I have tested several text to speech software options and found that many of them sound quite artificial. The natural sounding voices are usually robotic and difficult to understand. This can be frustrating for users who rely on text to speech software to communicate. I then found out after I purchased this software, that there were several free texts to speech software that are free to use and have no restrictions. Below is a continually updated list of the best free text to speech software and methods.
Text to Speech Software 1: Windows 10
Windows 10 has a built-in text to speech generator and you can record the audio for later use. The downside is its not convenient, you will need to install 2 apps and change one setting in order for this to work.
- You will need to download and install One Not For Windows 10 as
- You will need to download and install Voice Recorder App
- You will need to change the sound settings to stero mixed input inorder to record the audio
To see here sample audio using this technique and to see the exact steps that you need to take in order to the recorded audio properly check out the video below for more details.
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Text to Speech Software 2: IBM Watson ( Little Known Method )
You can use IBM Watson to create a very high-quality voice from your text. The only downside to this method is that it is a little difficult to download the audio but by either following the steps below or watching the video you can easily get super high-quality voices for free. You need to follow the instructions very carefully inorder to download the audio files.
- First you need to go to IBM Watson and insert the text that you would like to convert. https://www.ibm.com/demos/live/tts-demo/self-service/home
- After you have produced your audio you need to right click on the page and inspect page.
- Open the Network tab and play your audio then find the media source and open and download your audio file
To hear a sample of Watson and watch step by step over my shoulder how to extract the files check out the video below for more details.
Text to Speech Software 3: E -Authoring Tool
This method is by far the least involved method. To use this method you will need to sign up and install a free E-authoring tool called Articulate 360. This software has many different features that make it easy to create eLearning modules, but for this particular task, we will just be using the screen recording feature. Once you have installed this software you will need to then install Storyline 360. When you have installed Storyline 360 all you need to do is scroll up and look for insert then click on the text to speech and insert your lines. Once you have created your audio you can simply right-click and export the audio to a destination of your choice.
Check out this video to see how to install the software and use export the audio files. Out of all the methods listed here, this one is the easiest to use and is the only one that supports text to speech for Indian English.
I am always looking for new methods to improve my productivity and efficiency. I update this list regularly as I find new techniques that work for me. Be sure to check back often for the latest tips! Also if you found the post helpful it would mean a lot if you could share or like this page as a free way to help encourage me to produce more great content.
