Note: These voices are property of Apple Computer, and are part of the Macintosh Operating System (Mac OS) for Apple Macintosh computers. They are not availa.
- Note: These voices are property of Apple Computer, and are part of the Macintosh Operating System (Mac OS) for Apple Macintosh computers. They are not avail.
- Jul 17, 2021 Speech Central: Text to Speech Download and Install for your computer - on Windows PC 10, Windows 8 or Windows 7 and Macintosh macOS 10 X, Mac 11 and above, 32/64-bit processor, we have you covered.
Whether you prefer articles read to you while you do something else or trying to grasp a new foreign language or even for specially abled students, TTS (short for text-to-speech) has proved to be very useful.
In our previous articles we saw some of the best text to speech apps for Windows and Android. And today, we take a look at some of the best TTS options available for Macs.
Text To Speech For Mac
1. macOS TTS
May 07, 2020 Free TTS for Mac is designed for users to convert text to speech in their Mac computers. Quite simple to use and you can process text to speech with natural voices. Free for commercial use and powered by advanced text-to-speech engines. Support more than 100 languages and voices. Support SSML tts. If text is selected when you press the keyboard shortcut, the selected text is spoken. Otherwise, available text items in the current window are spoken; for example, if Mail is the current window, an email message is read. If you set the option to automatically show the controller, it appears onscreen when your Mac starts speaking.
Before we get too ahead of ourselves and start downloading third party apps, it is very trivial to know that macOS itself comes with a built-in TTS and you can use it anywhere on your computer from the Notes app to any browser.
To get started, highlight or select the text which you want to be read and then right click, go to Speech and then to Start Speaking; and your Mac should start reading the text to you. It also supports a lot of other languages other than English and there are a lot of voices to choose from in all the languages. To change the language option simply go to Accessibility > Speech. Although some voices are very robotic, there are a few which aren’t and sound more like a human.
But the TTS is far from perfect; it is very basic and barebones and lacks options like pause/play, picking up from a selected word instantly and a lot more.
Quick Tip: It blew my mind and might even blow yours to know that the native TTS on Mac also supports converting your text into audio files. Just select the required text, right click and go to Services > Add to iTunes as a spoken track. The text will be converted to an audio track and added to your iTunes library.
Pros:
– Built-in system wide
– Lots of voice options
– Converting text to iTunes track
Cons:
– No Pause/Play
– Have to select manually all the words to be read
– No instant pickup
Verdict:
Overall, the TTS that comes with macOS is very barebones without all the bells and whistles and should be perfect for somebody looking for a basic TTS experience without even buying or installing any third party software.
2. Invicta TTS
Invicta TTS is a very simple free Text To Speech app available on the Mac App Store.
Once you open up the app, it presents you with a text box where you can enter or paste any text which will be then converted to speech. The app is very lightweight and minimal in nature with everything being to the point.
Although the app is very basic, unlike the built in TTS of Mac OS, it does add the option of playing or pausing the audio which becomes crucial when listening to long texts or articles. The voice settings cannot be changed but the in built voice does the job pretty good enough.
Pros:
– Minimal and Light
– Play/Pause Option
Cons:
– Cannot read documents automatically
– Supports only English
Verdict:
If you need a simple and light TTS app and might be listening to long articles, Invicta TTS does the job pretty well but do remember that it can only read English.
Link: Get Invicta TTS on the App Store
Price: Free
3. Natural Reader
The next app on our list is Natural Reader which is an extremely powerful TTS software available not only on Mac OS but also on Windows, iOS, Android and even has an online reader.
The app comes in many flavours, each with its fair share of features for the price. The free version comes with basic TTS features along with the ability to read directly from file formats such as Docx, PDF, ePub and Txt. It also has a floating bar which can be used to read text while you are in other applications. The next option or the Personal version, at a steep $100, allows you to read web pages directly, converting text to audio files and syncing everything between your phone apps. There are also Professional and Ultimate versions which add OCR support and a bunch of natural voices.
Pros:
– Support for file formats
– Convert to audio files
– Cross Platform
– OCR Support
Cons:
– Pricey
– No instant pickup
Verdict:
All the features of Natural Reader definitely come at a price and you should be able to decide whether it is a suit for you with respect to your investment in TTS, but even for a casual user the free version works really well. Overall, Natural reader is not just best text to speech software with natural voices, but since it also support PDF, it’s also a good option for those who are looking for PDF Voice Reader for macOS.
Pricing Options: Pricing for Natural Reader
Link: Download Natural Reader from here
4. Read Aloud
Read Aloud is not exactly a stand alone Mac app but instead a Chrome extension which might appeal to some people. /vex-coding-studio-mac-download/. Considering how many posts and articles are read on the internet everyday, we had to include Read Aloud.
It is completely free and once you install it, its icon will appear in the extension bar which you can now use to read any webpage or any online article, just by a single click. When it is in work, you get a play/pause button along with a forward or rewind button which can be used to advance or backtrack paragraphs. Considering it is free, the voice options are really good and feel very natural and premium.
Pros:
– Great natural voice
– Forward or rewind by paragraphs
– Listen to webpages
Cons:
– Works only on Chrome
Verdict:
Suggesting Read Aloud is very straight forward; if you are someone who reads a lot on the internet and are looking for a free TTS software for that, nothing beats Read Aloud.
Price: Free
Link: Download Read Aloud from the Chrome Store
5. Capti Voice
Capti Voice is probably the most polished and well rounded TTS software available for the Mac and the award are only there to justify that. Starting off, Capti Voice uses your browser for the app to function instead of a stand alone Mac application. Don’t worry, you can still use it while you are offline as it stores all its data locally and personally I have had no issues.
Capti Voice has a subscription based model and even the free version has a lot to offer from various file format supports to text search while the premium versions add features like creating playlists, OCR Support and intelligent dictionary lookup. The voices offered across all the platforms are very high quality and commendable.
Quick Tip: Don’t forget to use the Chrome extension which allows you to save articles or webpages to be read later by Capti Voice.
Pros:
– Cross platform with mobile apps
– Create Playlists
– Dictionary lookup
– Shortcuts to get around
Cons:
– No standalone app
– Syncs only when you add to cloud storage
Verdict:
Overall, Capti Voice is a really compelling app with features packed to the brim and is very similar to natural Reader but with a subscription based model. It is really the best TTS experience you can get on Mac OS.
Pricing Info: Pricing Options for Capti Voice
Link: Download Capti Voice from here
6. Honorable Mentions
CereProc has some of the most natural sounding computer speeches available on the market, which you can use to replace the default voice on your Mac (also available for other platforms). There are a lot of high quality voice packs to choose from and each costs around $35.
Download Text To Speech Audio
Zamzar is a free online service which you can use to convert your text to audio files or mp3s. Unlike the iTunes spoken track which you can use only on Apple devices, you can use it on any platform without any hassle.
Wrapping up: Best Text to Speech for Mac
So these were some of the TTS software available on the Mac and we hope we made your decision a little bit easier. If you are someone who reads mainly on the internet, Read Aloud is by far the best free option. Although a little limited, the built-in TTS feature seems to work just fine, but it can be a pain for long stretches of texts or long articles for which there is Invicta which is also free.
Natural Reader and Capti Voice both are spectacular TTS apps with a lot of plans to choose from, but I guess what it comes down to is the paying model. Natural reader is a one time purchase and should be better if you feel you will be invested in TTS for a long time whereas Capti Voice follows a subscription based model also with a one week free trial. Thanks for reading and do comment below which one is your favorite TTS app on Mac OS.
Read: Make your Devices Read Out Text, With Text to Speech
Key Features
Latest Version: 7.51
Rated 4/5 By 46 People
What does Speech Central: Text to Speech do? With over 10,000 licenses sold and consistent ratings above 4 stars Speech Central is one of the leading global text-to-speech brands. It was nominated for the best iOS accessible app in 2017 on AppleVis, the leading authority in the field of accessibility on Apple devices.appPicker: '.. is a game-changer, and is slowly transforming my life..'The app implements state of the art features for voice readers: ◦ The best in class support for the web sites / news reading. - listen to the all web pages - both articles and headlines (first ever) supported - RSS feeds - import from any app that can share a link like Safari or Twitter - open articles from headline pages - sync articles with Pocket◦ The widest support for documents/office and e-book formats◦ Knowledge and text annotation tools built-in◦ Export the text with annotations to the .docx format (Microsoft Office format - ISO standard supported by most apps)◦ Export the text to the audio file◦ Sync playlist items across Apple devices including with the iOS app and the current position in the text.◦ The app is tested to be accessible with VoiceOver by legally blind users. Bookshare, an accessible online library is integrated into the app.◦ The widest selection of keyboard shortcuts to control the speed and position of how the text is read aloud.◦ OCR function to import the from the scanned PDF◦ The app can be used with any of 27 languages that have text-to-speech support on macOS, and all major languages are supported for the full automatic recognition.Supported document types are: PDF (including scanned documents), Microsoft Word (.docx), Microsoft PowerPoint (.pptx), OpenOffice/LibreOffice (.odt, .odp), .html, .txt, .rtf, supported ebook formats are .epub, DAISY and .fb2 and emails in .eml format. All those formats will work only if a document has no DRM.Reinvent your life, if you are busy cut the time you spend in front of the screen and listen to the news articles, documents and e-books while you are doing housework or even commuting and jogging (by using the audio files).For people with visual impairments and disabilities like dyslexia this can be a great helper and assistive technology.Get the app now and enjoy the most convenient text-to-speech! Don't forget to check Speech Central for iOS - it has a free tier.You may consider to buy Labsii Suite on the Mac App Store where for slightly higher price you get the license for all 4 of our apps in the Store.Notes:* DRM protected books are locked to their respective vendor apps to protect the copyright and cannot be imported into the app * scanned PDF are supported only on macOS Catalina.*macOS High Sierra 13.6 contains the bug that prevents the app to create the longer audio files (it doesn't affect the reading just the option to create audio files). Other versions of macOS are not affected
Download Text To Speech To Mp3
Download for MacOS - server 1 --> $8.99Download Text To Speech Mac Shortcut
Text to speech software has become a common choice for many to read web contents, eBooks, PDF files, clipboard contents etc. It is very helpful for people suffering from dyslexia, students pursuing eLearning and even content editors who have to read a large amount of content on computers daily.
Related:
We will tell you about some awesome software for converting text to speech that are available online for free download.
1. Ivona- supports cloud service for recording
Ivona is very powerful and continuously evolving software for text to speech conversion. It has gained popularity for working well on every device.
Key features:
- Offers technical support during implementation process
- Good voice quality and accuracy in reading texts
- Available in many languages
- 51 kinds of voices are available
2. Natural Reader- compatible with PDF, word and webpage
Natural Reader can read any text for you, including webpage, PDF, word files, emails and various other sources.
Key features:
- Available for Windows and Mac operating systems
- Supports mp3 or wav files
- Offers syncing of multiple devices
- Over 11 languages and 50 voices
3. eSpeak- compact and open source
eSpeak is very useful software for text to speech conversion that can perfectly enunciate anything you type.
Key features:
- Can read out very complicated words
- Recognizes punctuations and advanced sentence structures
- Supports four different language styles
- Lightweight, size:2.28MB
4. Balabolka- easy to set voice parameters
It is a very potent software for text to speech conversion that supports saving of on-screen texts in various formats such as WAV, MP3, MP4 etc.
Key features:
- Control reading from system tray
- Can read text from AZW, AZW3, CHM, RTF files etc.
- Customizable font and background
- Supports over 25 languages
5. Panopreter- intuitive and easy to use GUI
Panopreter is free software that can read texts aloud form RTF, HTML, Document, web pages and many other sources.
Key features:
- Easily configurable speed of voice
- Can save text in WAV and MP3 formats
- Wide variety of language and speech supported
- Supported by Windows OS
6. DSpeech- has automatic speech recognition function
DSpeech is free software for text to speech conversion that supports automatic speech recognition functionality among various other exciting features.
Download Text To Speech App For Pc
Key features:
- Allows saving texts in WAV, MP3, WMA formats
- Supports dynamic voice change features
- Can dub movie subtitles
- Supports English, Spanish, French and many other languages
Text To Speech For Mac
7. iSpeech- translate speaking text easily
iSpeech is a multilingual text to speech converting software available for free.
Key features:
- High quality speech audio
- Can save texts in multiple formats like MP3, WAV, MP4 etc.
- Can translate speaking text in 7 languages
- Can read translated text in 18 languages
Download Text To Speech Mac Download
8. read aloud software
Text To Speech Software Mac Free Download
9. Panopreter Basic
10. Speakonia
This list contains information depending on key features and free versions provided by the text to speech software, based on current available information. We hope that you find this list useful while searching for text to speech software best suited for your need.