Technology is constantly evolving and it reflects in the way we communicate.
We’re constantly coming across new ways to pass messages across to small and large audiences.
With the boom in digital jobs and side hustles, many people are now creating YouTube videos.
Some people create content on the platform as a side hustle, while others engage in it full time.
Every hour, 30,000 videos are uploaded on the platform [1].
Although YouTube is largely accessible, some people find it hard to properly articulate themselves on camera.
Also, some people are only fluent in their mother tongue, which can be a hindrance to their channel’s reach.
Due to these reasons, people are now considering text to speech software.
In this article, we’re sharing some of the best text-to-speech software you can use for your YouTube videos.
What is Text To Speech?
Text to speech (TTS) is a form of technology that convert text into speech sounds.
Using text to speech software, you can enable your device to read a body of text aloud.
The sounds usually imitate the human voice and tone – the extent of this depends on each software.
Why Text To Speech?
Although the text-to-speech innovation is largely useful, it still has its controversies.
Some people wonder why anyone would opt for computer-generated voices.
Although recording your voice is great for videos, not everyone can do this.
Some people would rather be behind the cameras as opposed to in front of it.
There are also people who struggle to articulate their points or are uncomfortable with their reading tones.
For some others, converting text into audio saves them time.
So, if you fall into any of these categories, you might want to consider using a text to speech software.
The best text to speech software are:
- Micmonster
- Amazon Polly
- Well Said Labs
- VoiceOverMaker
- Voicemaker
Plus we also look at Speechelo as they are advertising a lot on YouTube and Facebook.
Micmonster
There are several text-to-speech software available online.
However, not all of them are created equal.
Micmonster prides itself in offering professional and unique voices that are close imitations of human voices.
This AI software allows you to convert your texts or documents into audio or speech.
With this software, you have the option to choose from 47 languages in female and male voices.
What makes Micmonster unique is that you can go a step further to alter the voice emotions.
So, if you want the audio to sound excited or sympathetic, you can always alter it to suit your needs.
You can choose from over 200 voices, adding a unique touch to your videos.
This tool requires no special technical skills and you can use it on any device.
If you’re tired of the robotic-sounding text-to-speech tools, you can give Micmonster a try.
Micmonster usually costs a one-time fee of $99; however, the company is running a discount.
You can get access to it for $37.
There’s also an upsell which is Micmonster Pro.
It costs an additional $67.
With the pro version, you can unlock commercial license, background music tracks and a lot more.
Amazon Polly
Amazon Polly is an amazing text to audio software.
It helps you turn your text into speech and lets the user add their voice to it as well!
Artificial speech that sounds natural and is synthesized with deep learning technology.
It also gives non-robotic voices like life to your videos, games or any creation of software.
You can also choose different languages from around the world such as English, Spanish and French among others through text-to-speech functionality in their application
In addition there’s Neural Text to Speech which delivers high quality voice by using a new machine learning system for this task.
This product has two speaking styles: Newscaster reading style – ideal for communication tools where you need an instantaneous response time (e g phone calls).
But, it may not be suitable when reading aloud long passages because it doesn’t have enough control over its pitch
Overall: Worth looking at for support desk softwares.
Well Said
WellSaid Labs is a great voiceover software company that offers a library of 15 unique talents.
You can customize the voices, create your own tone and connect Well Said APIs to your in-house services for an even more personalized experience.
The AI voices sound natural with their variety of language options and range from American English to British or Australian dialects (or any other languages).
In the free one-week trial version, you can create up to four AI voices.
For a small monthly cost, you can access unlimited features and increase your projects from 50 to 1000 audio files!
Try it today with 10% off our annual plan prices for all WellSaidLabs members.
Price: Maker $49/month. Creative $99/month.
Overall: The best of the bunch
VoiceOverMaker
VoiceOverMaker is a good option if you want to use a text to speech software for your YouTube videos.
This software gives you the option to edit your voice tracks with your video through its integrated feature.
Whether you want to create YouTube videos, podcasts or explainer videos, VoiceOverMaker makes it an easy process.
This software offers over 600 voices in over 30 languages and language variants.
You can also include background music in the generated voice tracks.
A unique feature of VoiceOverMaker is the one-click option to convert languages.
With this feature, you can convert your chosen voice track into different languages with one-click.
With VoiceOverMaker, you can download your text to speech in either MP4 video format, WAV or MP3 format.
VoiceOverMaker has a free version that allows you to upload 800 characters a month.
To upgrade, you can sign up for the €7, €12 or €28 plans. The higher the plan, the more characters you can upload.
Voicemaker
With Voicemaker, you can get access to over 600 voices in 75 languages.
Voicemaker allows you to alter things like the audio style, pitch, format and voice speed.
Additionally, you can enjoy features like adding emphasis to words and including pauses.
Through the website, you can listen to voice samples of the standard voices and natural voices.
If you’re looking for a more affordable monthly subscription option, Voicemaker might just be for you.
The free version has a substantial number of features.
However, you can get even more high-quality features through an upgrade.
The basic plan goes for $5 per month.
The premium plan usually goes for $15 per month but there’s a slash to $8.
Voicemaker is currently working on a feature that’ll allow you to create your custom brand voice.
Voicemaker offers support for YouTube videos which makes it great for digital creators.
With the paid plans, you own the full copyright to the text to speech audio you generate.
Speechelo
Speechelo is another text-to-speech software that advertises itself as having natural-sounding voices.
It allows you to transform text into speech using a simple process.
First, you paste your text into the text box.
Then, select a voice.
Finally, generate your audio and download it to your device.
Speechelo also offers male and female voices and can access over 23 languages.
Similar to Micmonsters, you can also alter the tone of the voice.
With this software, you can choose a joyful tone, normal tone or a serious tone.
Whether you’re using Speechelo for YouTube videos or other purposes, you’re certain it works with your chosen video editing software.
Some of the popular software it works with include Adobe Premiere and iMovie.
To gain full access to Speechelo, you’ll need to pay a one-time fee of $100.
However, the company has been running a discount where you can purchase it for $47 for a long time which makes you wonder if the discount is just an example of shady marketing.
Despite having over 30 voices, we found that they did not sound close to being natural and of the options reviewed on this page, we were most disappointed by this one.
Overall: Not recommended
Conclusion
There’s no denying that text to speech software has the possibility to be a game changer when creating online audio or video content.
If you’re a digital content creator looking to utilize this tool, we’ve highlighted some of the best software in this article.
There are many text-to-speech software you can access online; however, not all of them are of high-quality.
And you need to really look at whether what you choose actually converts and can deliver.
Is it what your audience wants?
With the options examined above, you can choose from a variety of voices, tones and languages.
This allows you to stand out from the crowd and avoid using the same sound as other creators.
So, if you opt to go for a text to speech software, focus on something that gives you natural sounding voices without having to spend ages to get there.