7. ReadSpeaker – Best for people who need a dream reader or a speech online software

8. Notevibes – Best for people who want more than 200 voices

9. Natural Readers – Best for people who have a lot of documents to convert

10. Watson – Best for people who want a branded voice

11. Linguatec Voice Reader – Best for people who want to own the software

12. Google Text to Speech – Best for people who want to stay on the Android platform

13. Amazon Polly – Best for big businesses using the Amazon website infrastructure

14. Capti Voice – Best for schools and other types of academic institutions

15. Azure Text To Speech – Best for big companies in the Microsoft platform

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