# The 18 best free text to speech tools (2026): captions and subtitles > Source: https://dubsheet.com/best/free-plan/captions (curated, re-verified) The best free text to speech tools in October 2026 are **Riverside, Jellypod and ElevenLabs for Publishing**. Riverside is the pick for podcasters and video teams producing interview-led content. We read the price of all 18 on their own sites. By [Dubsheet Research](https://dubsheet.com/authors/editorial.md). 18 ranked · each checked against its own site 27–31 October 2026 ### All 16 tools that publish a monthly price start under $100 a month. The median first paid plan is $21. *Free text to speech tools, first paid plan, October 2026* - Under $25: 10 - $25 to $99: 6 - $100 to $299: 0 - $300 or more: 0 - **18** ranked - **$21** median first paid plan - **17** of the 18 have a free plan First paid plan from each tool's own pricing page, read 27–31 October 2026. ## The short answer **Riverside** ranks first. It has a free plan, and paid plans start at $9.99 a month. **Jellypod** ranks second with a free plan, then $30 a month, and **ElevenLabs for Publishing** third with a free plan, then $6 a month. **Descript** and **Synthesia** have free plans too. Half of the 16 tools with a monthly paid plan charge $21 a month or less. 17 tools here have a free plan to try before you pay. The highest ranked are Riverside, Jellypod and ElevenLabs for Publishing. ## Pick by what you need - A free plan before you pay: [Riverside](https://dubsheet.com/riverside.md), Free, then $9.99 a month - Creators and teams publishing recurring podcasts, narrated videos: [Jellypod](https://dubsheet.com/jellypod.md), Free, then $30 a month - Publishers and authors turning books: [ElevenLabs for Publishing](https://dubsheet.com/elevenreader-publishing.md), Free, then $6 a month - Ranked fourth: [Descript](https://dubsheet.com/descript.md), Free, then $24 a seat a month - Enterprise training and comms teams making multilingual video in-house: [Synthesia](https://dubsheet.com/synthesia.md), Free, then $19 a month - The lowest monthly price we found: [Perso Dubbing](https://dubsheet.com/perso-ai.md), From $6.99 a month ## All 18 picks at a glance | # | Name | Best for | Starts at | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | [Riverside](https://dubsheet.com/riverside.md) | Podcasters and video teams producing interview-led content | Free, then $9.99 a month | | 2 | [Jellypod](https://dubsheet.com/jellypod.md) | Creators and teams publishing recurring podcasts, narrated videos, and social shorts | Free, then $30 a month | | 3 | [ElevenLabs for Publishing](https://dubsheet.com/elevenreader-publishing.md) | Publishers and authors turning books and long-form stories into narrated audio | Free, then $6 a month | | 4 | [Descript](https://dubsheet.com/descript.md) | marketing, sales and podcast teams repurposing recordings into social and YouTube video | Free, then $24 a seat a month | | 5 | [Synthesia](https://dubsheet.com/synthesia.md) | enterprise training and comms teams making multilingual video in-house | Free, then $19 a month | | 6 | [Fliki](https://dubsheet.com/fliki.md) | Creators making narrated videos for YouTube, TikTok, and Reels | Free, then about $27 a seat a month | | 7 | [Altered Studio](https://dubsheet.com/altered-studio.md) | creators and game, film and e-learning teams recording voice-over in-house | Free, then $40 a month | | 8 | [Async](https://dubsheet.com/async.md) | creators and small teams making social video and podcasts in one browser tool | Free, then about $22 a month | | 9 | [Speechify Studio](https://dubsheet.com/speechify-studio.md) | A creator or small team making up to a few hours of narrated video a month | Free, then $100 a year | | 10 | [ElevenLabs](https://dubsheet.com/elevenlabs.md) | A creator, course maker or author who wants narration | Free, then $6 a month | | 11 | [Perso Dubbing](https://dubsheet.com/perso-ai.md) | creators and marketing teams localizing their own videos into many languages | From $6.99 a month | | 12 | [VEED](https://dubsheet.com/veed-io.md) | marketers and solopreneurs making social video who need voice-over and captions in-editor | Free, then $25 a seat a month | | 13 | [WellSaid](https://dubsheet.com/wellsaid.md) | training, marketing and e-learning teams producing recurring English voice-over | Free, then $19 a month | | 14 | [Vozo](https://dubsheet.com/vozo-ai.md) | creators, marketers and course teams localizing video into many languages | Free, then $29 a month | | 15 | [Voicemaker](https://dubsheet.com/voicemaker.md) | content creators and e-learning teams making multilingual voice-overs on a small budget | Free, then $5 a month | | 16 | [Speechma](https://dubsheet.com/speechma.md) | Creators who need free multilingual voice-over within per-conversion limits | Free, then $9 a month | | 17 | [HeyGen](https://dubsheet.com/heygen.md) | creators and teams localizing video into many languages without reshooting | Free, then $29 a month | | 18 | [Narakeet](https://dubsheet.com/narakeet.md) | Course makers and video teams creating multilingual narration from scripts or slides | Free, then $6 per 30 minutes | 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.** 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. Riverside **A free plan before you pay** **Best for:** Podcasters and video teams producing interview-led content - Price: Free, then $9.99 a month ([source](https://riverside.com/mobile)) - [Read the review](https://dubsheet.com/riverside.md) ### 2. Jellypod **Creators and teams publishing recurring podcasts, narrated videos** **Best for:** Creators and teams publishing recurring podcasts, narrated videos, and social shorts - Price: Free, then $30 a month ([source](https://www.jellypod.com/pricing)) - [Read the review](https://dubsheet.com/jellypod.md) ### 3. ElevenLabs for Publishing **Publishers and authors turning books** **Best for:** Publishers and authors turning books and long-form stories into narrated audio - Price: Free, then $6 a month ([source](https://elevenlabs.io/studio)) - [Read the review](https://dubsheet.com/elevenreader-publishing.md) ### 4. Descript **Best for:** marketing, sales and podcast teams repurposing recordings into social and YouTube video - Price: Free, then $24 a seat a month ([source](https://www.descript.com/pricing)) - [Read the review](https://dubsheet.com/descript.md) ### 5. Synthesia **Enterprise training and comms teams making multilingual video in-house** **Best for:** enterprise training and comms teams making multilingual video in-house - Price: Free, then $19 a month ([source](https://www.synthesia.io/pricing)) - [Read the review](https://dubsheet.com/synthesia.md) ## Side by side | Feature | Riverside | Jellypod | ElevenLabs for Publishing | Descript | Synthesia | Fliki | Altered Studio | Async | Speechify Studio | ElevenLabs | Perso Dubbing | VEED | WellSaid | Vozo | Voicemaker | Speechma | HeyGen | Narakeet | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Description | A conversation-focused studio that records locally, edits by transcript, and publishes finished episodes. | AI podcast studio for editable narrated shows, videos, shorts, and voiceovers. | A publisher-focused audio toolkit that pairs long-form narration with ElevenReader distribution. | Text-based video and audio editor with AI voices, voice clones, dubbing and captions. | AI video platform that turns a script into avatar video with voice-over in 140+ languages. | Script-to-video studio with voice cloning, multilingual dubbing, and direct social publishing. | Speech-to-speech voice morphing studio with text-to-speech, cloning, transcription and dubbing tools. | Chat-based AI video studio with built-in AI voices, voice cloning, dubbing and subtitles. | Browser AI studio where voice-over, dubbing, captions and video editing share one credit pool. | Voice studio where one credit pool covers speech, cloning, dubbing, captions and audiobooks. | AI video dubbing in 99+ languages with voice cloning, lip sync and subtitles. | Browser video editor with AI voice-over, voice cloning, dubbing and subtitles in one workspace. | AI voice-over studio with 240+ licensed actor voices, metered by downloaded minutes. | AI video translation with dubbing, lip sync, subtitles and on-screen text translation. | Credit-metered AI text-to-speech studio with 2,000+ voices, voice cloning, speech-to-speech and SRT export. | Free text to speech and creator audio tools with no account or credit card. | AI avatar video, voice cloning and video translation into 175+ languages with lip sync. | Duration-priced browser voice-over and narrated-video maker with non-expiring capacity. | | Category | AI podcast studios, Free text to speech, Free text to speech you may publish, YouTube and social video | AI podcast studios, YouTube and social video, Free text to speech | AI audiobook narration, Free text to speech, Free text to speech you may publish | AI podcast studios, YouTube and social video, Free text to speech, Free text to speech you may publish, Ads and marketing | AI dubbing and video translation, Text to speech and AI voice-over, Free text to speech, Free text to speech you may publish, Courses and e-learning | Text to speech and AI voice-over, Free text to speech, Ads and marketing, Courses and e-learning, YouTube and social video | Voice changers for content, Cheapest for 2 hours a month, Free text to speech, Free text to speech you may publish, Courses and e-learning, Ads and marketing, YouTube and social video | AI podcast studios, YouTube and social video, Cheapest for 2 hours a month, Free text to speech, Ads and marketing, Courses and e-learning | Text to speech and AI voice-over, Cheapest for 2 hours a month, Free text to speech | Text to speech and AI voice-over, Cheapest for 2 hours a month, Free text to speech, Free text to speech you may publish, Ads and marketing, Courses and e-learning | AI dubbing and video translation, Cheapest for 2 hours a month, Free text to speech, Free text to speech you may publish, YouTube and social video, Ads and marketing | AI dubbing and video translation, YouTube and social video, Cheapest for 2 hours a month, Free text to speech, Free text to speech you may publish | Text to speech and AI voice-over, Cheapest for 2 hours a month, Free text to speech, Ads and marketing, Courses and e-learning | AI dubbing and video translation, Cheapest for 2 hours a month, Free text to speech, Free text to speech you may publish, Ads and marketing, Courses and e-learning, YouTube and social video | Text to speech and AI voice-over, Free text to speech, Courses and e-learning, YouTube and social video | Text to speech and AI voice-over, Free text to speech, Ads and marketing, Courses and e-learning, YouTube and social video, Cheapest for 2 hours a month | AI dubbing and video translation, Free text to speech, Free text to speech you may publish, Ads and marketing, YouTube and social video | Text to speech and AI voice-over, Free text to speech, Courses and e-learning, Ads and marketing, YouTube and social video, Cheapest for 2 hours a month | | API | - | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Tags | AI podcast studios, Free text to speech, Free text to speech you may publish, YouTube and social video | AI podcast studios, YouTube and social video, Free text to speech | AI audiobook narration, Free text to speech, Free text to speech you may publish | AI podcast studios, YouTube and social video, Free text to speech, Free text to speech you may publish, Ads and marketing | AI dubbing and video translation, Text to speech and AI voice-over, Free text to speech, Free text to speech you may publish, Courses and e-learning | Text to speech and AI voice-over, Free text to speech, Ads and marketing, Courses and e-learning, YouTube and social video | Voice changers for content, Cheapest for 2 hours a month, Free text to speech, Free text to speech you may publish, Courses and e-learning, Ads and marketing, YouTube and social video | AI podcast studios, YouTube and social video, Cheapest for 2 hours a month, Free text to speech, Ads and marketing, Courses and e-learning | Text to speech and AI voice-over, Cheapest for 2 hours a month, Free text to speech | Text to speech and AI voice-over, Cheapest for 2 hours a month, Free text to speech, Free text to speech you may publish, Ads and marketing, Courses and e-learning | AI dubbing and video translation, Cheapest for 2 hours a month, Free text to speech, Free text to speech you may publish, YouTube and social video, Ads and marketing | AI dubbing and video translation, YouTube and social video, Cheapest for 2 hours a month, Free text to speech, Free text to speech you may publish | Text to speech and AI voice-over, Cheapest for 2 hours a month, Free text to speech, Ads and marketing, Courses and e-learning | AI dubbing and video translation, Cheapest for 2 hours a month, Free text to speech, Free text to speech you may publish, Ads and marketing, Courses and e-learning, YouTube and social video | Text to speech and AI voice-over, Free text to speech, Courses and e-learning, YouTube and social video | Text to speech and AI voice-over, Free text to speech, Ads and marketing, Courses and e-learning, YouTube and social video, Cheapest for 2 hours a month | AI dubbing and video translation, Free text to speech, Free text to speech you may publish, Ads and marketing, YouTube and social video | Text to speech and AI voice-over, Free text to speech, Courses and e-learning, Ads and marketing, YouTube and social video, Cheapest for 2 hours a month | ## Questions buyers ask ### How much do free text to speech tools cost? The median first paid plan is $21 a month, across the 16 of the 18 that publish a monthly price. They run from $5 to $40. ### Which free text to speech tools have a free plan? 17 of the 18 have a free plan. ### How current are these figures? The prices were read 27–31 October 2026. ## Sources and method Each price is quoted from the vendor’s pricing page. ### Pricing pages (18 read) - [Riverside](https://dubsheet.com/riverside.md): [riverside.com/mobile](https://riverside.com/mobile), checked 30 October 2026 - [Jellypod](https://dubsheet.com/jellypod.md): [jellypod.com/pricing](https://www.jellypod.com/pricing), checked 30 October 2026 - [ElevenLabs for Publishing](https://dubsheet.com/elevenreader-publishing.md): [elevenlabs.io/studio](https://elevenlabs.io/studio), checked 31 October 2026 - [Descript](https://dubsheet.com/descript.md): [descript.com/pricing](https://www.descript.com/pricing), checked 29 October 2026 - [Synthesia](https://dubsheet.com/synthesia.md): [synthesia.io/pricing](https://www.synthesia.io/pricing), checked 27 October 2026 - [Fliki](https://dubsheet.com/fliki.md): [fliki.ai/pricing](https://fliki.ai/pricing), checked 30 October 2026 - [Altered Studio](https://dubsheet.com/altered-studio.md): [altered.ai/pricing](https://www.altered.ai/pricing/), checked 27 October 2026 - [Async](https://dubsheet.com/async.md): [async.com/pricing](https://async.com/pricing), checked 27 October 2026 - [Speechify Studio](https://dubsheet.com/speechify-studio.md): [speechify.com/pricing-studio](https://speechify.com/pricing-studio/), checked 27 October 2026 - [ElevenLabs](https://dubsheet.com/elevenlabs.md): [elevenlabs.io/pricing](https://elevenlabs.io/pricing), checked 28 October 2026 - [Perso Dubbing](https://dubsheet.com/perso-ai.md): [perso.ai/pricing](https://perso.ai/pricing), checked 27 October 2026 - [VEED](https://dubsheet.com/veed-io.md): [veed.io/pricing/index.html.md](https://www.veed.io/pricing/index.html.md), checked 27 October 2026 - [WellSaid](https://dubsheet.com/wellsaid.md): [wellsaid.io/ai-voice-pricing](https://www.wellsaid.io/ai-voice-pricing), checked 27 October 2026 - [Vozo](https://dubsheet.com/vozo-ai.md): [vozo.ai/pricing](https://www.vozo.ai/pricing), checked 28 October 2026 - [Voicemaker](https://dubsheet.com/voicemaker.md): [voicemaker.in/pricing](https://voicemaker.in/pricing), checked 31 October 2026 - [Speechma](https://dubsheet.com/speechma.md): [speechma.com/faq](https://speechma.com/faq), checked 30 October 2026 - [HeyGen](https://dubsheet.com/heygen.md): [heygen.com/pricing](https://www.heygen.com/pricing), checked 28 October 2026 - [Narakeet](https://dubsheet.com/narakeet.md): [narakeet.com/docs/pricing](https://www.narakeet.com/docs/pricing/), checked 29 October 2026