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A text-to-speech (TTS) solution is a specialized application that can read written text on your desktop, tablet, phone, or another device. While it is primarily helpful for the visually impaired or those with learning disabilities, TTS applications can be used by users who are learning a new language, learning to speak a new language, or prefer to listen to the audio instead of reading through multiple lines of text.
Since the user does not have to concentrate or need 100% of their attention, text-to-speech comes in handy. TTS applications usually use AI voices or automated computer-generated voices to read out a particular text aloud. In contrast, the more premium application has a sound that is very close to human speech.
Since multiple AI text-to-speech tools in the market offer very similar features, we've put together a list of the top 10 text-to-speech tools in 2022, including free and paid options that you can consider using.
Listnr
Listnr is one of the top text-to-speech platforms that uses a state-of-the-art speech synthesis system powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Deep-Learning algorithms to reproduce the most human-sounding audio from your text.
The use of AI and deep learning enables the platform to learn and understand human interactions and nuances and help capture audio that has its unique vocal style, accurate pronunciations, and over 600+ different voices in 75+ different languages.
This comprehensive support for multiple languages and the option to use unique voices help Listnr stand out from the other text-to-speech apps on the list. It is also competitively priced for its numerous features.
Price: Starting $15 per month to $75 per month for the top package.
Amazon Polly
From the brand that gave us Alexa, the voice-activated assistant, Amazon Polly is another offering from the tech giant that provides an intelligent text-to-speech system. It uses deep-learning techniques to turn text into lifelike speech and is ideal for creating a speech-enabled app that works with a broad set of languages and works in different countries.
Price: Free for the first 12 months and includes 5 million characters per month for text-to-speech conversion. After, you'll be charged $4 per 1 million characters of speech or Speech Marks requests. Neural Voices are priced at $16 per million characters for speech.
MURF
MURF is an AI-enabled voice generator that specializes in making studio-quality voiceovers that can be used for podcasts, videos, or professional presentations.
The app can use your script voice recording to be covered into hyper-realistic AI voices and provides voices trained by professional voiceover artists. It supports 19 languages and provides 100+ voice options that you can use as per your requirements.
Price: MURF starts from a free plan that allows you to use all 100+ voices to generate 10 minutes of voice generation or transcript, while the Basic ($13 per month), Pro ($26 per month), and Enterprise ($69 per month) offer advanced features like access control, team collaboration and more.
Voice Dream Reader
Voice Dream Reader is a text-to-speech platform specifically built for Apple users (iOS or macOS) and offers premium Acapela Heather voice.
The app supports 30+ languages and 200+ voice options. It includes Reading Modes, Audio and Visual Controls, Library Manager, and OCR built-in to provide a complete text-to-speech solution on mobile or Apple devices.
Price: Free version is available, while the advanced version for iOS is $14.99 per month.
Natural Reader
Natural Reader is a text-to-speech tool built for personal use for readers who want to use the solution to learn a new language or dyslexic readers.
It has a simple interface and built-in OCR (Optical Character Recognition) that enables users to upload photos or scans of text that can also be read out.
Price: Includes a 7-day free trial, followed by a Single plan of $49 per month or a Team Plan (4 users) of $79 per month.
Play.ht
Play.ht is an AI-powered Text to Voice Generation tool that uses synthetic voices from other AI-speech solutions offered by Google, Amazon, IBM, and Microsoft. It has almost 600+ AI-generated voices with support for 60+ languages and includes features such as Voice Generation and Audio Analytics.
The tool is ideal for larger teams and those looking for export audio to be supported in multiple formats.
Price: The base plan, i.e., the Personal plan, starts at $14.25 per month, followed by Professional ($29.25 per month), Growth ($74.25 per month), and Business ($149.25 per month).
Azure Text to Speech
A text-to-speech offering by Microsoft, Azure Text-To-Speech is an ideal solution for developers who want an augmented TTS solution with other cognitive features that is ideal for use with the Azure platform.
This platform includes 110+ voices and support for 45+ languages, with flexible deployment and realistic voiceovers for text.
Price: Free version offers an extensive 5 audio hers per month and multiple other features, while the Pay Per use starts at $1 per audio hour or a standard plan that starts at $1600 per month for 2000 audio hours.
iSpiring Suite
iSpring Suite is an e-learning content creation platform with a built-in text-to-speech tool for converting text into voiceover for a course or tutorial video.
The platform is great when building courses, quizzes, and screen share recordings. The text-to-speech tool includes 300+ natural voices and supports 52+ languages.
Price: $770 for iSpring Suite basic (no TTS tool) and $970 for iSpring Suite Max (which includes the $397 per month Text-To-Speech tool).
Google Cloud Text-to-Speech
Google's Text-To-Speech is another cognitive AI-based tool that offers developers a free tool to integrate with Google's other apps and platforms and allows users to synthesize natural-sounding speech with over 100+ voices.
The tool is built to be part of customized offerings like chatbots, support solutions, and other use cases, which come with an easy-to-use API that can make interactions lifelike across applications and devices.
Price: The Standard voices start at $4.00 per 1 million characters, WaveNet voices at $16.00 per 1 million characters, and Neural2 voices at $16.00 per 1 million characters.
Speechelo
Speechelo is a great cloud-based text-to-speech solution that provides natural voice sounds and expressions. The solution offers 30+ human-sounding voices with male and female options, which is helpful for sales videos, training videos, educational videos, or any other requirement.
It also includes breathing pauses and voice tones while being compatible with video creation software like Camatasia, Adobe Premiere, iMovie, and others.
Price: One-time payment of $47 with a 60-day money-back guarantee.
Conclusion
Text-to-speech technology is becoming increasingly important and comes with deep-learning mechanisms that provide accurate and reliable outputs. When considering the best text-to-speech solution, you need to consider the expected accuracy, expected quality of output, and add-on features that will help make your experience smooth and simple.
Listnr is an app that generates high-quality text-to-speech audio in seconds. This makes it the ideal tool for converting text inputs into stellar audio formats, which podcasters, agencies, and freelancers can use to create exceptional audio experiences. To find out more about Listnr reach out to us and get started with Listnr for free!