Speechable — AI Text-to-Speech for WordPress Websites

I built Speechable to solve a simple but overlooked problem on the web:
most written content isn’t accessible or convenient to consume.

People read blogs while commuting, multitasking, or dealing with visual or reading limitations — yet adding high-quality text-to-speech usually means expensive APIs, subscriptions, or privacy trade-offs.

Speechable fixes that.

What is Speechable?

Speechable is an open-source, AI-powered text-to-speech WordPress plugin that lets visitors listen to blog posts in natural-sounding voices — with no API keys, no external servers, and no recurring costs.

It runs entirely in the browser using modern neural speech models, making it fast, private, and easy to use.

Why I Built It

While experimenting with content accessibility and AI tooling, I noticed three recurring issues with existing TTS solutions:

1. They depend on paid APIs
2. They send user data to external servers
3. They’re overkill for simple blogging needs

I wanted something:

• Free
• Privacy-first
• Simple enough for any WordPress site
• Good enough to actually sound human

Speechable is my answer to that.

How It Works (At a High Level)

Speechable integrates directly into WordPress and uses on-device neural text-to-speech. When a post is published, audio can be generated and embedded automatically — no backend processing required.

Everything runs locally in the browser, which means:

• No third-party tracking
• No latency from APIs
• No hidden costs

Core Features

Natural AI Voices

Speechable uses modern neural TTS models that sound clear and expressive — not robotic.

Multi-Language Support

Supports 12+ languages, including English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Polish, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.

Voice Effects & Presets

Different listening styles like:

• Narrator
• Radio
• Robot
• Chipmunk
• Cave echo

Custom Audio Player

The player can be styled to match your website’s design.

Downloadable Audio

Visitors can download audio versions of posts for offline listening.

Word Highlighting

Text is highlighted in sync with the audio for better comprehension.

Local Audio Storage

Audio is stored with post metadata, avoiding regeneration and improving performance.

Who It’s For

• Bloggers who want higher engagement
• Educators building accessible content
• Indie creators experimenting with AI
• Anyone who wants their content to be heard, not just read

Open Source & Privacy-First

Speechable is fully open source and respects user privacy.
No tracking, no analytics, no data leaving the device.

If you care about an open and accessible web, this project is for you.

Explore the Project

• GitHub Repository:
  https://github.com/tansihmittal/speechable

Contributions, feedback, and ideas are always welcome.

Final Thoughts

Speechable is a small project, but it represents how I like to build:

• Practical
• User-first
• Open
• And slightly opinionated about simplicity

If you use it or build on top of it, I’d love to hear how.

Feedback & Sharing

If you find Speechable useful or end up building something with it, I’d love to hear about it.

Feel free to share your thoughts or demos on X (Twitter) and tag me —
@glowdopera

Seeing how people use the project genuinely helps me improve it and decide what to build next.