Alternatives to intelligent speaker text to speech

There are a multitude of text-to-speech apps that you can use online. Searching Google will show you hundreds of results but we've curated only the top 5.

Intelligent Speaker is a popular TTS reader that busy people, or those with learning disabilities, use to read web pages and other text documents. This article will compare its features with those of its competitors to find the best text reader. These include Speechify, NaturalReader, eSpeak, ReadSpeaker, Amazon Polly, and TextAloud. Our criteria for comparison will include the following popular features:

• The ability to select text and have it read aloud
• Ability to read text aloud in a natural-sounding human voice
• Variable reading speed
• Cross-platform and device integration
• Ease of installation and use

About Intelligent Speaker text to speech alternatives

Intelligent Speaker is a popular text-to-speech browser extension. It speaks in a human-like voice with real-life emotions. It works in 20 languages, on most common document formats. The synthesized audio may be downloaded and listened to offline at your choice of speed. Intelligent Speaker reads your articles and documents while you work out. It helps you work more efficiently, but it has issues. User complaints include being charged after canceling. When asking for text support, they have received “email inbox is full” responses. It won’t read text selections, and there is a delay before it starts reading. Still, let’s look at this popular solution and its alternatives.

Intelligent speaker functionality and voice assistance 

Intelligent Speaker is a popular choice for TTS because of its functionality. Its features include:

• Reading in a human-like voice with emotional inflection

• Automatically detects text on a web page or local HTML file

• Speaks in 20 different languages

• Downloadable synthesized audio

• Listen offline if desired

• It reads at the speed you select

Now, let's compare some alternatives to Intelligent Speaker.

Intelligent Speaker Alternatives

1. Speechify 

Speechify is the #1 text-to-speech reader and surpasses Intelligent Speaker in many ways. This is because how it handles the transcription of written text with its proprietary machine learning algorithms. Its natural-sounding AI voices make the reading experience more pleasing for people with dyslexia or other learning disabilities. Founded in 2016, Speechify is a highly rated plugin with more than a million downloads. Its powerful feature set makes it easy to listen to the text being read aloud at any time or place.

• It’s a free Chrome extension - It reads through docs, articles, PDFs, and email. Don’t have time to read your social media? Speechify will read it for you.

• Works on Mac and Windows. This TTS reader has a free version anybody can download and use immediately.

• Excellent tutorials are one of the many avenues of support in its vibrant community.

• Works on PDFs, DOCX, TXT, ePUB, and Google Docs

Need something more powerful? Speechify’s premium version includes:

• Syncs across all your devices, including the web, iOS, and Android

• Need to read a real book? Just snap a picture, and Speechify will OCR it, then read it aloud.

• Human-based premium support makes it easy to get any problem fixed quickly.

• You can read any text on your Apple iOS and Android device. It boosts your understanding by enabling you to focus better. Now you can breeze through content at 2-3x the normal speed.

• Note taking support to clip snippets for later.

This popular speech app is one of the most downloaded plugins on Google. It has a million downloads and an average of 4.4 stars from more than 83k reviews. The numbers don’t lie. Give it a try.

2. NaturalReader

Want an easy-to-use speech-to-text app that reads your text out loud? NaturalReader has natural-sounding voices that are read aloud in high-quality voices. This allows users to focus completely rather than being distracted by robotic voices. If you like multitasking in real-time, NaturalReader’s speech engine has lifelike speech. Its reading speed is easily adjusted. Other features include common abilities such as the choice between different voices. Users can control the playback speed, and it will convert text to an MP3 for easier listening later. Although high quality, it lacks the feature set of Intelligent Speaker or Speechify.

3. ReadSpeaker

ReadSpeaker can read in 50+ languages and has 200+ voices. It highlights the text as you read along and blocks out the rest of the page. Tweak this and more in your personalized settings. Want to listen to an audio version of your text reader? Download an MP3 to listen on the go. The major drawback is its cost, which is prohibitive to most individuals. This software is best used at scale by technologists developing apps.

4. eSpeak

eSpeak is only available on Linux and Windows. You have to be tech-savvy to use this free software. It does automate reading and has a speech API that can use SSML(Speech Synthesis Markup Language). This text-to-speech software offers advanced features such as translating the text into phoneme codes. This free open-source software is only usable by tech-savvy Microsoft or Linux users.

5. Amazon Polly

This cloud-based service has custom voice technology. Using deep learning, it makes voiceover easily accessible. Its pricing makes it inaccessible to individuals. This solution is better suited for programmers with a specific use case. For example, their mobile app might use the custom voice generator to transcribe text. If you are looking for ease of use, this won’t work on your iPhone, but it is a powerful messaging tool. If you want to use it to study, it doesn’t work in your web browser as easily as Speechify or Intelligent Speaker.

6. TextAloud (Now ReadAloud)

ReadAloud is a Chrome plugin that supports 40+ languages. It converts any browser text to audio, reading in a natural-sounding speech tone. Like most voice readers, it reads text files such as ePub. It also creates audio files you can download and listen to later like you would a podcast. It has more than a million downloads on the Chrome web store, with a lower rating than Speechify. Also, iPad users will find it more difficult to use than Speechify due to iOS limitations.

Why Speechify

Most of the plugins we’ve discussed don’t have Speechify’s ease of use and wide range of capabilities. Speechify remains the gold standard of natural-sounding AI voices because:

• The free browser extension reads any web page, or plain text, including social media feeds

• It’s easy to use and compatible with any text format, including OCR

• It’s the perfect assistant for learning for dyslexic or visually impaired people. Now anybody can read at 220wpm or higher if they choose. This is a common way to process text faster.

• Real people provide customer support. Get live tech support rather than waiting for somebody to get back to you by email.

• Can speak in exclusive languages like Japanese

• Speaks in languages like Portuguese, Vietnamese, Swedish, Dutch, Spanish, Italian, and English

Conclusion - Speechify is the best alternative to Intelligent Speaker

Out of all the solutions we’ve examined, Speechify is the most full-featured alternative because it includes Intelligent Speaker’s functionality and much more. Here are some of the features that make it the best option:

• The free plugin reads at 220 WPM(1.1x), scanning and listening to any printed text.
• It saves your content across all your iOS and Android devices.
• Priority support - Get VIP support and connect to a real person on the Speechify team when needed

• Read up to 900 WPM

• Speak in Natural voices to make your listening more enjoyable

• Premium text extraction using cutting-edge OCR technology augmented by AI deep learning

• Provide comprehensive note-taking tools.

In conclusion, we hope this article helped you find a solution that meets all your needs.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the advantages of an Intelligent Speaker alternative?

Many of the alternatives discussed are powerful but must be configured. This makes them difficult to use. On the other hand, Speechify is incredibly easy to use. That’s why it has more than a million downloads and tens of thousands of good reviews. The freemium version is powerful. It enables neurodivergent students will complete their required reading while doing other tasks.

What is the main problem with current speakers?

The sound quality may lack in many intelligent speakers. They may be subject to common speaker problems. People often complain of audio distortion, popping sounds, and (poor bass or treble). Fixing these problems is easy if you adjust the output channels and lower the volume. Be careful, though. If you start playing at high volume, it may instantly blow out your speakers.

What are some of the benefits of intelligent speakers?

Out of all the speakers in this article, Speechify is the easiest to configure. Its documentation is easy to understand, and real people provide technical support. Its exceptional functionality is available on Android and Windows. Use it to read any web page out aloud. If you or somebody you love is neurodivergent, consider a TTS reader. Enjoy the benefits of having text read out loud while doing other things like cooking or working out. A TTS Reader has variable reading rates if you like to listen at a faster speed. This allows you to consume more information faster. It will change their life and give them a new love of reading. {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What is the most realistic text-to-speech tool?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Both Amazon Polly and Speechify offer extremely accurate, lifelike, and human sounding voices. However, Amazon's complicated pricing model makes Speechify a better choice for affordable and realistic text-to-speech. "}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Which is the best text-to-speech app?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"The best text-to-speech app is the one that works for your unique needs. There are many options available on the market, each with different pros and cons. The best way to find the right app for you is to try them out and see which one fits. "}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Is there a website that reads text to you?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Any text-to-speech app or browser extension can read basic text to you in the form of .WAV files, MP3 files, and other types of audio files. "}},{"@type":"Question","name":"What is the best free text-to-speech online tool?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"The best text-to-speech online app for free is Speechify's trial version. Even though Balabolka is completely free, the program lacks several important features that Speechify offers at no cost."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Which speech apps have the best human voices?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"NaturalReader, Speechify, and Amazon Polly have the most lifelike human-sounding voices of all text-to-speech applications. Polly's Neural Text-to-Speech (NTTS) makes it a leading choice, with Speechify coming in close behind. "}},{"@type":"Question","name":"What is the best text-to-speech software for recording podcast audio files?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Most popular text to speech programs can record podcast audio files that can be edited and uploaded to podcast listening platforms like iTunes and Spotify. Text-to-speech tools are a great way to get started with podcast recording if you are uncomfortable speaking aloud or if you do not have high-quality podcast recording equipment available to you."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"What is the best text-to-speech reader for Android and iOS?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"There are multiple options for text to speech readers on iOS and Android. Which you choose depends largely on what features you need and whether you want to use the application in a browser or an app. Try on several for size and keep the one you like best."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Which natural-sounding speech synthesis tools use deep learning or e-learning for custom voice generation?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"The most technologically advanced text-to-speech applications are arguably Amazon Polly and Speechify. Both use state-of-the-art deep learning and artificial intelligence to generate natural-sounding, human-like voices that can read aloud any document."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Which is the most lifelike speech tool for personal use?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"If you need a text-to-speech application for personal use with lifelike speech, NaturalReader and Speechify are both excellent options."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Which text-to-speech apps have the best celebrity speech voices?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Speechify has the most comprehensive list of popular celebrity voices available on any text-to-speech application. Popular celebrity voices users can choose from include A-list celebrities like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Gwyneth Paltrow, and more."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Where can I find the best text-to-speech online tutorials?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"There are many Internet tutorials available for the wide variety of text-to-speech tools available on the market. Some of the best text-to-speech online tutorials can be found on YouTube and other similar video platforms. "}}]}