16 Open-source Web-based Text-to-Speech Apps and TTS JavaScript Libraries
Open-source JavaScript libraries are ideal sources to build rich applications.
In recent years, we have seen a substantial increase in the demand for text-to-speech (TTS) technology. This technology is an excellent example of assistive technology that has been developed to help individuals with visual impairments and those who have difficulty reading by converting text into spoken language. The use of TTS technology has been instrumental in providing equal opportunities for people of different abilities to access the same information available to others.
JavaScript libraries have emerged as a popular and accessible way to implement TTS on web-based applications, making it easier for developers to create more inclusive websites and applications that cater to a wider audience. By using these libraries, web developers can incorporate TTS functionality into their applications without the need for complex and time-consuming coding, saving them valuable time and resources. Moreover, the availability of these libraries has made TTS more accessible to developers who are not proficient in programming, thus making it easier for them to create applications that are accessible to everyone.
Cloud-based TTS Services
There are several open-source TTS JavaScript libraries available today, each with its own unique features and advantages. Here are some of the most popular options:
- ResponsiveVoice.js: This library is easy to integrate and has a wide range of voice options and languages. It also includes a customizable player for users to control the speech.
- Speak.js: This library is lightweight and fast, making it ideal for smaller projects. It also supports multiple languages and voices.
- Pico TTS: This library is very small and can be used on low-powered devices. It has a limited set of voices but is suitable for basic TTS projects.
- Amazon Polly: This library is not strictly JavaScript, but it has a JavaScript SDK for easy integration. It offers a wide range of high-quality voices and languages, but it requires an AWS account and has associated costs.
- Google Cloud Text-to-Speech: Similar to Amazon Polly, this library has a JavaScript SDK and offers high-quality voices and languages. It also requires a Google Cloud account and has associated costs.
Open-source JavaScript Libraries
Open-source TTS JavaScript libraries have made it easier than ever for developers to implement TTS technology into their web-based applications. With the variety of options available, developers can choose the library that best suits their needs and create more accessible applications for users.
1- Lizen
Lizen is a text to speech web application that speaks word, sentences or even reads long articles in a music player like interface. It can also fetch articles from a link or text can be directly pasted.
2- ttspeech
ttspeech is a free open-source basic voice synthesizer apps written in vanillaJS.
3- <k-speech>
This one is a free open-source simple web component "text to speech".
4- Text-Editor-React
This project is a complete multi-tool web app written using React. It includes Text Editor, Text-to-speech, Analysis, Summary and many more.
5- ONLINE TTS
Online TTS is a free text to speech converter. Powered by ResponsiveVoice.JS.
6- Read aloud
Read Aloud is a Chrome and Firefox extension that uses text-to-speech technology to convert webpage text to audio. It works on a variety of websites, including news sites, blogs, fan fiction, publications, textbooks, school and class websites, online universities and course materials.
7- Voice Builder
Voice Builder is an open source text-to-speech (TTS) voice building tool that focuses on simplicity, flexibility, and collaboration. Our tool allows anyone with basic computer skills to run voice training experiments and listen to the resulting synthesized voice.
8- Google TTS
Google TTS (Text-To-Speech) library for node.js
9- TTS Web app
This web app will convert your text to speech using voices provided by a variety of TTS services including Amazon Polly, CereProc, IBM Watson, Acapela, Oddcast, ReadSpeaker, Google Translate, iSpeech.
10- Slang
This one is a Google Chrome extension that converts any selected text on the web to speech.
11- Click to Read - TTS (Chrome)
Another Google Chrome extension designed for minimal clicks or presses to start reading text out loud.
12- Speakable
Speakable app is a simple and privacy-friendly on-page screen reader / text-to-speech (TTS) player using the native JavaScript Web Speech API.
13- Voice Builder by Google
Voice Builder is an open-source text-to-speech (TTS) voice building tool that focuses on simplicity, flexibility, and collaboration. Our tool allows anyone with basic computer skills to run voice training experiments and listen to the resulting synthesized voice.
14- tts-react
tts-react
is a React library that provides a hook (useTts
) and component (TextToSpeech
) to convert text to speech. In most cases you want the hook so you can use custom styling on the audio controls.
15- React speech recognition and speech synthesis
React hooks for in-browser Speech Recognition and Speech Synthesis.
16- React Speech Highlight
This open-source project offers a React components that use web speech synthesis API to text-to-speech tasks and also highlight the word and sentences that are being spoken. You can check the demo here.