The best text-to-speech tools of 2026: Expert tested

Text-to-speech (TTS) tools convert written text into spoken word using AI, which can increase accessibility and offer a shortcut to natural-sounding voice-overs for creative and professional projects. But not all TTS software is created equal -- though you're relying on AI, you don't want your audio to sound like AI. I went in search of the most user-friendly tools offering natural, humanlike voices for all your text-to-speech needs.

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What is the best text-to-speech tool right now?

I tested a long list of text-to-speech tools, and NaturalReader came out on top thanks to its wide range of voices, user-friendly interface, and custom features, like voice cloning and pronunciation guides -- all available for free. NaturalReader is an excellent choice for people looking to make text more accessible across platforms.

Speechify is a solid alternative for folks who want realistic text-to-speech on mobile for everything from web pages to e-books, while ElevenLabs has some of the best natural-sounding voices for voice-overs.

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The best text-to-speech tools of 2026

NaturalReader is a solid text-to-speech option for most people. It has dozens of voices to choose from, with support for roughly 100 languages and a simple, user-friendly interface across its web version and its mobile apps for iOS and Android. There's a browser extension for reading online text in Chrome, too. Users have access to standard voices at no cost and with no time or character limits, or you can pay $21 per month (or $119 for an annual subscription) to use "premium" and "plus" voices and gain the ability to download audio files. 

NaturalReader supports pasted or typed text, along with document and image uploads and linked web pages. You can bump speeds up to 5x, highlight text, and set sleep timers across platforms. NaturalReader also has accessibility settings, like dark mode and fonts, as well as the ability to filter out text elements such as brackets and URLs. 

NaturalReader's standard voices don't sound as, well, natural as those on other platforms -- in testing, I encountered awkward pacing and some pronunciation mistakes. That said, you can create custom pronunciation rules as well as clone your own voice. Especially as a free service, NaturalReader has a lot to offer people seeking TTS software for personal use.

NaturalReader features: Web and mobile apps | Chrome extension | 100 languages | Voice cloning | OCR camera scanning | Support for more than 20 text formats | Downloadable audio

• Free plan with no time or character limits
• More than 100 languages
• User-friendly interface

• Standard voices sound like AI

NaturalReader is a solid text-to-speech option for most people. It has dozens of voices to choose from, with support for roughly 100 languages and a simple, user-friendly interface across its web version and its mobile apps for iOS and Android. There's a browser extension for reading online text in Chrome, too. Users have access to standard voices at no cost and with no time or character limits, or you can pay $21 per month (or $119 for an annual subscription) to use "premium" and "plus" voices and gain the ability to download audio files. 

NaturalReader supports pasted or typed text, along with document and image uploads and linked web pages. You can bump speeds up to 5x, highlight text, and set sleep timers across platforms. NaturalReader also has accessibility settings, like dark mode and fonts, as well as the ability to filter out text elements such as brackets and URLs. 

NaturalReader's standard voices don't sound as, well, natural as those on other platforms -- in testing, I encountered awkward pacing and some pronunciation mistakes. That said, you can create custom pronunciation rules as well as clone your own voice. Especially as a free service, NaturalReader has a lot to offer people seeking TTS software for personal use.

NaturalReader features: Web and mobile apps | Chrome extension | 100 languages | Voice cloning | OCR camera scanning | Support for more than 20 text formats | Downloadable audio

Speechify is a close second to NaturalReader: It offers the best mobile experience of any software I tested and some of the most natural-sounding voices, including several AI-generated celebrities. You can use Speechify's TTS feature for free, though you'll have access to just 10 voices (robotic sounding) and speeds up to 1.5x. An upgrade to a paid subscription ($29 monthly for month-to-month plans or $12 per month if billed annually) comes with 200 natural voices in more than 60 languages, 5x speeds, offline downloads, unlimited file storage, and AI summaries of uploaded content.  

Speechify is available on the web, iOS, and Android, with extensions for Chrome and Microsoft Edge. You can import files from apps like Google Drive and Dropbox, type or paste text, scan documents, or paste web links. On mobile, you can connect to your Kindle library or purchase books to listen on the go. (Speechify has a separate app for human-narrated audiobooks.) 

You can trial Speechify's premium plan for seven days before committing to a subscription or switching to the free tier.

Speechify features: Web and mobile apps | Browser extensions | More than 60 languages | AI-generated celebrity voices | AI summaries | Support for multiple import formats | Guided onboarding

• Hundreds of natural-sounding voices to choose from
• Exceptional mobile experience
• AI summaries

• Limited features on free plan

Speechify is a close second to NaturalReader: It offers the best mobile experience of any software I tested and some of the most natural-sounding voices, including several AI-generated celebrities. You can use Speechify's TTS feature for free, though you'll have access to just 10 voices (robotic sounding) and speeds up to 1.5x. An upgrade to a paid subscription ($29 monthly for month-to-month plans or $12 per month if billed annually) comes with 200 natural voices in more than 60 languages, 5x speeds, offline downloads, unlimited file storage, and AI summaries of uploaded content.  

Speechify is available on the web, iOS, and Android, with extensions for Chrome and Microsoft Edge. You can import files from apps like Google Drive and Dropbox, type or paste text, scan documents, or paste web links. On mobile, you can connect to your Kindle library or purchase books to listen on the go. (Speechify has a separate app for human-narrated audiobooks.) 

You can trial Speechify's premium plan for seven days before committing to a subscription or switching to the free tier.

Speechify features: Web and mobile apps | Browser extensions | More than 60 languages | AI-generated celebrity voices | AI summaries | Support for multiple import formats | Guided onboarding

Though text-to-speech is built on natural language models, not all voices actually sound natural. ElevenLabs is an exception, with some of the most realistic voices I heard in testing. There are more than 1,000 options to choose from across more than 30 languages and dozens of styles (such as TV ads, newscaster, and narrator). 

ElevenLabs starts at $5 per month for 30 minutes of TTS and includes a commercial license. The $11 per month Creator plan comes with 100 minutes and the ability to buy credits for additional time. For $99 per month, the Pro plan includes 500 minutes and higher-quality audio, a solid option for podcasters, video editors, and other content creators. There is a free tier, but it's limited to just 10 minutes per month. Note that plan "credits" can also be used for conversational AI, and the more expensive plans include voice cloning. 

ElevenLabs' web app is built for creative projects, while the ElevenReader mobile app provides TTS for content imported via file upload, links, OCR scan, or pasted text. You can also subscribe to content feeds, essentially turning newsletters into podcasts. The apps are separate services and don't share content, but ElevenReader is completely free and an excellent choice for on-the-go listening.

ElevenLabs features: Web and mobile apps | 32 languages | AI-generated celebrity voices | Voice cloning | OCR camera scanning on mobile | Support for multiple import formats | Downloadable audio

• Thousands of natural-sounding voice options
• User-friendly interface
• Robust free mobile app

• Pricey

Though text-to-speech is built on natural language models, not all voices actually sound natural. ElevenLabs is an exception, with some of the most realistic voices I heard in testing. There are more than 1,000 options to choose from across more than 30 languages and dozens of styles (such as TV ads, newscaster, and narrator). 

ElevenLabs starts at $5 per month for 30 minutes of TTS and includes a commercial license. The $11 per month Creator plan comes with 100 minutes and the ability to buy credits for additional time. For $99 per month, the Pro plan includes 500 minutes and higher-quality audio, a solid option for podcasters, video editors, and other content creators. There is a free tier, but it's limited to just 10 minutes per month. Note that plan "credits" can also be used for conversational AI, and the more expensive plans include voice cloning. 

ElevenLabs' web app is built for creative projects, while the ElevenReader mobile app provides TTS for content imported via file upload, links, OCR scan, or pasted text. You can also subscribe to content feeds, essentially turning newsletters into podcasts. The apps are separate services and don't share content, but ElevenReader is completely free and an excellent choice for on-the-go listening.

ElevenLabs features: Web and mobile apps | 32 languages | AI-generated celebrity voices | Voice cloning | OCR camera scanning on mobile | Support for multiple import formats | Downloadable audio

If you're a content creator or other professional in need of voice-overs for your work, Murf is worthy of consideration. Start by creating a project from scratch or using one of the existing templates for presentations, promos, and podcasts, then upload scripts, select your AI voice, add media like images and music, and export the finished product in one of several formats. There are more than 200 voices to choose from, with a range of styles, like narration, newscast, and conversational.  

Murf subscriptions start at $19 per month, which includes five projects and 24 hours of voice generation per year. The Growth tier ($66 per month) expands to 50 projects and 97 hours annually, while a Business plan ($199 per month) lets you create 200 projects and generate 240 hours of voice-overs per year. Murf integrates with a range of productivity apps -- Canva, Google Slides, PowerPoint, and ChatGPT, to name a few -- and also has collaboration tools for teams on custom enterprise plans. 

In testing, some of Murf's voices sounded less natural and more like AI compared with those on Speechify and ElevenReader, but users can get granular with voice change settings like style, pitch, pauses, and custom pronunciation. Murf is probably overkill for basic TTS functionality, especially given its price, but it has plenty of useful features for creators.

Murf features: Web app | Basic mobile features | More than 20 languages | Voice styles | Integration with productivity apps

• Project and collaboration tools for teams
• More than 200 voices
• Media library

• Pricey

If you're a content creator or other professional in need of voice-overs for your work, Murf is worthy of consideration. Start by creating a project from scratch or using one of the existing templates for presentations, promos, and podcasts, then upload scripts, select your AI voice, add media like images and music, and export the finished product in one of several formats. There are more than 200 voices to choose from, with a range of styles, like narration, newscast, and conversational.  

Murf subscriptions start at $19 per month, which includes five projects and 24 hours of voice generation per year. The Growth tier ($66 per month) expands to 50 projects and 97 hours annually, while a Business plan ($199 per month) lets you create 200 projects and generate 240 hours of voice-overs per year. Murf integrates with a range of productivity apps -- Canva, Google Slides, PowerPoint, and ChatGPT, to name a few -- and also has collaboration tools for teams on custom enterprise plans. 

In testing, some of Murf's voices sounded less natural and more like AI compared with those on Speechify and ElevenReader, but users can get granular with voice change settings like style, pitch, pauses, and custom pronunciation. Murf is probably overkill for basic TTS functionality, especially given its price, but it has plenty of useful features for creators.

Murf features: Web app | Basic mobile features | More than 20 languages | Voice styles | Integration with productivity apps

If you don't want to sign up for a subscription, TTSMaker is a web-based alternative to your device's built-in TTS features. Simply copy and paste your text, select a voice, and hit Convert to Speech to get a downloadable audio file that's free for both personal and commercial use. You get up to 20,000 characters per week at no cost, or you can upgrade to a paid plan (priced at $10 per month, $20 per month, or $108 per month) for higher monthly and per-conversation character allowances. 

Additional settings let you add background music using various audio file formats as well as adjust audio quality along with voice speed, volume, and pitch. Voices are available in roughly 80 languages. In testing, TTSMaker sounded like AI, with odd pacing and some missed pronunciation. That said, it's a great no-cost option for converting text to audio that you can listen to on the go or use on platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and podcasts.

TTSMaker features: Web app | 80 languages | Adjustable voice settings | Downloadable files

• Web-based, no sign-up required
• Audio files can be downloaded
• Free for commercial use

• Voices are less natural

If you don't want to sign up for a subscription, TTSMaker is a web-based alternative to your device's built-in TTS features. Simply copy and paste your text, select a voice, and hit Convert to Speech to get a downloadable audio file that's free for both personal and commercial use. You get up to 20,000 characters per week at no cost, or you can upgrade to a paid plan (priced at $10 per month, $20 per month, or $108 per month) for higher monthly and per-conversation character allowances. 

Additional settings let you add background music using various audio file formats as well as adjust audio quality along with voice speed, volume, and pitch. Voices are available in roughly 80 languages. In testing, TTSMaker sounded like AI, with odd pacing and some missed pronunciation. That said, it's a great no-cost option for converting text to audio that you can listen to on the go or use on platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and podcasts.

TTSMaker features: Web app | 80 languages | Adjustable voice settings | Downloadable files

What is the best text-to-speech tool right now?

NaturalReader is my top pick for text-to-speech software that's easy to use and available at no cost, while Speechify provides a superior experience on mobile, with some of the most natural-sounding voices. 

Which text-to-speech tool is right for you?

Factors to consider when choosing the best text-to-speech tool:

When comparing text-to-speech software, you'll first want to consider what you'll be using it for, whether that's making written text in various formats more accessible or creating realistic voice-overs for professional projects. From there, you'll also want to compare services based on factors like the number of languages and voices offered (and how realistic they sound), whether there's a mobile app (or option to download audio for on-the-go listening), and price.

How did we test these text-to-speech tools?

To select the best text-to-speech software, I identified apps and services offering TTS for everything from increased accessibility, like reading content on your screen, to voice-over tools for content creators. Where possible, I tested multiple voices on each app using a short script as well as uploaded files and web links. I tested both web and mobile versions if available.

FAQs on text-to-speech tools

What is the most realistic text-to-speech tool?

In testing, ElevenLabs and Speechify had some of the most realistic voices, with accurate pronunciation and pacing -- ElevenLabs also has an extensive list of voices to choose from. A paid subscription with Natural Reader offers access to "premium" voices that may sound more realistic than its standard ones, and Murf's catalog also has realistic options.

Does my device have text-to-speech built in?

Yes, major operating systems and some productivity apps have built-in TTS and screen reader compatibility, so you don't necessarily need a third-party app or a paid service. On MacOS and iOS, users can enable Spoken Content, which reads what's on your screen or a selected portion of text, or VoiceOver, Apple's gesture-based screen reader. Android has Select to Speak, while the Windows screen reader is called Narrator. 

In Microsoft Word, you can use Immersive Reader to listen to text aloud, and Google apps can also be configured to work with screen readers. 

Note that built-in TTS tools typically don't have as many features as other software we reviewed and may have only one voice setting.

Other text-to-speech tools to consider

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