How To Choose The Right Text-To-Speech Software

Text-to-speech (TTS) is a type of assistive technology that reads digital text aloud.

Text-to-speech technology is used in banking and finance, telecommunications, automotive manufacturing, and tourism.

And it is especially useful for people with visual and reading impairments, who are the early adopters of TTS.

This device has also been popularised in the video editing industry, as many YouTubers are using such software when creating their informational and educational content. 

There are many use cases of this technology.

In this article, we talk about the best text-to-speech software for students with learning impairment and content/educational material creators.

Best text-to-speech software for students with learning impairment

Text-to-Speech software has made it much easier for people with learning difficulties to progress and achieve high academic success.

There are things to look out for when choosing the right software for your particular needs.

For example, students with special needs like dyslexia find it difficult to understand and process the right information when it is presented. In other words, they have a problem reading and comprehending the content.

Therefore, these students are achieving success when they are read to, thereby making sense of the content in front of them.

For this purpose, you’ll need to look for platforms making it possible to download or upload educational content, curriculum materials, ebooks, and other literature with the read-aloud option. This makes it possible for students to learn and make progress easier. 

Or, if the student is visually impaired, you’ll need advanced software platforms with a variety of different options to meet their demands and needs.

For example, the software should have an accurate and precise reading service and also have accessibility to different voices and tones. 

Other text-to-speech platforms are perfect for students learning English or another second language as they offer many options crucial for better language acquisition.

A vast language capacity and the ability to repeat text and to are preferable attributes. 

Best tools include:

〰️  naturalreaders.com

〰️  snapandread.com

〰️  goqsoftware.com

〰️  texthelp.com

Best text-to-speech software for content creators

Creating video material about product reviews, marketing DIY and instructional content has seen rapid development and rises with the use of text-to-speech software programs.

For these purposes, look for platforms with an excellent cloning voice option. There are many software platforms working on perfecting this feature, and some of the tools are available here, making it possible to accurately clone your voice with the help of the samples you provide.

Now, imagine you are preparing an instructional video of substantial length, and of course, it is always easier to write than to read it out loud and record yourself over and over again every time you make a mistake.

These platforms instead do the text-to-speech part of the job with the option of editing and correcting mispronounced phrases. 

Other platforms are ideal for marketing purposes, offering the ability to upload a recording quickly and generate an AI voiceover in no time.

This is perfect for social media content as the voiceovers often cover dozens of languages and hundreds of voice options. Other platforms add additional intonation or emotions to the speech, which can be useful for more serious content. 

There are even platforms for game developers to work on the voices of the characters. Developers will find these platforms especially helpful as they’ll save a lot of time recording the characters’ voices. 

Best tools include:

〰️ aivoiceovertools.com

〰️ kapwing.com

〰️ voiceovermaker.io

〰️ Amazon Polly

Important things to consider before buying the right text-to-speech software

Before buying the best software for your needs, consider this:

• How many scripts a week/a month will you edit
• How realistic and human-like is the voice (trial before you buy)
• Is the software free or paid (paid is usually better than free)
• Are the platforms compatible with day-to-day speech patterns, or in other words, can you generate regular speech based on the grammatical punctuation you wrote, and will the platform recognize them (commas, acronyms, abbreviations, and initials)? 
• Read the footnote on whether the company has a right to claim the ownership of content created on the platform or not. Some companies pay for those claims, which can get you into a lot of legal trouble in the future.
• Check if editing options are available – this makes it easier to correct some mistakes regarding the reading or pronunciation, rather than doing the whole recording all over again.

Takeaway

Asking yourself a few key questions before buying or utilising a text-to-speech platform can help you to find the service that will work best for your needs.

Know your budget, understand your needs, and make use of free trials 😏