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Add to SafariWhen comparing Natural Reader vs Text Aloud, the Slant community recommends Natural Reader for most people. In the question“What is the best text to speech software for Windows?” Natural Reader is ranked 3rd while Text Aloud is ranked 6th. The most important reason people chose Natural Reader is:
Formats include: Microsoft Word, PDF, eBook (ePUb), text, and RTF files, webpages.
Question Ranking
Pros
Pro Reads many formats
Formats include: Microsoft Word, PDF, eBook (ePUb), text, and RTF files, webpages.
Pro Prices reflect arrogance
It could be a perfect suite of voices if macOS could in extension include them when working on alternative apps or browsing, etc. You could if you preferred go along for the Standard Offering but as set forth before, Natural Reader ought to include macOS users and with recognition other than imposing Google Chrome as the default.
Pro Simple but effective playback controls
You can click on a any sentence and the voice will jump to wherever that sentence is and continue on from there. Forward and back button is for one sentence. Shortcuts are available as well for pause/read, forward/back by one sentence.
Pro Excellent product support
Helpful staff, fast response for any questions regarding license, installation, and configuration.
Pro Many options for narration navigation
Most text to speech readers are sorely limited in options for navigating, this program has the most options I've seen so far for moving around while a text is being narrated.
Pro Tools for fine tuning output of narrated text or audio file
You can add tags to do things like add pauses, change the voice (like changing speakers for different characters), speed, pitch, volume etc.
Cons
Con No Safari Support
Great options although it could be more affordable. It is not as if most average consumer is financially strong enough to afford all? If prices were lower, their premium offers could sell like other very successful great ideas.
Con Free version available, but upgrades are costly
$69.50, $129.50, or $199.50, does not appear to be a lifetime purchase, there seems to be a limit on how many images that can be used with the OCR function within the different tiers.
Con Few hotkeys, not user configurable
The shortcuts/hotkeys that exist are simple and work well, but they are not user configurable which might be a problem for some. The app is more GUI driven, a travesty since accessibility is a big attraction for people seeking software like this.
Con Unstable on MacOS High Sierra
Encountered stability issues on MacOS High Sierra. Changing voices or opening a .docx Word document can cause crashes.
Con Program can only display plaintext
Images in documents or ebooks will not appear in this application. This means some types of image or figure/diagram heavy books or complex formatting will not be a good fit for reading with this application. It may require extensive text cleanup and massaging to get narration that makes sense depending on your imported source file.
Con Can't use mouse to navigate/seek track by clicking on text during narration
A user has to stop narration to use the mouse to jump/seek to a different line, word, or paragraph by clicking then activate command Speak From Cursor Aloud by menu or by shortcut. Only the menu buttons respond to the mouse when narration is running. Most options are grayed out until narration is stopped.
Con Hotkey options disappointing
Considering that the toolbars and application are very customizable in the toolbars, it was a big letdown to see how few options there are for hotkeys. Specifically, the navigation options should be hotkeyable as they do not have shortcuts by default. This means an over reliance on the menu and vision to use the application. This seems to fly in the face of accessibility for blind users or power users in general.
