How browser text to speech works
Modern browsers include a speech synthesis feature (part of the Web Speech API) that turns written text into spoken audio. When you press play, your text is handed to the speech engine built into your browser or operating system, which generates the voice.
This tool is a simple front end for that feature. The voices you see depend on your device, operating system and browser. A phone, a Windows laptop and a Mac usually list different voices, and some browsers include extra ones. Nothing is guaranteed to be available on every device, so the list in the Voice drop-down is the only authority for what you can use.
Whether audio is created locally or by a network voice depends on the voice your browser selects, so check your browser or system documentation if that matters to you. This website does not upload your text itself.
When reading text aloud helps
Hearing a draft read back is a good way to catch awkward phrasing, missing words and repeated words that your eyes skip over. Many writers proof an email or a speech this way.
It can also help people who find long on-screen text tiring, or who want to follow along while doing something else. Language learners use it to hear how a sentence is pronounced, especially if their device has a voice for the language they study.
Presenters sometimes test how a script sounds and how long it runs before speaking it. Because you can change the speed, you can listen faster to skim or slower to follow difficult material.
How to use the tool
- Type or paste your text into the large text box. It starts with a short sample sentence.
- Open the Voice drop-down and choose a voice. Each option shows a name and a language code, and the list depends on your device.
- Move the Speed slider between 0.5x and 2x. The current value is shown next to it, and the default is 1.0x.
- Click Speak to start reading. While it is speaking, the Speak button is disabled.
- Click Stop to cancel the speech at any time.
If your browser has no speech synthesis support, the tool shows a message suggesting Chrome, Edge or Safari instead of the controls.
Limits and practical tips
The tool has Speak and Stop only. There is no pause or resume button, no way to adjust pitch or volume, and no option to save the audio as a file. If you want a recording, you would need to capture your device audio with other software.
If the Voice list is empty, wait a moment and reload, because some browsers load voices a short time after the page opens. If the voice changes between devices, that is expected, since the voices come from your system.
Speech engines read punctuation as pauses, so adding commas and full stops improves rhythm. Numbers, abbreviations and unusual names may be pronounced oddly. Spelling things out, as in a phonetic version, can help for a one-off reading. Very long text may behave differently across browsers, so for long documents, try reading in sections. To go the other direction, the Speech to Text tool converts your voice into written text.