Speechable
Convert your WordPress posts to audio with AI-powered text-to-speech. Works in the browser with word highlighting.
Use with caution
Speechable works, but test it on a staging site before relying on it in 2026. It runs on 10+ sites and was last updated 4 months ago, and scores 51/100 on our health check.
- Momentum — downloads up 103.3% vs the previous 30 days
- Small user base (10+ active installs)
- Very few reviews so far
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 Speechable stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| accessibility | >100 |
| audio | >100 |
| text to speech | #79 |
| tts | #28 |
| voice | >100 |
Version adoption
Share of active sites per release.
About Speechable
From the official readme · v1.0.4Description
Speechable transforms your WordPress content into natural-sounding audio using AI-powered text-to-speech technology. Speechable uses Piper TTS, an open-source neural text-to-speech engine that runs in your browser.
Third-Party Service
This plugin uses the following third-party services for text-to-speech functionality:
Piper TTS Web Library
- Service Provider: Mintplex Labs
- Library CDN: jsDelivr (https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/@mintplex-labs/piper-tts-web)
- ONNX Runtime CDN: Cloudflare (https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/onnxruntime-web)
- WASM Phonemizer CDN: jsDelivr (https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/@diffusionstudio/piper-wasm)
- Voice Models: Downloaded from Hugging Face
- Terms of Service: MIT License
Whisper (Word Timestamps)
- Service Provider: Hugging Face Transformers.js
- Library CDN: jsDelivr (https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/@huggingface/transformers)
- Model: Xenova/whisper-tiny.en (~75MB, downloaded on first use)
- Purpose: Provides accurate word-level timestamps for synchronized highlighting
- Terms of Service: Apache 2.0 License
What data is transmitted:
- The TTS library and ONNX runtime are loaded from CDN when generating audio
- Voice model files are downloaded from Hugging Face when first using a voice
- Whisper model is downloaded for word timestamp extraction (first use only)
- Your content text is processed locally in your browser and is NOT sent to any external server
- Once downloaded, all resources are cached locally in your browser
Why external resources are required:
The text-to-speech engine requires machine learning runtime (ONNX) and voice models that are too large to bundle with the plugin. These are loaded on-demand from CDN services, similar to how Google Fonts or other web services work. This is a service-based approach that keeps the plugin lightweight while providing high-quality AI voices.
Key Features
- AI-Powered Voices – Natural-sounding speech using Piper TTS neural network models
- Accurate Word Highlighting – Whisper-powered word timestamps for precise synchronization
- 12 Languages – English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Polish, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean
- Customizable Player – Match your theme with custom colors and styling
- Download Audio – Let visitors download audio files for offline listening
- Voice Presets – Quick effects like Radio, Stadium, Cave, Chipmunk, Robot, and more
- Free – No premium version, no limits, no hidden costs
How It Works
- Install and activate the plugin
- Go to Settings → Speechable to configure your preferences
- Edit any post and click “Generate Audio” in the sidebar
- The audio player automatically appears on your published posts
Voice Presets
Transform your audio with one-click presets:
- Default – Natural voice
- Radio – Broadcast quality
- Stadium – Echo effect
- Cave – Deep reverb
- Chipmunk – High-pitched fun
- Deep – Low bass voice
- Robot – Mechanical tone
- Telephone – Phone quality
- Megaphone – Announcement style
- Giant – Booming voice
- Fairy – Magical high voice
- Narrator – Audiobook style
Perfect For
- Bloggers – Give readers an audio option
- News Sites – Accessibility for all visitors
- Educational Content – Help students learn
- Accessibility – Support visually impaired users
- Podcasters – Quick audio versions of written content
Privacy
Your content is processed locally in the browser. Text is not sent to external servers. Voice models are downloaded once and cached locally.
Usage
Getting Started
- After activation, go to Settings → Speechable to configure your default options
- Select your preferred language and voice
- Choose which post types should have audio (posts, pages, etc.)
- Customize the player colors to match your theme
Generating Audio for a Post
Method 1: Block Editor (Single Post)
- Edit any post or page in the WordPress block editor
- Look for the “Speechable” panel in the right sidebar (under Document settings)
- Select your preferred voice and quality settings
- Click “Generate Audio” and wait for processing
- Once complete, you can preview the audio before publishing
- Publish or update your post – the audio player will appear automatically
Method 2: Posts List (Quick Access)
- Go to Posts → All Posts
- Hover over any post to see the “Audio” button in the row actions
- Click it to open the audio generation modal
- Configure settings and click “Generate”
- The audio will be saved to that post
Configuring Settings
Voice Settings
- Language – Choose from 12 supported languages
- Voice – Select a voice for the chosen language (preview available)
- Quality – Low (faster), Medium (balanced), or High (best sync accuracy)
- Whisper Model – Controls word timestamp accuracy (Tiny is fastest, Small is more accurate)
Voice Presets
Click any preset to quickly apply pitch and reverb effects:
- Default, Warm, Bright, Radio, Narrator, Podcast, Deep, Soft, Room, Hall, Telephone, Vintage
Display Settings
- Post Types – Enable audio for posts, pages, or custom post types
- Player Position – Show player before or after content
- Word Highlighting – Enable/disable word-by-word highlighting during playback
- Auto-scroll – Automatically scroll to keep highlighted word visible
Player Appearance
- Customize background, text, button, progress bar, and highlight colors
- Adjust border radius for rounded or square corners
- Live preview shows your changes instantly
Managing Audio
- Regenerate – Click “Regenerate” in the editor panel to create new audio with different settings
- Delete – Remove audio from a post using the “Delete” button
- Download – Visitors can download the audio file using the player’s download button
Tips for Best Results
- Use High quality for important content where word sync matters
- Preview voices in Settings before generating to find the best match
- Shorter posts generate faster – consider breaking very long content into parts
- First generation takes longer as voice models are downloaded and cached
- Word highlighting works best with standard theme content areas
Credits
Core Technologies
-
Piper TTS – rhasspy/piper by Mike Hansen
Fast, local neural text-to-speech system (MIT License) -
Piper TTS Web – Mintplex-Labs/piper-tts-web v1.0.4
Browser-compatible Piper TTS implementation (MIT License) -
OpenAI Whisper – openai/whisper
Robust speech recognition for word-level timestamps (MIT License) -
Transformers.js – huggingface/transformers.js v3.4.1
Run Whisper models in the browser by Xenova (Apache 2.0 License) -
ONNX Runtime Web – microsoft/onnxruntime
Machine learning inference engine (MIT License) -
Piper WASM Phonemizer – diffusionstudio/piper-wasm
WebAssembly phonemizer for text processing (MIT License)
Voice Models
-
Piper Voices – diffusionstudio/piper-voices
High-quality neural voice models hosted on Hugging Face -
Whisper Models – Xenova on Hugging Face
Optimized Whisper models for browser inference (whisper-tiny.en, whisper-small)
Infrastructure
- jsDelivr CDN – Fast, reliable CDN for npm packages
- Cloudflare CDN – ONNX Runtime delivery
- Hugging Face – Model hosting and distribution
Design
- Lucide Icons – lucide.dev (ISC License)
Beautiful, consistent icon set
Development
- Developer: Tanish Mittal
- Plugin Architecture: WordPress standards-compliant
- Browser Compatibility: Modern ES6+ with Web Workers
Installation
- Upload the
speechablefolder to/wp-content/plugins/ - Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress
- Go to Settings → Speechable to configure options
- Edit a post and use the “Audio Generation” panel to create audio
Minimum Requirements
- WordPress 5.8 or higher
- PHP 7.4 or higher
- Modern browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge)
Frequently asked questions
Does this plugin require an API key?
No! Speechable uses Piper TTS which runs entirely in your browser. No API keys, no external services, no monthly fees.
What languages are supported?
Speechable supports 12 languages: English (US & UK), German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Polish, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.
Will this slow down my website?
No. The TTS processing happens in the browser when generating audio in the admin. The frontend player is lightweight and only loads on posts with audio.
Can visitors download the audio?
Yes! There’s a download button on the player that lets visitors save the audio file.
Does word highlighting work on all themes?
Word highlighting works with most themes. It automatically detects your content area and highlights words as they’re spoken.
Is the audio stored on my server?
Yes, the generated audio is stored as post meta data. This ensures fast playback without regenerating audio each time.
Can I customize the player appearance?
Yes! You can customize colors for the background, buttons, progress bar, text, and word highlighting. You can also adjust the border radius.
Is Speechable compatible with WP Rocket?
Yes! Speechable automatically excludes its JavaScript from WP Rocket’s minification, concatenation, and delay JS features to ensure the player works correctly.
Does Speechable work with Elementor?
Yes! Speechable is fully compatible with Elementor and other page builders like Beaver Builder, Divi, WPBakery, Bricks, and Oxygen. The player automatically reinitializes when content is loaded dynamically.
Does Speechable work with caching plugins?
Yes! Speechable is compatible with WP Rocket, LiteSpeed Cache, W3 Total Cache, Autoptimize, and SG Optimizer. The plugin automatically configures the necessary exclusions.
Changelog
Security and code quality updates to comply with standard WordPress guidelines.
1.0.4
- Fixed WordPress standards and security checks.
- Sanitized SQL queries and added transient database caching for analytics.
- Added translators comments for localized strings.
- Cleansed unneeded hidden files.
1.0.3
- Added support for multiple TTS models and voices.
- Optimized model loading inside the editor and settings.
- Improved worker pooling and multi-threading capabilities.
1.0.2
- Added compatibility with WP Rocket (JS exclusions from minification/delay)
- Added compatibility with LiteSpeed Cache, W3 Total Cache, Autoptimize, SG Optimizer
- Added compatibility with Elementor, Beaver Builder, Divi, WPBakery, Bricks, Oxygen
- Player now auto-reinitializes on dynamic content load (AJAX)
- Added MutationObserver for detecting dynamically added players
- Added AJAX endpoint for loading player HTML dynamically
1.0.1
- Added “How to Use” section in settings page
- Added Custom preset for manual pitch/reverb adjustments
- Fixed preset selection persistence after save
- Updated documentation
1.0.0
- Initial release
- AI-powered text-to-speech with Piper TTS
- 12 language support with multiple voices
- Word highlighting during playback
- Customizable audio player
- Voice effect presets
- Audio download functionality
- Block editor integration
For developers
Is this your plugin? Show off the numbers.
Add a live badge to your site, docs or GitHub README. It updates on its own — no account needed.
Best Speechable alternatives
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FAQ
Speechable: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Oct 3, 2026
Is Speechable free?
Yes. Speechable is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is Speechable safe to use in 2026?
Speechable works, but test it on a staging site before relying on it in 2026. It runs on 10+ sites and was last updated 4 months ago, and scores 51/100 on our health check.
How many websites use Speechable?
Speechable is active on 10+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 1,600 times since it launched in January 2026. It was downloaded 551 times in the last 30 days.
Does Speechable work with WordPress 7.1?
Speechable is officially tested up to WordPress 7.0.6, while the latest release is 7.1.2. It may still work, but try it on a staging site first.
What PHP version does Speechable need?
Speechable requires PHP 7.4 or higher. Most hosts run PHP 8.x today, so it works on any modern WordPress hosting.
When was Speechable last updated?
The latest version, 1.0.4, was released on June 7, 2026 (4 months ago).
Who makes Speechable?
Speechable is developed and maintained by glowdopera.
What are the best alternatives to Speechable?
The most popular alternatives to Speechable are Web Accessibility (formally… (500K+ installs), Auto Image Attributes From… (100K+ installs) and Accessibility by UserWay (80K+ installs).
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