Forum Discussion
How to Convert Text to Audio for Free
What’s a practical way to convert text to audio for listening to long articles, notes, and other written content? The goal is to hear the full text rather than an AI-generated summary. Clear voices,...
Microsoft Edge Read Aloud is a free option for listening to text on webpages. If your main goal is to hear a full article, you do not necessarily need to convert it into an audio file first.
For a long article, try this workflow:
- Open the article in Microsoft Edge.
- If the page supports Immersive Reader, open that view to reduce navigation menus and other distractions.
- Open the browser menu and choose Read aloud. On desktop, you can also right-click selected text and look for the reading option.
- Use Voice options to select a suitable voice and adjust the reading speed.
- Listen to the opening paragraphs and check whether headings, captions, and the main article appear in the correct order.
Microsoft provides an overview of Edge Read Aloud.
The useful distinction is that Read Aloud provides playback, rather than an MP3 or WAV download. It also should not be treated as a saved library with a persistent playlist.
For several long articles, keep their links in a reading list or bookmarks. Before relying on it for a listening session, check whether your particular pages expose all their text, especially pages that load additional content as you scroll.