Read Aloud reviews

If you prefer to listen to articles or have a learning difference, such as dyslexia, text to speech (TTS) software can be a valuable tool. TTS also can make a fantastic educational add-on for families with small children learning to read picture books, older children with required book lists, or a read-aloud family homeschooling curriculum. When it comes to digital audio that adds educational value, it can feel like you’re limited to online videos or finding an appropriate podcast. 

Text to speech apps help you convert text from websites, digital files, or physical pages into audio files. Several TTS apps on the market assist those who prefer to or need to listen to words rather than read them. One of these popular apps is a TTS Chrome browser extension called Read Aloud. Keep reading to learn more about Read Aloud, the pros and cons of this app, and popular alternatives.

Read Aloud: A text to speech voice reader

Read Aloud is an open-source TTS software available as a Google Chrome and Firefox extension. This extension allows Chrome users to convert webpage text to audio on popular websites, including news sites, blogs, online course materials, and more. Users can access several listening options, including IBM Watson, Google Wavenet, Microsoft, and Amazon Polly voices. Read Aloud supports TTS in over 40 different languages.

Pros & cons of Read Aloud

Several factors make Read Aloud an appealing choice for those looking for TTS software. The app supports many different document types, including PDFs, Google Docs, ePub documents and more. Listeners can adjust the reading voice, speech, and pitch to their particular preferences. They even have their choice of several premium voices from popular services like Microsoft and Amazon. Playback keys make using shortcuts and quick controls simple, letting users pause, play, fast forward, and rewind easily. A free version of the app is available for use.

However, there are also a few drawbacks to the Read Aloud app. Some users find that the free voice options are robotic sounding, and accessing premium voices requires an additional fee to subscribe to the premium service. If Read Aloud users want to access all of the available upgrades that make the app optimal to use, they’ll have to purchase the premium version.

TTS alternatives to Read Aloud

While Read Aloud is a helpful text to speech tool, it’s not the only TTS app on the market. Users who want to hear text read aloud have several choices when it comes to text to speech software. With so many apps on the market, it’s just a matter of researching to find the best TTS app for your needs. Let’s look at some popular TTS apps that serve as alternatives to Read Aloud. 

Natural Reader

On the plus side, this app is reviewed well for being easy to use. It comes with more than 150 different text to speech options in over 20 languages. Users can convert PDFs, web pages, emails, text files, and more to speech. However, the free version of the app only gives users a stripped-down version of the available features. To gain full access, users must sign up for the premium version, which costs $100 annually.

Capti Voice

With the Capti Voice app, it’s possible to listen to any online article or document. One of its outstanding features is that you can even save articles and listen to them offline later. The app is known for being very user-friendly and is free for personal use. Unfortunately, customization options are limited unless you pay for the premium plan and premium voices. These features are priced separately, and users have to pay individually for the plan and voices. Even though several languages are supported by this app, the only one you’ll be able to listen to for free is English.

Snap & Read

This app is considered a helpful reading tool for many different reading needs. Snap & Read converts text from web pages, documents, images, PDFs, and other file types into speech in over 100 languages. While there is a free trial, a personal account costs $4 per month. The voice settings in this app are adjustable, but many users consider the voices overly robotic-sounding.

Speechify

Speechify is an amazing text to speech tool that provides listeners with powerful customization options to optimize their listening experience. With Speechify, you can turn articles, PDFs, websites, and more into audio. In fact, this TTS app can convert practically any file type to natural-sounding speech in over 30 different languages! 

If you’re looking for more ways to hear books read aloud, Speechify offers several options to convert text to audio. In addition, Speechify has full language options, voice settings, and reading speeds.  

Thanks to optical character recognition (OCR) technology, text from photos and screenshots can be scanned by AI and read aloud from the app. 

There are many options for text to speech apps, offering a wide range of features to appeal to users, no matter their listening needs. Whether you’re looking for an app that can read articles aloud or you want to turn almost any text into audio for your listening convenience, give Speechify a try! It’s the best text to speech app on the market and offers impressive customization options for listening to any text as speech. Try Speechify now!