A More Holistic Alternative to Vall-E Text to Speech

AI has been advancing at an incredible pace, and every day, there's a new development that leaves us speechless. First, there was ChatGPT, then we were introduced to Dall·E, and now, Microsoft has added its own contribution to this incredible field with its new Vall-E system.
Best Alternatives to Vall E Text to Speech in 2024

Murf-dark-logo
No items found.

What is Vall-E?

Vall-E is not just any AI. This groundbreaking LLM can clone a human voice with incredible accuracy. It is an advanced neural codec language model that can generate audio from text input and short samples from a target speaker. That's like a superpower, right?

Vall-E's in-context learning capabilities set it apart from other text to speech systems that can clone human voices. It's been trained on a whopping 60,000 hours of English language speech from over 7,000 different speakers. With this extensive training, Vall-E outperforms even the most advanced zero-shot text to speech systems. 

However, Vall-E is currently not available to the public, and only sample audio files generated using the tool have been published.

Features of Vall-E Text to Speech

Vall-E offers a range of impressive features that make it stand out among other TTS software:

Audio Creation from Very Short Samples

Vall-E can create high-quality personalized speech with only three seconds of recording. This feature makes the tool highly efficient. It can produce speech in a "zero-shot situation" without previous examples or training in a specific context or situation.

Emotion Mimicking

One of the most impressive features of Vall-E is that it can capture and preserve a speaker's emotion during synthesis and reflect it in speech. This feature makes the tool ideal for applications that require a personalized touch, such as speech editing, where a speaker's recording can be edited and altered from a text transcript.

Match the Acoustic of the Room

Vall-E can match the acoustics of a room. The model can preserve the acoustic environment of the speaker prompt, making the synthesized speech sound like it was recorded in the same space. This feature makes the TTS output sound more natural and realistic and is useful for applications such as podcasts, where the recording environment can significantly impact the quality of the final product.

Pitch and Texture Mimicry

Vall-E can mimic the pitch and texture of the speaker's voice. It processes how a person sounds and breaks down the relevant data into discrete components using EnCodec, a neural codec language model. This differs from other text to speech methods that typically synthesize speech. The model then uses training data to match what it "knows" about how that voice might sound if it spoke other phrases beyond the three seconds sample. This makes the TTS output sound more like the actual speaker and less computer-generated.

Top Alternatives to Vall-E Text to Speech

Vall-E is a popular tool for converting text into speech, but several alternative options are available. Here are some noteworthy alternatives that you can consider:

Murf 

Murf is an AI voice generator that helps users create lifelike synthetic voiceovers in minutes for their projects, be it presentations, documentaries, or eLearning content. The platform eliminates the need for expensive recording equipment, hiring voice actors, and outsourcing audio editors by offering users over 120+ synthetic humanlike voices in 20+ languages.

Key Features

  • Improve videos with perfect voiceovers using the voice over video feature.
  • Eliminate background noise and remove filler words using Mur's voice editing.
  • Create custom AI voice clones using the voice cloning feature.
  • AI voice changer to convert raw home recordings to studio-quality voiceovers.
  • Control over pitch, emphasis, pauses, and speed.
  • Custom pronunciation.
  • Library of royalty-free music and stock images.

Pricing

  • Free version: $0
  • Creator Lite: $29 per user per month*, Plus: $49 per user per month*
  • BusinessLite: $99 per user per month* , Plus: $199 per user per month*
  • Enterprise: Custom Pricing*

*Check pricing page for the updated pricing information and more details.

Speechify 

Speechify is an excellent TTS app and browser extension that can convert multiple text formats, such as articles and web pages, into audio. The app simplifies converting text to audio and provides various customizable features.

Key Features

  • Supports more than 60 languages.
  • Ideal for people who struggle with dyslexia or reading challenges.
  • Provides instant translation.
  • Top OCR technology.

Pricing

  • Three-day free trial.
  • Speechify Premium at $139 per year.
  • Speechify Audiobooks at $199 per year (or bundle with Text to Speech for $249 per year).

WellSaid Labs 

WellSaid Labs is a voice over software solution primarily designed for content creators, web developers, and small and large businesses. It enables users to create original and realistic voiceovers for written content through custom voices.

Key Features

  • All creative team members can offer suggestions and collaborate on the audio generator's characteristics.
  • The audio generator can be customized to achieve the desired output, such as pitch and accent, allowing for a more personalized output.
  • Supports 68 different avatars and voice styles.
  • Users can retake as many times as necessary to ensure the voiceover is perfect.

Pricing

WellSaid Labs offers various subscription plans suitable for different user requirements:

  • Trial: Free for one week.
  • Maker: $44/month billed annually.
  • Creative: $89/month billed yearly.
  • Team:$179/month billed yearly.
  • Enterprise: Customizable pricing.

Natural Reader

Natural Readers is an easy-to-use, downloadable text to speech software designed for personal use. It can read any text, such as Microsoft Word, web pages, PDFs, and emails, out loud in ultra-realistic voices.

Key Features 

  • OCR converts printed characters into digital text. This lets users listen to printed files or edit them in a word-processing program.
  •  Users can adjust reading margins to skip reading from headers and footnotes on the page.
  • Can be integrated with multiple platforms, including iOS and Android apps, and also has a Google Chrome extension.

Pricing

  • Premium: $9.99 per month.
  • Pro: $19 per month.
  • A free version is available.

Amazon Polly

Amazon Polly is a text to speech solution that utilizes deep learning technology to synthesize natural-sounding male and female human speech in various languages. But that's not all. Amazon Polly text to speech also offers customizable voiceover capabilities, allowing users to control aspects of speech such as pronunciation, volume, pitch, and speech rate. With various lifelike voices, including neural text to speech voices, users can benefit from improved speech quality and a more personalized experience.

Key Features

  • Users can send text via Amazon Polly's API to convert to voice, which can be streamed directly into any application.
  • It can create speech files in widely-used formats like MP3 and OGG.
  • It supports lexicons and SSML tags to control different aspects of speech.

Pricing 

  • 'Pay-per-use' approach that charges users monthly according to the amount of text processed. The pricing for Standard voices is $4.00 per one million characters for speech or Speech Marks requests, and similarly, for Neural Voices, it is $16.00 per one million characters.
  • The free tier includes five million characters per month for Standard voices and one million for Neural voices for the first 12 months, starting from the user's first request for speech.

FakeYou

StorytellerAI built a social platform for deep learning and generative models called FakeYou. Users can upload and manage a variety of deep fake models on this platform, including speech, music, and lipsyncing. In addition, FakeYou offers voice cloning services for creators who want to imitate anyone's voice, including celebrities from movies and TV shows. This feature is especially useful for artists and musicians who want to dub their creative work with a different voice.

Key Features

  • Users can quickly type or copy-paste the text and choose the voice from the catalog of voices.
  • It is a community-based initiative that promotes the use of open-source voice models.
  • The project allows users to share their personal voice models for TTS.

Pricing 

  • Plus: $7/month.
  • Pro: $15/month.
  • Elite: $25/month.

All plans include unlimited generation, but the length of the audio or video varies from 30 seconds to two minutes.

TTSReader

TTSReader is a freeware text to speech software that reads text aloud and converts text to wav or mp3 audio files. This software works on any browser and device without installation, downloads, or login. Additionally, it remembers the last text and position. This feature has the capability to recall the previous text and location, where the user left off, even if they have closed or exited the application. It is helpful for users who need to continue working on a document or project without starting from scratch every time they open it.

Key Features

  • Over 30 AI voices in 15+ languages.
  • Reading speed adjustments.
  • Import web pages and documents.
  • Add pauses and adjust the volume.
  • Speech tracking word feature.
  • Remembers the last text and position.

Pricing

TTSReader is free to use and offers a premium version for only $2 per month, billed for one year. The premium version includes additional voices with extra features such as pronunciation corrections and more.

LOVO AI 

LOVO AI is an AI-based TTS solution that offers a dedicated Voice Lab module with emotion choices for lifelike voices. It also has a Lovo Studio that lets users create accurate voiceovers quickly.

Key Features 

  • It offers over 30 choices in emotion for AI-based lifelike voices.
  • It enables users to create voiceovers quickly by entering the text and playing back audio in the target voice.
  • Offers an API.
  • The generated audio is downloadable in all major file formats.

Pricing 

  • Free: 14-day free trial.
  • Basic: $19/month billed yearly.
  • Pro: $36/month billed yearly.
  • Pro+: $99/month billed yearly.

Why is Murf the Best Alternative to Vall-E TTS?

While both Murf and Vall-E aim to create ultra-realistic synthetic voiceovers, there are significant differences in how the two operate. 

Versatility and Accessibility

Murf is a user-friendly platform that offers a simple interface, making it easy for users to create professional-sounding voiceovers in minutes. With over 120 voices in 20 languages and accents, Murf's AI and deep learning technology create natural-sounding speech with better pronunciation, intonation, and reading speed. Murf is readily available for anyone to use, making it a more accessible option than Vall-E.

On the other hand, Vall-E is currently unavailable to the public due to concerns about potential misuse. While Vall-E can synthesize personalized speech that maintains speaker identity, there is a risk that it could be misused, for example, spoofing voice identification.

Voice Cloning

Murf's voice cloning feature lets users create realistic-sounding AI voice clones that mimic a specific person's voice and emotions. The platform ensures user data protection and offers custom voice over options for various applications, such as IVR, ads, and character voices. 

Vall-E's voice cloning capabilities use an advanced neural codec language model to generate audio from text input and short samples from a target speaker. Hence, both are capable of creating highly personalized and accurate voice clones.

Voice Over Video

Murf's voice over video feature enables the synchronization of images, videos, and presentations with the voiceover, resulting in a more immersive experience for viewers. Vall-E does not have a dedicated voice over video feature.

Voice Changer

Murf's studio-quality voice changer lets users record their voiceovers from anywhere and create professional-sounding voiceovers by removing unwanted parts of the recording or changing the gender of the voiceover. Vall-E's voice changer capabilities are more limited, focusing primarily on mimicking the pitch and texture of the speaker's voice using discrete audio codec codes.

While Vall-E has some impressive capabilities, its limited availability and concerns about potential misuse make it less accessible and practical for most users. On the other hand, Murf offers a more diverse range of customization options, unique features like voice cloning and voice changer, and a simple all-in-one voice platform.

So, why wait? Sign up for Murf's free trial today and experience its robust capabilities!

Frequently Asked Questions


How does Vall-E TTS work?

Vall-E TTS uses a neural codec language model to generate acoustic tokens from text and acoustic prompts. These are then synthesized into a final waveform with the corresponding neural codec decoder to simulate a person's voice closely and preserve their emotional tone.

Is Vall-E free to use?

As Vall-E has not yet been released to the public, it is unclear whether it will be free to use, and there is no information about its pricing or availability.

What is the use of Microsoft Vall-E?

Microsoft Vall-E is a language model for text to speech synthesis that can replicate anyone's voice with just a three-second audio sample and has potential uses in creating high-quality text to speech systems, speech editing, and audio content creation when combined with other generative AI models.

What is Zero shot text to speech?

Zero-shot text to speech is a technique in which a machine learning model can generate synthesized speech in a new voice, without being explicitly trained on data from that specific voice, by inferring its characteristics from related training data.

Read more about the best text to speech software chrome extensions, best free voice changers, and best voice over software available online and their advantages.

Related Links : Murf text to speech, FakeYou, Amazon Polly text to speech, Wellsaid Labs, Natural Readers, TTS Reader, Notevibes, TTSMP3, Text to speech Google, Speechify, IBM Watson Text to speech, GoAnimate, Speechmax, 15 ai, Uberduck, Oddcast, Synthesia, Lovo AI, ElevenLabs, Synthesis, Resemble ai, Ivona text to speech, Play.ht, Clownfish Voice Changer, Nuance text to speech, Fliki text to speech, Narakeet, Listnr, Podcastle,SAM Text to Speech, Botika text to speech, Elai text to speech,Heygen text to speech, eSpeak,Balabolka text to speech.