Listen to Any Text on the Web with Text-to-Speech

Your Personal Reading Companion Gets a Voice 🔊

Reading long articles? Learning a new language? Sometimes, hearing the text makes all the difference.

We're excited to introduce Text-to-Speech (TTS) to Read Frog—a feature that transforms any text on the web into natural-sounding audio with a single click.

Current Version: TTS is currently available with OpenAI providers only. Support for additional AI providers is coming soon.

Special Thanks: This feature was contributed by community member @darmau. Thank you for bringing this powerful feature to Read Frog!

Why Text-to-Speech?

Reading isn't always convenient. Maybe you're:

🚶 Walking or commuting
👀 Giving your eyes a rest after hours of screen time
🌍 Learning pronunciation in a foreign language
📚 Absorbing long-form content more effectively

With TTS, you can listen while you multitask, learn, or simply relax.

Did you know? Listening to content can improve comprehension and retention, especially for auditory learners.

How It Works

Getting started with TTS is incredibly simple:

1. Configure Your Voice Settings

Navigate to Options → Text-to-Speech to customize your listening experience.

Choose from:

Voice: Pick from 11 natural-sounding voices (Alloy, Ash, Ballad, Coral, Echo, and more)
Model: Select between gpt-4o-mini-tts, tts-1, or tts-1-hd for higher quality
Speed: Adjust playback speed from 0.25× to 4× to match your preference

Pro tip: Try the Preview button to hear each voice before making your choice. Find the perfect voice that suits your listening style!

2. Select and Listen

Once configured, simply:

Select any text on any webpage
Click the speaker icon in the toolbar
Sit back and listen as the text is read aloud

Before	After
Manual reading only	Listen while browsing
Copy-paste to external TTS tools	One-click instant playback
No voice customization	11+ voices to choose from

Smart Performance Features

We've built TTS with efficiency in mind:

Audio Caching

Once audio is generated, it's cached locally—replay the same text instantly without regenerating.

The cache stores up to 10 audio files using an intelligent LRU (Least Recently Used) strategy, so your most-played content is always ready.

Long Text Support

Selected a massive paragraph? No problem. The extension automatically chunks long text and streams audio seamlessly for uninterrupted listening.

Single Playback Control

Only one audio plays at a time. Click the speaker icon again to stop or switch to a new selection without overlapping audio chaos.

Supported Models & Voices

Available Models

Model	Description	Best For
`gpt-4o-mini-tts`	Latest model with 11 voices	New users, best quality
`tts-1`	Standard quality, 9 voices	Quick playback, lower cost
`tts-1-hd`	High-definition audio, 9 voices	Audiophiles, clarity

Voice Options

Choose from diverse voices including:

Alloy, Ash, Ballad (calm and clear)
Coral, Echo, Fable (warm and expressive)
Nova, Onyx, Sage (professional and articulate)
Shimmer, Verse (bright and engaging)

Setup Requirements

To use TTS, you'll need:

✅ OpenAI API key configured in Read Frog
✅ A selected AI provider that supports TTS (currently OpenAI)

Note: TTS is currently in Public Beta. We're continuously improving voice quality, performance, and adding more provider support.

🌐 Support for additional AI providers (Anthropic, DeepSeek, etc.)
🎯 TTS for translated text (read translations aloud)
🎧 Background playback controls
📱 Mobile extension support

Try It Now

Update to the latest version of Read Frog and experience the power of Text-to-Speech.

Have feedback? We'd love to hear how you're using TTS! Share your thoughts on GitHub Issues or join our community discussions.

Happy listening! 🎧