NaturalReader alternatives: 3 apps ranked by verified data

Facts checked Nov 1, 2026AppBreakup editorialHow we rank

Common reasons people leave NaturalReader: best voices and OCR need a paid plan, and extra desktop voices cost more on top of the licence. We ranked 3 alternatives by how directly each one replaces NaturalReader, then by reviews, real visits and how recently each app's facts were checked against its own website. Speechify currently ranks first.

Quick comparison

#	App	Pricing	Open source	Platforms	Verified facts	Score
1	Speechify	Free plan + paid	No	Web, iOS, Android +3	4 of 4	66.5
2	Balabolka	Free	No	Windows	5 of 5	59.6
3	Parolu	Open source	Yes	Linux	4 of 4	57.2

1. SpeechifyTop pick
Best for: Students and busy readers who want natural voices across phone, browser and computer
Free plan + paidWeb, iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, Browser extension
66.5
score / 100
Why switch from NaturalReader
Bigger voice library and camera scanning, with a more polished mobile app.
Pros
Available on almost every platform, including Chrome and Edge extensions
Large library of natural voices in many languages on Premium
Camera scanning turns printed pages into audio
Fast playback speeds for skimming
Cons
Free plan has only robotic voices and slower playback
Premium is expensive when paid monthly
Subscription only; no one-time purchase
Visit Speechify Details and reviews
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.3100
Reviews ×0.363
Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
Freshness ×0.1585
Votes ×0.150
0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula
Is Speechify a good NaturalReader alternative?
Verified facts
4 of 4 verified
Starting price
$29/month or $139/year
Checked Nov 1, 2026speechify.com(opens source in a new tab)
Free plan
Yes, up to 1.5x speed
Checked Nov 1, 2026speechify.com(opens source in a new tab)
Voices
1,000+ on Premium
Checked Nov 1, 2026speechify.com(opens source in a new tab)
Languages
60+
Checked Nov 1, 2026speechify.com(opens source in a new tab)
2. Balabolka
Best for: Windows users who want a free, offline way to turn e-books and documents into audio files
FreeWindows
59.6
score / 100
Why switch from NaturalReader
Free Windows reader with wide file-format support and audio export, using installed system voices.
Pros
Completely free with no account
Reads a very wide range of document and e-book formats
Saves speech as audio files, with synchronised text
Portable and command-line versions
Cons
Windows only
Voice quality depends on installed system voices
Dated, cluttered interface
Freeware, not open source
Visit Balabolka Details and reviews
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.377
Reviews ×0.363
Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
Freshness ×0.1585
Votes ×0.150
0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula
Is Balabolka a good NaturalReader alternative?
Verified facts
5 of 5 verified
License
Freeware
Checked Oct 29, 2026cross-plus-a.com(opens source in a new tab)
Voices
Any installed system voice (SAPI)
Checked Oct 29, 2026cross-plus-a.com(opens source in a new tab)
Audio export
Yes
Checked Oct 29, 2026cross-plus-a.com(opens source in a new tab)
Portable version
Yes
Checked Oct 29, 2026cross-plus-a.com(opens source in a new tab)
Supported formats
EPUB, MOBI, PDF, DOCX, ODT and more
Checked Oct 29, 2026cross-plus-a.com(opens source in a new tab)
3. Parolu
Best for: Linux users and Esperanto learners who want simple offline text-to-speech
Open sourceLinux
57.2
score / 100
Why switch from NaturalReader
Free, open-source offline reader for Linux users who don't need cloud features.
Pros
Speech is generated locally with Piper voices
Ships with two Esperanto voices out of the box
Free and open source under the GPL
Cons
Linux only
Voices for languages other than Esperanto must be downloaded first
No document import, browser extension or mobile app
Small one-person project with a short feature list
Visit Parolu Details and reviews
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.369
Reviews ×0.363
Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
Freshness ×0.1585
Votes ×0.150
0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula
Is Parolu a good NaturalReader alternative?
Verified facts
4 of 4 verified
License
GPL-3.0
Checked Oct 30, 2026github.com(opens source in a new tab)
Speech engine
Piper
Checked Oct 30, 2026github.com(opens source in a new tab)
Bundled voices
Two Esperanto voices
Checked Oct 30, 2026github.com(opens source in a new tab)
Other languages
Download a voice first
Checked Oct 30, 2026github.com(opens source in a new tab)