UPDATE: I no longer recommend Firefox. Mozilla used to be for a free and open web. Now they support censorship. So now I recommend Brave to my friends and family.
The Brave plugin I use for Text to Speech is called Read Aloud. I also wrote a text to voice PowerShell script you can try.
Text to speech software is a very cool technology and I have fallen in love with my text to speech add-on for Firefox. Now I can read news and blog post while working on something else. I also use text to speech to proofread my own writing. I am amazed at how many mistakes and weird wordings I catch just by listing to my writings being read.
Text to speech for Firefox
I have used a lot of Firefox text to speech add-ons but I have settled for this one simply called Text to Speech. Some of the add-ons I have used had a nicer sounding voice but they stopped working with the new version of Firefox.
This window pops up on the left side of my Firefox and I simply copy and paste text into the box and hit play.
I have never had to mess with the rate and pitch much. I kind of like it the way it is. You also get 2 voices that seem to be windows defaults. One is called Microsoft David and the other is Microsoft Zira. I am guessing the same add-on in another OS would have other voices but I am not sure about that.
Text to speech for Chrome
Chrome also has some options but I have not used any of them. I am a Firefox fan so I do not use Chrome much. But one I found with a quick search is called Select to Speak. You may have to try a few like I did in order to find one you like but I think it would be well worth the research.
Closing words
No matter what browser you like I would suggest trying a text-to-speech add-on out if you spend time reading on the internet. Or just use it to help proofread what you post on social media. It can make your internet life so much easier!
