Play ht vs NaturalReader: Which Creates Natural Voices in 2025

Want to make your content sound more human? Need a lifelike voice for your videos or podcasts?

In this corner, we have Play.ht, a popular online voice generator with many realistic voices. 

And in the other corner, we have NaturalReader, another big name known for its high-quality text-to-speech.

But which one comes out on top in 2025?

We’ll compare Play ht’s and NaturalReader’s features, ease of use, and pricing to help you decide which is best.

Play ht vs NaturalReader: Overview

We’ve spent weeks testing both Play.ht and NaturalReader to give you the most accurate comparison.

We investigated their features, listened to countless voice samples, and even created our audio projects to see them in action. 

We’re sharing our insights to help you choose the right tool.

What is Play ht?

Have you ever wished you could have a professional voice actor narrate your content?

Well, now you can—without the hefty price tag! Play is an AI-powered voice generator that creates incredibly realistic voiceovers. 

It’s easy to use and offers many voices in different languages and accents.

You can even fine-tune the speed, pitch, and pauses for perfect delivery.

Key Benefits

• Huge Voice Library: Access over 900+ expressive AI voices with diverse accents and languages.
• Realistic Voices: Play.ht uses advanced AI to generate incredibly natural-sounding voices.
• Podcast-Ready Audio: Create high-quality audio with podcast-specific features like intro/outro music and separate tracks for each speaker.

Pricing

Play.ht offers a free trial to test out the platform. Paid plans start at $31.20 per month. Here’s what you get:

• Free Trial: $0/month
• Creator: $39/month
• Unlimited: $99/month

What is NaturalReader?

Need to give your eyes a break? Or maybe you learn better by listening? NaturalReader is your go-to tool for all things text-to-speech.

It can read aloud any digital text, from webpages and emails to PDFs and e-books.

Plus, it offers a variety of natural-sounding voices and supports over 50 languages.

You can even convert text to audio files for offline listening. Pretty cool, right?

Key Benefits

• Accessibility: Makes any text accessible to everyone. 👂
• Productivity: Multitasking while listening to documents. 🚀
• Learning: Improve comprehension and retention. 🧠
• Convenience: Listen on the go with mobile apps. 🚶‍♀️

Pricing

• Yearly Plan: $49/month – Billed yearly as a single payment of $588/year.
• Yearly Small Business: $24.5/month – Entities must have 20 or fewer employees.
• Monthly Plan: $99 USD/month – $35 USD/user/month for extra users.

Play ht vs NaturalReader: Feature Comparison

Let’s examine Play.ht and NaturalReader’s features side-by-side.

This will help you determine which tool better suits your needs and preferences.

Voices

• Play ht: boasts a vast library of over 907 incredibly lifelike AI voices. These voices sound remarkably human, making them perfect for professional voiceovers. They also offer AI voice cloning, allowing you to create a unique voice for your brand.
• NaturalReader: Offers a decent selection of natural-sounding voices, but they don’t quite reach the same level of realism as Play.ht. However, NaturalReader offers a good variety of accents and languages.

Languages

• Play.ht: Supports an impressive 142 languages, making it ideal for creating content for a global audience.
• NaturalReader supports over 50 languages, which is still a respectable number but less extensive than Play.ht.

Ease of Use

• Play.ht: Has a very intuitive and user-friendly interface. Even if you’re new to text-to-speech tools, you’ll find it easy to navigate and generate audio.
• NaturalReader: It is also relatively easy to use, but the interface can feel a bit dated compared to Play.ht.

Text-to-Speech Capabilities

Both Play.ht and NaturalReader excel in their core text-to-speech capabilities. They can transform written content into natural-sounding speech, making it accessible to those with visual impairments or who prefer to listen to content.

Use Cases

• Play.ht caters more to content creators, offering features specifically designed for producing high-quality audio for videos, podcasts, e-learning materials, and more. It allows you to automate your content creation process seamlessly integrating with other platforms.
• NaturalReader enhances the reading experience. It’s an excellent TTS tool for individuals, students, and professionals who want to listen to digital content, articles, or documents. NaturalReader offers features like a dyslexia-friendly font and a floating bar for listening to web pages while multitasking.

Customization Options

• Play.ht: Offers customization options that allow you to fine-tune the voice-over, including voice-oversting speed, pitch, pauses, and pronunciation. This level of control ensures your audio sounds precisely how you want it.
• NaturalReader offers some basic customization options, but they are not as extensive as Play.ht. You can adjust the speed and volume of the speech, but you have less control over other aspects, like pronunciation.

Accessibility Features

• Play.ht: While Play.ht’s primary focus is content creation, its high-quality, natural-sounding voices make digital content more accessible for people with visual impairments.
• NaturalReader: Places a strong emphasis on accessibility. Its features include a dyslexia-friendly font, OCR technology for extracting text from images, and keyboard shortcuts, making it a valuable aid for the visually impaired.

What to Look for When Choosing a Voice Generator?

• Listening is Key: Pay close attention to the voice quality. Does it sound natural and engaging, or robotic and monotonous? Many platforms offer free trials or demos, so take advantage of those!
• Consider Your Needs: Consider what you’ll use the voice generator for. Do you need a wide variety of languages? Is voice cloning vital to you? Prioritize the features that matter most to you.
• Check for Integrations: If you plan to use the voice generator with other tools, ensure it integrates seamlessly with your existing workflow.
• Factor in the Cost: Voice generation services come with different pricing models. Consider your budget and how much you’ll be using the tool. Some platforms offer free plans with limited features, which might be sufficient for occasional use.
• Look for Pronunciation Control: Some platforms allow you to fine-tune the pronunciation of words or phrases. This is especially helpful if your content contains technical terms or unusual names.
• Pay Attention to Support: If you encounter any issues, you’ll want reliable customer support. Check if the platform offers email support, live chat, or a knowledge base.
• Consider SSML Support: SSML (Speech Synthesis Markup Language) allows you to control various aspects of the speech output, such as pauses, emphasis, and pronunciation. If you need advanced customization, look for a platform that supports SSML.

Final Verdict (Our Pick)

So, which tool comes out on top in the Play ht vs. NaturalReader showdown? 

For us, it’s Play.ht!

Its voices are incredibly realistic. It’s also super easy to use and offers many customization options. 

We love that it works seamlessly with other tools, making it perfect for creating voiceovers and audio content.

But hold on! That doesn’t mean NaturalReader isn’t good.

NaturalReader is a solid choice for everyday text to speech tasks, such as reading articles or webpages aloud. 

It even has some cool accessibility features.

Ultimately, the best choice depends on your needs. We’ve provided you with all the information you need to make the right decision. Trust us—we’ve done our homework!

Frequently Asked Questions