Listen to any text read aloud. Paste your text, choose a voice, set the speed and pitch, and press Speak. It uses your browser's built-in voices, so it is free and private.
Available voices depend on your device and browser. If no voices appear, try Chrome or Edge, or check your device language settings.
1. Type or paste your text. 2. Choose a voice from the list. 3. Set the speed and pitch, then press Speak. Press Stop to stop the reading at any time.
Text to speech, or TTS, turns written words into spoken words. You paste any text, choose a voice, and your device reads it aloud. This free text to speech tool uses the voices already built into your browser, so there is no download, no sign-up and no cost. It is useful for listening to articles while you walk, for learning how words are pronounced, for proofreading your own writing by hearing it, and for people who find reading on a screen difficult.
Listening to text is often easier than reading it. Students listen to their notes to remember them better, writers hear mistakes in their work that their eyes missed, and language learners hear the correct pronunciation of new words. Because the reading happens on your own device, your text stays private and is never uploaded anywhere. You can change the speed to listen slowly while you learn, or faster when you want to get through a long article quickly.
Paste this sentence into the box above: "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog." Choose any English voice, leave the speed at 1 and press Speak. You will hear the sentence read aloud clearly. Now set the speed to 0.5 and press Speak again: the same sentence is read slowly, word by word, which is useful when you are learning English. Then set the speed to 1.5: the sentence is read quickly, which is useful when you want to listen to a long article in less time. Try a long paragraph from your own work next and listen for words that sound wrong: those are often spelling or grammar mistakes.
This tool uses the speechSynthesis feature built into modern browsers. When you press Speak, the browser takes your text, splits it into words and sentences, and turns it into sound using a voice installed on your device. The voice list depends on your device: Windows, Mac, Android and iPhone each have their own voices, and Chrome and Edge usually offer more than other browsers. Speed is measured in multiples of normal speed, so 0.5 is half speed and 2 is double speed. Pitch changes how high or low the voice sounds, from 0 (very low) to 2 (very high).
Use it to proofread. Listen to your essay or email before you send it: mistakes you cannot see are often easy to hear. Slow down for new words. Set the speed to 0.7 when you are learning a language, so you can hear each word clearly. Pick a voice you like. Try different voices in the list until you find one that is easy to listen to. Break long text into parts. Very long articles are easier to listen to in sections, with a short break between them. Use headphones in public. Listening on a bus or in a library is polite and clearer with headphones.
Suppose you are learning English and want to hear how the word "entrepreneur" is pronounced. Paste the sentence "The entrepreneur started a small business in 2020." into the box above, choose an English voice, set the speed to 0.7 and press Speak. You will hear each word slowly and clearly. Listen twice, then repeat the sentence aloud yourself. Now paste a paragraph from a news article and set the speed to 1.2: you can listen to the whole paragraph in less time while still understanding it. Slowing down for new words and speeding up for easy text is the best way to use this tool for learning.
Pasting a whole book at once. Very long text is hard to follow by listening, so break it into sections. Using the fastest speed to learn. At double speed you will miss new words, so slow down when you are learning. Ignoring punctuation. The reader pauses at full stops and commas, so text without punctuation sounds rushed and confusing. Expecting a human voice. Computer voices are clear but not perfect, and they can misread names, numbers and abbreviations. Forgetting to check the volume. Make sure your sound is on and your volume is up before you press Speak, or you will hear nothing.
Pro Tip: Paste your own writing into the tool and listen to it. Words that sound wrong are often spelling mistakes or sentences that are too long.
Note: Voices are provided by your device and browser, not by this website. The list of voices is different on Windows, Mac, Android and iPhone.
What is text to speech? Text to speech (TTS) is technology that reads written text aloud in a spoken voice. You type or paste text, and your device speaks it for you.
Is this text to speech tool free? Yes, it is completely free, with no sign-up and no limit on how much text you listen to.
Why are there no voices in the list? Voices come from your device and browser. If the list is empty, try Chrome or Edge, or check that your device has a language pack installed. Some browsers load voices a few seconds after the page opens.
Can I download the spoken audio as an MP3? This tool plays the speech live in your browser and does not save an audio file. You can use your device's screen recorder to record the sound if you need it.
Can it read text in other languages? Yes, if your device has a voice for that language. Paste text in that language and choose a matching voice from the list.
Does my text leave my device? No. The speech is made on your own device by your browser. Your text is never uploaded or stored anywhere.
Can this tool read a whole article aloud? Yes, but long articles are easier to listen to in sections. Paste a few paragraphs at a time and press Speak for each part.
Why does the voice sound robotic? The voice is made by your device's speech software, not by a human. Newer devices and browsers usually have more natural-sounding voices.