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eSpeak NG

github.com

Free plan Open source WindowsmacOSLinuxiOSAndroidAPI
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Spec score 8.9 #16 of 223 in Text-to-Speech Software

Spec sheet

What it does
eSpeak NG is a compact text-to-speech synthesizer supporting more than 100 languages and accents.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Purpose
eSpeak NG is a compact open-source text-to-speech synthesizer supporting more than 100 languages and accents.Read 12 Oct 2026 · github.com
Platforms
The project lists Linux, BSD, Android 4.0+, Windows 8+, and Mac as supported platforms.Read 12 Oct 2026 · github.com
Free plan
YesRead 20 Sep 2026 · github.com
License
The main eSpeak NG engine is released under the GNU GPL version 3 or later.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Founded
2015Read 28 Sep 2026 · github.com
Android app rating
The Google Play listing shows 3.4 out of 5 stars from 1.67K reviews.Read 15 Oct 2026 · play.google.com
API access
YesRead 20 Sep 2026 · github.com
API compatibility
The C API remains API and ABI compatible with eSpeak 1.48.15.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Apple App Store rating
The Apple App Store listing shows 4.0 out of 5 from 21 ratings.Read 15 Oct 2026 · apps.apple.com
Audio and markup
It can produce WAV output and supports SSML (not completely) and HTML.Read 12 Oct 2026 · github.com
Audio output
The software can generate speech as WAV audio files.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Build requirement
The 1.52 release notes say it is the last release supporting the Autoconf build system and instruct users to use CMake to compile eSpeak NG.Read 12 Oct 2026 · github.com
Build requirements
The current native build requires CMake 3.10 or later and a C99-capable compiler such as GCC or Clang.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Command line
Command-line programs speak text supplied as files or standard input on Linux and Windows.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Commercial use
YesRead 20 Sep 2026 · github.com
Compact footprint
The executable, language data and many voices total only a few megabytes.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Compatibility
Its C API and ABI are compatible with eSpeak, while some voice, dictionary, and phoneme files are incompatible with eSpeak.Read 12 Oct 2026 · github.com
Component licenses
Fedora identifies GPL-3.0-only, GPL-3.0-or-later, Apache-2.0, BSD-2-Clause, Unicode-DFS-2016 and CC-BY-SA-3.0 components in the package.Read 15 Oct 2026 · packages.fedoraproject.org
Debian interface
The Debian man page documents speaking text, reading files or standard input, phoneme output and voice listing options.Read 15 Oct 2026 · manpages.debian.org
Developer documentation
Documentation includes user, building, contributor, language and voice-development guides plus C-library guidance.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Export formats
WAVRead 20 Sep 2026 · github.com
Independent Android analysis
AppRecs rates the Android listing 2.9 and reports a trustworthiness score of 86 out of 100 from its analyzed review sample.Read 15 Oct 2026 · apprecs.com
Integration
It is available as a command-line program, a shared library, and a Windows SAPI5 version for compatible screen readers and other programs.Read 12 Oct 2026 · github.com
Language coverage
The development version lists 127 languages and accents; the project says to run `espeak-ng --voices` to check the distributed version.Read 12 Oct 2026 · github.com
Latest release
GitHub lists version 1.52.0 as the latest release, dated December 12, 2024.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Library API
A shared library and Windows DLL expose a C API for embedding in other programs.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Limit: Android control bug
A Google Play reviewer reports that changing TalkBack speed also changes eSpeak speech rate and requests independent controls.Read 15 Oct 2026 · play.google.com
Limit: Apple update gap
App Store reviewers report that the iOS app lacks newer engine fixes, newer VoiceOver settings support and reliable automatic language switching.Read 15 Oct 2026 · apps.apple.com
Limit: incomplete SSML
The official feature list explicitly describes SSML support as incomplete.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Limit: synthetic voice quality
The project says its speech is clear and fast but less natural and smooth than systems based on recorded human speech.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Linux installation
The user guide recommends installing precompiled packages through distribution package managers such as apt, yum or pacman.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Maintainer identity
The Debian manual identifies Reece H. Dunn as maintainer and Jonathan Duddington as the original eSpeak author.Read 15 Oct 2026 · manpages.debian.org
Markup support
SSML and HTML input are supported, although the SSML implementation is incomplete.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
MBROLA
It can use MBROLA as a backend by converting text to phonemes with pitch and length information.Read 12 Oct 2026 · github.com
Optional build features
Optional dependencies enable audio output, speechPlayer, faster speech through Sonic, man pages and documentation generation.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Package availability
Fedora provides espeak-ng, development and documentation subpackages and names jskarvad and tkorbar as package maintainers.Read 15 Oct 2026 · packages.fedoraproject.org
Phoneme conversion
It can output phoneme codes and serve as a front end for another speech engine.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Praise: accessibility
Google Play highlights TalkBack compatibility, notification controls and large touch targets for one-handed use.Read 15 Oct 2026 · play.google.com
Praise: free Apple voices
An Apple reviewer praises the free open-source app for providing roughly 100 voices across Mac, iPhone and iPad.Read 15 Oct 2026 · apps.apple.com
Praise: multilingual offline use
Google Play describes offline operation, more than 100 languages, adjustable speech parameters and use as a system Android TTS engine.Read 15 Oct 2026 · play.google.com
Privacy and security
The project pages reviewed describe an installable synthesizer and its interfaces but make no specific security or compliance claims.Read 12 Oct 2026 · github.com
Project origin
The project was officially forked into eSpeak NG in late 2015 after earlier eSpeak development dating to 1995.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Release change
Version 1.52.0 added a CMake build system, stress marks in phoneme events, Android direct-boot support and an integrated ndk-build step.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Self-hosting
The project publishes source code and build instructions, allowing local compilation and installation.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Speech synthesis
The engine primarily uses formant synthesis, with optional Klatt synthesis and MBROLA backends.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Supported systems
The project lists Linux, BSD, Android 4.0+, Windows 8+ and Mac as supported platforms.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Synthesis
It uses formant synthesis, which keeps language data small and supports high speaking speeds, though the speech is less natural or smooth than synthesizers based on human recordings.Read 12 Oct 2026 · github.com
Voices
Users can select different voices and alter their characteristics.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Windows installation
Windows users install a release MSI downloaded from the project's GitHub releases page.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Windows integration
A SAPI5 implementation is available for Windows screen readers and other SAPI-compatible software.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com

Plans and prices

eSpeak NG Free Open source · GPL-3.0 or later Read 12 Oct 2026 · github.com
eSpeak NG Free Open-source engine · desktop and mobile ports · GPLv3+ engine license Read 15 Oct 2026 · apps.apple.com

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