Text to Speech

Reading text aloud with your browser's built-in voices

This tool speaks any text you give it using the voices already on your computer or phone. It is handy for proofreading by ear, learning pronunciation, creating quick voiceovers, or making content accessible to people who prefer to listen. There is nothing to install — the speech comes from your operating system through the browser.

How browser text-to-speech works

The tool uses the Web Speech Synthesis API (speechSynthesis and SpeechSynthesisUtterance). When you click Speak, it wraps your text in an utterance, applies your chosen voice, rate, and pitch, and hands it to the browser, which renders the audio through your system's speech engine. The list of voices is read from getVoices() — and because that list can load asynchronously, the tool refreshes it when the browser signals new voices are ready.

Why the available voices vary

The voices are not part of this website — they belong to your operating system. That is why the dropdown looks different on Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android, and even between browsers on the same machine. You can add more by installing additional language packs or accessibility voices in your system settings; they will appear here automatically the next time you load the page.

Browser support

Speech synthesis is widely supported — it works in Chrome, Edge, Safari, and Firefox on desktop and mobile — provided your OS has at least one installed voice. It is far more universally available than the reverse direction (speech recognition), which is limited to certain browsers. If you hear nothing, confirm your system has a TTS voice and that your output volume is up.

Saving the output

The API plays audio but does not give you a file to download. If you need an audio file, play the speech while capturing it with a recorder — the SnapTools Audio Recorder can grab the sound, and the Audio Trimmer can tidy the ends. For studying or proofreading, though, live playback is usually all you need.

Tips for natural-sounding speech

• Match voice to language. Use an en-US voice for English text, an es-ES voice for Spanish, and so on, for correct pronunciation.
• Keep pitch near default. Extreme pitch settings sound robotic; small adjustments are usually enough.
• Use punctuation. Commas and periods create natural pauses, making the reading easier to follow.
• Split long text. Shorter passages avoid browser length limits and are easier to replay.

Related media tools

• Audio Recorder — record the speech as it plays to turn this voiceover into a saved file.
• Audio Trimmer — tidy the start and end of a captured voiceover before you use it.
• Speech to Text — the mirror tool, going from spoken words back to editable text.