text to speech audio device

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ReaderIt - Your Personal Text-to-Speech Companion

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Frequently asked questions

ReaderIt is a powerful text-to-speech AI product that converts written text into high-quality, natural-sounding speech

ReaderIt is available as a Chrome extension, iOS app, Android app, and Web-to-Voice feature accessible through the website.

You can easily share the audio by generating a link or using social sharing options provided within the app.

Yes, premium users enjoy access to a wider range of voices, allowing for more personalized and engaging audio experiences.

Yes, ReaderIt supports PDF to voice conversion, making it easy to listen to the content of PDF documents.

In addition to the core text-to-speech functionality, ReaderIt offers features like text highlighting, speed control, language selection, and the ability to save and organize favorite articles or documents.

ReaderIt can integrate seamlessly with various applications and websites through its API, allowing for a customizable and versatile user experience.

ReaderIt utilizes advanced AI technology to deliver high-quality and natural-sounding speech. While it strives for accuracy, minor variations may occur depending on the text and chosen voice.

Yes, ReaderIt supports multiple languages, providing users with the flexibility to listen to content in their preferred language.

For any support or feedback regarding ReaderIt, you can reach out to our dedicated support team through the app or website. We value your input and are committed to improving the user experience.

ReaderIt ensures excellent sound quality with its advanced speech synthesis technology. The generated speech is clear, natural-sounding, and highly intelligible.

• Accessibility: ReaderIt makes written content accessible to individuals with visual impairments or reading difficulties.
• Multitasking: Listen to text while performing other tasks, enhancing productivity and efficiency.
• Language Learning: Improve pronunciation and language skills by hearing accurate spoken text.
• Content Sharing: Easily share audio versions of articles or documents through links or social media.
• Premium Features: Unlock additional voices and enjoy a more personalized experience.
• PDF Conversion: Convert PDF files into audio for convenient listening.
• Versatile Platforms: Use ReaderIt on Chrome, iOS, Android, or through the web, ensuring access across devices.

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Best free text-to-speech software of 2024

Find the best free text-to-speech software for free text to voice conversion

• Best overall
• Best custom voice
• Best for beginners
• Best Microsoft extension
• Best website reader
• How to choose
• How we test

1. Best overall 2. Best custom voice 3. Best for beginners 4. Best Microsoft extension 5. Best website reader 6. FAQs 7. How to choose 8. How we test

In the digital era, the need for effective communication tools has led to a surge in the popularity of text-to-speech (TTS) software, and finding the best free text-to-speech software is essential for a variety of users, regardless of budget constraints. 

Text-to-speech software skillfully converts written text into spoken words using advanced technology, though often without grasping the context of the content. The best text-to-speech software not only accomplishes this task but also offers a selection of natural-sounding voices, catering to different preferences and project needs.

This technology is invaluable for creating accessible content, enhancing workplace productivity, adding voice-overs to videos, or simply assisting in proofreading by vocalizing written work. While many of today’s best free word processors , such as Google Docs, include basic TTS features that are accurate and continually improving, they may not meet all needs.

Stand-alone, app-based TTS tools, which should not be confused with the best speech-to-text apps , often have limitations compared to more comprehensive, free text-to-speech software. For instance, some might not allow the downloading of audio files, a feature crucial for creating content for platforms like YouTube and social media.

In our quest to identify the best free text-to-speech software, we have meticulously tested various options, assessing them based on user experience, performance, and output quality. Our guide aims to help you find the right text-to-speech tool, whatever your specific needs might be.

The best free text-to-speech software of 2024 in full:

Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

Below you'll find full write-ups for each of the entries on our best free text-to-speech software list. We've tested each one extensively, so you can be sure that our recommendations can be trusted.

The best free text-to-speech software overall

1. Natural Reader

Our expert review:

Reasons to buy

Reasons to avoid.

Natural Reader offers one of the best free text-to-speech software experiences, thanks to an easy-going interface and stellar results. It even features online and desktop versions. 

You'll find plenty of user options and customizations. The first 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 spoken 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 browser extension to convert web content to speech more easily.

The TTS tool is available free, with three additional upgrades with more advanced features for power-users and professionals.

Read our full Natural Reader review .

• ^ Back to the top

The best free custom-voice text-to-speech software

2. Balabolka

There are a couple of ways to use Balabolka's top 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. Whichever route you choose, you can adjust the speech, pitch and volume of playback to create a 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 the best free text-to-speech software around.

For more help using Balabolka, see out guide on how to convert text to speech using this free software.

The best free text-to-speech software for beginners

3. Panopreter Basic

Panopreter Basic is the best free text-to-speech software if you’re looking for something simple, streamlined, no-frills, and hassle-free. 

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. 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.

The best free text-to-speech extension of Microsoft Word

4. WordTalk

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.

The best free text-to-speech software for websites

5. Zabaware Text-to-Speech Reader

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. One of the best free text-to-speech software right now, this 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 an additional fee which seems rather steep, holding it back from a higher place in our list.

The best free text-to-speech software: FAQs

What are the limitations of free tts software.

As you might expect, some free versions of TTS software do come with certain limitations. These include the amount of choices you get for the different amount of voices in some case. For instance, Zabaware gives you two for free, but you have to pay if you want more. 

However, the best free software on this list come with all the bells and whistles that will be more than enough for the average user.

What is SAPI?

SAPI stands for Speech Application Programming Interface. It was developed by Microsoft to generate synthetic speech to allow computer programs to read aloud text. First used in its own applications such as Office, it is also employed by third party TTS software such as those featured in this list. 

In the context of TTS software, there are more SAPI 4 voices to choose from, whereas SAPI 5 voices are generally of a higher quality. 

Should I output files to MP3 or WAV?

Many free TTS programs give you the option to download an audio file of the speech to save and transfer to different devices.

MP3 is the most common audio format, and compatible with pretty much any modern device capable of playing back audio. The WAV format is also highly compatible too.

The main difference between the two is quality. WAV files are uncompressed, meaning fidelity is preserved as best as possible, at the cost of being considerably larger in size than MP3 files, which do compress.

Ultimately, however, MP3 files with a bit rate of 256 kbps and above should more than suffice, and you'll struggle to tell the difference when it comes to speech audio between them and WAV files.

How to choose the best free text-to-speech software

When selecting the best free text-to-speech software is best for you depends on a range of factors (not to mention personal preference).

Despite how simple the concept of text-to-speech is, there are many different features and aspects to such apps to take into consideration. These include how many voice options and customizations are present, how and where they operate in your setup, what formats they are able to read aloud from and what formats the audio can be saved as.

With free versions, naturally you'll want to take into account how many advanced features you get without paying, and whether any sacrifices are made to performance or usability. 

Always try to keep in mind what is fair and reasonable for free services - and as we've shown with our number one choice, you can get plenty of features for free, so if other options seem bare in comparison, then you'll know you can do better.

How we test the best free text-to-speech software

Our testing process for the best free text-to-speech software is thorough, examining all of their respective features and trying to throw every conceivable syllable at them to see how they perform.

We also want to test the accessibility features of these tools to see how they work for every kind of user out there. We have highlighted, for instance, whether certain software offer dyslexic-friendly fonts, such as the number two on our list, Natural Reader.

We also bear in mind that these are free versions, so where possible we compare and contrast their feature sets with paid-for rivals.

Finally, we look at how well TTS tools meet the needs of their intended users - whether it's designed for personal use or professional deployment. 

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Daryl had been freelancing for 3 years before joining TechRadar, now reporting on everything software-related. In his spare time he's written a book, 'The Making of Tomb Raider', alongside podcasting and usually found playing games old and new on his PC and MacBook Pro. If you have a story about an updated app, one that's about to launch, or just anything Software-related, drop him a line.

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• Cloud Text-to-Speech API

Use device profiles for generated audio

This page describes how to select a device profile for audio created by Text-to-Speech.

You can optimize the synthetic speech produced by Text-to-Speech for playback on different types of hardware. For example, if your app runs primarily on smaller, 'wearable' types of devices, you can create synthetic speech from Text-to-Speech API that is optimized specifically for smaller speakers.

You can also apply multiple device profiles to the same synthetic speech. The Text-to-Speech API applies device profiles to the audio in the order provided in the request to the text:synthesize endpoint. Avoid specifying the same profile more than once, as you can have undesirable results by applying the same profile multiple times.

Use of audio profiles is optional. If you choose to use one (or more), Text-to-Speech applies the profile(s) to your post-synthesized speech results. If you choose not to use an audio profile, you will receive your speech results without any post-synthesis modifications.

To hear the difference between audio generated from different profiles, compare the two clips below.

Your browser does not support the audio element. Example 1. Audio generated with handset-class-device profile

Your browser does not support the audio element. Example 2. Audio generated with telephony-class-application profile

Note: Each audio profile has been optimized for a specific device by adjusting a range of audio effects. However, the make and model of the device used to tune the profile may not match users' playback devices exactly. You may need to experiment with different profiles to find the best sound output for your application.

Available audio profiles

The following table gives the IDs and examples of the device profiles available for use by the Text-to-Speech API.

Specify an audio profile to use

To specify an audio profile to use, set the effectsProfileId field for the speech synthesis request.

To generate an audio file, make a POST request and provide the appropriate request body. The following shows an example of a POST request using curl . The example uses the Google Cloud CLI to retrieve an access token for the request. For instructions on installing the gcloud CLI, see Authenticate to Text-to-Speech .

The following example shows how to send a request to the text:synthesize endpoint.

If the request is successful, the Text-to-Speech API returns the synthesized audio as base64-encoded data contained in the JSON output. The JSON output in the audio-profiles.txt file looks like the following:

To decode the results from the Cloud Text-to-Speech API as an MP3 audio file, run the following command from the same directory as the audio-profiles.txt file.

To learn how to install and use the client library for Text-to-Speech, see Text-to-Speech client libraries . For more information, see the Text-to-Speech Go API reference documentation .

To authenticate to Text-to-Speech, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment .

To learn how to install and use the client library for Text-to-Speech, see Text-to-Speech client libraries . For more information, see the Text-to-Speech Java API reference documentation .

To learn how to install and use the client library for Text-to-Speech, see Text-to-Speech client libraries . For more information, see the Text-to-Speech Node.js API reference documentation .

To learn how to install and use the client library for Text-to-Speech, see Text-to-Speech client libraries . For more information, see the Text-to-Speech Python API reference documentation .

Additional languages

C# : Please follow the C# setup instructions on the client libraries page and then visit the Text-to-Speech reference documentation for .NET.

PHP : Please follow the PHP setup instructions on the client libraries page and then visit the Text-to-Speech reference documentation for PHP.

Ruby : Please follow the Ruby setup instructions on the client libraries page and then visit the Text-to-Speech reference documentation for Ruby.

Except as otherwise noted, the content of this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License , and code samples are licensed under the Apache 2.0 License . For details, see the Google Developers Site Policies . Java is a registered trademark of Oracle and/or its affiliates.

Last updated 2024-03-27 UTC.

Text to speech

An AI Speech feature that converts text to lifelike speech.

Bring your apps to life with natural-sounding voices

Build apps and services that speak naturally. Differentiate your brand with a customized, realistic voice generator, and access voices with different speaking styles and emotional tones to fit your use case—from text readers and talkers to customer support chatbots.

Lifelike synthesized speech

Enable fluid, natural-sounding text to speech that matches the intonation and emotion of human voices.

Customizable text-talker voices

Create a unique AI voice generator that reflects your brand's identity.

Fine-grained text-to-talk audio controls

Tune voice output for your scenarios by easily adjusting rate, pitch, pronunciation, pauses, and more.

Flexible deployment

Run Text to Speech anywhere—in the cloud, on-premises, or at the edge in containers.

Tailor your speech output

Fine-tune synthesized speech audio to fit your scenario.  Define lexicons  and control speech parameters such as pronunciation, pitch, rate, pauses, and intonation with  Speech Synthesis Markup Language  (SSML) or with the  audio content creation tool .

Deploy Text to Speech anywhere, from the cloud to the edge

Run Text to Speech wherever your data resides. Build lifelike speech synthesis into applications optimized for both robust cloud capabilities and edge locality using  containers .

Build a custom voice for your brand

Differentiate your brand with a unique  custom voice . Develop a highly realistic voice for more natural conversational interfaces using the Custom Neural Voice capability, starting with 30 minutes of audio.

Fuel App Innovation with Cloud AI Services

Learn five key ways your organization can get started with AI to realize value quickly.

Comprehensive privacy and security

Documentation.

AI Speech, part of Azure AI Services, is  certified  by SOC, FedRAMP, PCI DSS, HIPAA, HITECH, and ISO.

View and delete your custom voice data and synthesized speech models at any time. Your data is encrypted while it’s in storage.

Your data remains yours. Your text data isn't stored during data processing or audio voice generation.

Backed by Azure infrastructure, AI Speech offers enterprise-grade security, availability, compliance, and manageability.

Comprehensive security and compliance, built in

Microsoft invests more than $1 billion annually on cybersecurity research and development.

We employ more than 3,500 security experts who are dedicated to data security and privacy.

Azure has more certifications than any other cloud provider. View the comprehensive list .

Flexible pricing gives you the power and control you need

Pay only for what you use, with no upfront costs. With Text to Speech, you pay as you go based on the number of characters you convert to audio.

Get started with an Azure free account

After your credit, move to  pay as you go  to keep building with the same free services. Pay only if you use more than your free monthly amounts.

Guidelines for building responsible synthetic voices

Learn about responsible deployment

Synthetic voices must be designed to earn the trust of others. Learn the principles of building synthesized voices that create confidence in your company and services.

Obtain consent from voice talent

Help voice talent understand how neural text-to-speech (TTS) works and get information on recommended use cases.

Be transparent

Transparency is foundational to responsible use of computer voice generators and synthetic voices. Help ensure that users understand when they’re hearing a synthetic voice and that voice talent is aware of how their voice will be used. Learn more with our disclosure design guidelines.

Documentation and resources

Get started.

Read the  documentation

Take the  Microsoft Learn course

Get started with a 30-day learning journey

Explore code samples

Check out the  sample code

See customization resources

Customize your speech solution with  Speech studio . No code required.

Start building with AI Services

Text to Voice Generator

Online AI voice generator from text; free

An AI text reader like no other

VEED features a realistic voice generator like no other; convert text to speech in just one click—straight from your browser. It’s the easiest text to speech recording tool to use! Just type or paste your text, select a voice that you want to use, and hear your text being read aloud by our AI! It’s super easy to use, and free! You can also export the audio as MP3.

How to generate voice from text:

1 upload or record.

Upload your video to VEED or start recording using our free webcam recorder. You can also drag and drop your videos to the editor.

2 Add text and convert to voice

Click Audio from the left menu and select Text to Speech. Type or paste your text into the text field and click Add to Project. You will see an audio file in the timeline.

When you’re happy with your text-to-speech video, click on Export. Download your video or audio to your device.

‘Text to Voice Generator’ Tutorial

Fast, accurate, and easy text reader online

No need to download and pay for chunky apps to convert your text into voice. Use VEED’s AI text-to-voice generator straight from your web browser. All you have to do is type your text or paste a text you’ve copied into the text field, and add the audio file to your project. It’s that simple! Download either your audio only or your video, and share it when your done.

Human-sounding voice generator

Our voice profiles do not sound like robots. You can select from human-sounding voices with options for male and female. Preview the voice so you can hear how it sounds before adding it to your video. Guaranteed that your text will be read by a human voice. It’s fascinating! You can also choose from our stock media library to add sound effects and music to your video. Just type a keyword from the search tool to look for audio!

Edit videos like a pro in just a few clicks!

You can use our built-in video editing software to create amazing videos with voiceovers. VEED not only lets you convert text to speech online, but also lets you use all our video editing tools to create professional-looking videos in just a few clicks. You can add animated text, add images, subtitles, emojis, and drawings to your video. It’s your all-in-one video editor!

Frequently Asked Questions

Upload your video to VEED or record one using our webcam recorder. Click Audio from the left menu and start typing or pasting your text. Select a voice, preview the speech, and add it to your video! It’s that simple.

VEED is the best tool to convert your text to voice online. Our AI voice profiles sound like real humans, and not like robots. Plus, it’s super easy to use and free! Just type or paste your text and it will be converted into speech in minutes.

VEED’s text-to-voice generator is free to use. You can convert your text into a video or even an audio file, and you can do it straight from your browser.

Currently, you can add up to 1,000 characters to convert to speech per video project.

Discover more:

• Afrikaans Text to Speech
• AI Speech Generator
• AI Voice Generator
• AI Voice Over
• Amharic Text to Speech
• Arabic Text to Speech
• Audiobook Maker
• Bangla Text to Speech
• Cantonese Text to Speech
• Chinese Text to Speech
• Convert Articles to Audio
• English Text to Speech
• French Text to Speech
• German Text to Speech
• Hebrew Text to Speech
• Hindi Text to Speech
• Irish Text to Speech
• Italian Text to Speech
• Japanese Text to Speech
• Korean Text to Speech
• Lao Text to Speech
• Malayalam Text to Speech
• Persian Text to Speech
• Realistic Text to Speech
• Russian Text to Speech
• Somali Text to Speech
• Spanish Text to Speech
• Speech in Swahili
• Tamil Text to Speech
• Text Reader
• Text to Podcast
• Text to Speech Bulgarian
• Text to Speech Catalan
• Text to Speech Converter
• Text to Speech Croatian
• Text to Speech Czech
• Text to Speech Danish
• Text to Speech Dutch
• Text to Speech Estonian
• Text to Speech Finnish
• Text to Speech Greek
• Text to Speech Gujarati
• Text to Speech Human Voice
• Text to Speech Hungarian
• Text to Speech Khmer
• Text to Speech Latvian
• Text to Speech Lithuanian
• Text to Speech Malay
• Text to Speech Marathi
• Text to Speech MP3
• Text to Speech Norwegian
• Text to Speech Polish
• Text to Speech Portuguese
• Text to Speech Romana
• Text to Speech Serbian
• Text to Speech Slovak
• Text to Speech Slovenian
• Text to Speech Swedish
• Text to Speech Tagalog
• Text to Speech Telugu
• Text to Speech Thai
• Text to Speech Turkish
• Text to Speech Ukrainian
• Text to Speech Voice Changer
• Text to Speech with Emotion
• Text to Talk
• Text to Voice Over
• Urdu Text to Speech
• Vietnamese Text to Speech

What they say about VEED

Veed is a great piece of browser software with the best team I've ever seen. Veed allows for subtitling, editing, effect/text encoding, and many more advanced features that other editors just can't compete with. The free version is wonderful, but the Pro version is beyond perfect. Keep in mind that this a browser editor we're talking about and the level of quality that Veed allows is stunning and a complete game changer at worst.

I love using VEED as the speech to subtitles transcription is the most accurate I've seen on the market. It has enabled me to edit my videos in just a few minutes and bring my video content to the next level

Laura Haleydt - Brand Marketing Manager, Carlsberg Importers

The Best & Most Easy to Use Simple Video Editing Software! I had tried tons of other online editors on the market and been disappointed. With VEED I haven't experienced any issues with the videos I create on there. It has everything I need in one place such as the progress bar for my 1-minute clips, auto transcriptions for all my video content, and custom fonts for consistency in my visual branding.

Diana B - Social Media Strategist, Self Employed

More than a text-to-voice generator

VEED is so much more than a text-to-voice generator. It’s an all-in-one professional video-editing software that lets you create stunning videos in just minutes. You don’t need any video editing experience. Plus, you can make use of our video templates; create videos for your business or personal use. Create sales videos, movie trailers, birthday videos, and so much more. Try VEED now and see how many amazing videos you can create in just a few minutes!

#1 Text To Speech (TTS) Reader Online

Proudly serving millions of users since 2015

Type or upload any text, file, website & book for listening online, proofreading, reading-along or generating professional mp3 voice-overs.

I need to >

Play Text Out Loud

Reads out loud plain text, files, e-books and websites. Remembers text & caret position, so you can come back to listening later, unlimited length, recording and more.

Create Humanlike Voiceovers

Murf is a text-to-speech tool offering 200+ natural voices for creating high-quality voiceovers for e-learning, podcasts, YouTubes & audiobooks, simplifying audio content production.

Additional Text-To-Speech Solutions

Turns your articles, PDFs, emails, etc. into podcasts, so you can listen to it on your own podcast player when convenient, with all the advantages that come with your podcast app.

SpeechNinja says what you type in real time. It enables people with speech difficulties to speak out loud using synthesized voice (AAC) and more.

Battle tested for years, serving millions of users, especially good for very long texts.

Need to read a webpage? Simply paste its URL here & click play. Leave empty to read about the Beatles 🎸

Books & Stories

Listen to some of the best stories ever written. We have them right here. Want to upload your own? Use the main player to upload epub files.

Simply paste any URL (link to a page) and it will import & read it out loud.

Chrome Extension

Reads out loud webpages, directly from within the page.

TTSReader for mobile - iOS or Android. Includes exporting audio to mp3 files.

NEW 🚀 - TTS Plugin

Make your own website speak your content - with a single line of code. Hassle free.

TTSReader Premium

Support our development team & enjoy ad-free better experience. Commercial users, publishers are required a premium license.

TTSReader reads out loud texts, webpages, pdfs & ebooks with natural sounding voices. Works out of the box. No need to download or install. No sign in required. Simply click 'play' and enjoy listening right in your browser. TTSReader remembers your text and position between sessions, so you can continue listening right where you left. Recording the generated speech is supported as well. Works offline, so you can use it at home, in the office, on the go, driving or taking a walk. Listening to textual content using TTSReader enables multitasking, reading on the go, improved comprehension and more. With support for multiple languages, it can be used for unlimited use cases .

Get Started for Free

Main Use Cases

Listen to great content.

Most of the world's content is in textual form. Being able to listen to it - is huge! In that sense, TTSReader has a huge advantage over podcasts. You choose your content - out of an infinite variety - that includes humanity's entire knowledge and art richness. Listen to lectures, to PDF files. Paste or upload any text from anywhere, edit it if needed, and listen to it anywhere and anytime.

Proofreading

One of the best ways to catch errors in your writing is to listen to it being read aloud. By using TTSReader for proofreading, you can catch errors that you might have missed while reading silently, allowing you to improve the quality and accuracy of your written content. Errors can be in sentence structure, punctuation, and grammar, but also in your essay's structure, order and content.

Listen to web pages

TTSReader can be used to read out loud webpages in two different ways. 1. Using the regular player - paste the URL and click play. The website's content will be imported into the player. (2) Using our Chrome extension to listen to pages without leaving the page . Listening to web pages with TTSReader can provide a more accessible, convenient, and efficient way of consuming online content.

Turn ebooks into audiobooks

Upload any ebook file of epub format - and TTSReader will read it out loud for you, effectively turning it into an audiobook alternative. You can find thousands of epub books for free, available for download on Project Gutenberg's site, which is an open library for free ebooks.

Read along for speed & comprehension

TTSReader enables read along by highlighting the sentence being read and automatically scrolling to keep it in view. This way you can follow with your own eyes - in parallel to listening to it. This can boost reading speed and improve comprehension.

Generate audio files from text

TTSReader enables exporting the synthesized speech with a single click. This is available currently only on Windows and requires TTSReader’s premium . Adhering to the commercial terms some of the voices may be used commercially for publishing, such as narrating videos.

Accessibility, dyslexia, etc.

For individuals with visual impairments or reading difficulties, listening to textual content, lectures, articles & web pages can be an essential tool for accessing & comprehending information.

Language learning

TTSReader can read out text in multiple languages, providing learners with listening as well as speaking practice. By listening to the text being read aloud, learners can improve their comprehension skills and pronunciation.

Kids - stories & learning

Kids love stories! And if you can read them stories - it's definitely the best! But, if you can't, let TTSReader read them stories for you. Set the right voice and speed, that is appropriate for their comprehension level. For kids who are at the age of learning to read - this can also be an effective tool to strengthen that skill, as it highlights every sentence being read.

Main Features

Ttsreader is a free text to speech reader that supports all modern browsers, including chrome, firefox and safari..

Includes multiple languages and accents. If on Chrome - you will get access to Google's voices as well. Super easy to use - no download, no login required. Here are some more features

Fun, Online, Free. Listen to great content

Drag, drop & play (or directly copy text & play). That’s it. No downloads. No logins. No passwords. No fuss. Simply fun to use and listen to great content. Great for listening in the background. Great for proof-reading. Great for kids and more. Learn more, including a YouTube we made, here .

Multilingual, Natural Voices

We facilitate high-quality natural-sounding voices from different sources. There are male & female voices, in different accents and different languages. Choose the voice you like, insert text, click play to generate the synthesized speech and enjoy listening.

Exit, Come Back & Play from Where You Stopped

TTSReader remembers the article and last position when paused, even if you close the browser. This way, you can come back to listening right where you previously left. Works on Chrome & Safari on mobile too. Ideal for listening to articles.

Vs. Recorded Podcasts

In many aspects, synthesized speech has advantages over recorded podcasts. Here are some: First of all - you have unlimited - free - content. That includes high-quality articles and books, that are not available on podcasts. Second - it’s free. Third - it uses almost no data - so it’s available offline too, and you save money. If you like listening on the go, as while driving or walking - get our free Android Text Reader App .

Read PDF Files, Texts & Websites

TTSReader extracts the text from pdf files, and reads it out loud. Also useful for simply copying text from pdf to anywhere. In addition, it highlights the text currently being read - so you can follow with your eyes. If you specifically want to listen to websites - such as blogs, news, wiki - you should get our free extension for Chrome

Export Speech to Audio Files

TTSReader enables exporting the synthesized speech to mp3 audio files. This is available currently only on Windows, and requires ttsreader’s premium .

Pricing & Plans

• Online text to speech player
• Chrome extension for reading webpages
• Premium TTSReader.com
• Premium Chrome extension
• Better support from the development team

Compare plans

Sister Apps Developed by Our Team

Speechnotes

Dictation & Transcription

Type with your voice for free, or automatically transcribe audio & video recordings

Buttons - Kids Dictionary

Turns your device into multiple push-buttons interactive games

Animals, numbers, colors, counting, letters, objects and more. Different levels. Multilingual. No ads. Made by parents, for our own kids.

Ways to Get In Touch, Feedback & Community

Visit our contact page , for various ways to get in touch with us, send us feedback and interact with our community of users & developers.

If you are a member of the public looking to access our rapid self-assessment tool, AskSARA, please contact your local authority to access this service.

If you are a local authority or organisation wishing to enquire about obtaining a license for your residents, please contact us at [email protected], where we will be happy to assist.

To see a list of current Local Authority & HSCP Licensees, click the button below.

Text to speech devices

This section includes text to speech scanning machines that scan and translate printed text into synthetic speech. When a book or sheet of text is placed in/on the machine, it will read the text out.

Handheld text to speech machines are also included. These are swiped over text like a highlighter pen, reading one word at a time.

Introduction

Hand-held magnifiers, hands-free magnifiers, bar, dome and sheet magnifiers, video magnifiers, magnifying apps, electronic reading equipment and audio books, talking books, newspapers and magazines services, using a keyboard, braille equipment, manual braille equipment, braille computer equipment, telephones and accessories for blind or partially sighted users, new technology, supply and provision of equipment, try equipment before you buy, statutory provision, national catalogue prescription scheme, for children and students, other sources of funding.

There is a large choice of equipment and an increasing amount of technology available to help with communication if you are blind or have low vision. This ranges from handheld magnifiers to machines which automatically convert written text to speech, and apps for telephones or tablet devices. 

If you have not already done so, we recommend that you have an eye test. An eye test can help detect any eye conditions before you notice the effect on your sight and early treatment may prevent your sight from getting worse. Everyone should have their eyes examined by an optician every two years. If you cannot get to a high street optician because a disability prevents you from leaving your home, you may be entitled to an eye examination at home. You can search for your nearest optician on the NHS Choices website.

If your vision suddenly deteriorates or you have severe pain in your eyes attend your local accident and emergency department as soon as possible.

A low vision assessment can identify a specific type of sight loss such as macular degeneration, glaucoma or Retinitis Pigmentosa. Low vision service provision varies across the country. 

If you have low vision, magnifiers may help by enlarging reading and writing materials. These may include labels, instructions, controls, correspondence, books and magazines. Using the wrong magnifier for a significant period of time can cause eye fatigue and physical problems. 

Before buying a magnifier consider the magnification and size of the lens. Generally, a larger magnifier will have lower magnification and a high-powered magnifier will have a small lens. Higher magnification magnifiers tend to show you less of what you are looking at, perhaps only a word or a few letters at a time. Low vision training may help you make the most of a magnifier, especially if you are experiencing the symptoms of macular degeneration which causes a loss of central vision, glaucoma or Retinitis Pigmentosa.

These devices can be used for most everyday needs and are held directly over the object to make it appear larger. The strength of magnification may vary between about 1.5 times (x 1.5) to 12 times (x 12). They are available in a range of physical shapes and sizes. How much bigger you see the item will also depend on the distance you and the magnifier are from the object you are looking at.

Some hand-held magnifiers are fitted with a built-in battery powered lamp or LED to improve lighting and enhance the text.

Hand-held magnifiers are not suitable if you have a shaky hand or find a handheld device difficult to grip and as they are held close to the page they are generally unsuitable for use when writing.

Magnifiers with built-in lighting Hand-held optical magnifiers are available with built-in lighting from a bulb or LED to help illuminate the area being viewed. Some are available with lighting of different colour temperatures. These colour temperatures are described in Kelvin or K. A lower number (e.g. 2,700K) emits a more yellow light, a higher number (e.g. 6,000K) emits a whiter light.

A study in 2012 suggested that individuals who chose magnifiers with their preferred colour temperature found the magnified image clearer and could read faster than if they used a magnifier with a colour temperature they did not like.  If you are thinking of purchasing an illuminated magnifier it may be worth trying models with different colour temperatures to find out which you prefer.

Magnifiers with neck cord attachment These products have a neck cord or attachment which enables the magnifier to rest on the chest leaving the hands free. Some incorporate a second inset lens, giving greater magnification.

Magnifiers attached to spectacle or headband These magnifiers are built into a spectacle frame and attach or clip to existing spectacles or are supported on a headband. Some lenses are designed to flip away from the eyes when not in use. It is advisable to seek the opinion of a qualified ophthalmologist before additional magnification is added to prescription lenses.

Magnifiers with a stand used directly on or over the subject If you have weak or shaky hands, using a magnifier on a stand may be ideal for reading and, if the stand is tall enough, also for writing.

Some of these magnifiers have an integral light. However, some users find it difficult to find the start of the text they wish to magnify when using a stand magnifier.

Magnifiers mounted or placed on furniture, floor or wall These magnifiers are designed to be either wall-mounted, attached to furniture by clamp, or free standing on a table-top or floor. They facilitate hands-free use.

Many are mounted on an adjustable arm allowing variation of angle and position. Some incorporate a light.

Magnifiers to fit over screens Magnifying equipment included in this section is designed to be attached externally over a TV or computer screen.

Similar to stand magnifiers, these may be particularly suitable if you have reduced grip or shaky hands which make holding a handheld magnifier difficult. However, magnifiers used directly on the page can only be used for reading as there is no room for a pen to be placed underneath.

Dome magnifiers can help to focus available light which helps make the magnified text appear bright. Bar magnifiers focus on one or two lines of text and therefore may help the user to focus on their position on the page. Sheet magnifiers may be designed as full-sized sheets magnifying the whole page or be smaller.

They are sometimes made of plastic and have a relatively low level of magnification, which is determined by the thickness of the lens.

A range of video magnifiers are available from hand-held and portable models, models that connect to computers and/or TV screens and desktop mounted models. Advantages of video magnifiers over traditional magnifiers may include:

• the ability to vary the magnification (e.g. from 3x to 60x)
• a variable working distance
• a larger magnifier screen/lens for the same effective magnification
• contrast reversal and a larger field of view.

Studies have suggested that smaller print sizes may be read at faster reading speeds when using video magnifiers compared with traditional magnifiers, but that users may be slower at initially finding the text they are looking for.

Handheld video magnifiers These provide a magnified image on an integral screen. Most offer a choice of contrast modes and may also have the option of saving or 'freezing' the image (image capture). The magnification range for these magnifiers tends to be limited relative to desktop video magnifiers. The RNIB state that these items are generally suitable for viewing labels, books and newspapers.

Portable video magnifiers   Portable video magnifiers are larger than handheld magnifiers but are still transportable. The screen and camera may be combined or as separate units connected by a cable.

The camera, which is often similar in shape to a computer mouse, is placed on the original image and can be moved across the paper or object while the magnified image appears on the screen.

Video magnifier systems which provide a magnified image when connected to a television or PC screen These may consist of a handheld camera, similar in shape to a computer mouse, that rests on the original image and can be moved across the paper or object, or may be mounted resembling a desktop lamp with a head which contains the camera and can be angled to focus on the document.

Please check the connection required to the television, as many models require a SCART socket that many newer televisions may not have.

Desktop video magnifiers Desktop video magnifiers are stood on a desk or work surface. They have the highest magnification compared to other types of video magnifier.

Most have a fixed camera pointed down at a reading table on which printed material can be placed. On most models the table is on rollers so it can be moved up, down and left to right across the page.

The magnified image can be zoomed in and out and adjusted for contrast and colour. Some models can superimpose a line or dot on the screen to help make it easier to follow the text being read.

Magnifying apps can be downloaded to compatible smart phones and are designed to give a magnified image on the smart phone's screen. These apps do not have the same performance and features as a handheld video magnifier, but if you do use a smart phone you could try an app before deciding whether to invest in a handheld video magnifier.

Many of these apps work best on later versions of well-known phones with an enhanced autofocus cameras. When downloading an app use only well-known app download markets - they significantly reduce the likelihood of downloading an app malware or virus.

If you're interested in downloading a particular app, run an online search on its name first (using a search engine) to see what others say about it or to check for malware reports.

Text to speech scanning machines Text to speech scanning machines (also called stand-alone reading machines) scan and translate printed text into synthetic speech - you place a book or sheet of text in/on the machine and it will read the text to you. The scanner may be able to read from books, newspapers, magazines and A4 sheets.

Some models can be connected to a screen to give a magnified image of the text as well as speech output. Another function that some models have is the ability to connect to a Braille display to give Braille output of the scanned text.

Alternatively, for users who have a PC with speech output software, it may be a cheaper alternative to buy a scanner and some optical character recognition software (OCR). However, this requires setting up and tends to be slower to use than the purpose built machines. There is also software which can be added to certain mobile phones to give them a reading aid function. The software uses the phone's built-in camera to capture an image of text and then converts it to synthetic speech.

DAISY players DAISY Players play DAISY audible books and replace the old audio books on cassette format. DAISY is an acronym standing for Digital Accessible Information System and can play/show audio, text and pictures. It makes them accessible to individuals with visual difficulties that affect their ability to read printed material.

DAISY material can be played on a stand-alone DAISY player, or by using DAISY software on a computer. Approximately 25 hours of audio can be recorded on a Daisy CD.

Users of DAISY players can navigate through the recording/book by sections, sub-sections, chapter or pages. Bookmarks can be inserted at any point, and there is a 'resume' option which continues playback from the point the reader last reached (rather than going back to the beginning, which is what happens with conventional CDs).

Tablets and ebooks Many sites will also provide Ebooks. Ebooks can be read on tablets and ereaders which provide options for enlarging the text. A growing range of tablet and ereader accessories are available including mounts for tablets such as the iPad, and switches and switch interfaces for use with tablets and ebook readers. These switches could, for example, be used to turn the page of an ebook.

Your local library Your local library is likely to provide a range of audio books and giant print books to loan for free. Speak to your librarian about how to sign up, what titles they have available, and the length of loan available to you. 

RNIB Library The RNIB Library provides a wide range of library and information services for people with sight loss. Resources include talking books, Braille and giant print books, music and online reference services. 

RNIB Newsagent The RNIB Newsagent (formerly National Talking Newspapers and Magazines) provides a wide range of newspapers and magazines for people who find standard print inaccessible. It offers a range of newspaper and magazine titles in a variety of accessible formats, including audio CD or USB, DAISY CD, Braille, large print and online. 

Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg is a collection of free electronic books available on the internet. There are currently almost 10,000 books on the site, however these are books out of copyright, generally pre-1923 and so they do not include the latest bestsellers, but do include classic books from authors such as Conan Doyle, Dante, Dickens, Shakespeare, Twain, Verne and Wells. The books can be downloaded to a computer and read with software, or a selection are available as computer-generated eBooks and will play from the Gutenberg site here

If you have not learnt to touch type then finding your way around a computer keyboard may be difficult if you have low vision. There are keyboards and accessories which may help you to navigate around the keyboard.

Keytop stickers & keyboard gloves Keytop stickers can be stuck onto the individual keys on a computer keyboard.

The stickers have large lettering printed in a bold typeface with either black lettering on a yellow background, white lettering on a black background or black lettering on a white background to enhance the contrast.

Alternatively, flexible keyboard gloves are available to fit over specific keyboards with the same large print, bold high contrast lettering as the stickers.

Large print keyboards These are standard size keyboards with large print on the keys. As with the stickers the keyboards may be available with black letters on a white or yellow background or white letters with a black background.

Keyboards with large keys These are keyboards with keys which are larger than a standard keyboard.

They often lack the keys which are not used very often, so it is important to check that any keyboard shortcuts (pressing keys together to activate particular functions) you use can still be made on the keyboard.

These keyboards may have the same colour options as the above large print keyboards and may either lay the keys out in the standard QWERTY format or alphabetically.

Braille is a system of raised dots which people read by feeling with their fingertips. The Braille dots are used to represent words and numbers, punctuation characters and even mathematics, science and music notation.

Braille has many uses with a wide selection of magazines, fiction and non-fiction books available and labelling for items such as food cans and packets, medicines, documents, CDs and games including cards like Uno and bingo. Bank statements, utility bills and other business letters can be provided in Braille and some restaurants and pub chains offer Braille menus.

A Braille character or "cell" consists of 6 or 8 dots. There are different Braille codes in use:

• uncontracted Braille represents each print character as one Braille cell
• contracted Braille is a form of shorthand in which groups of letters may be combined into a single Braille cell.

Many experienced Braille users read and write contracted Braille.

Braille requires a fine sense of touch - some individuals with conditions such as diabetes, who have reduced finger sensitivity, may find using Braille difficult. Moon could be an easier alternative.

Braille can be produced manually, using a stylus on a portable hand-frame or on a manual desktop machine similar to traditional manual typewriter.

Traditional frames create a dot on the reverse side of the paper so the Braille has to be written back to front.

Upward writing frames are now available which create the dots on the front of the piece of paper enabling you to produce Braille from left to right as you would read the code.

Some manual machines for creating Braille are portable, others are designed as desktop machines, similar to traditional manual typewriters.

They have six keys to produce the Braille (one key for each dot in a Braille cell). Some Braille machines can use standard A5 and other standard paper sizes.

Good practice indicates that Braille should always be written on Braille paper which ensures that the Braille produced will be far more durable.

Some simple manual Braille machines can produce Braille on Dymo tape to create labels. Alternatively, many people use an audio labeller whereby they can affix a small label or dot to an item, use the device to record the information, then use the device to play back the information.

Braille can also be produced on a computer using translation software and a Braille embosser instead of a printer.

A keyboard with Braille keys instead of the standard QWERTY keys can be used, although some users may prefer to continue using a standard keyboard. A Braille display can be linked to a computer to enable a user to read by touch what is on the screen.

If portable computing is required, Braille notetakers are machines with word processing features similar to an electric word processor or laptop, but with a Braille keyboard and / or Braille display.

Braille embossers Braille embossers print Braille onto special Braille paper, from a computer. They are connected to the computer like a text printer or can be connected to notetakers. The paper is thicker and more expensive than standard printer paper.

Software is required to convert text to Braille before it is printed/embossed (known as Braille translation software).

Embossers can be noisy; if an embosser is going to be used regularly and cannot be kept in a room away from people, an acoustic hood or soundproof case is recommended. Before purchasing a Braille embosser consider issues such as the noise, the speed the embosser is capable of printing at, and whether you need the printer to be portable.

Braille keyboards These computer keyboards with Braille keys and are different in design to the traditional QWERTY keyboard keys.

Braille displays Brailler displays are tactile devices that are usually placed in front of your computer keyboard providing you with the means to read the contents of your computer screen by touch in Braille.

Braille displays have a number of cells and each cell has six or eight pins. These pins are electronically moved up and down, to create a Braille version of the characters that appear on the computer screen. Each Braille cell represents one character from the screen. An 80 cell Braille display represents approximately one line of text on a screen.

Before you purchase a Braille display, try several to ensure that the one you choose is comfortable to use and provides the functions you need. Many screen readers offer two outputs: speech and Braille. Depending on your requirements, using the speech output facility of a screen reader will be a cheaper option than harnessing a Braille display to it. We recommend you speak to the RNIB for advice as these devices can be expensive. 

Notetakers This portable device can be used as a word processor to take notes, record and organise information.

Some may also have features to provide a calendar, phone book, internet, email and run Windows based operating systems. They feedback information by speech output or via a Braille display.

Moon is a system of raised lines and curves that people read by feeling with their fingertips. Moon characters are fairly large and many characters have a strong resemblance to their print equivalent. Consequently, individuals who lose their sight later in life, or individuals who do not have sensitive touch in their fingertips, may find Moon easier to learn then Braille.

Moon can be used to label items such as food cans and packets, medicines, documents, CDs etc. There are books available which are written in Moon, although there are many more books available in Braille than Moon. As Moon is not so well known it is rarely offered as an alternative format for items such as statements, bills and menus.

Moon can be produced using portable hand frames or a computer with a Braille embosser and translation software.

Writing frames Writing frames, into which a piece of paper can be inserted, are available with an elasticated cord acting as line guides.

Paper, envelopes or documents can be inserted into the flat frame to keep you writing within the lines.

They consist of either plastic frames or string lines (which are more flexible and helpful when writing in small case letters with tails such as g, j, p).

Reading Guides Reading Guides are plastic cards with cut out rows to allow lines of print to be read without glare or confusion from the surround print. They come in various sizes.

There are also options of higher contrasting lined paper to make the lines more obvious for those with low vision, as well as raised lines so they can be felt by the writer.

Telephones with large keys and/or enlarged numbers These may be helpful if you have low vision. Some models have keypad buttons with varying shapes to facilitate identification by touch and some have large LCD displays. These features are available on corded, cordless and mobile telephones.

Most push-button telephone keypads have a raised dot on the central five key to help orientate a user relying on touch. Some of the phones in this group have a number of 'one-touch' memory buttons that dial stored telephone numbers.

It may help if other function keys, such as memory keys are separated from and/or shaped differently to the number keys.

Mobile phones There are models available with an enlarged keypad, emergency button, or a high contrast display with a large font.

Other features can include:

• well-spaced raised buttons
• a large display
• adjustable brightness
• voice dialling.

Telephones with spoken annoucements There are telephones that speak the numbers entered when dialling, so you can confirm you have pressed the intended keys. Some models can also speak out the number of the caller when receiving an incoming call and/or have a talking phone book and speech guidance to the menu settings.

Models with a LCD display showing callers telephone numbers, or spoken announcement of the number of a caller, require subscription to a caller ID service.

BT’s 195 Directory Enquiries service is free to apply for if you have a visual impairment and once registered, customers can be connected to the number found at the same rate as if you had dialled it yourself.

Accessories Accessories are also available which dial the telephone for you including voice operated diallers - they are used WITH your existing telephone.

Voice diallers Voice diallers allow you to dial a number by speaking the name of the person you wish to call. Certain mobile telephones offer voice control as a feature for using the entire telephone as part of the telephone’s integral settings.

It is wise to consult the instruction manual for your particular telephone to identify how to access this facility.

A range of new technology for phones and tablets is rapidly becoming available; however, it is worth noting that advice about these items is currently at a general level as the market for this technology grows and personal use of the technology will depend on the type of device you have and its technical ability.

Items specifically include new apps for mobile smart phones and tablets which have, for example, the ability to describe the world around you, assist you with writing emails or messages, reading menus to you in restaurants, provide spoken information on how to get home by train and provide information about station locations, train times and platform numbers. Some are free to download and use and others have a charge for use. 

If you decide to buy equipment privately it is best to try and compare the different ranges first. You may have an equipment demonstration centre near you where you can visit to view and try out ranges of equipment. You will receive impartial advice to help you choose appropriately. However, centres may not display examples of all the equipment in this factsheet. You will need to contact your nearest centre to find out what they have and to book an appointment. 

Be cautious of sales people who try to persuade you to buy equipment that may not meet your needs fully or is over-priced. Buying from a company that belongs to a trade association, such as the British Healthcare Trades Association (BHTA) may give you some reassurance. BHTA members have signed up to a code of practice governing standards of customer service.

Eligibility for sensory communication equipment varies depending on where you live. Many local authorities apply eligibility criteria for equipment provision, including assistive technology such as communication equipment. Contact your local authority and ask for information on their communication equipment services. They may arrange for you to receive an assessment. This will examine if you meet their criteria to receive the equipment. Some local authorities may only provide equipment to those with ‘substantial’ or ‘critical’ needs.

If your local authority assess you as requiring communication equipment, they may also complete a financial assessment. This is to assess the level of any contribution you may be required to make. The charges and how they work vary in different areas. 

In some areas of the country a prescription scheme for equipment is in operation. There is a 'national catalogue' of equipment that may be provided by prescription, although local areas can choose which of these items they will include in their schemes. This is part of the Department of Health’s Transforming Community Equipment Services (TCES) programme. There is a small range of sensory communication equipment on the national catalogue that can be provided via prescriptions.

If you receive a prescription for one of these items you take your prescription to a local accredited retailer who will provide you with the item. Alternatively you can ‘top-up’ paying extra for an item that does what the specific item prescribed would do, but offers extra features or perhaps you prefer its appearance. The scheme is designed to stimulate and encourage choice and control.  

The supply of equipment depends upon the type and extent of your disability, your age and your circumstances. At present, most reading and writing aids are not regarded as a daily living need and are therefore not supplied via a community occupational therapist.

If you are partially sighted, and have some usable sight, it is worth asking your GP or hospital consultant for an assessment at a low vision clinic. These services often provide small reading aids, such as magnifiers or pocket binoculars on a free loan. These are often provided at NHS hospitals, but a few centres are independently run by the Partially Sighted Society. Sometimes smaller items of daily living equipment may be provided by a social worker at your local authority who deals with sensory impairments.

If you are in paid employment and need equipment to assist you with communication at work, you may be entitled to help with the cost and provision of the equipment. This is through the Access-To-Work (ATW) scheme run by the Department for Work and Pensions. It is designed to pay for the additional cost of aids and adaptations needed because of your disability. In some circumstances, a part-time support worker may be funded to perform these tasks if you are unable to do them for yourself. 

If a child has a disability and is under the age of 18 and still at school, access to funding for equipment may be available if he/she has a statement of special educational needs. For further information contact your local education authority.

If you are a student in higher education, you may be entitled to a disabled students’ allowance. It is awarded by your local authority to cover the additional cost of your disability. If you are a student in further education, you may be entitled to funding through a scheme called the Access To Learning Fund scheme.

Charitable trusts may sometimes provide funding for equipment.  Charities will only give awards in accordance with a predetermined criteria, so it is important that you carefully select the trusts you apply to.

Most libraries hold directories of suitable funders in their reference section, such as the The Directory of Grant Making Trusts.

The Grants for Individuals website is run by the Directory of Social Change and lets subscribers search for grants, but is intended for organisations searching for funding for individuals. AbilityNet publish a factsheet Funding for an Adapted Computer System which lists possible grant giving trusts. AbilityNet's factsheet also lists possible sources of second hand and refurbished computer equipment. 

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Bring stories to life by converting long-form content to engaging audio. Our AI voice generator lets you create audiobooks with a natural voice and tone, making it the perfect tool for authors and publishers.

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Create a more natural and engaging experience for your users with our AI voice generator. Our tool lets you create AI chatbots with human-like voices.

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Generate lifelike speech in any language and voice with the most powerful text to speech (TTS) technology that combines advanced AI with emotive capabilities.

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Turn text into lifelike audio across 29 languages and 120 voices. Ideal for digital creators, get high-quality TTS streaming instantly.

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Adjust voice outputs effortlessly through an intuitive interface. Opt for a blend of vocal clarity and stability, or amplify vocal stylings for more animated delivery.

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Use our deep learning-powered tool to read any text aloud, from brief emails to full PDFs, while cutting costs and time.

AI Voice Generator in 29 Languages

Generate ai voices with voicelab.

Create new and unique synthetic voices in minutes using advanced Generative AI technology. Create lifelike voices to use in videos, podcasts, audiobooks, and more.

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Create a digital voice that sounds like a real human. Whether you're a content creator or a short story writer, our AI voice generator lets you design captivating audio experiences.

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Clone your voice from a recording in one language and use it to generate speech in another.

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Localize videos with precise control over transcript, translation, timing, and more. Create a perfect voiceover in any language, with any voice, in minutes. Explore AI Dubbing

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Manually edit the dialogue of your translated script to get the perfect audio output.

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Change the speaker’s timing by clicking and dragging the clips.

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Change Your Voice With Speech To Speech

Edit and fine-tune your voiceovers using Speech to Speech. Get consistent, clear results that keep the feel and nuance of your original message. Change your voice

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Long-form voice generation with Projects

Our innovative workflow for directing and editing audio, providing you with complete control over the creative process for the production of audiobooks, long-form video and web content. Learn more about Projects

Conversion of whole books.

Import in a variety of formats, including .epub, .txt, and .pdf, and convert entire books into audio.

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Manually adjust the length of pauses between speech segments to fine-tune pacing.

Multiple languages and voices.

Choose from a wide range of languages and voices to create the perfect audio experience.

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Convert your written masterpieces into captivating audiobooks, reaching listeners on the go.

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Frequently asked questions, how do i make my own ai voice.

To create your own AI voice at ElevenLabs, you can use VoiceLab. Voice Design allows you to customize the speaker's identityfor unique voices in your scripts, while Voice Cloning mimics real voices. This ensures variety and exclusivity in your generated voices, as they are entirely artificial and not linked to real people.

How much does using ElevenLabs AI voice generator cost?

ElevenLabs provides a range of AI voice generation plans suitable for various needs. Starting with a Free Plan, which includes 10,000 characters monthly, up to 3 custom voices, Voice Design, and speech generation in 29 languages. The Starter Plan is $5 per month, offering 30,000 characters and up to 10 custom voices. For more extensive needs, the Creator Plan at $22 per month provides 100,000 characters and up to 30 custom voices. The Pro Plan costs $99 per month with a substantial 500,000 characters and up to 160 custom voices. Larger businesses can opt for the Scale Plan at $330 per month, which includes 2,000,000 characters and up to 660 custom voices. Lastly, the Enterprise Plan offers custom pricing for tailored quotas, PVC for any voice, priority rendering, and dedicated support. Each plan is crafted to support different levels of usage and customization requirements.

Can I use ElevenLabs AI voice generator for free?

Yes, you can use ElevenLabs prime AI voice generator for free with our Free Plan. It includes 10,000 characters per month, up to 3 custom voices, Voice Design, and speech generation in 29 languages.

What is the best AI voice generator?

ElevenLabs offers the best and highest quality AI voice generator software online. Our AI voice generator uses advanced deep learning models to provide high-quality audio output, emotion mapping, and a wide range of vocal choices. It's perfect for content creators and writers looking to create captivating audio experiences.

Who should use ElevenLabs’ AI voice generator and prime voice AI services?

ElevenLabs' AI voice generator is ideal for a variety of users, including content creators on YouTube and TikTok, audiobook producers for Audible and Google Play Books, presenters using PowerPoint or Google Docs, businesses with IVR systems, and podcasters on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. These services provide a natural-sounding voice across different platforms, enhancing user engagement and accessibility.

How many languages does ElevenLabs support?

ElevenLabs supports speech synthesis in 29 languages, making your content accessible to a global audience. Supported languages include Chinese, English, Spanish, French, and many more.

What is an AI voice generator?

ElevenLabs' AI voice generator transforms text to spoken audio that sounds like a natural human voice, complete with realistic intonation and accents. It offers a wide range of voice options across various languages and dialects. Designed for ease of use, it caters to both individuals and businesses looking for customizable vocal outputs.

How do I use AI voice generators to turn text into audio?

Step 1 involves selecting a voice and adjusting settings to your liking. In Step 2, you input your text into the provided box, ensuring it's in one of the supported languages. For Step 3, you simply click 'Generate' to convert your text into audio, listen to the output, and make any necessary adjustments. After that, you can download the audio for use in your project.

What is text to speech?

Text to speech is a technology that converts written text into spoken audio. It is also known as speech synthesis or TTS. The technology has been around for decades, but recent advancements in deep learning have made it possible to generate high-quality, natural-sounding speech.

What is the best text to speech software?

ElevenLabs is the best text to speech software. We offer the most advanced AI voices, with the highest quality and most natural-sounding speech. Our platform is easy to use and offers a wide range of customization options.

How much does text to speech cost?

ElevenLabs offers a free plan which includes 10,000 characters per month. Our paid plans start at $1 for 30,000 characters per month.

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OpenAI says it can clone a voice from just 15 seconds of audio

The technology is an expansion of the company's pre-existing text-to-speech api..

OpenAI just announced that it recently conducted a small-scale preview of a new tool called Voice Engine. This is a voice cloning technology that can mimic any speaker by analyzing a 15-second audio sample. The company says it generates “natural-sounding speech” with “emotive and realistic voices.”

The technology is based on the company’s pre-existing text-to-speech API and it has been in the works since 2022. OpenAI has already been using a version of the toolset to power the preset voices available in the current text-to-speech API and the Read Aloud feature. There are a bunch of samples on the company’s official blog and they sound eerily close to the real thing. I encourage you to give them a listen and imagine the possibilities, both good and bad.

OpenAI says they see this technology being useful for reading assistance, language translation and helping those who suffer from sudden or degenerative speech conditions. The company brought up a Brown University pilot program that helped a patient with speech impairment issues by creating a Voice Engine clone pulled from audio recorded for a school project.

Despite the potential benefits, bad actors would certainly abuse this technology to engage in some serious deepfake tomfoolery, which is already a problem . With this in mind, Voice Engine isn’t quite ready for prime time, as there are serious privacy concerns that must be met before a full rollout.

OpenAI acknowledges that this tech has “serious risks, which are especially top of mind in an election year.” The company says its incorporating feedback from “US and international partners from across government, media, entertainment, education, civil society and beyond” to ensure the product launches with a minimal amount of risk. All preview testers agreed to OpenAI’s usage policies, which ban the impersonation of another individual without consent or legal right.

Additionally, anybody using the tech will have to disclose to their audience that the voices are AI-generated. OpenAI implemented safety measures, like watermarking to trace the origin of any audio and “proactive monitoring” of how the system is being used. When the product officially rolls out there will be a “no-go voice list” that detects and prevents AI-generated speakers that are too similar to prominent figures.

As for when that rollout will occur, OpenAI remains tight-lipped. TechCrunch uncovered some potential pricing data and it looks like it will undercut competitors in the space like ElevenLabs . Voice Engine could cost $15 per one million characters, which works out to around 162,500 words. This is about the length of Stephen King’s The Shining . It certainly sounds like a budget-friendly way to get an audiobook done. The marketing materials also make reference to an “HD” version that costs twice as much, but the company hasn’t detailed how that will work.

OpenAI has been making big moves this week. It just announced another partnership with its bestie Microsoft to build an AI-based supercomputer called “Stargate.” The project will reportedly cost a whopping $100 billion, according to The Information .

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OpenAI Unveils A.I. Technology That Recreates Human Voices

The start-up is sharing the technology, Voice Engine, with a small group of early testers as it tries to understand the potential dangers.

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By Cade Metz

Reporting from San Francisco

First, OpenAI offered a tool that allowed people to create digital images simply by describing what they wanted to see. Then, it built similar technology that generated full-motion video like something from a Hollywood movie.

Now, it has unveiled technology that can recreate someone’s voice.

The high-profile A.I. start-up said on Friday that a small group of businesses was testing a new OpenAI system, Voice Engine, that can recreate a person’s voice from a 15-second recording. If you upload a recording of yourself and a paragraph of text, it can read the text using a synthetic voice that sounds like yours.

The text does not have to be in your native language. If you are an English speaker, for example, it can recreate your voice in Spanish, French, Chinese or many other languages.

OpenAI is not sharing the technology more widely because it is still trying to understand its potential dangers. Like image and video generators, a voice generator could help spread disinformation across social media. It could also allow criminals to impersonate people online or during phone calls.

The company said it was particularly worried that this kind of technology could be used to break voice authenticators that control access to online banking accounts and other personal applications.

“This is a sensitive thing, and it is important to get it right,” an OpenAI product manager, Jeff Harris, said in an interview.

The company is exploring ways of watermarking synthetic voices or adding controls that prevent people from using the technology with the voices of politicians or other prominent figures.

Last month, OpenAI took a similar approach when it unveiled its video generator, Sora. It showed off the technology but did not publicly release it.

OpenAI is among the many companies that have developed a new breed of A.I. technology that can quickly and easily generate synthetic voices. They include tech giants like Google as well as start-ups like the New York-based ElevenLabs. (The New York Times has sued OpenAI and its partner, Microsoft, on claims of copyright infringement involving artificial intelligence systems that generate text.)

Businesses can use these technologies to generate audiobooks, give voice to online chatbots or even build an automated radio station DJ. Since last year, OpenAI has used its technology to power a version of ChatGPT that speaks . And it has long offered businesses an array of voices that can be used for similar applications. All of them were built from clips provided by voice actors.

But the company has not yet offered a public tool that would allow individuals and businesses to recreate voices from a short clip as Voice Engine does. The ability to recreate any voice in this way, Mr. Harris said, is what makes the technology dangerous. The technology could be particularly dangerous in an election year, he said.

In January, New Hampshire residents received robocall messages that dissuaded them from voting in the state primary in a voice that was most likely artificially generated to sound like President Biden . The Federal Communications Commission later outlawed such calls .

Mr. Harris said OpenAI had no immediate plans to make money from the technology. He said the tool could be particularly useful to people who lost their voices through illness or accident.

He demonstrated how the technology had been used to recreate a woman’s voice after brain cancer damaged it. She could now speak, he said, after providing a brief recording of a presentation she had once made as a high schooler.

Cade Metz writes about artificial intelligence, driverless cars, robotics, virtual reality and other emerging areas of technology. More about Cade Metz

Explore Our Coverage of Artificial Intelligence

News  and Analysis

OpenAI unveiled Voice Engine , an A.I. technology that can recreate a person’s voice from a 15-second recording.

Amazon said it had added $2.75 billion to its investment in Anthropic , an A.I. start-up that competes with companies like OpenAI and Google.

Gov. Bill Lee of Tennessee signed a bill  to prevent the use of A.I. to copy a performer’s voice. It is the first such measure in the United States.

French regulators said Google failed to notify news publishers  that it was using their articles to train its A.I. algorithms, part of a wider ruling against the company for its negotiating practices with media outlets.

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Electrical Engineering and Systems Science > Audio and Speech Processing

Title: voicecraft: zero-shot speech editing and text-to-speech in the wild.

Abstract: We introduce VoiceCraft, a token infilling neural codec language model, that achieves state-of-the-art performance on both speech editing and zero-shot text-to-speech (TTS) on audiobooks, internet videos, and podcasts. VoiceCraft employs a Transformer decoder architecture and introduces a token rearrangement procedure that combines causal masking and delayed stacking to enable generation within an existing sequence. On speech editing tasks, VoiceCraft produces edited speech that is nearly indistinguishable from unedited recordings in terms of naturalness, as evaluated by humans; for zero-shot TTS, our model outperforms prior SotA models including VALLE and the popular commercial model XTTS-v2. Crucially, the models are evaluated on challenging and realistic datasets, that consist of diverse accents, speaking styles, recording conditions, and background noise and music, and our model performs consistently well compared to other models and real recordings. In particular, for speech editing evaluation, we introduce a high quality, challenging, and realistic dataset named RealEdit. We encourage readers to listen to the demos at this https URL .

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arXivLabs is a framework that allows collaborators to develop and share new arXiv features directly on our website.

Both individuals and organizations that work with arXivLabs have embraced and accepted our values of openness, community, excellence, and user data privacy. arXiv is committed to these values and only works with partners that adhere to them.

Have an idea for a project that will add value for arXiv's community? Learn more about arXivLabs .

OpenAI says it can clone a voice from just 15 seconds of audio

O penAI just announced that it recently conducted a small-scale preview of a new tool called Voice Engine. This is a voice cloning technology that can mimic any speaker by analyzing a 15-second audio sample. The company says it generates “natural-sounding speech” with “emotive and realistic voices.”

The technology is based on the company’s pre-existing text-to-speech API and it has been in the works since 2022. OpenAI has already been using a version of the toolset to power the preset voices available in the current text-to-speech API and the Read Aloud feature. There are a bunch of samples on the company’s official blog and they sound eerily close to the real thing. I encourage you to give them a listen and imagine the possibilities, both good and bad.

OpenAI says they see this technology being useful for reading assistance, language translation and helping those who suffer from sudden or degenerative speech conditions. The company brought up a Brown University pilot program that helped a patient with speech impairment issues by creating a Voice Engine clone pulled from audio recorded for a school project.

Despite the potential benefits, bad actors would certainly abuse this technology to engage in some serious deepfake tomfoolery, which is already a problem . With this in mind, Voice Engine isn’t quite ready for prime time, as there are serious privacy concerns that must be met before a full rollout.

OpenAI acknowledges that this tech has “serious risks, which are especially top of mind in an election year.” The company says its incorporating feedback from “US and international partners from across government, media, entertainment, education, civil society and beyond” to ensure the product launches with a minimal amount of risk. All preview testers agreed to OpenAI’s usage policies, which ban the impersonation of another individual without consent or legal right.

Additionally, anybody using the tech will have to disclose to their audience that the voices are AI-generated. OpenAI implemented safety measures, like watermarking to trace the origin of any audio and “proactive monitoring” of how the system is being used. When the product officially rolls out there will be a “no-go voice list” that detects and prevents AI-generated speakers that are too similar to prominent figures.

As for when that rollout will occur, OpenAI remains tight-lipped. TechCrunch uncovered some potential pricing data and it looks like it will undercut competitors in the space like ElevenLabs . Voice Engine could cost $15 per one million characters, which works out to around 162,500 words. This is about the length of Stephen King’s The Shining . It certainly sounds like a budget-friendly way to get an audiobook done. The marketing materials also make reference to an “HD” version that costs twice as much, but the company hasn’t detailed how that will work.

OpenAI has been making big moves this week. It just announced another partnership with its bestie Microsoft to build an AI-based supercomputer called “Stargate.” The project will reportedly cost a whopping $100 billion, according to The Information .

Voice Pen: Speech to Text AI 4+

Dictate, transcribe, rewrite, timur khairullin.

• 4.5 • 15 Ratings
• Offers In-App Purchases

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Description.

Record and Transcribe Speech to Text. Turn it into Notes, Summaries, Emails, Messages, Blog Posts. Import Audio from Files, WhatsApp and other Apps. ** How it works - Record voice in the app - AI creates text transcription automatically - Tap "Rewrite with AI" to make adjustments or transform the text - Share texts to any platform or store and organize it in VoicePen ** Recording & Transcription - Perfect transcription and punctuation using OpenAI's Whisper - Record audio in the background - switch to other apps or lock the device - Replay recorded audio - Import: share audio from any other iOS app, such as WhatsApp or Voice Memos ** Language: - More than 50 languages supported (see full list at the bottom) - VoicePen autodetects language with option to set preference in settings ** Rewrite and Transform using AI options: - Clear and structurize - Summarize - Make a list - Create Blog / Thread / Twitter post - Create text for Instagram captions - Create email ** Productivity - Add Lock and Home Screen Widgets to quickly start recording - Start recording by saying "Siri, Record in VoicePen" ** Organizing - VoicePen automatically creates notes titles - Create folders and quickly filter by them - Store unlimited amount of notes and recordings ** Privacy - We only collect app usage analytics (button taps) - We don't collect any audio or texts of your recordings in our servers ** Supported languages: Afrikaans, Arabic, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Belarusian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Catalan, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, Galician, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Kannada, Kazakh, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Malay, Marathi, Maori, Nepali, Norwegian, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish, Tagalog, Tamil, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu, Vietnamese, and Welsh. Terms of Use https://bit.ly/apple_eula

Version 1.30

Bug fixes and performance improvements

Ratings and Reviews

Incredibly useful tool.

This app really makes the Vision Pro experience better. Typing is one of the most frustrating parts of using Vision Pro right now, and VoicePen has been a game changer for the situations where a lot of typing is required. It is a lot more accurate than the built-in voice-to-text option on the virtual keyboard so I find myself using it whenever I need to type anything longer than a quick response. The widget feature is awesome for having VoicePen ready to go at any time while still being tucked away and unobtrusive. I've already seen a couple of great new features added in the short time since Vision Pro and this app was released and so I'm really looking forward to watching this app evolve. And yes, of course I wrote this using VoicePen.

Really good features

I was wondering how an app like VoicePen could be better than using the standard transcription in the keyboard with Notes, or things like that, and I’ve found at least two things: 1. The widget. I like being able to trigger dictation without bringing up the keyboard or even saying, “Hey Siri.” The copying straight to the clip board is really nice. I would like to see the text I just spoke as part of the widget though. That would be nice. 2. The AI features. So VoicePen kind of creates its own Notes setup to remember transcriptions. It also does a good job of integrating AI. So, for instance, instead of just rewriting the note in a style (social media, email, summary), it keeps track of them all with a tab of the different AI styles you’ve generated, along with the original transcript, and along with the original audio! All in all, there are some early bugs and polishes that are still needed, but it’s still a solid app.

Fast, convenient, and helpful

I’m using this app on both my iPhone and Vision Pro and I love the fact that it’s simple and gets the job done. I can quickly dictate my message and clean it up in a variety of styles. The app is minimal and easy to navigate. I’m looking forward to the continued development. I think this app will only get better as the developer is very engaged and is open to feedback.

App Privacy

The developer, Timur Khairullin , indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .

Data Linked to You

The following data may be collected and linked to your identity:

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Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More

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• Premium Access $1.99
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• Voice Notes Premium $24.99
• VoicePen Premium $34.99
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King Charles praises 'hand of friendship' in Maundy Thursday audio message

King Charles, who is having treatment for cancer, has praised people who 'extend the hand of friendship, especially in a time of need', and echoed the promise he made at his coronation to serve the nation. The king's remarks were recorded in an audio message to be aired at the ancient Maundy Thursday church service at Worcester Cathedral, which the 75-year-old king will miss due to his illness. The recording was made before the Princess of Wales issued a video message in which she revealed she was having preventive chemotherapy after cancer was discovered in the aftermath of her abdominal surgery in January. While King Charles will miss the Maundy Thursday service, he is due to join other members of his family on Sunday at a scaled-down Easter Sunday service at Windsor Castle, his first public appearance at a royal event since it was announced in February that he was suffering from an undisclosed form of cancer

King lauds friendship ‘in time of need’ in first comments since princess’s diagnosis

Source: Reuters / Royal pool

Thu 28 Mar 2024 13.40 GMT Last modified on Thu 28 Mar 2024 16.12 GMT

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