NaturalReader Text to Speech: 4 Best Alternatives & Competitors in 2024

Tue Sep 03 2024 • Aliaksei Horbel

People typically seek out NaturalReader as a tool for converting Text-to-Speech using advanced AI text to speech technology. However, if you’re exploring alternatives to Natural Reader before settling on a choice, your search concludes with this guide! After testing numerous TTS applications, we’ve compiled a list of the best 4 substitutes for Natura lReader suitable for a range of Text-to-Speech scenarios. Why only 4? Because we value time and we don’t want you to spend a lot of time studying dozens of similar services! Before we proceed, let’s gain some insights into NaturalReader and understand the attributes that make it appealing for users preferring to listen to content rather than read it. Well, let’s get to comparing!

Natural Reader overview

Natura lReader is a text-to-speech software that transforms written text into natural sounding audio. It supports various document formats, including PDFs and Word documents, making it versatile for different types of users. The software is designed to assist individuals with dyslexia, learning difficulties, or those who prefer auditory learning. It offers a range of natural-sounding voices and the ability to customize reading speed.

What makes NaturalReader-text-to-speech unique?

What sets Natural Reader apart is its focus on accessibility and ease of use, providing tools that cater to educational environments, professionals, and casual users. Its unique features include a wide selection of voices, support for multiple languages, and the integration of OCR technology to convert printed characters into digital text. This functionality enhances its utility in educational settings, helping students with reading challenges and supporting language learning. Additionally, NaturalReader can automatically skip unwanted text such as page headers and footers, providing a smoother listening experience.

Natural Reader Pricing

Here’s a breakdown of the pricing for the various editions of Natural Reader’s software:

• Free Version:: Users can access this edition for free, which provides limitless usage with complimentary voices, a miniboard for reading text in other applications, a pronunciation editor, and is compatible with multiple file formats like PDF, Docx, TXT, and ePub.
• Personal Version: This is available for a single payment of $99.50, offering two natural-sounding voices, every feature from the complimentary version, and the added benefit of converting text to MP3 files.
• Professional Edition: For a one-time fee of $129.50, this edition includes four natural voices and incorporates every feature found in the Individual version.
• Ultimate Edition: This top-tier version costs $199.50, payable once, providing six natural voices, all the functionalities of the Professional edition, plus an annual allotment of 5000 images for OCR usage to interpret text from images and scanned PDFs to audio.

For any commercial or public use of the audio files generated, a separate commercial license is required. Each premium edition supports the transformation of text or documents into lifelike speech and comes with several functionalities that enhance the text-to-speech experience. Extra voices are available at $39.50 each but they necessitate a premium software version to operate. For commercial purposes, NaturalReader offers an AI Voice Generator with the following subscription options:

• Monthly Individual: $99 monthly
• Annual Individual: $588 annually
• Monthly Team Base (2 users): $134 monthly
• Annual Team Base (2 users): $708 annually

Available Platforms

NaturalReader can be used on various platforms such as iOS, Android, Web App, and as a Chrome extension. Natural Reader is also compatible with Google Docs, allowing users to listen to their documents directly from the platform.

Pros: Premium Voices

• Diverse Voices and Languages: The software provides a plethora of natural-sounding voices, enhancing the auditory experience for its users. It supports various languages, accommodating a wide range of reading materials and user preferences.
• Intuitive Interface: Designed for ease of use, the interface is user-friendly, making the software accessible to users with any level of technical skill, in both desktop and mobile app formats.
• OCR Capabilities: Leveraging Optical Character Recognition technology, the software can translate printed text or scanned documents into spoken words, expanding the range of accessible materials to include printed books, magazines, and more.
• Multi-Platform Support: Being available on multiple platforms, including mobile applications, increases its utility, offering the flexibility to use the service on different devices.
• Compatibility with Websites: Users can convert and listen to text from various online sources seamlessly.

Cons

• Restricted Free Version: The free version of NaturalReader has limited capabilities, which may necessitate an upgrade to access the full spectrum of features, including additional voices or enhanced controls.
• Subscription Requirement for Premium Features: Accessing the advanced features requires a subscription to one of the paid plans, which could be a hurdle for some users, especially those seeking a one-off purchase or a more economical option.
• No Custom Voice Creation: The inability to create custom voices may be seen as a shortcoming for users desiring a highly personalized text-to-speech experience, such as having a voice that mimics a specific person or character.

⭐️ Peech

Peech stands out as an excellent voice reader and Text-to-Speech tool, expertly crafted to transform written text into lifelike AI-generated audio, covering more than 50 languages. It caters to a broad spectrum of users, including individuals, publishers, and those with dyslexia, ADHD, or visual impairments, as well as people who simply prefer listening to content rather than reading it. This tool is adept at converting web articles, e-books, and almost any text content into immersive audiobooks.

Peech Pricing

Peech's Text-to-Speech Reader is available through various subscription plans:

1. Weekly Plan: Available at $4.99.
2. Monthly Plan: Priced at $14.99.
3. Annual Plan: Costs $99 annually.

Available Platforms

Peech can be accessed via an iOS app (also compatible with Mac OS for M1+ chip devices) and as a TTS Google Chrome extension, ensuring flexibility for use on mobile devices and through the Chrome web browser.

Pros

• Intuitive Interface: Provides a straightforward and smooth experience, delivering high-quality audio outputs.
• Extensive Language Options: Supports over 50 languages for text-to-audio conversion, accommodating a wide range of global users.
• Varied Document Compatibility: The tool can process different text formats like ePub, docx, PDF, and rtf, imported directly from the user's device.
• Document Scanning Capability: Enables the conversion of hardcopy documents into audio by scanning the text, further broadening its practicality.
• Auto Language Recognition: Automatically identifies the text language, simplifying the user experience.
• High-Quality Voice: Peech is renowned for its high-quality AI voice, closely mimicking a human voice.

Cons

• Restricted Platform Access: Mainly available on iOS and Chrome, which may limit availability for users on different platforms.

→ Download Peech iOS App ←

Voice Dream

Voice Dream Reader provides a feature where users can hear content from different textual sources like documents, textbooks, emails, PDFs, and articles using its text-to-speech capabilities. It supports various file formats and integrates seamlessly with cloud platforms such as Google Drive, Dropbox, and Bookshare, making it suitable for use in personal, educational, or professional contexts. The application is celebrated for its customizable features including choice of voice, reading speed, and text display settings, all designed to improve both readability and auditory experience.

Voice Dream Pricing

Voice Dream Reader offers one pricing plan for their services:

1. Annual Subscription: $59.99 and $79.99.

Users can also purchase additional Premium voices for $4.99 each.

Platforms

This app is accessible on iOS and macOS, providing a consistent user experience on Apple devices.

Pros

• Wide Range of Voices: Provides access to more than 200 voices featuring various accents and dialects, made more lifelike with AI technology.
• Offline Functionality: Operates offline to ensure quick loading times and maintain data privacy, suitable for areas lacking internet access.
• High Customizability: Allows users to modify voice settings, speed, pitch, and build a personalized pronunciation dictionary. Features include the ability to omit texts like margins and citations.
• Extensive File Support: Supports a wide array of file types such as DAISY, EPUB, PDF, Word, and others, and connects with multiple cloud storage solutions.

Cons

• Platform Limitation: Primarily built for Apple's platforms, which restricts its use for those on non-Apple systems like Android or Windows.
• Cost for Additional Voices: Although some voices are included, unlocking the entire library of over 100 voices entails in-app purchases, potentially leading to significant costs for extensive voice options. Almost all similar products provide a huge selection of voices that are already included in the subscription price, so this disadvantage can also be an obstacle for potential users of the service.
• No Choice of Subscription Period: since only an annual subscription is available to users, this limits those who might want to purchase a shorter term subscription.

Murf.ai

Murf is a text-to-speech application that utilizes AI to transform written text into audible speech, producing voiceovers that sound realistic and natural. It is designed to serve a broad audience, including educators, marketers, content creators, and video producers, with over 120 distinct voices available in more than 20 languages.

Murf.ai Pricing

The service offers a free version that allows up to 10 minutes of voice generation. The paid subscriptions begin at $29 for one user and go up to $75 per month for an Enterprise plan, provided you opt for an annual subscription costing $4,500.

Platforms

Murf is available solely as a Web App.

Pros

• Extensive Selection of Voices and Languages: Features over 120 AI-generated voices in more than 20 languages, catering to a worldwide audience.
• Premium Voice Quality: The AI-generated voices offer a realistic and natural tone, adding a professional quality to various types of projects.
• Broad Application Spectrum: Ideal for producing voiceovers for educational content, marketing materials, audiobooks, and more, thereby increasing the content's accessibility and engagement.
• Simple User Interface: The interface is user-friendly, enabling quick voiceover production without the need for technical expertise or prior experience.

Cons

• Restricted Free Trial: Although Murf.ai provides a free trial, it only includes 10 minutes of voice generation, which may be inadequate for fully assessing all capabilities.
• Necessity for Paid Subscriptions for Comprehensive Access: Full access to download voices and utilize all advanced features requires a paid subscription.
• Limited Platform Availability: Being only accessible as a Web App limits its use for those on Android, iOS, and other platforms.

Listening.com

The company offers a mobile and desktop app designed to convert academic papers, PDFs, documents, and emails into audio. The app features lifelike AI voices that can pronounce technical terms across various fields and allows users to select specific sections of papers to listen to, such as abstracts or results. It also provides functionalities to skip citations and take notes seamlessly. Listening.com service is tailored for students, academics, and anyone needing to consume large amounts of text efficiently.

Listening Pricing

The company offers a free 2-week trial followed by a subscription model for $11.58/month, paid annually ($139).

Platforms

offers services available on iOS, Android, as well as a web version and a Chrome extension.

Pros

• Advanced AI Voice Technology: Employs state-of-the-art AI voices capable of emotional and intonational nuances.
• Technical Term Pronunciation: Specialized in pronouncing technical academic vocabulary.
• Customizable Listening Experience: Allows users to omit non-essential sections such as citations for a streamlined audio experience.
• Interactive Note-Taking: Facilitates the creation and exportation of notes directly within the app.
• Commercial use: the company provides B2B services in the field of TTS.  

Cons

• Niche Focus: Primarily targets academic materials, potentially limiting broader usability.
• Subscription Required Post-Trial: Access beyond the initial free trial period requires a paid subscription.

Natural Reader Alternative: which to choose in the end?

In seeking alternatives to Natural Reader for text-to-speech conversion, our exploration has narrowed down to four outstanding options that cater to various needs, from educational assistance to professional and casual use. NaturalReader itself is lauded for its accessibility features and diverse language support, but its limitations in the free version and lack of custom voice creation may prompt users to consider alternatives. Among these, Peech emerges as a particularly compelling choice. It stands out with its intuitive interface, extensive language options, and high-quality AI voices, capable of transforming a wide range of text formats into immersive audiobooks. For those who find these features appealing and are looking for a versatile and user-friendly text-to-speech tool, trying Peech could be the solution, offering a fresh way to experience written content audibly.