This is my preferred software solution on Mac OS for text to speech. With Natural Reader 16, the desktop app is finally on par with the webapp. It is basically the webapp but wrapped in an app container, the one exception is that the desktop app includes what was formerly known as the Floating Bar, which is now called the Miniboard and resides under the overflow menu 'More', a feature I use a. Mac: Text To Speech v.1.0 This is a T2S or 'Text To Speech' application that will allow Mac OS X 10.5 users to type in any text into the text box then hear. IPubsoft Text to ePub Converter for Mac v.2.1.0 iPubsoft Text to ePub Converter for Mac can give you an effortless method to switch TXT files to ePub eBooks for reading on portable.

Whether you prefer articles read to you while you do something else or trying to grasp a new foreign language or even for specially abled students, TTS (short for text-to-speech) has proved to be very useful.

In our previous articles we saw some of the best text to speech apps for Windows and Android. And today, we take a look at some of the best TTS options available for Macs.

Text To Speech For Mac

1. macOS TTS

Before we get too ahead of ourselves and start downloading third party apps, it is very trivial to know that macOS itself comes with a built-in TTS and you can use it anywhere on your computer from the Notes app to any browser.

To get started, highlight or select the text which you want to be read and then right click, go to Speech and then to Start Speaking; and your Mac should start reading the text to you. It also supports a lot of other languages other than English and there are a lot of voices to choose from in all the languages. To change the language option simply go to Accessibility > Speech. Although some voices are very robotic, there are a few which aren’t and sound more like a human.

But the TTS is far from perfect; it is very basic and barebones and lacks options like pause/play, picking up from a selected word instantly and a lot more.

Quick Tip: It blew my mind and might even blow yours to know that the native TTS on Mac also supports converting your text into audio files. Just select the required text, right click and go to Services > Add to iTunes as a spoken track. The text will be converted to an audio track and added to your iTunes library.

Pros:
– Built-in system wide
– Lots of voice options
– Converting text to iTunes track

Cons:
– No Pause/Play
– Have to select manually all the words to be read
– No instant pickup

Verdict:
Overall, the TTS that comes with macOS is very barebones without all the bells and whistles and should be perfect for somebody looking for a basic TTS experience without even buying or installing any third party software.

2. Invicta TTS

Invicta TTS is a very simple free Text To Speech app available on the Mac App Store.
Once you open up the app, it presents you with a text box where you can enter or paste any text which will be then converted to speech. The app is very lightweight and minimal in nature with everything being to the point.

Although the app is very basic, unlike the built in TTS of Mac OS, it does add the option of playing or pausing the audio which becomes crucial when listening to long texts or articles. The voice settings cannot be changed but the in built voice does the job pretty good enough.

Pros:
– Minimal and Light
– Play/Pause Option

Cons:
– Cannot read documents automatically
– Supports only English

Verdict:
If you need a simple and light TTS app and might be listening to long articles, Invicta TTS does the job pretty well but do remember that it can only read English.

Link: Get Invicta TTS on the App Store

Price: Free

3. Natural Reader

The next app on our list is Natural Reader which is an extremely powerful TTS software available not only on Mac OS but also on Windows, iOS, Android and even has an online reader.

The app comes in many flavours, each with its fair share of features for the price. The free version comes with basic TTS features along with the ability to read directly from file formats such as Docx, PDF, ePub and Txt. It also has a floating bar which can be used to read text while you are in other applications. The next option or the Personal version, at a steep $100, allows you to read web pages directly, converting text to audio files and syncing everything between your phone apps. There are also Professional and Ultimate versions which add OCR support and a bunch of natural voices.

Text To Speech Download Mac

Pros:
– Support for file formats
– Convert to audio files
– Cross Platform
– OCR Support

Cons:
– Pricey
– No instant pickup

Verdict:
All the features of Natural Reader definitely come at a price and you should be able to decide whether it is a suit for you with respect to your investment in TTS, but even for a casual user the free version works really well. Overall, Natural reader is not just best text to speech software with natural voices, but since it also support PDF, it’s also a good option for those who are looking for PDF Voice Reader for macOS.

Pricing Options: Pricing for Natural Reader

Link: Download Natural Reader from here

4. Read Aloud

Read Aloud is not exactly a stand alone Mac app but instead a Chrome extension which might appeal to some people. Considering how many posts and articles are read on the internet everyday, we had to include Read Aloud.

It is completely free and once you install it, its icon will appear in the extension bar which you can now use to read any webpage or any online article, just by a single click. When it is in work, you get a play/pause button along with a forward or rewind button which can be used to advance or backtrack paragraphs. Considering it is free, the voice options are really good and feel very natural and premium.

Pros:
– Great natural voice
– Forward or rewind by paragraphs
– Listen to webpages

Cons:
– Works only on Chrome

Verdict:
Suggesting Read Aloud is very straight forward; if you are someone who reads a lot on the internet and are looking for a free TTS software for that, nothing beats Read Aloud.

Price: Free

Link: Download Read Aloud from the Chrome Store

5. Capti Voice

Capti Voice is probably the most polished and well rounded TTS software available for the Mac and the award are only there to justify that. Starting off, Capti Voice uses your browser for the app to function instead of a stand alone Mac application. Don’t worry, you can still use it while you are offline as it stores all its data locally and personally I have had no issues.

The application comes with support for DRM layer to the music collection and known as one of the best environments to deal with protection of the digital media. Tuneskit spotify converter free.

Capti Voice has a subscription based model and even the free version has a lot to offer from various file format supports to text search while the premium versions add features like creating playlists, OCR Support and intelligent dictionary lookup. The voices offered across all the platforms are very high quality and commendable.

Quick Tip: Don’t forget to use the Chrome extension which allows you to save articles or webpages to be read later by Capti Voice.

Pros:
– Cross platform with mobile apps
– Create Playlists
– Dictionary lookup
– Shortcuts to get around

Cons:
– No standalone app
– Syncs only when you add to cloud storage

Verdict:
Overall, Capti Voice is a really compelling app with features packed to the brim and is very similar to natural Reader but with a subscription based model. It is really the best TTS experience you can get on Mac OS.

Pricing Info: Pricing Options for Capti Voice

Link: Download Capti Voice from here

6. Honorable Mentions

Download Text To Speech To Mp3

CereProc has some of the most natural sounding computer speeches available on the market, which you can use to replace the default voice on your Mac (also available for other platforms). There are a lot of high quality voice packs to choose from and each costs around $35.

Zamzar is a free online service which you can use to convert your text to audio files or mp3s. Unlike the iTunes spoken track which you can use only on Apple devices, you can use it on any platform without any hassle.

Download Text To Speech Machine

Wrapping up: Best Text to Speech for Mac

So these were some of the TTS software available on the Mac and we hope we made your decision a little bit easier. If you are someone who reads mainly on the internet, Read Aloud is by far the best free option. Although a little limited, the built-in TTS feature seems to work just fine, but it can be a pain for long stretches of texts or long articles for which there is Invicta which is also free.

Natural Reader and Capti Voice both are spectacular TTS apps with a lot of plans to choose from, but I guess what it comes down to is the paying model. Natural reader is a one time purchase and should be better if you feel you will be invested in TTS for a long time whereas Capti Voice follows a subscription based model also with a one week free trial. Thanks for reading and do comment below which one is your favorite TTS app on Mac OS.

Read: Make your Devices Read Out Text, With Text to Speech

Key Features

Latest Version: 7.51

Licence: $8.99

Mac Speech To Text Software

Rated 4/5 By 46 People

What does Speech Central: Text to Speech do? With over 10,000 licenses sold and consistent ratings above 4 stars Speech Central is one of the leading global text-to-speech brands. It was nominated for the best iOS accessible app in 2017 on AppleVis, the leading authority in the field of accessibility on Apple devices.appPicker: '.. is a game-changer, and is slowly transforming my life..'The app implements state of the art features for voice readers: ◦ The best in class support for the web sites / news reading. - listen to the all web pages - both articles and headlines (first ever) supported - RSS feeds - import from any app that can share a link like Safari or Twitter - open articles from headline pages - sync articles with Pocket◦ The widest support for documents/office and e-book formats◦ Knowledge and text annotation tools built-in◦ Export the text with annotations to the .docx format (Microsoft Office format - ISO standard supported by most apps)◦ Export the text to the audio file◦ Sync playlist items across Apple devices including with the iOS app and the current position in the text.◦ The app is tested to be accessible with VoiceOver by legally blind users. Bookshare, an accessible online library is integrated into the app.◦ The widest selection of keyboard shortcuts to control the speed and position of how the text is read aloud.◦ OCR function to import the from the scanned PDF◦ The app can be used with any of 27 languages that have text-to-speech support on macOS, and all major languages are supported for the full automatic recognition.Supported document types are: PDF (including scanned documents), Microsoft Word (.docx), Microsoft PowerPoint (.pptx), OpenOffice/LibreOffice (.odt, .odp), .html, .txt, .rtf, supported ebook formats are .epub, DAISY and .fb2 and emails in .eml format. All those formats will work only if a document has no DRM.Reinvent your life, if you are busy cut the time you spend in front of the screen and listen to the news articles, documents and e-books while you are doing housework or even commuting and jogging (by using the audio files).For people with visual impairments and disabilities like dyslexia this can be a great helper and assistive technology.Get the app now and enjoy the most convenient text-to-speech! Don't forget to check Speech Central for iOS - it has a free tier.You may consider to buy Labsii Suite on the Mac App Store where for slightly higher price you get the license for all 4 of our apps in the Store.Notes:* DRM protected books are locked to their respective vendor apps to protect the copyright and cannot be imported into the app * scanned PDF are supported only on macOS Catalina.*macOS High Sierra 13.6 contains the bug that prevents the app to create the longer audio files (it doesn't affect the reading just the option to create audio files). Other versions of macOS are not affected

Download for MacOS - server 1 --> $8.99