Balabolka
Free Windows text-to-speech program that reads documents aloud and saves them as audio files.
- Verified facts
- 5 of 5
- Alternatives ranked
- 3
- Approved reviews
- 0
- Visits sent from here
- 0
About Balabolka
Balabolka is a free Windows program by Ilya Morozov that reads text aloud using whatever speech voices are installed on your computer, through Microsoft's Speech API. Its strength is breadth: it opens a long list of formats, including EPUB, MOBI, PDF, DjVu, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OpenDocument files, and can save the spoken text as an audio file, optionally with synchronised subtitles in LRC files or MP3 tags. You can adjust rate and pitch, fix mispronunciations with substitution lists based on regular expressions, read the clipboard, and control playback with global hotkeys. A portable version runs from a USB drive, and separate command-line tools handle batch conversion and text extraction. The interface looks dated and the voice quality depends on the voices you install, so it sounds less natural than cloud services like Speechify. It is freeware rather than open source and runs only on Windows.
Best for: Windows users who want a free, offline way to turn e-books and documents into audio files.
Pros and cons
What works
- 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
Why people leave
- Windows only
- Voice quality depends on installed system voices
- Dated, cluttered interface
- Freeware, not open source
Top Balabolka alternatives
See all 3- 1
NaturalReader66.5More natural AI voices and apps beyond Windows, with a one-time desktop licence option.
- 2
Speechify62.6Natural voices on phone, browser and Mac, for people who listen away from a Windows PC.
- 3
Parolu57.2Free and offline like Balabolka, but open source and made for Linux.
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Balabolka: common questions
Is Balabolka free?
Yes, Balabolka is free to use.
Is Balabolka open source?
No, Balabolka is not open source. Open-source alternatives include Parolu.
What platforms does Balabolka run on?
Balabolka is available for Windows.
What are the best alternatives to Balabolka?
The highest-ranked Balabolka alternatives right now are NaturalReader, Speechify and Parolu. See the full ranked list for pricing, platforms and verified facts.