Speechelo Review
I’m sure we’ve all heard those horrible, robotic sounding, computer generated voice-overs that used to be a feature of so many YouTube videos. Or cringed at the sound of your own voice on a video.
Speechelo is a piece of software that claims to be a game-changer. It can make those robotic videos sound natural and remove the embarrassment of listening to your own voice attempting a voiceover.
What is Speechelo?
Speechelo is an A.I. powered text-to-speech software that allows you to create voiceovers in a single click.
If you are a video creator that struggles to produce decent voiceovers for your otherwise stunning video, then this could be the solution you are looking for.
It is a cloud-based software platform that will create natural sounding voiceovers for your videos. Depending on the version it features over 100 voices to choose from. The voices are created using AI and the results are quite astounding.
The output has inflections, you can add the sound of breathing, select different genders and ages and much more. There is also a library of music to choose from for background music.
What is Text to Speech (TTS)?
Text-to-Speech has been around for ages, at its core is the ability to take a piece of text and read it aloud. Nothing special about that.
Where Speechelo differs from previous TTS systems is in its ability to produce natural sounding text that can’t be differentiated from a human reading the same text.
Place a comma or a full stop in your text and Speechelo will change the inflection of its voice, gone are those monotone voices that used to drive me mad or send me to sleep.
Speechelo have developed a product that takes an old technology to a new level.
How does Speechelo Work?
Speechelo is an incredibly simple system to use. Considering the complexity of its function and output, the actual interface is simple to use, you don’t need to be a tech-head to produce great results.
There is no need to download any software, all you need to do is to create an account logon to the Speechelo site and begin to create voiceovers. As it is cloud based it is a great option for those on the move as it can be accessed from any PC or smart device.
It is a simple interface, you simply type or paste the text into the text box, select the voice you want to use and the tone you want it read in and that’s pretty much it.
There are three panels used in the whole process.
1. Text Panel: The first is where you type or paste your text. In here you also adjust settings like the volume and speed of the clip. It is also at this stage you can add any pauses in the speech.
One recommendation is to create your text in smaller pieces then merge them together, this gives you more control over the editing process and allows you to make changes to segments without re-doing the entire file.
2. Settings panel: In this panel you can select the voice to use. The default voice is an American called Billy. But you can choose from a selection of regional variations and accents including British, Australian and Indian. You can also select whether to use a male or female and whether it is an adult or child’s voice.
3. Generated Voice: This is the final panel and where you find your output files. It is here that you can merge your files and download them.
The file can then be added to video using your preferred video editing software.
It really couldn’t be any simpler.
Features of Speechelo
For such a simple piece of software it is actually jam-packed with useful features, although the features do vary from version to version, the core features are listed below.
- Human Sounding Voices: The AI technology behind Speechelo is designed to turn your text into natural sounding human Speech.
- Choose from a Wide Selection of Voices: The entry level version of Speechelo has thirty voices to choose from. More Advanced versions can have over a hundred to choose from, depending on version.
- Multiple Languages: Speechelo works in 24 languages including English, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Icelandic, Italian, Japanese, Korean and many more. Speechelo intends to add more languages on an ongoing basis.
- Speed Control: This feature is used to control the speed of your voiceovers.
- Voice Tone: You can select the tone of your voiceover from three presets, normal, friendly, and serious.
- Pause Control: Want your voiceover to pause from time to time? Speechelo has this covered too. Select where you want it to pause and it does!
All of the above plus all this:
- Text Translator: If you have some text in another language that you want to make into a voiceover in your native language, then Speechelo has a built-in function to allow this.
- Simple-to-use: The interface is intuitive and well laid out, easy to use for even the most ardent technophobe.
- Adds Inflections: This is one of the features that really helps produce that natural sounding voice.
- Music Library: There is a wide selection of music available to use as background music in your video.
- Works with all Video Editing Suites: The output file is in a format that can be used with the video editing suite of your choice. It works with them all.
- Can import and use YouTube captions: Available in certain versions only, this feature allows you to download the captions from YouTube videos and create new voiceovers based on them.
Speechelo Pros
Straight off the bat I would say that Speechelo delivers on just about everything it promises. For those wanting to add professional sounding voiceovers to video it is a great choice. Listed below are some of the features I really liked about Speechelo.
- Ease-of-use: This is one of the great features of the software. With just a few clicks that are self-explanatory, the output sounds fantastic.
- Cloud-Based: No need to install software on your device then always making sure you have it with you. Logon from any device, anywhere and you have instant access to the software.
- Great Selection of Voices: With over thirty voices to choose from in the standard version alone, it is easy to find the perfect voice to suit your video's mood and genre.
- Multi-Language Support: Not being a great language expert I can’t vouch for the realism levels in other languages, but I have no reason to doubt they are of any lesser quality than my native English. This is a great plus for the large percentage of the world that is non-English speaking.
- Use with any Video-Editing Software: Output file is a standard MP3 format, which will be usable in any software package that you use for editing.
Speechelo Cons
It isn’t without its flaws, but what is. Below we will list some of the features and functions of Speechelo that didn’t quite hit the mark.
- Standard Version has limited functionality: Yes it has thirty voices to choose from, which isn’t bad. But there are some other limitations. The standard version restricts you to a 5000-character limit for each file and has a merge limit of ten files.
Also, to use your output commercially then you have to upgrade to the pro-version at least. - Some voices aren’t as good as others: There are some of the voices that don’t sound quite so realistic. Some of this can be down to where you put your punctuation, but even after making adjustments a handful of voices didn’t quite hit the mark with me.
- There are hidden limits: Although not mentioned on the website, there are other limits to be aware of even in the pro version. According to Speechelo themselves, in the pro version you have a limit of 700k characters in every 30-day period. This equates to around 23,000 characters per day. Speechelo recommends trying not to generate the same text multiple times to avoid unnecessary usage. If you use your limit within 30-days, you are blocked from further usage until the next thirty day period begins.
- No option to upload files: It would be great just to be to upload a word or pdf document, but this isn’t supported. It isn’t a huge drawback because in most instances you can just copy and paste the text your desire.
- Preview is restricted to 100 characters: This is one feature that I really hope they improve. This is quite a restrictive limitation when you are trying to hear how your file is going to sound.
Speechelo Integrations
Speechelo is pretty much a standalone product, by its very nature it has one job to do and that is to produce a quality soundtrack/voiceover for your video.
The fact that it does this in an MP3 format means that it integrates easily with any piece of software that can read this format. Which is pretty much anything that is audio or video based.
There is an integration of sorts when you purchase the Tube Add-on. This integrates with YouTube to retrieve the captions from captioned videos.
Who is Speechelo for?
Basically, if you create videos for any purposes and want to save yourself a fortune on voiceover artists or the embarrassment of hearing your own flat voice (I speak from personal experience) then Speechelo can work for you. Let’s look at some specific examples below:
- Creating Online Courses: Online courses are booming and many people are trying to break into the market. With Speechelo you can create professional sounding video lectures.
- YouTube Channel: This is really where I used to hear so many robotic sounding voiceovers. It is off-putting, many times I would quit the video, even if the content was great, just because of the voice.
If you are trying to grow a YouTube channel then this is a great option, there is even a version with added YouTube functionality, which we will cover in more detail later in the review. - Blogging: Of course, there is nothing saying you must use your speech file purely as a video narration. If you’re a blogger you could consider releasing an audio version of your blog. Or merge them together as an audio book.
- Authors: On kind of the same subject (and one close to my heart) For authors wanting to create smaller audiobooks this could be an option. Although the throughput limits would inhibit releasing a full novel by this method, it is possible to use it to release something like an anthology of short stories. I have done just that!
Also great for other types of people as well:
- Advertising: With the technology involved in creating high-quality video now available within the budget of the average person, and the reasonable cost of advertising on platforms like YouTube and Facebook it has suddenly become feasible for even the smallest operation to create their own adverts. Finish it off with a professional touch and give it the voiceover it deserves.
- Social Media Posts: Influencers and those who have a large social media presence can use this to add quality voiceovers to their videos.
- Freelancers: There are many platforms where Freelancers can sell their services creating video marketing and promo videos. Speechelo makes a great addition to their toolkit. They can offer their clients the voice and accent or language of their choice whilst keeping the cost minimum.
It should be noted that to use this feature you must be subscribed to the pro-version of Speechelo.
Is Speechelo any good?
It isn’t without a niggle or two. But on the whole, I would say without a doubt yes, it is good. In fact, it is a very good piece of software that fills a niche market that exists between professional video editing companies that produce high-end productions for TV and film and smaller producers that are making their own promo or for selling to smaller operations.
There are plenty of samples for you to listen to before making that choice, so if you want to judge for yourself then have a listen before you take the plunge.
In my own experience having tried a few text-to-speech platforms, this wins hands down with its combined easy to use interface and the great output it produces without any training or prior knowledge required.
Is Speechelo easy to use?
For me, its ease of use was one of its defining features. It is so simple that within a few seconds you can have your first voiceover completed.
Like anything else there is a bit of learning curve required to maximum its features. But this is more learning how to present the text and where to place and time the pauses etc.
The actual user interface is simple to use and will offer tips on aspects like adding extra punctuation and pauses etc.
From starting with some text to finishing with a professional sounding voiceover can be accomplished with a few minutes. It doesn’t get easier than that.
How much does Speechelo cost?
Okay so now we down to the nitty gritty about the prices, and this can be tricky. At face value the standard version will cost $100. But I’ve never seen any site that doesn’t offer a hefty discount on this. Below we shall cover the versions and the costings for each.
- Standard Version: As noted the standard version ships for $100. However, at the time of writing I have seen it selling for as low as $37 ranging to $47. A saving of up to 63%. For the standard version this is a one-off cost, and although the discounts can never be guaranteed there seems to be always an offer somewhere. At the discounted price it is an absolute bargain and I suspect the discount is a mere marketing gimmick and will always be available in some form or another.
- Pro Version: The Pro-version is a quarterly payment of $47. If you are going to use Speechelo commercially then this is the entry level product that you will require. The added benefits apart from being able to create commercial videos are an increase in available voices to over 60. Access to the Music library to create background tracks and an increase in the character limit from 5000 to 20000.
- Elite Version: This has a monthly payment of $27. The main benefit to this is an increase in the amount of voices available. In the elite version you can choose from over 100 voices.
- Tube Add-on/ Worldwide Upgrade: This is a one-off payment of $37 and this adds the Tube add-on to your existing bundle.
If you are a YouTuber, then this is an add on that you will find useful.
It allows you to select any YouTube video that has captions and instantly replace the voiceover with a new one. It also allows you to translate the captions into other languages and recreate that video in the language of your choice. This is great for content creators wanting their content to be available in different countries.
Speechelo Standard versus Speechelo Pro
The Pro version offers many advantages over the standard version.
Firstly, if you intend to create commercial videos for yourself or for others then there is no choice in the matter, you need the pro-version. Otherwise it is a matter of analyzing your needs and seeing which ones suit them better.
If you are going to be a heavy user of the software, then you may find the standard version’s limited functionality to be inhibitive. The thirty-voice choice may sound a lot but when it filters down through selections like male-female, accent, adult-child, then obviously the choice can get restrictive.
Other advantages that the pro version offers is the increase in file size that you can process from 5000 in the standard and a choice of 40 background music tracks that you can add to your production.
One more feature that is included in the pro-version is a nifty eBook that details how you can use Speechelo to make money for you.
And if you can make money from it then that pro-version may just pay for itself.
Monthly Subscription or One-Time Fee
This is down to the version that suits your purposes best. The pro-version is actually a quarterly payment (3-monthly). It is only when you upgrade to the elite version that the payments are monthly ($27).
For most people the pro-version will have all the functionality you need to get started commercially, once you are established and making money from the product then upgrading to the elite will be a natural choice.
If you are unsure which version is best, it might be worth buying the standard version first and see how you get on with it. If it works for you then take the step and upgrade.
Of course, as was mentioned earlier if you intend to make commercial videos then you are restricted to the pro-version upwards.
How to make money with Speechelo
The moment you sign up for the pro version you receive a free eBook covering this very subject. But even in the standard version there is opportunity for you to start earning cash.
Even using the free version can generate cash, by producing more engaging videos for your YouTube channel will generate interest and subscribers. The same applies to any blogs or webpages you have, the better the quality of your content, the greater the visitors and subscribers you attract. This is where Speechelo can give you an edge over your competitors.
More directly, with the pro-version the money-making opportunities are as varied as you want to make them. Many content creators use Speechelo Pro on Freelance sites such as Fiverr and Freelancer.
The market for promo-videos is massive and Fiverr in particular has creators advertising video making services that utilize Speechelo to add the voiceovers and the background music. A quick search on the site will list many of them advertising video creation services.
A quick search on Fiverr listed a host of options charging from $5.00 for the most basic package upwards. It doesn’t take many of them to pay for your subscription.
Speechelo Reviews
As the product is fairly new, there are not so many objective reviews online.
However, we found some testimonials below.
Speechelo Testimonials
Here are a few testimonials that we took from the Speechelo website.
Is Speechelo right for you? Is it Worth it?
If you’ve got this far in the article, then the answer is probably yes. I mean you wouldn’t be reading this unless you had a need for voiceovers on videos or to create audio files from text.
If you are looking for quality voiceovers for videos, blogs or eBooks then this is certainly a product that is the next best thing to hiring a voiceover artist. From that point of view it really is a no-brainer.
I have always been good at creating my own promo videos for my books and webpages. I could dabble in photoshop and produce stunning images and take them into DaVinci Resolve (the video editing software I use) and produce stunning looking videos that were let down by a lack of audio quality.
This resolved all that for me and without the need to buy expensive audio equipment that would have only served to let people hear the poor quality of my voiceover attempts even clearer.
If you are at all serious about producing quality video with voiceover, then this is definitely for you.
FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions About Speechelo Answered
Do the voices sound like natural human speech or robotic?
There are a few voices that don’t quite hit the mark on this score. However, on the whole I have to say that mostly the voices are realistic and natural sounding. The pauses and inflections are genuine sounding.
The voices that sound robotic are disappointing and hopefully Speechelo will do further work on this. This isn’t a huge issue because the large choice of voices offsets this issue.
Are there female and male voices in Speechelo?
Yes, there are a selection of both male and female voices in the application.
Does Speechelo have adults and kids voices?
Speechelo has a range of voices that includes both adults and children.
Does Speechelo have voices in different languages?
Yes, Speechelo can do voiceovers in twenty-four different languages and can also translate text from one language into another.
What about the tones of the voices?
Speechelo has 3 separate tones available. These are Normal, Friendly and Serious.
Can I translate text directly in Speechelo?
Yes, Speechelo can translate text with a support for up to twenty-four languages.
Is there any music library?
Yes, from the pro-version onwards you have access to a music library of 40 tracks that can be added to your soundtrack.
What is the Tube Add-on?
The Tube Add-on is a tool that will create a text file from the captions of YouTube videos. This file can then be used to create a new voice over for the video and even allow you to create a voiceover in a different language for the same video.
Where can I listen to Voice Samples?
There are Speechelo audio samples on Youtube.
Can I resell the voices I create, for example, on Fiverr?
Yes, but not with the standard version. The pro-version is the entry level version to allow you to produce and sell videos commercially.
Is Speechelo based on Artificial intelligence (AI)?
Yes, the engine behind Speechelo is based on Artificial Intelligence algorithms. It is this technology that allows it to produce natural sounding voices.
Is the User Interface (UI) User-Friendly and Easy-to-Use?
The user interface that Speechelo has designed is simple and intuitive to use. It takes three simple steps from text to voiceover. There is no jargon or confusing choices, it is as simple as it could possibly be.
How is Speechelo Support?
The software is so easy to use that I never had the need to use it. But some quick research took me to a support page that had all the functions you’d expect. I also had a need to contact them for the purposes of this review, and they were prompt, courteous and helpful in responding.
Their Facebook page also seems to be a great support resource, with any queries responded to quickly and most issues resolved easily.
Who is behind Speechelo?
The company that developed Speechelo and a host of other applications is called BlasterSuite.
Does Speechelo work?
Yes, Speechelo works very well. Simple as that.
Does Speechelo have a money-back guarantee?
Yes, Speechelo will refund your money with no quibbling if you think your voiceover doesn’t sound like a human speaking. There are many resellers of Speechelo so the conditions could be different from one person to another.
Is Speechelo offered in other languages?
Yes, Speechelo has support for 24 languages.
Can I make money with Speechelo?
Yes, although Speechelo standard can help improve traffic and subscribers, the money-making opportunities grow exponentially with the pro-version. This allows you to make and sell videos commercially.
Is Speechelo Free?
No, the standard version is the entry level and depending on what discounts you get is generally priced around $47.
Any free trial with Speechelo?
Speechelo does not offer any free trial, although samples of voiceovers are available to help you decide if the software is right for you.
Is Speechelo safe?
Perfectly safe. All transactions are through a reputable vendor and your username and password are stored securely. Make sure your connection is secure when doing the transaction.
Is Speechelo Legit?
Many users are using Speechelo to create and sell voiceover videos on platforms such as Fiverr. This is testimony to the fact that Speechelo is a legitimate platform.
Where can I get Speechelo at a Discount?
There are many resellers online; some may offer a discount so be sure to shop around.
Does Speechelo have an Affiliates program?
Speechelo does have an affiliates program online. You may find information if you do some research.
Is Speechelo a Pyramid Scheme?
No, Speechelo is certainly not a pyramid scheme.
Does Speechelo work with Youtube, Vimeo and Wistia?
Speechelo is added directly to the soundtrack of you video, it works with pretty much all platforms on the market.
Does Speechelo work on a Mac?
Yes, Speechelo works well on a Mac, whether it is a laptop or a desktop.
Does Speechelo work on a PC?
Yes, Speechelo works well on a PC.
I have questions about Speechelo, but not listed here. How do I ask?
There are plenty of Facebook groups related to Speechelo. Alternatively, there are also plenty of websites that review the tool and may offer you some support.