The on-screen text can be saved as a WAV, MP3, MP4, OGG or WMA file. The program can read the clipboard content, view the text from AZW, CHM, DjVu, DOC, EPUB, FB2, HTML, LIT, MOBI, ODT, PRC, PDF and RTF files, customize font and background colour, control reading from the system tray or by the global hotkeys.

The program uses various versions of Microsoft Speech API (SAPI); it allows to alter a voice's parameters, including rate and pitch. The user can apply a special substitution list to improve the quality of the voice's articulation. This feature is useful when you want to change the spelling of words. The rules for the pronunciation correction use the syntax of regular expressions.

Can I use Balabolka for YouTube videos?

Balabolka is freeware, so you may create audio files for free. But if you use the commercial voices, you need to contact the voice creator and purchase the license for commercial use/audio broadcast. The audio distribution license will allow you to use speech in YouTube videos.

How do I add more voices in Balabolka?

Balabolka utilizes the voices that come pre-installed in Windows. If you want to add more, you have to head to Control Panel > Speech > Speech Properties > Text To Speech > Voice selection.

Is there a limit on the length of text for speech synthesis?

Balabolka uses a temporary WAV file for text-to-speech processing, and the limitation is 4GB. The maximum duration of the audio file will depend on sampling rates, bit resolution, and channel count. It is recommended you split large documents into manageable parts.

Are there any other speech-to-text alternatives?

DSpeech can also read aloud books, documents, and articles for free while you do any other activity. It also allows you to save output as .WAV, .MP3, AAC, WMA or OGG files.

Balabolka can save the synchronized text in external LRC files or in MP3 tags inside the audio files. When an audio file is played with players on a computer or on modern digital audio players, the text is displayed synchronously (at the same way, as lyrics for songs).

What's New

  • Fixed the applying of regular expressions.
  • Updated the lists of voices for Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure.
  • Updated the subtitle converting for SAPI 5 and Microsoft Speech Platform.
  • Updated the subtitle converting for online TTS services.
  • Resources for Vietnamese language were updated (thanks to Nguy�...n Ninh Hoàng).