- Speech Recognition Software Reviews
- Best Free Speech Recognition Software For Mac
- Best Speech Recognition Software
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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.
Dragon speech recognition software is better than ever. Speak and your words appear on the screen. Say commands and your computer obeys. Dragon is 3x faster than typing and it's 99% accurate. With Dragon Dictate speech recognition software, you can use your voice to create and edit text or interact with your favorite Mac applications. Far more than just speech-to-text, Dragon Dictate lets you create and edit documents, manage email, surf the Web, update social networks, and more - quickly, easily and accurately, all by voice.
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.
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
Speech Recognition Software Reviews
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.
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
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.
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
Have you noticed that writing down the notes, thoughts, or ideas usually spend more time when you are in a meeting or in working? So, the time that you spent in handwriting could be applied to accomplish more jobs. So you absolutely need high-tech software to help you.
Alike in video making, are you still using the text adding tools to add them one by one with your hand? With the development of technology, a new function has been created - speech & text convert in video editing. Do you want to know to convert your speech to text in video editing software? You can keep on reading the following text.
Part 1. Best Speech to Text Software on Windows
There are many voice converter in Windows. But in this part, I will show you the top 3 speech-to-text converter software on Windows.
#1. EaseUS Video Editor
EaseUS Video Editor is a free video editing software on Windows. Being a powerful video editor, this app provides a lot of video editing tools, and it's very easy to use. Whatever you are a beginner or professional that you can create a perfect video by clicking some simple buttons. Except for the basic editing functions, this software also supports an advanced function - Speech & Text Converter that you can see this program as a powerful conversion software. So, this program not only supports converting your voice to text and also can help you to convert your video, for example, you can convert video to audio, convert video to other file formats, and so on. If you have to need to convert video voice to text and editing video, you may not miss this video editing app.
Pros:
- Support Speech & Text Convert function
- Allows users to add voiceover to video
- Support adding text effect
- Support editing text content, size, color and more
How to convert voice to text using EaseUS Video Editor:
Step 1. Import Video
Click Import button, and import the video in the timeline.
Step 2.Apply Speech & Text Convert Function
Select the video in the timeline, then click Speech & Text Convert button, waiting a minute, you will get the converted text.
Step 3.Export video
When you finish the convert, you also can edit the text you convert, then click the Export button to save and export your video.
#2. Windows 10 Speech Recognition
Windows 10 Speech Recognition is a built-in voice coversion software in Windows. If you use a Windows 10 device, the AI voice recognition assistant from Microsoft and Windows 10 Speech Recognition work together to help you convert your text.
In Windows 10 Speech Recognition, you can press 'Windows + H' or use Cortana to bring up Windows 10 voice command to start voice-to-text converting operation. At present, this voice to text converter app supports eight languages, including Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Spanish.
Key Features:
- Support converting speech to text
- Support free to use
#3. Dragon Home
Dragon Home is designed for PC, and this program helps you get more work done, such as dictating homework, sending out emails, writing down reminders, and so much more voice work. Dragon Home integrates your specific voice on your computer and helps to convert your voice as a message to text with 99% accuracy.
When you finish the conversion, you can also apply this software with its editing feature to modify errors that were produced during the converting process. Dragon is compatible with both Windows and Mac, that you can format and edit all text just by using your voice.
Key Features:
- Support converting voice to plenty of languages
- Support playback to make editing easy
Part 2. Best Voice to Text Software on Mac
Apple Dictation is an Apple's built-in Dictation feature powered by Siri, ships as a part of Apple's desktop and mobile operating systems.
When you use this app on mobile devices, you need tap the microphone icon on the stock keyboard. And on desktop, you can turn it on by navigating to System Preferences > Keyboard > Dictation.
At present, Apple Dictation supports 20 languages. Apple's default Dictation supports 31 languages, such as English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, and so on.
Key Features:
- Support creating your own voice commands and vocabulary
- Support dictation
- Support converting speech to text
- Support applying grid overlays
Part 3. Best Voice to Text Software Online
If you do not want to download or install any software on your computer, why not have try some online tools. In this part, I will introduce you to two online software, there are:
#1. IBM Speech to Text
IBM Speech to Text has powerful real-time speech recognition that makes this app a popular voice-to-text software online. This app can translate the audio from 7 languages.
This program even can work with low-quality audio to identify the voice to convert it into text. And this app also can identify different speakers in your audio and turn the sound to the text as needed. This software also supports Value-add transcription features, using speaker labels, smart formatting, keyword spotting, numeric redaction, and word timestamps to format and organize your convert text.
Key Features:
- Supportkeyword spotting
- Support word timestamps
- Support a lot of languages conversion
#2. Temi
Temi is a free, advanced speech recognition and voice convert online software. As an audio-to-text converter, this software can accept audio and even most types of video files.
Using Temi, you can edit your convert text and share them. The best part of this conversion tool is that you can save and export your converted text from the app to MS Word, PDF, and many other formats. Temi also provides an editing function that you can review your transcript with timestamps and speakers.
Key Features:
- Support uploading massive audio and video files
- Support reviewing your transcript with timestamps and speakers
- Support exporting and saving your transcript as PDF, SRT, VVT, and more
Best Free Speech Recognition Software For Mac
Part 4. Conclusion
After reading this page, have you learned more about voice to text technology? Although voice-to-text convert has most use in meeting and working, that converting voice to text in the video has more needs on the Internet. This kind of new technology still needed more development.
Best Speech Recognition Software
EaseUS Video Editor, as a piece of video editing software, applies the text-to-voice technology in video editing, making converting speech to text or vice versa is easy for you. Don't miss it!