Have any text read aloud — articles, emails, study notes, drafts you want to proofread by ear. Pick from the voices installed on your device, set the speed and pitch, and press Read aloud. The speech is generated by your operating system's own engine, so your text never leaves the device and it works without an internet connection.
How it works
Browsers expose the system speech engine through the Web Speech API. This tool lists only voices that your browser reports as local (installed on the device) so that nothing is sent to a cloud service. Long passages are split into short sentences behind the scenes, which keeps playback reliable across browsers and lets Pause and Resume respond instantly.
Getting better voices
- Windows: Settings → Time & Language → Speech → Add voices. Natural voices are available for many languages.
- macOS / iOS: System Settings → Accessibility → Spoken Content → System Voice → Manage Voices, then download Enhanced or Premium voices.
- Android: Settings → Accessibility → Text-to-speech output → install voice data for Google Speech Services.
- ChromeOS and Linux ship basic voices; Chrome on these platforms may list fewer local options.
Useful for
- Proofreading — hearing a draft reveals missing words and clumsy sentences your eyes skip over.
- Listening to articles or documents while cooking, commuting or resting your eyes.
- Language learning: slow the speed to hear pronunciation clearly.
- Accessibility for dyslexia, low vision or reading fatigue.
How to use the Text to Speech
- 1Paste your text. Type or paste up to 50,000 characters into the text box.
- 2Pick a voice. Choose one of the local voices on your device; the language is shown next to each name.
- 3Adjust speed and pitch. Slow down for clarity or speed up to skim. Set the volume.
- 4Read aloud. Press Read aloud. Use Pause, Resume and Stop as needed.
Frequently asked questions
- Can I download the speech as an MP3?
- Not from this tool. Browser speech synthesis plays audio directly and doesn't expose a file. On a desktop you can record the system output with the Screen Recorder tool or your OS recorder, then extract the audio.
- Why do I see 'No local voices available'?
- Your browser only exposes online voices, or none at all. Install an offline voice from your OS accessibility settings (see above) and reload; Chrome on Linux and some Android browsers may still show none.
- Why does the voice list differ between browsers?
- Each browser decides which system voices to expose. Safari and Edge usually offer the most natural voices on their own platforms; Firefox uses the OS defaults.
- Does it support other languages?
- Yes — any language for which a voice is installed. Pick a voice whose language code matches your text for correct pronunciation.
- Is my text sent anywhere?
- No. Only device-local voices are offered, so synthesis happens on your computer or phone and the text is never transmitted.