Want to turn e-books into audiobooks? Let’s get into some of the more sophisticated text to speech Kobo solutions and see what they have to offer.

How to access text to speech with Kobo

Kobo e-readers do not have built-in text to speech functionality. In fact, they even lack speakers, so it’s impossible to work any kind of text to speech (TTS) solution into them. 

However, before you decide to give up on e-books altogether and pay for the most premium Audible plan instead, we ought to tell you that there are other ways to have your Kobo files narrated to you. Namely, while Kobo e-readers may lack TTS options, there are always Kobo apps for mobile devices that do have TTS options, and they will do the trick just fine.

That might be sufficient for the most loyal Kobo fans among you, but those who like switching things up and giving, say, the good old Kindle a go every now and then will be somewhat disappointed. Why? Well, Kobo apps are limited to Kobo files only. 

But don’t worry. You can always turn to third-party apps that will do the job just as well without limiting you to one format. Now, you can effortlessly both read books and listen to audiobooks with Kobo thanks to text to speech apps.

eReader devices with text to speech

Before we get into the software of eReader devices, we ought to see what kind of hardware we’re dealing with and what kind of TTS options they offer. Unfortunately, eReaders don’t usually come with built-in speakers—so most of the time, you’ll need a Bluetooth speaker/headphones or another device like a mobile phone, tablet, or computer.

Without further ado, here are the most popular eBook readers besides Kobo that you can hook up with some kind of app to turn your e-books into audiobooks:

Kindle

We start off with the undisputed champion of e-readers: Amazon’s Kindle. All Kindle devices from 7th gen and up (including the Kindle Paperwhite and Kindle Touch) feature something called VoiceView from Amazon. To cut a long story short, VoiceView is an assistive reading feature that lets you hook your device up with a Bluetooth speaker via WiFi and enjoy your favorite stories in audio format.

Pocketbook eReader

Coming in second is Pocketbook. Much like Kindle, the newer generations of Pocketbook have brought excellent firmware updates featuring some pretty nifty TTS options. The voices Pocketbook offers are authentic, and you can choose from about 30 different languages. That makes Pocketbook a versatile e-learning tool, for example.

Onyx Boox Reader

Third, we have the Onyx Boox Reader. What sets this one apart from the crowd is its user interface and the plethora of customization options that will accommodate all users’ needs. Among those options are TTS features, some of which are designed specifically to aid those with reading difficulties, making Onyx a perfect choice for everyone looking for accessibility first and foremost. 

Text to speech apps

Now that we have hardware out of the way, we can look into the trending text to speech software solutions:

NaturalReader

NaturalReader is a quite natural-sounding TTS software solution. It’s also user-friendly, versatile, and available on all platforms, both as a plugin and actual app. In other words, it will make your reading experience quite seamless.

Speech Central

Coming in second is Speech Central, a fantastic app you can download from your app store of choice right now. The app works with files of all formats and lets you choose from a plethora of different languages and accents, allowing you to enjoy your e-books like never before.

Speechify

And now, the creme de la creme of all TTS apps—Speechfify. 

If everything we’ve said about other competitors caught your attention, well, let’s just say Speechify does it all and more. Supporting over a dozen languages and featuring countless customization options (voices, accents, speech rate, DRM—you name it), as well as supporting text and e-book files of all formats, Speechify is simply the number one choice for text to speech.

Speechify is designed for everyone in mind, including avid book readers, people with visual impairments, anyone with reading difficulties like dyslexia, and even multitaskers.

Kobo, Kindle, Nook, it doesn’t matter which eBook reader you use—Speechify has you covered. Simply make use of the intuitive user interface and all the available parameters to create the audiobook you’ve envisioned right now.

Speechify can be found on Google Play for Android and the App Store for iOS (iPhone, iPad). Additionally, you can use Speechify on your Windows or Mac computers as well as an in-browser extension for Chrome, Safari, and Firefox.

FAQs

Can Kobo do text to speech?

Text to speech features are rather underutilized in the realm of e-readers. We’re used to it with Kindle, and it’s actually one of the key features that set Amazon’s e-reader apart from the competition, such as Kobo and Nook. But even Kindle doesn’t support TTS with all of its models. Actually, most e-readers out there don’t support TTS, period. 

However, you can turn any Kobo book into an audiobook with the help of Speechify.

Skim pages on your Kobo eReader

Skimming pages on Kobo e-readers is pretty straightforward:

• When reading, simply tap on your screen (the middle portion of it) and wait for the menu to show up.
• Then, drag the circle icon left and right along the navigation bar to skim through the whole e-book (you’ll see page previews right in the middle of the screen).
• Once you’ve found the desired page, simply tap on the preview to jump to it.

Can the Kobo app read aloud?

Of course! You can use the Kobo Books app on your computer or mobile device to listen to audiobooks, but you cannot do that in the Kobo Desktop app.

Do eReaders have text to speech?

Unfortunately, only a handful of e-reader apps have TTS support built into them, and no actual e-reader can provide you with proprietary, first-party TTS options. Fortunately, you can somewhat bypass the issue and use your computer or mobile device to download third-party text to speech apps like Speechify that will do the trick just fine.