5 Best Alternatives to Natural Reader Text to Speech in 2024

Natural Reader stands out through its compatibility with various file formats, including Microsoft documents, podcasts, and YouTube videos. It also incorporates OCR (Optical Character Recognition) to extract text from images and effortlessly convert it into speech. This enables an immersive reading experience accessible on various devices, including computers, mobile phones, Kindles, and through the mobile application.

Moreover, this software presents an additional convenient option accessible through web browsers without needing any downloads. This online version permits real-time text conversion into speech, supporting diverse formats, including PNG images and headers.

Let's explore the top alternatives that are currently available today:

Speechify: Top alternative with lots of features

Speechify is an excellent alternative to Natural Reader, offering many features, including text conversion, natural voices, and compatibility with multiple formats such as MP3 files and PDF documents.

Whether operating on Mac, Windows, iOS, or Android, Speechify is readily accessible on mobile devices and desktops. It is further complemented by a convenient Chrome extension, facilitating swift reading of web pages, documents, and more.

The user-friendly interface, high-quality voices, and solid, proven product establish Speechify as a preferred choice if you seek a seamless text-to-speech experience.

Speechify key features

• Listen anywhere: Speechify is available on iOS, Android, and Windows and also offers Chrome and Edge extensions.
• Offline listening: You can listen to any text with no internet connection. This is only available on Premium Plans.
• Languages: 30+ languages with multiple voices.

Speechify pricing

• Free Plan: 10 standard reading voices.
• Premium Plan: $139/month with 30+ voices and 20+ languages.

TTSReader: Cheapest option in the market

TTSReader is a free online Text to Speech (TTS) reader that allows you to listen to text from various sources, aiding in proofreading, accessibility, language learning, and more. It offers multilingual and natural-sounding voices with options for customization and supports multiple platforms.

This is a helpful tool for listening to various content, proofreading, reading web pages, turning ebooks into audiobooks, reading along for speed and comprehension, and generating audio files from text.

TTSReader key features

• Platform availability: Windows and iOS browsers, Chrome extension, and mobile apps for iOS and Android.
• MP3 downloads: Only on Windows
• Commercial rights: Yes, only on the Premium Plan.

TTSReader pricing

• Free Plan: Online text to speech player and web extension.
• Premium Plan: $2/month with commercial rights, audio recording, and premium support.

Murf: The alternative with unlimited downloads

Murf.ai AI is an advanced AI voice generator that allows you to create human-like voiceovers quickly and easily for various applications, eliminating the need for expensive recording equipment and voice artists. Murf goes beyond a TTS tool; it is a complete platform to create human-like voiceovers for explainer videos, presentations, audiobooks, podcasts, games, and more.

Murf also allows for pitch, punctuations, emphasis, and speed adjustments to customize the AI-generated voices according to your preference.

You can add video, music, or images to synchronize with the chosen voice, enhancing the overall content. This is a unique feature not available on Natural Reader. Murf has a vast library of 8000+ licensed soundtracks to enhance audio files.

Murf key features

• Language support: 20+ languages and 120+ voices, some with multiple accents.
• Voice management: Cloning, voice changer, pitch, and more adjustments.
• Integrations: Canva integration and proprietary API
• Team management: 5+ users on Enterprise Plan.
• Commercial rights: Yes, with no limitations.

Murf pricing

• Free Plan: 120+ voices, 10 minutes of voice generation, 10 minutes of transcription, and sharing audio/video output links.
• Basic Plan: $ 19 per user/month (billed annually) with 60 primary voices, access to 10 languages, 24 hours of voice generation per user/year, collaborative workspace, licensed soundtracks, and more.
• Pro Plan: $26 per user/month (billed annually). It offers unlimited downloads, access to all 120+ voices, 20+ languages, 48 hours of voice generation per user/year, 24 hours of transcription per user/year, AI voice changer, and advanced support.

TextAloud: The platform with a one-time payment option

TextAloud  is a powerful text-to-speech software for Windows that converts text from various sources into natural-sounding speech. It uses Windows voices that are already installed on your PC.

The software also offers a range of high-quality voices from companies like Acapela™, Ivona™, Cerence™, and AT&T Natural Voices™. To use any of these, you must purchase them separately. Additionally, TextAloud aids communication for individuals with vocal impairments through NextUp Talker, a software designed specifically for people who have lost their voice.

TextAloud is a good and simple program for personal use. Since this is downloadable software, you don't need an internet connection.

TextAloud key features

• TTS: It converts text from documents, webpages, PDF files, and more into natural-sounding speech.
• Voices option: TextAloud offers the best, natural TTS voices from companies like Acapela™, Ivona™, Cerence™, and AT&T Natural Voices™.
• Languages: Supports more than 29 languages and various accents.
• Platform support: Only available for Windows.

TextAloud pricing

• One-time payment: $34.95
• Premium voices are sold separately.

MicMonster: The simplest and straightforward TTS solution

 

MicMonster offers an accessible and user-friendly platform that converts text into realistic audio for applications like e-learning, podcasts, audiobooks, presentations, and YouTube videos. It also provides an advanced editor and a wide range of voices in multiple languages.

While testing the software, we experienced a straightforward process: typing or pasting text, selecting a voice, and clicking "Generate" to convert text into speech. MicMonster does an excellent job as a TTS tool. Still, it lacks voice cloning, a helpful feature you can find in other alternatives.

MicMonster key features

• Languages: 140+ languages and 600+ voices.
• Multi-voice: You can assign different voiceovers to different script parts.
• Voice management: Fine-tune rate, pitch, emphasis, emotions, and pauses to create the ideal voice tone.
• Custom pronunciations: Add your preferred phonemes to improve pronunciation.

MicMonster pricing

• MicPro Max Quarterly: $39/quarter, offering features like unlimited characters, 140 languages, 600+ voices, unlimited projects, up to 12k characters per clip, advanced editor, and commercial license.
• Pro Max Annual: $119/year (with a current discount of $59.5), with features similar to the quarterly Plan.
• Pro Max LTD (Lifetime): A lifetime plan priced at $799 (with a current discount at $399.5), featuring 1 million characters per month, 140 languages, 600+ voices, unlimited projects, up to 12k characters per clip, advanced editor, and commercial license

Conclusion

There are various alternatives available for text-to-speech solutions that offer a range of options for an enriched reading experience. From diverse narrator voices and language selections to compatibility across different platforms, these platforms can be a good choice for those looking for something different.

While Natural Reader is a popular software, there are other options that stand out with their unique features, broad compatibility, and flexible pricing. For instance, Speechify offers dynamic features, and Murf is versatile. It's worth trying these options to evaluate and determine which one is the best for your needs.