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pyattshl's avatar
pyattshl
Bronze Contributor
Oct 22, 2025

How can I convert text to voice with ai for free?

Hi,

AI voices have gotten crazy good lately — way better than the robotic ones we used to get a few years ago. Now you can type a sentence and have it sound almost like a real person, with tone and emotion. I've seen people use these tools all the places.

I want to do the same. Basically turn text into natural voice for short clips and tutorials. I tried a couple of online text-to-speech tools, but most either limit free usage or sound too fake. I'm hoping to find something that sounds realistic, supports different accents or styles, and maybe works offline too.

What's the best way to convert text to voice with AI tool for this right now? Would love to hear what you guys use and what sounds most natural to you.

6 Replies

  • RowenHr's avatar
    RowenHr
    Iron Contributor

    Using eSpeak NG combined with MaryTTS can offer a versatile offline solution for converting text to voice with ai, with MaryTTS providing more natural, AI-like speech synthesis.

  • PeterGreen's avatar
    PeterGreen
    Iron Contributor

    To use Balabolka for free to convert text to voice with AI like naturalness, you'll need to enhance its capabilities by installing high-quality voices. Here's a step-by-step guide:

    Step 1: Download and install the software following the instructions.
    Step 2: Install High-Quality Free Voices
    Step 3: Configure Balabolka to Use the Installed Voices
    Step 4: Convert Text to Speech
    Step 5: Improve Naturalness

    You might consider integrating open-source neural TTS models like Coqui TTS or MaryTTS (though setup is more technical). Alternatively, explore free online AI TTS services that don’t have usage limits, but since you specified offline and no cloud, open-source models are your best bet.

  • Moenlly's avatar
    Moenlly
    Iron Contributor

    If you need a quick way to convert text to voice AI results into real audio clips without using any paid software.

    Follow this steps:
    I just let my PC “speak” the text using the built-in Read Aloud (Edge or Narrator),

    then hit Win + G to open Xbox Game Bar and start recording system sound.

    It captures the voice perfectly in real time, and you can trim it later in the built-in Video Editor.
    No setup, no cloud, no watermark — just works when you need fast voice generation for demos or tutorials.

  • Holaway's avatar
    Holaway
    Iron Contributor

    I’ve been experimenting with different convert text to voice AI options lately for my videos too, and here’s what’s actually worked for me in real life:

    You can install extra neural voices through Windows settings → Time & Language → Speech → Manage voices.
    Once added, you can use them offline in apps like Word or PowerShell.


    I usually paste my text into Word, select the voice I like, and hit Read Aloud — the new natural ones sound surprisingly good, especially “Guy” and “Aria.”


    (They’re powered by Microsoft’s Speech Services, so they’re the same tech used in Azure AI.)

     

  • I’ve actually spent the last few weeks testing different ways to convert text to voice AI for tutorials and short clips. A lot of tools online sound robotic or cost way too much, so here are two methods I keep going back to that feel the most real and practical.

    Method 1: Use Microsoft Edge’s “Read Aloud”

    This one’s surprisingly good. Edge uses the same neural voice tech from Microsoft’s Azure AI Speech service, and it sounds super natural.
    I just paste my script into a new tab, right-click → “Read aloud,” and pick a voice. You can even choose different accents or emotions.

    When I’m done, I record the system audio (via Xbox Game Bar ) and save it as a WAV/MP3. It’s completely free and works offline once cached — honestly, one of the easiest ways to make a human-like voice without any coding.

    Method 2: Use Windows’ built-in Speech Synthesizer

    This one’s more old-school but great if you want offline generation. Open PowerShell and run this:

    Add-Type -AssemblyName System.Speech $speak = New-Object System.Speech.Synthesis.SpeechSynthesizer $speak.SetOutputToWaveFile("C:\voice.wav") $speak.Speak("This is my tutorial text.") $speak.Dispose()

    You’ll get a clean voice file saved instantly. Not as emotional as the cloud ones, but perfect for short clips or automation.

    Honestly, both sound way better than I expected — especially Edge’s voices.
    Between these two, you can convert text to voice AI easily without paying or depending on any sketchy online services.

  • Wanmma's avatar
    Wanmma
    Iron Contributor

    Yeah, totally been there — I went down the rabbit hole of trying to convert text to voice AI for YouTube-style tutorials.
    Most tools sound either too robotic or lock good voices behind paywalls, but here’s what worked for me:

     

    Use Microsoft’s Azure AI Speech (cloud-based)

    I used Microsoft’s official TTS API because it lets you tweak pitch, tone, and emotion — the difference is night and day.

    Steps:

    1. Create a free Azure account.
    2. Go to Azure AI Speech and generate a Speech resource (you’ll get an endpoint and key).
    3. Follow this doc: Text-to-Speech REST API — paste your text, pick a voice (like en-US-JennyMultilingualNeural), and download the generated .wav file.
    4. Import it into your video editor — done.

    Sounds super natural, supports many accents, and even emotional tones like “cheerful” or “empathetic.“

     

    Use Windows built-in Speech API (offline)

    When I needed something quick without the cloud, I went offline.
    Windows 11 has local voices under Settings → Time & Language → Speech.

    Steps:

    1. Install extra language packs (English, Japanese, etc.).
    2. Use PowerShell to list and test local voices: Add-Type –AssemblyName System.Speech $speak = New-Object System.Speech.Synthesis.SpeechSynthesizer $speak.Speak("Hello, this is my test speech.")
    3. You can even export it:
    $speak.SetOutputToWaveFile("C:\voice.wav") $speak.Speak("Your tutorial text here.") $speak.Dispose()

    It’s basic but 100% offline, no quotas, and still decent quality.

    💬 My take:
    If you want high-quality emotion and accent control — go with Azure.
    If you just need something quick, free, and offline — PowerShell works fine.
    Either way, both are solid ways to convert text to voice AI without dealing with sketchy web tools.

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