text to speech google pc

How to Use Google Docs Text to Speech: A Step-by-Step Guide

Google Docs Text to Speech is a handy tool that lets you listen to your document instead of reading it. This feature can be useful for multitasking, proofreading, or for those who have difficulty reading text on screens. In just a few steps, you can have Google Docs read your document to you.

Step by Step Tutorial on How to Use Google Docs Text to Speech

Before jumping into the steps, let’s understand what we’re aiming for here. Google Docs does not have a built-in text-to-speech function, but don’t worry – we can use a feature called “Speak” that’s a part of Google’s accessibility features.

Step 1: Open a Google Docs Document

Open the document you want Google Docs to read out loud.

Once you have the document open, make sure your speakers or headphones are connected and working. This is where the voice will come from.

Step 2: Select the Text You Want to Hear

Highlight the text you want Google Docs to read to you.

You can select a word, sentence, paragraph, or the entire document. Just click and drag your mouse over the text.

Step 3: Access the Accessibility Menu

Click on the ‘Tools’ menu at the top of the page, then select ‘Accessibility settings.’

In the Accessibility menu, you’ll find options to make Google Docs easier to use if you have visual or auditory impairments.

Step 4: Enable ‘Speak’

Check the box next to ‘Turn on screen reader support’, then close the Accessibility settings window.

After enabling this feature, a new menu called “Accessibility” will appear on the Google Docs toolbar.

Step 5: Use the Speak Command

Go to the ‘Accessibility’ menu, hover over ‘Speak’, and then select ‘Speak selection.’

As soon as you click ‘Speak selection,’ Google Docs will start reading the text you’ve highlighted. The voice you hear will depend on the default voice settings of your web browser or operating system.

After completing these steps, Google Docs will read the selected text out loud to you. This can be an excellent way for you to listen to your document while doing something else, or it can help you catch errors you might have missed while reading.

Tips for Optimizing Your Experience with Google Docs Text to Speech

• Make sure your internet connection is stable; this ensures that the speak feature works without interruptions.
• Adjust the volume on your computer or device so that the speech is loud and clear enough for you to hear.
• Use headphones for a clearer and more private listening experience.
• If the default voice doesn’t suit you, explore your operating system’s settings to change the voice and speaking rate.
• Utilize the text-to-speech feature for proofreading; hearing your work read aloud can help you catch mistakes you might have missed while reading it silently.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can i change the voice that reads the text.

Yes, you can change the voice in your computer’s system settings or browser settings.

Is Google Docs Text to Speech available on mobile devices?

While Google Docs on mobile doesn’t have the ‘Speak’ feature, most smartphones have their own text-to-speech options you can use.

Does this feature work in languages other than English?

Yes, Google Docs Text to Speech works in multiple languages, depending on the language support of your operating system or web browser.

Can I use Text to Speech on a shared document?

Absolutely, as long as you have permission to view the document, you can use the Text to Speech feature on it.

Is there a way to pause and resume the speech?

Currently, there’s no direct way to pause and resume speech in Google Docs. You would need to stop and then re-select the text to start again.

• Open your Google Docs document.
• Select the text you want to hear.
• Access the ‘Tools’ menu and open ‘Accessibility settings’.
• Enable ‘Speak’.
• Use the ‘Speak selection’ command in the ‘Accessibility’ menu.

Google Docs Text to Speech is a nifty feature that adds an extra layer of convenience to your workflow. It’s particularly useful for those who learn better through auditory means or for anyone looking to proofread their work in a new way. Although it might seem a bit hidden away in the Accessibility settings, once you know where to find it, it’s straightforward to use. If you’ve never tried listening to your Google Docs before, give it a whirl! You might find that it helps you catch errors you’d otherwise miss or simply provides a welcome break from staring at your screen. Happy listening, and remember, Google Docs is more than just a writing tool; it’s a multi-faceted platform that caters to various needs, including those auditory in nature.

Matthew Burleigh has been writing tech tutorials since 2008. His writing has appeared on dozens of different websites and been read over 50 million times.

After receiving his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer Science he spent several years working in IT management for small businesses. However, he now works full time writing content online and creating websites.

His main writing topics include iPhones, Microsoft Office, Google Apps, Android, and Photoshop, but he has also written about many other tech topics as well.

Read his full bio here.

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How to Use Voice Typing on Google Docs on Mobile and Desktop

Paurush dabbles around iOS and Mac while his close encounters are with Android and Windows. Before becoming a writer, he produced videos for brands like Mr. Phone and Digit. On weekends, he is a full-time cinephile trying to reduce his never-ending watchlist, often making it longer.

While Google Docs is primarily geared toward drafting formal letters, invites, meeting notes, and table of contents , you can also use it to jot down ideas or as a journal. To that end, Google Docs is quite feature-rich and supports features like Voice Typing which makes penning down thoughts more convenient.

The Voice Typing feature eliminates writer’s block by allowing users to jot down rough and unstructured ideas. You don’t have to waste your time thinking of writing perfect sentences – instead, you can just voice your thoughts, scattered as they may be. Here’s how to enable the feature and use it on your mobile and desktop.

Use Voice Typing on Google Docs on Mobile

The Google Docs mobile app lets you manage your documents on the go. The app lets you edit your documents and even save them as PDF files on your iPhone or Android phone. Let us see how you can use the Voice Typing feature with the mobile app.

iPhone users can simply use the Speech-to-Text feature available with the iOS Keyboard to use Google Docs’ Voice Typing feature. Here’s how.

Step 1: Open the Google Docs app and then open a new or previously created document.

Step 2: Tap on the page to bring up the keyboard. Then, tap the Microphone icon at the bottom-right corner.

Step 3: Start dictating the words, and Google Docs will convert the speech to text.

If you don’t see the Microphone icon, check if Voice Dictation has been enabled. Here’s how you can go about it.

Step 1: Open the Settings app and then tap on General.

Step 2: Select Keyboard and tap the toggle next to Enable Dictation.

You can also enable Auto-Punctuation and tweak other aspects from the same menu.

If Dictation still fails to work, refer to our post for more solutions. Note that the solutions outlined in the guide will apply to all iPhones on all iOS versions.

Step 1: Open Google Docs and select a new or previously created document.

Step 2: Tap on the document area to enable the keyboard. Then tap the Microphone icon.

You can refer to our post if Dictation fails to work on your Android phone .

Use Voice Typing on Google Docs on Desktop

For desktop users, the Voice Typing feature comes built-in with Google Docs. However, it is only available for Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge users on Mac and Windows PCs. Here’s how to enable and use it.

Step 1: Open your web browser and go to docs.google.com.

Visit Google Docs

Step 2: Sign in to your account and open a new or existing document.

Step 3: Click on Tools in the top Menu Bar and then select Voice Typing.

Step 4: Select the Microphone icon on the left side. Your browser will then prompt you to enable microphone access. Tap Allow.

You can also click the dropdown menu and select your preferred language.

And voila! You can now start using Voice Dictation on your Mac or Windows PC in Google Docs.

How to Use Punctuation and Formatting Styles With Voice Typing

The best part about voice typing on Google Docs is that you can also dictate and insert punctuation. This saves you the time of manual entry and correction. Once you enable the microphone, you can start voicing commands like “select all”, “bold”, “italics”, and more. There are a plethora of other voice commands available for voice typing. A word of caution, though: your dictated punctuation might not always get translated correctly. So, be patient while using the feature.

Use Microsoft Voice Typing Launcher For Google Docs on Windows 11

Windows 11 has a feature called Voice Typing Launcher (Microsoft Speech Services) that is designed to be used for voice typing. You can activate this feature to use voice typing on Google Docs or any other application. Before following the steps to enable it, make sure that you have installed the latest software update.

Step 1: Open Google Docs on your web browser and sign in to your account.

Step 2: Go to your document and press Windows key + H to enable Microsoft Speech Services.

Step 3: From the popup, click the Microphone icon to start using it.

You can click the Settings icon to make changes, including using a different microphone and enabling automatic punctuation. We tested the same on our end and the service introduced commas and full stops automatically, which is great.

You can also refer to our post if Voice Typing is not working on Windows 11 .

Use Dictation on Mac For Voice Typing on Google Docs

You can also use the Dictation feature on Mac to facilitate Voice Typing. It’s a built-in tool that lets you use speech-to-text in Google Docs. All the voice commands for using punctuation will work with this, too. You can refer to our post to learn how to use Dictation on Mac .

Rest Your Fingers

The Voice Typing option on Google Docs is a much-needed respite from endless typing sessions. The feature can also come in clutch when you need to take note of something while juggling other tasks. Let us know if you found this guide useful in the comments below.

Was this helpful?

Last updated on 16 March, 2024

The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.

The article above may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. The content remains unbiased and authentic and will never affect our editorial integrity.

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How do I to use Google Speech to Text in any Windows application?

When using Android, using the Swiftkey keyboard, I can use the Google Speech to Text anywhere, simply quickly holding a key. In my Windows PC, I want speak with the microphone and let Google type for me. I know that I can, using Chrome, in certain Google pages like "Language Tools" use this and then copy and paste in the target application. Is there an automatic way to do this?

• speech-to-text

• You may want to check out softwarerecs.stackexchange.com –  Gantendo Jan 27, 2022 at 17:20

2 Answers 2

Well google docs now has voice dictation if that is what you are after. Details here you would still have to copy/paste into other apps if you need the text there.

as far as using a "mic" button in any text field on the pc it is not possible afaik, you might be able to use the web speech api to make a web app that interacts with an external program, but it would be a very funky workaround and a bit of code. also if it was made and shared the api key would likely be pulled by google for abuse.

I'm not sure this will fit a system wide requirement, or even all across Chrome, however there is a handy voice-to-text Chrome addon called Chrome VoiceNote that is quite useful.

This addon can be run in its own tab, and provides a mic button to toggle when your microphone will be used for input. There are plenty of options too, like support for other languages etc.

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Not the answer you're looking for browse other questions tagged windows speech-to-text ..

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Select and Speak - Text to Speech

2.7K ratings

Select and Speak uses iSpeech’s human-quality text-to-speech (TTS) to read any selected text in the browser. It includes many…

Select and Speak uses iSpeech’s human-quality text-to-speech (TTS) to read any selected text in the browser. It includes many iSpeech text to speech voices in different languages. You can configure the voice and speed options by changing the settings on the options page. Celebrity and character TTS voices are not included in Select and Speak at this time, but can be used through the Talkz application. Please request additional languages by contacting us. Select and Speak includes the following languages: English Male/English Female (American), Spanish Male/Spanish Female (Latin American), English Male/English Female (British), English Female (Australian), English Female (Canadian), French Male/French Female (France), French Female (Canadian), Portuguese Female (Portugal), Portuguese Male/Portuguese Female (Brazilian Portuguese), Spanish Male/Spanish Female (Castilian), German Male/German Female, Italian Male/Italian Female, Dutch Female, Danish Female, Turkish Male/Turkish Female, Czech Female, Danish Female (Danish), Finnish Female, Russian Male/Russian Female, Swedish Female, Norwegian Female, Hungarian Female, Polish Female, Greek Female, Chinese Female, Korean Female, Japanese Female, Arabic Male YOU MUST CONTACT US FOR COMMERCIAL USE - PERSONAL USE ONLY: The Select and Speak Chrome Application is for non-commercial use only. You may not attempt to download or use the resulting audio for any purpose including but not limited to: ivr prompts, text to speech course materials, text to speech distribution, presentations, audio books, podcasts, radio, tv, text to speech web cast or any other broadcast. To license iSpeech for commercial purposes, contact us info at iSpeech dot org, or through our contact form. How to use: - First select the text you want it to read - Next, click the icon to start listening - Click “stop” to stop listening at any time Notes: - This Chrome extension sends the text that you select to iSpeech servers using your Internet connection as it is Cloud TTS service (aka SaaS or Software as a Service) For Developers: - iSpeech offers free and paid API and SDKs for TTS, speech recognition and more. Please sign up and start using it We are constantly optimizing and improving our text to speech conversion services and; In order to maintain this software we collect and leverage usage data. Learn more at http://www.ispeech.org/policies.php

2.7 out of 5 2.7K ratings Google doesn't verify reviews. Learn more about results and reviews.

Sean Lacerda May 2, 2024

Doesn't work

Chico Calvecchio Mar 4, 2024

I'm glad to see that it works on one person. It's notworking for me! >:( So now that I put your extension in my computer should I take it out in case you're some sort of malware????

This developer declares that your data is

• Not being sold to third parties, outside of the approved use cases
• Not being used or transferred for purposes that are unrelated to the item's core functionality
• Not being used or transferred to determine creditworthiness or for lending purposes

For help with questions, suggestions, or problems, visit the developer's support site

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Fast, easy, high-quality text to speech in over 40 languages. Read out loud from websites, PDF, email. Speak text with TTS.

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A guide to text-to-speech, the popular accessibility feature that lets your computer, phone, or tablet read to you

• Text-to-speech (TTS) is a popular feature that lets your computer or phone read text aloud to you.
• Text-to-speech is commonly used as an accessibility feature to help people who have trouble reading on-screen text, but it's also convenient for those who want to be read to.
• You can find text-to-speech features in many places today, including ebook readers, word processors, internet browsers, and more. 
• Visit Business Insider's Tech Reference library for more stories .

Text-to-speech , sometimes abbreviated as TTS, is a feature on your computer or phone that reads on-screen text aloud to you. 

Depending on how it's used, text-to-speech can be a convenience feature, or an accessibility feature that helps people who need additional assistance to hear text that's printed on-screen. 

Though TTS systems rely on a computerized voice speaking to you, in recent years these voices have become much more natural sounding. Many modern TTS voices are almost indistinguishable from humans, and some even incorporate natural human inflections to make them sound more lifelike. 

The most common uses of text-to-speech

Text-to-speech has become so ubiquitous that many people encounter it every day, often without even realizing it. Here are some of the most common examples of TTS in use today.

Smart speakers and virtual assistants

The place we see text-to-speech most often is with smart assistants, like Amazon's Alexa and Apple's Siri.

When you ask these assistants a question, they read to you from a predetermined library of words and phrases. These systems couldn't function without TTS technology.

Ebook Readers

Most popular ebook readers, including all new Kindle Fire devices, have a text-to-speech option. This also includes online readers, like the Internet Archive.

When buying an ebook for your Kindle Fire, you can check whether or not it can be read aloud by looking for the "Text-to-Speech: Enabled" label on its details page before you buy it.

Mapping software

Mapping and navigation apps like Google Maps and Apple Maps are designed to automatically read turn-by-turn directions aloud using text-to-speech technology. 

Word processors

Some word processors have the ability to read contents aloud. Microsoft Word, for example, has a "Read Aloud" feature in the "Review" menu. When you select it, Word will read the current document aloud.

Google Docs has its own text-to-speech functions, but you'll need an add-on to use them .

Computer and phone operating systems

No matter what type of computer or smartphone you have, it has accessibility features that can read on-screen elements to you.

In Windows, you can turn on Narrator in the "Ease of Access" settings menu, while Mac users can enable VoiceOver using the "Accessibility" panel. 

iPhone users can find VoiceOver in the Accessibility section of Settings. Android users can download a host of TTS apps, or enable the built-in Google Text-to-Speech app through the "Language & Input" menu.

Related coverage from  Tech Reference :

How to use text-to-speech on discord, and have the desktop app read your messages aloud, how to use google text-to-speech on your android phone to hear text instead of reading it, how to activate voice controls on your android device, and make google searches or open apps with your voice, how to turn narrator on or off on a windows 10 computer, for an accessibility feature that reads text aloud, how to enable led flash notifications on your iphone, for visual notifications using accessibility features.

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Hear text read aloud

You can hear full pages read aloud with Chromebook’s built-in screen reader. You can hear parts of a page, including specific words, read aloud with Select-to-speak.

Listen to all text

To have pages read aloud to you, turn on your Chromebook’s built-in screen reader:

At the bottom right, select the time.

• Or press Alt + Shift + s .

• Under "Text-to-Speech," turn on ChromeVox .

Tip: When you press Ctrl + Alt + z , you can turn ChromeVox on or off from any page. Learn how to use the built-in screen reader .

Listen to part of a page

To select specific text on a page to be read to you, turn on Select-to-speak.

Step 1: Turn on Select-to-speak

• Under "Text-to-Speech," turn on S elect-to-speak .

Step 2: Select & hear text

Option 1 Press and hold the Search key . Drag the pointer over an area of text.

Option 2 Highlight the text to be read. Press the Search key + s .

Option 3 At the bottom right, near the time, select Select-to-Speak . Drag the pointer over an area of text.

Tip: If you’re on a touchscreen, tap a line of text or drag your finger over an area of the screen.

Your Chromebook reads the section aloud and each word is highlighted.

Tip: With navigation controls, you can pause and play, adjust speed, and skip lines of text.

Highlight or shade background text

If you are using Select-to-speak, each word will be highlighted as it's spoken. You can turn off highlighting, change the color of the highlighted words, or shade the screen behind selected text.

• Under "Text-to-Speech," turn on Select-to-speak .
• Select Open select-to-speak settings .
• Turn on Highlight each word as it is spoken .
• To get the strongest contrast, you may use green or pink, especially if you use high contrast mode.
• This allows you to shade the whole screen, except for the text being spoken.

Disable Select-to-speak navigation features

Important: When “Enable Navigation Controls” is turned off, quick access to pause and play, adjust speed, and skip lines of text is disabled.

• Under "Text-to-Speech," select Open select to speech settings .
• Under "Highlighting," turn off Enable navigation controls .

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#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.

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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

The simplest most robust & affordable AI voice-over generating tool online. Mix voices, languages & speeds. Listen before recording. Unlimited!

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

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How to Use Windows Text to Speech Feature

Press Win+Ctrl+Enter to read text aloud with Narrator

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In This Article

Jump to a Section

• What Is Narrator?
• How to Enable Narrator
• Keyboard Shortcuts
• Frequently Asked Questions

What to Know

• Press Win + Ctrl + Enter to start and stop Narrator from the keyboard.
• Or, go to Settings > Ease of Access > Narrator . Toggle on/off Turn on Narrator .
• Use keyboard shortcuts to navigate and read the screen.

This article explains how to use the Windows 10 text-to-speech feature.

Is There a Text-to-Speech Option in Windows 10?

The Windows 10 text-to-speech option is called Narrator . It's accessible through Ease of Access settings and a keyboard shortcut.

Narrator is a screen reader designed for the visually impaired, but anyone can use it to give their eyes a rest. With the text-to-speech features, you can navigate apps and web pages. For instance, it can read entire web pages, spreadsheet tables, and describe formatting attributes like font types and font colors to help you work with any content. 

Here are some of the key features of Narrator:

• Change the voice and install other text-to-speech voices.
• Personalize the speaking rate, pitch, and volume of the voice.
• Use Narrator's scan mode to navigate apps and web pages faster with keyboard shortcuts and arrow keys.

How Do I Turn on Text-to-Speech on My Computer?

Narrator is switched off by default. The easiest way to trigger it is to press Win + Ctrl + Enter , but it's also accessible through Settings:

Select the Start button and choose Settings .

Go to Settings > Ease of Access > Narrator . 

Enable Narrator by toggling the button to the On position. 

You can quickly jump to the Narrator settings by pressing Win + Ctrl + N .

A Narrator dialog box will appear on the screen explaining keyboard layout changes. The blue border around the text highlights the parts read by Narrator. 

Select OK to stop the message narration and exit the dialog. Also, check the box next to Don’t show again if you don’t want the box to appear every time Narrator starts.

A welcome screen will appear when you start using Narrator for the first time. From here, you can learn how to use the screen reader and find related learning resources like the comprehensive Narrator guide available online. 

How Do I Use Text-to-Speech in Windows?

Different keyboard shortcuts are associated with navigating everything on the screen with Narrator.

The keyboard shortcuts use the Narrator modifier key, which, by default, is the Caps lock key or the Insert key. You can choose another modifier key in Narrator Settings, but no matter what you choose, you want to press-and-hold the modifier key while also pressing the other keys mentioned below.

Control Voice Playback

Here are some important Narrator shortcut keys that involve voice playback:

• Narrator + Ctrl + + to increase text-to-speech volume.
• Narrator + Ctrl + - to decrease text-to-speech volume.
• Narrator + + or Narrator + - to speed up or slow down voice playback.

Narrator can read any text on the screen. Navigate across the content with the arrow keys or use Scan Mode for more precise control over what you want to read. 

Use the Narrator modifier key with the correct shortcut to read text by page, paragraph, line, sentence, word, or character.

• Read the current page: Narrator + Ctrl + I
• Read from the current location: Narrator + Tab
• Read the current paragraph: Narrator + Ctrl + K
• Read the current line: Narrator + I
• Read the current sentence: Narrator + Ctrl + Comma
• Read the current word: Narrator + K
• Read the current character: Narrator + Comma
• Stop reading: Ctrl
• Navigate out of the content: Tab

Basic Navigation

With Tab and the arrow keys, you can jump between interactive controls like buttons, checkboxes, and links.

• To open a hyperlink on a web page, go to it with the tab and arrow keys. Then, press Enter to open the page.
• To find out more about a link, press Narrator + Ctrl + D and Narrator can tell you the page title behind the link.
• To find out more about an image, press Narrator + Ctrl + D and Narrator will read a description of the image.

Advanced Navigation With Scan Mode

Scan Mode in Narrator will help you work through page content like paragraphs using just the Up and Down Arrow keys. Turn it on or off with Caps Lock + Space and then use keyboard commands like H to jump forward through headings, B for buttons, or D for landmarks.

There are many Scan Mode commands. Refer to the Microsoft Support's Narrator Guide to learn more about them.

Narrator has an exhaustive list of commands to help navigate a screen with the help of sound and shortcuts. Remember these two keyboard shortcuts

• Narrator + F1 : Display the entire commands list.
• Narrator + F2 : Display commands for the current item.

Microsoft Support's Chapter 2: Narrator basics online guide explains the fundamentals of navigating a screen or a web page with Narrator. The complete online guide is a vital resource to learn how to use text-to-speech in Windows.

Select Settings > Ease of Access > Narrator > and move the toggle to the left (off position) under Turn on Narrator . Alternatively, use the Win+Ctrl+Enter keyboard combination.

If you want to dictate text instead of typing,  turn on Windows Speech Recognition ; go to  Settings  >  Time & Language  >  Speech  >  Microphone  >  Get Started . Say, "Start listening," or press Win+H to bring up the dictation toolbar. For help using voice recognition for dictation, browse this list of  standard Windows Speech Recognition commands .

Try online text-to-audio file converters such as  VirtualSpeech  to create an MP3 file from a block of text. The Microsoft Store offers similar apps such as Any Text to Voice and Convert Text to Audio.

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How-To Geek

How to modify google text-to-speech voices.

Google Text-to-Speech is a useful accessibility feature, but it can sound a little robotic. Here's how you can change your Google Text-to-Speech voice.

Quick Links

Changing speech rate and pitch, choosing text-to-speech tone, switching languages, changing text-to-speech engines.

While Google focuses on the Assistant, Android owners shouldn't forget about the Text-to-Speech (TTS) accessibility feature. It'll convert text from your Android apps, but you might need to modify it to get the speech to sound the way you want it.

Modifying Text-to-Speech voices is easily done from the Android accessibility settings menu. You can change the speed and pitch of your chosen voice, as well as the voice engine you use.

Google Text-to-Speech is the default voice engine and is pre-installed on most Android devices. If your Android device doesn't have it installed, you can download the Google Text-to-Speech app  from the Google Play Store.

Android will use default settings for Google Text-to-Speech, but you might need to change the speed and pitch of the Text-to-Speech voice to make it easier for you to understand.

Changing the TTS speech rate and pitch requires you to get into the Google accessibility settings menu. The steps for this might vary slightly, depending on your version of Android and your device manufacturer.

To open the Android accessibility menu, go to Android's "Settings" menu. You can get to this by swiping down on your display to access your notification shade and tapping the gear icon in the top right, or by launching the "Settings" app from within your apps drawer.

In the "Settings" menu, tap the "Accessibility" option.

Samsung device owners will have two extra steps here. Tap "Screen Reader" and then "Settings." Other Android owners can go straight to the next step.

Select "Text-to-Speech" or "Text-to-Speech Output," depending on your Android device.

From here, you'll be able to change your Text-to-Speech settings.

Changing Speech Rate

Speech rate is the speed your Text-to-Speech voice will speak at. If your TTS engine is too fast (or too slow), the speech could sound deformed or hard to understand.

If you've followed the steps above, you should see a slider under the heading "Speech Rate" in the "Text-to-Speech" menu. With your finger, slide this right or left to raise or lower the rate you're seeking.

Press the "Listen to an Example" button to test your new speech rate. Samsung owners will have a "Play" button, so tap that instead.

Changing Pitch

If you feel the Text-to-Speech engine is too high (or low) pitched, you can change this by following the same process as changing your speech rate.

As above, in your "Text-to-Speech" settings menu, adjust the "Pitch" slider to the pitch you like.

Once you're ready, press "Listen to an Example" or "Play" (depending on your device) to try the new rate.

Continue this process until you're happy with both your speech rate and pitch settings, or tap "Reset" to return to your default TTS settings.

Not only can you change the pitch and rate of your TTS speech engine, but you can also change the tone of the voice. Some language packs included with the default Google Text-to-Speech engine have different voices that sound either male or female.

Similarly, the Samsung Text-to-Speech engine included with Samsung devices has a varied selection of gendered voices for you to use.

If you're using the Google Text-to-Speech engine, tap the gear menu button in the "Text-to-Speech Output" settings menu, next to the "Google Text-to-Speech Engine" option.

If you're on a Samsung device, you'll only have one gear icon in the "Text-to-Speech Settings" menu, so tap that instead.

In the "Google TTS Options" menu, tap the "Install Voice Data" option.

Tap your chosen regional language. For example, if you're from the U.S., you might want to choose "English (United States)."

You'll see various voices listed and numbered, from "Voice I" onwards. Tap on each one to hear what it sounds like. You'll need to make sure your device isn't muted.

With the "English (United Kingdom)" language pack, "Voice I" is female, while "Voice II" is male, and the voices continue to alternate in this pattern. Tap on the tone you're happy with as your final choice.

Your choice will be automatically saved, although if you've selected a different language to your device's default, you will also need to change this.

If you need to switch languages, you can easily do this from the "Text-to-Speech" settings menu. You might want to do this if you've chosen a different language in your TTS engine than your system default language.

You should see an option for "Language" in your "Text-to-Speech" settings menu. Tap this to open the menu.

Choose your language from the list by tapping it.

You can confirm the change in language by pressing the "Listen to an Example" or "Play" button to test it.

If the Google TTS language isn't suitable for you, you can install alternatives. Samsung devices, for instance, will come with their own Samsung Text-to-Speech engine, which your device will default to.

Installing Third-Party Text-to-Speech Engines

Alternative third-party Text-to-Speech engines are also available. These can be installed from the Google Play Store, or you can install them manually. Example TTS engines you could install include Acapela and  eSpeak TTS , although others are available.

Once installed from the Google Play Store, these third-party TTS engines will appear in your Text-to-Speech settings.

Changing Text-to-Speech Engine

If you've installed a new Text-to-Speech engine and you want to change it, go to the "Text-to-Speech" settings menu.

At the top, you should see a list of your available TTS engines. If you have a Samsung device, you might need to tap the "Preferred Engine" option to see your list.

Tap on your preferred engine, whether it's Google Text-to-Speech or a third-party alternative.

With your new TTS engine selected, tap "Listen to an Example" or "Play" (depending on your device) to test it.

For most users, the default Google or Samsung Text-to-Speech engines will offer the best sounding speech generation, but third-party options could work better for other languages where the default engine isn't suitable.

Once your engine and languages are selected, you're free to use it with any Android app that supports it.

Voice speed

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Website translation

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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 .

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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 '. His second book, ' 50 Years of Boss Fights ', came out in June 2024, and has a newsletter, ' Springboard '. He's usually found playing games old and new on his Steam Deck 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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Please follow this guide for instructions on how to unblock your microphone.

Dictation is now publishing your note online. Please wait..

Speed is the rate at which the selected voice will speak your transcribed text while the pitch governs how high or low the voice speaks.

Speak Reset

Use voice typing to talk instead of type on your PC

With voice typing, you can enter text on your PC by speaking. Voice typing uses online speech recognition, which is powered by Azure Speech services.

How to start voice typing

To use voice typing, you'll need to be connected to the internet, have a working microphone, and have your cursor in a text box.

Once you turn on voice typing, it will start listening automatically. Wait for the "Listening..." alert before you start speaking.

Note:  Press Windows logo key + Alt + H to navigate through the voice typing menu with your keyboard. 

Install a voice typing language

You can use a voice typing language that's different than the one you've chosen for Windows. Here's how:

Select Start > Settings > Time & language > Language & region .

Find Preferred languages in the list and select Add a language .

Search for the language you'd like to install, then select Next .

Select Next or install any optional language features you'd like to use. These features, including speech recognition, aren't required for voice typing to work.

To see this feature's supported languages, see the list in this article.

Switch voice typing languages

To switch voice typing languages, you'll need to change the input language you use. Here's how:

Select the language switcher in the corner of your taskbar

Press Windows logo key + Spacebar on a hardware keyboard

Press the language switcher in the bottom right of the touch keyboard

Supported languages

These languages support voice typing in Windows 11:

• Chinese (Simplified, China)
• Chinese (Traditional, Hong Kong SAR)

Chinese (Traditional, Taiwan)

• Dutch (Netherlands)
• English (Australia)
• English (Canada)
• English (India)
• English (New Zealand)
• English (United Kingdom)
• English (United States)
• French (Canada)
• French (France)

Italian (Italy)

• Norwegian (Bokmål)

Portuguese (Brazil)

• Portuguese (Portugal)
• Romanian (Romania)
• Spanish (Mexico)
• Spanish (Spain)
• Swedish (Sweden)
• Tamil (India)

Voice typing commands

Use voice typing commands to quickly edit text by saying things like "delete that" or "select that".

The following list tells you what you can say. To view supported commands for other languages, change the dropdown to your desired language.

• Select your desired language
• Chinese (Traditional, Taiwan)
• Croatian (Croatia)

German (Germany)

Note:  If a word or phrase is selected, speaking any of the “delete that” commands will remove it.

Punctuation commands

Use voice typing commands to insert punctuation marks.

Use dictation to convert spoken words into text anywhere on your PC with Windows 10. Dictation uses speech recognition, which is built into Windows 10, so there's nothing you need to download and install to use it.

To start dictating, select a text field and press the Windows logo key + H to open the dictation toolbar. Then say whatever’s on your mind.  To stop dictating at any time while you're dictating, say “Stop dictation.”

If you’re using a tablet or a touchscreen, tap the microphone button on the touch keyboard to start dictating. Tap it again to stop dictation, or say "Stop dictation."

To find out more about speech recognition, read Use voice recognition in Windows  . To learn how to set up your microphone, read How to set up and test microphones in Windows .

To use dictation, your PC needs to be connected to the internet.

Dictation commands

Use dictation commands to tell you PC what to do, like “delete that” or “select the previous word.”

The following table tells you what you can say. If a word or phrase is in bold , it's an example. Replace it with similar words to get the result you want.

Dictating letters, numbers, punctuation, and symbols

You can dictate most numbers and punctuation by saying the number or punctuation character. To dictate letters and symbols, say "start spelling." Then say the symbol or letter, or use the ICAO phonetic alphabet.

To dictate an uppercase letter, say “uppercase” before the letter. For example, “uppercase A” or “uppercase alpha.” When you’re done, say “stop spelling.”

Here are the punctuation characters and symbols you can dictate.

Dictation commands are available in US English only.

You can dictate basic text, symbols, letters, and numbers in these languages:

Simplified Chinese

English (Australia, Canada, India, United Kingdom)

French (France, Canada)

Spanish (Mexico, Spain)

To dictate in other languages, Use voice recognition in Windows .

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Voice   Generator

This web app allows you to generate voice audio from text - no login needed, and it's completely free! It uses your browser's built-in voice synthesis technology, and so the voices will differ depending on the browser that you're using. You can download the audio as a file, but note that the downloaded voices may be different to your browser's voices because they are downloaded from an external text-to-speech server. If you don't like the externally-downloaded voice, you can use a recording app on your device to record the "system" or "internal" sound while you're playing the generated voice audio.

Want more voices? You can download the generated audio and then use voicechanger.io to add effects to the voice. For example, you can make the voice sound more robotic, or like a giant ogre, or an evil demon. You can even use it to reverse the generated audio, randomly distort the speed of the voice throughout the audio, add a scary ghost effect, or add an "anonymous hacker" effect to it.

Note: If the list of available text-to-speech voices is small, or all the voices sound the same, then you may need to install text-to-speech voices on your device. Many operating systems (including some versions of Android, for example) only come with one voice by default, and the others need to be downloaded in your device's settings. If you don't know how to install more voices, and you can't find a tutorial online, you can try downloading the audio with the download button instead. As mentioned above, the downloaded audio uses external voices which may be different to your device's local ones.

You're free to use the generated voices for any purpose - no attribution needed. You could use this website as a free voice over generator for narrating your videos in cases where don't want to use your real voice. You can also adjust the pitch of the voice to make it sound younger/older, and you can even adjust the rate/speed of the generated speech, so you can create a fast-talking high-pitched chipmunk voice if you want to.

Note: If you have offline-compatible voices installed on your device (check your system Text-To-Speech settings), then this web app works offline! Find the "add to homescreen" or "install" button in your browser to add a shortcut to this app in your home screen. And note that if you don't have an internet connection, or if for some reason the voice audio download isn't working for you, you can also use a recording app that records your devices "internal" or "system" sound.

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If you like this project check out these: AI Chat , AI Anime Generator , AI Image Generator , and AI Story Generator .