The 18 best free text to speech tools (2026): captions and subtitles

All 18 picks at a glance

#	Tool	Best for	Starts at
1	Riverside	Podcasters and video teams producing interview-led content	Free, then $9.99 a monthits pricing page
2	Jellypod	Creators and teams publishing recurring podcasts, narrated videos, and social shorts	Free, then $30 a monthits pricing page
3	ElevenLabs for Publishing	Publishers and authors turning books and long-form stories into narrated audio	Free, then $6 a monthits pricing page
4	Descript	Marketing, sales and podcast teams repurposing recordings into social and YouTube video	Free, then $24 a seat a monthits pricing page
5	Synthesia	Enterprise training and comms teams making multilingual video in-house	Free, then $19 a monthits pricing page
6	Fliki	Creators making narrated videos for YouTube, TikTok, and Reels	Free, then about $27 a seat a monthits pricing page
7	Altered Studio	Creators and game, film and e-learning teams recording voice-over in-house	Free, then $40 a monthits pricing page
8	Async	Creators and small teams making social video and podcasts in one browser tool	Free, then about $22 a monthits pricing page
9	Speechify Studio	A creator or small team making up to a few hours of narrated video a month	Free, then $100 a yearits pricing page
10	ElevenLabs	A creator, course maker or author who wants narration	Free, then $6 a monthits pricing page
11	Perso Dubbing	Creators and marketing teams localizing their own videos into many languages	From $6.99 a monthits pricing page
12	VEED	Marketers and solopreneurs making social video who need voice-over and captions in-editor	Free, then $25 a seat a monthits pricing page
13	WellSaid	Training, marketing and e-learning teams producing recurring English voice-over	Free, then $19 a monthits pricing page
14	Vozo	Creators, marketers and course teams localizing video into many languages	Free, then $29 a monthits pricing page
15	Voicemaker	Content creators and e-learning teams making multilingual voice-overs on a small budget	Free, then $5 a monthits pricing page
16	Speechma	Creators who need free multilingual voice-over within per-conversion limits	Free, then $9 a monthits pricing page
17	HeyGen	Creators and teams localizing video into many languages without reshooting	Free, then $29 a monthits pricing page
18	Narakeet	Course makers and video teams creating multilingual narration from scripts or slides	Free, then $6 per 30 minutesits pricing page

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Checked between 27 October 2026 and 31 October 2026. “About” figures are converted at the European Central Bank rate of 30 October 2026.

18 tools, ranked. How we rank

About this list

18 of 40 free text to speech tools match “Captions and subtitles”. Of the rest: 8 on some plans only, 0 no, 14 unknown.

How the free text to speech tools matching “Captions and subtitles” differ: 15 of 18 also match “Voice to video”, against 3 of 22 in the rest of the category; and 13 of 18 also match “Video dubbing”, against 2 of 22 in the rest of the category.

The ranking

1. 1RI

   Riverside

   A free plan before you pay

   Best forPodcasters and video teams producing interview-led content

   Captions and subtitles: Yes — The editor creates captions and allows transcript downloads as SRT files for closed captions on other platforms.“You can also download an SRT file from your project dashboard to upload as closed captions on other platforms.”Captions page FAQ, How do I add captions or subtitles to a video? · checked 2026-10-30

   Price

   Free, then $9.99 a month · source

   Visit Riverside ↗Read the review →Compare RiversideGet a quote →
2. 2JE

   Jellypod

   Creators and teams publishing recurring podcasts, narrated videos

   Best forCreators and teams publishing recurring podcasts, narrated videos, and social shorts

   Captions and subtitles: Yes — The editor provides caption styles, and finished episodes can be downloaded with SRT captions.“Download Published Captions (SRT) for published episodes, each shown only when that file is available.”Where you can download · checked 2026-10-29

   Price

   Free, then $30 a month · source

   Visit Jellypod ↗Read the review →Compare JellypodGet a quote →
3. 3EP

   ElevenLabs for Publishing

   Publishers and authors turning books

   Best forPublishers and authors turning books and long-form stories into narrated audio

   Captions and subtitles: Yes — Studio generates captions in one click, supports multilingual subtitles, and synchronizes captions to audio or video.“Generate captions in one click for accessibility and engagement. Customize style, add multilingual subtitles, and sync captions to your audio or video.”Captions section · checked 2026-10-31

   Price

   Free, then $6 a month · source

   Visit ElevenLabs for Publishing ↗Read the review →Compare ElevenLabs for PublishingGet a quote →
4. 4DE

   Descript

   Best formarketing, sales and podcast teams repurposing recordings into social and YouTube video

   Captions and subtitles: Yes — Captions are built from the script and styled in the editor, subtitles export as SRT or VTT files, and caption translation is offered in 61 listed languages.“Subtitles export as a separate file you upload alongside your video.”Export subtitles, opening line · checked 2026-10-27

   Price

   Free, then $24 a seat a month · source

   Visit Descript ↗Read the review →Compare DescriptGet a quote →
5. 5SY

   Synthesia

   Enterprise training and comms teams making multilingual video in-house

   Best forenterprise training and comms teams making multilingual video in-house

   Captions and subtitles: Yes — Closed captions are generated by default and download as SRT or VTT, dubbed videos get auto-generated subtitles in the translated languages, and burned-in or styled dynamic captions are also available.“Can be downloaded as .srt or .vtt files for external use.”Caption Types Explained, Closed Captions · checked 2026-10-27

   Price

   Free, then $19 a month · source

   Visit Synthesia ↗Read the review →Compare SynthesiaGet a quote →