Speakable
Add a text-to-speech player to your posts and pages using the browser's built-in Web Speech API. Free, no API keys required.
Use with caution
Speakable works, but test it on a staging site before relying on it in 2026. Was last updated 4 months ago, and scores 42/100 on our health check.
- Small user base (<10 active installs)
- Very few reviews so far
- Only tested up to WordPress 6.9 (latest is 7.1)
How does it stack up?
Side-by-side on installs, updates, ratings & support
Daily downloads
Download spikes usually follow a new release — each site that auto-updates counts as a download.
Rankings
Where Speakable stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| accessibility | >100 |
| audio | >100 |
| speech | >100 |
| text to speech | >100 |
| tts | #71 |
About Speakable
From the official readme · v1.0.1Description
Speakable adds a play button to your articles that reads the content aloud using the browser’s built-in speech synthesis engine. No external API keys, no usage costs, no third-party services.
Features:
- Play / Pause / Stop controls
- Adjustable playback speed (0.75x – 2x)
- Progress bar with sentence counter
- Voice, pitch, volume, and speed settings from the admin dashboard
- Enable/disable per post type (Posts, Pages, Products, etc.)
- Customizable button color with live preview
- Gutenberg block — place the player anywhere in your content
- Sticky mini-player that follows users while scrolling
- Mobile-optimized with large touch targets
- Accessible: ARIA labels, roles, keyboard navigation, and live regions
- Zero external dependencies — no third-party scripts, fonts, or services
Gutenberg Block:
Search for “Speakable Player” in the block inserter to place the player at any position in your content. The block automatically disables global auto-insertion for that post to prevent duplicates.
How It Works:
- The plugin filters post content to inject a player bar (or use the Gutenberg block)
- JavaScript extracts article text and splits it into sentences
- Each sentence is spoken using the Web Speech API
- Sentence-by-sentence playback avoids Chrome’s known timeout bug
Source Code and Development
This plugin is fully GPL. The maintained development location is:
https://github.com/devshagor/speakable
The human-readable source for every shipped file is also bundled inside the plugin itself:
- Block editor source:
src/blocks/speakable-player/index.jsandsrc/blocks/speakable-player/editor.css - Block render template (server-side):
src/blocks/speakable-player/render.php - Block metadata:
src/blocks/speakable-player/block.json - All PHP classes are unminified and live under
includes/ - All admin/frontend CSS and JS are unminified and live under
assets/
The contents of build/blocks/speakable-player/ are produced from src/blocks/speakable-player/ using @wordpress/scripts.
To regenerate the build output:
npm install
npm run build
This runs wp-scripts build --webpack-src-dir=src/blocks --output-path=build/blocks. The npm run start command provides a development watch mode.
Installation
- Upload the
speakablefolder to/wp-content/plugins/ - Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress
- Go to Speakable > Settings to configure voice and display options
- Visit any single post to see the player
Frequently asked questions
Does this plugin require an API key?
No. It uses the browser’s built-in Web Speech API which is completely free.
Which browsers are supported?
Chrome 33+, Safari 7+, Firefox 49+, Edge 14+, and most modern mobile browsers.
Can I place the player anywhere I want?
Yes. Use the “Speakable Player” Gutenberg block to place the player at any position within your content. When the block is used, global auto-insertion is automatically skipped for that post.
Why do voices sound different on different devices?
Voices are provided by the operating system, not the plugin. Available voices vary by OS (macOS uses Siri voices, Windows uses Microsoft voices, Android uses Google TTS, etc.).
Can I choose which post types show the player?
Yes. Go to Speakable > Settings > Display tab and select which post types should show the player.
Does the player appear on archive pages?
No. The player only appears on single post/page views, never on archives, search results, or the homepage.
Will this slow down my site?
No. The plugin only loads its small CSS and JS files on singular pages where TTS is enabled. On all other pages the frontend class is not even loaded. No external scripts, fonts, or services are used.
Changelog
Fixes the player reading related-post content. Recommended upgrade.
1.0.1
- Fix: player no longer reads related-post titles or meta — content extraction is now scoped to the player’s own article container.
- Improvement: the post title is now read before the article body.
- Docs: added a Source Code and Development section to the readme pointing to the public GitHub repository.
1.0.0
- Initial release
- Browser-based TTS using Web Speech API
- Admin settings dashboard under Speakable menu
- Voice, speed, pitch, and volume controls
- Enable/disable per post type
- Customizable button color and position (before/after content)
- Progress bar and speed control toggles
- Sticky mini-player during playback
- Gutenberg block for manual player placement
- Analytics and Help submenu pages
- Mobile-optimized touch interface
- Accessible markup with ARIA attributes and keyboard navigation
- Performance-optimized: frontend assets only loaded where needed
Screenshots
For developers
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Best Speakable alternatives
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FAQ
Speakable: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Oct 6, 2026
Is Speakable free?
Yes. Speakable is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is Speakable safe to use in 2026?
Speakable works, but test it on a staging site before relying on it in 2026. Was last updated 4 months ago, and scores 42/100 on our health check.
How many websites use Speakable?
Speakable is active on <10 WordPress websites and has been downloaded 284 times since it launched in June 2026. It was downloaded 62 times in the last 30 days.
Does Speakable work with WordPress 7.1?
Speakable is officially tested up to WordPress 6.9.9, while the latest release is 7.1.2. It may still work, but try it on a staging site first.
What PHP version does Speakable need?
Speakable requires PHP 7.4 or higher. Most hosts run PHP 8.x today, so it works on any modern WordPress hosting.
When was Speakable last updated?
The latest version, 1.0.1, was released on June 6, 2026 (4 months ago).
Who makes Speakable?
Speakable is developed and maintained by themeshape.
What are the best alternatives to Speakable?
The most popular alternatives to Speakable are Web Accessibility (formally… (500K+ installs), Auto Image Attributes From… (100K+ installs) and Accessibility by UserWay (80K+ installs).
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