How to use Text to Speech
Convert any text to natural-sounding speech directly in your browser using the Web Speech API's SpeechSynthesis interface — no audio files are uploaded and no external API calls are made. Choose from all voices installed on your device, adjust the speaking rate (0.5× to 2×) and pitch, then play, pause, or stop playback at any time. Perfect for proofreading by ear, language learning, accessibility workflows, and hands-free content consumption on any device.
- Type or paste the text you want to hear into the input field.
- Select a voice from the dropdown — all voices installed on your operating system appear automatically.
- Adjust the rate slider (0.5× for slow to 2× for fast) and the pitch slider to your preference.
- Click "Speak" to begin playback.
- Click "Pause" to pause mid-sentence or "Stop" to cancel playback entirely.
Your data never leaves your device — 100% private processing.
How Web Speech API SpeechSynthesis works
The browser's SpeechSynthesis API delegates synthesis to the speech engine built into the operating system. On Windows it uses the Microsoft Speech Platform (SAPI 5 and later, including neural voices on Windows 11); on macOS and iOS it uses Apple's speech framework; on Android it uses Google Text-to-Speech. The API accepts a SpeechSynthesisUtterance object carrying the text, selected voice, rate, pitch, and volume. Because synthesis is performed by the OS or browser engine locally, no text or audio ever leaves the device.
Choosing the right voice and playback rate
Most operating systems include several regional language voices; Windows 11 and macOS Ventura ship high-quality neural voices that sound significantly more natural than older concatenative voices. For proofreading, a neutral voice at 1.0× speed makes errors easier to catch by ear. For content consumption, 1.5× to 1.75× lets you absorb material faster without losing comprehension. A pitch below 1.0 produces a deeper, more authoritative tone; above 1.0 sounds lighter. Language learners benefit from a native-accent voice at 0.7× speed to catch pronunciation nuances.
| Rate | Approx. words per minute | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| 0.5× | ~70 wpm | Accessibility, careful listening |
| 1.0× | ~140 wpm | Normal speech, proofreading |
| 1.5× | ~210 wpm | Fast content consumption |
| 2.0× | ~280 wpm | Skimming familiar material |
Glossary
- SpeechSynthesis
- The Web Speech API interface that converts text to spoken audio using the device's built-in text-to-speech engine, requiring no external API calls or uploads.
- SpeechSynthesisUtterance
- A JavaScript object representing a single TTS request, holding the text content plus voice, rate, pitch, and volume configuration properties.
- Rate
- The speaking speed multiplier in SpeechSynthesis: 1.0 is normal speed, 0.5 is half-speed (slower and clearer), and 2.0 is double-speed (faster).
- Neural voice
- A TTS voice generated by a deep learning model, producing more natural-sounding speech than older concatenative or formant-based synthesis methods.
- Utterance
- A single unit of speech output in the Web Speech API — one SpeechSynthesisUtterance instance that is queued and processed by the synthesis engine.
Related reading
Frequently Asked Questions
Why use Text to Speech?
- Play back any text through every OS-installed voice with adjustable rate and pitch controls
- Catch awkward phrasing and grammatical errors by proofreading written content by ear
- Rate slider spanning 0.5× to 2× lets you listen at precisely the pace that suits the task
- Device-local synthesis processes text entirely on the OS speech engine without server calls
Common use cases
- Proofread a long article at 1.0× speed to catch phrasing errors missed during visual review
- Study a foreign-language paragraph using a native-accent voice at 0.7× for pronunciation detail
- Listen to email drafts hands-free while preparing for a back-to-back meeting
- Play back a written script to rehearse delivery timing before recording a presentation
- Make dense technical documentation accessible to users with visual impairments or dyslexia
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