Where do the voices come from?

They are the speech voices installed in your browser and operating system, not voices supplied by this site. That is why the list differs between Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, and Chrome, and why some devices offer many languages while others offer few.

Can I download the audio as an MP3?

No. The Web Speech API plays audio live through your device and does not expose a recording. There is no file to save. If you need an audio file, you would record the output separately or use a dedicated synthesis service.

Why does nothing happen when I press Play?

If your browser does not support speech synthesis, the tool shows a notice instead of controls. Otherwise, check that text is present, your system volume is up, and a voice is selected. Voices sometimes load a moment after the page, so the dropdown can fill in slightly late.

Yes. Synthesis runs locally through the browser API, so the text stays on your device and is not uploaded. You can safely read out private notes or unpublished drafts.

What do rate and pitch actually change?

Rate is the speaking speed, from 0.5x (half speed) to 2x (double). Pitch is how high or low the voice sounds, from 0 to 2 with 1 as normal. They are independent, so you can have a slow low voice or a fast high one.

FREE · RUNS IN YOUR BROWSER

Text to speech reader

Turn any text into spoken audio. Paste your words, choose from the voices installed on your device, adjust the speaking rate and pitch, then press Play. Pause and resume whenever you like.

Text to read

What you can use it for

Listening to your own writing is one of the fastest ways to catch clumsy sentences and missing words, so this reader is handy for proofreading essays, emails, and scripts. It also helps with studying when you would rather listen than read, and it makes long articles easier to follow for anyone who finds screens tiring.

Your text stays private

The reader uses the speech engine that already ships with your browser and operating system. Nothing you type is uploaded or saved. Everything happens on your device, so you can read sensitive notes or drafts without sending them anywhere. The list of voices comes straight from your system, which is why it differs from one device to the next.

About the Text to Speech Reader

The text to speech tool reads your text aloud using the speech voices already built into your browser and operating system. Paste a passage, choose a voice, set the speaking rate and pitch, and press Play. It speaks through your device's own synthesiser, which means the available voices, languages, and accents are the ones your system provides.

It is handy for proofreading by ear, where hearing a sentence read back catches awkward phrasing and missing words that the eye glides over. It also helps with accessibility, learning pronunciation, or simply resting your eyes while you listen. Because it uses the browser's Web Speech API, nothing you type is sent to a server, and there is no audio file to download: playback happens live.

How to use it

Paste or type the text you want read aloud into the main text box.
Open the Voice dropdown and pick a voice. The list comes from your own system, so it varies by device and may include several languages.
Set the Rate slider between 0.5x and 2x to slow the reading down or speed it up.
Set the Pitch slider between 0 and 2 to make the voice lower or higher.
Press Play to start, use Pause and Resume to hold your place, and Stop to cancel and reset.

Examples

Proofreading an email by ear

Paste a draft reply, leave rate at 1.0x, and press Play. Hearing it read back, you notice you wrote 'the the' and that one sentence runs on too long. You pause, fix the text in place, and play again to confirm it now flows cleanly.

Slowing down for pronunciation

Paste a tricky foreign place name, choose a voice in that language from the dropdown, and drop the rate to 0.6x. The slower, clearer delivery lets you mimic the pronunciation. Raising the pitch slightly can make some system voices easier to follow.

Frequently asked questions

Where do the voices come from?: They are the speech voices installed in your browser and operating system, not voices supplied by this site. That is why the list differs between Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, and Chrome, and why some devices offer many languages while others offer few.
Can I download the audio as an MP3?: No. The Web Speech API plays audio live through your device and does not expose a recording. There is no file to save. If you need an audio file, you would record the output separately or use a dedicated synthesis service.
Why does nothing happen when I press Play?: If your browser does not support speech synthesis, the tool shows a notice instead of controls. Otherwise, check that text is present, your system volume is up, and a voice is selected. Voices sometimes load a moment after the page, so the dropdown can fill in slightly late.
Is my text private?: Yes. Synthesis runs locally through the browser API, so the text stays on your device and is not uploaded. You can safely read out private notes or unpublished drafts.
What do rate and pitch actually change?: Rate is the speaking speed, from 0.5x (half speed) to 2x (double). Pitch is how high or low the voice sounds, from 0 to 2 with 1 as normal. They are independent, so you can have a slow low voice or a fast high one.

Good to know

Quality and behaviour depend heavily on the underlying system voices. Some platforms ship rich, natural-sounding voices while others sound noticeably robotic, and the same settings can produce different results across two devices. If a voice sounds poor, try another entry in the dropdown before adjusting rate and pitch.

For proofreading, a slightly faster than normal rate often works well: it is quick enough to keep momentum but still slow enough that errors stand out when the words do not match what you intended. Long passages can be split with Pause and Resume so you can stop, edit, and continue without losing your place. Browsers occasionally cut off very long single utterances, so if a lengthy block stops early, break it into shorter sections and play them in turn.