WordWave – Text to Speech AI Narration vs Toolbelt

The WordWave text-to-speech for WordPress transforms written posts into listenable audio using AI narration. It allows visitors to listen instead of read, improving accessibility, engagement, and time on page without changing your publishing workflow. With WordWave, you can convert blog posts to audio automatically or manually and display a lightweight audio player directly inside your content. The plugin generates high-quality MP3 audio and only displays the player where audio exists, ensuring a clean and fast experience. View and listen to our product video to hear actual generated AI audio narration you can easily add to your own site: or use this YouTube Link Text to Speech for WordPress Turn written WordPress content into audio using AI-powered text-to-speech technology (via OpenAI or ElevenLabs). Offer an audio version of your posts so users can listen while multitasking, commuting, or browsing hands-free. Turn Blog Posts Into Audio With Custom Intro Message Convert WordPress posts into audio automatically when published, or generate narration manually when needed. The built-in player embeds directly into your content, and features customizable introduction text. AI Narration Made Easy Generate natural-sounding AI voice narration without recording, editing, or hiring voice talent. Audio is saved as standardized 24kHz MP3 files compatible with all modern browsers. Built-In Audio Player WordWave includes a fast, lightweight audio player optimized for performance. It does not block page rendering and will only appear when audio is available. Accessibility Benefits Text-to-speech improves accessibility for visitors with visual impairments and provides an alternative way to consume content. Adding audio can increase user engagement and time on page. LISTEN TO DEMOS Listen to customizable AI audio narrations on these featured live sites: Blog Post Player Embed Example AI Audio Voiceover Example Video Vanguard Culture Audio Content Archive Page Press Wizards Blog Post ✅ Free Standard Features Text-to-speech for WordPress blogs AI narration with natural voice output Uses your OpenAI or ElevenLabs API key 5,000 word limit per narration Convert blog posts to audio automatically on publish or manually Built-in audio player Google Analytics tag on player Automatically add player to new posts Exclude specific posts using tags Ignore images and captions during narration Add intro message before narration Standardized 24kHz MP3 audio output Plugin updates ✨ Premium Upgrade (Optional) For content creators, podcasters, and professionals, a Premium version is available with expanded features and tech support. Check out our free trial for these features: Unlimited word count Multiple voice selections and language support Narrate pages, custom post types, and WooCommerce products Automatically generate audio for new content Player positioning controls Add intro and outro Downloadable MP3 files Podcast audio feed and archive page Voice styles (pace, tone) Built-in play stats dashboard Technical support AI Provider Voice Samples OpenAI currently offers 13 built‑in voices to control how speech is rendered from text. Listen to an overview of the voices here. ElevenLabs voice samples are available in the plugin’s Settings page, when ElevenLabs is selected as the AI provider, and retrieves then displays their current voices and sample links. External services OpenAI: This plugin connects to OpenAI’s Text-to-Speech API to generate audio narrations, it is needed to create MP3 files from post content. It sends post text segments, selected voice/model, and narration settings when narration is generated (manually or on publish). This service is provided by OpenAI: terms of use, privacy policy. ElevenLabs: This plugin can connect to the ElevenLabs Text-to-Speech API to generate audio narrations and voice previews when ElevenLabs is selected as the provider. It sends post text segments, selected voice/model, and generation settings when narration is generated (manually or on publish). It also sends short preview text and selected voice ID when an admin clicks a voice preview in settings. This service is provided by ElevenLabs: terms of service, privacy policy. WordWave Stats API (5starplugins.com): This plugin can send aggregate plugin usage and environment statistics to improve compatibility and product quality. It sends site URL, WordPress version, PHP version, plugin version, enabled provider, active feature flags, and aggregate player event totals. It does not send post content or visitor personal data. Data is sent only when Share Plugin Statistics is enabled by an admin, on settings save and on a scheduled interval. This service is provided by 5 Star Plugins: terms of use, privacy policy. WordWave Remote Sidebar Messages (5starplugins.com): This plugin fetches a JSON file from 5starplugins.com to display rotating sidebar notices on the plugin admin pages (for example, feature announcements and upgrade messaging). It sends a standard HTTP GET request to a 5starplugins.com JSON endpoint (for example, /wordwave-premium-messages.json) and includes a WordWave user-agent string that contains plugin version and site URL. Requests are made when the admin settings page loads and then cached in a transient for up to 24 hours. This service is provided by 5 Star Plugins: terms of use, privacy policy. Knowledgebase Widget (via support.5starplugins.com): This plugin loads a Knowledge Base and Support widget only on the WordWave admin pages only after clicking the Yes opt-in link for support resources when first activated. It is used to provide access to our own knowledgebase and support resources, and retrieves the KB articles only when clicked on. This service is provided by 5 Star Plugins: terms of use, privacy policy. This plugin includes the Freemius SDK, if you opt-in, it is used for optional analytics and licensing features. It loads only if you opt-in on plugin activation, or if you click on a Trial or Upgrade link. This service is provided by Freemius: terms of use, privacy policy.

A collection of simple addons that provide every day functionality with privacy and speed. There’s very few options, and no unnecessary filler. It does exactly what it needs to do and nothing else. Toolbelt takes a privacy first approach to adding features. Everything happens on your server. No data is sent to third party servers without your explicit consent. No data is loaded from third parties (for example social sharing scripts). Taking inspiration from Jetpack I want to rebuild the features I use the most and make them as simple and fast as possible. Toolbelt has been featured on The WordPress Tavern in an interview with me. You can read more about the creation of the plugin and my desire for a more private internet. Gutenberg Blocks Some of the Toolbelt modules include blocks to make working with the generated content easier. The available blocks are: Contact Form – The simplest way to have people get in touch. Works with the spam module. Post Categories – A category content list for magazine and newspaper themes. Simple Slider – A fast, CSS powered slider. No JavaScript and easy to edit. Projects Grid – to list a collection of projects. These can be filtered by project category. Testimonials Grid – to list a group of testimonials. Great for showing off! 🙂 Markdown – for those who like a simpler writing experience. Sitemap – Easily list all posts, pages, Categories and Projects. Star Rating – Rate things with a simple visual interface. Breadcrumbs – for full site editing. Related posts – for full site editing. All Features Toolbelt has a lot of features. The complete list is below. Admin Interface Tweaks – Small CSS changes to make the interface nicer to use. Avatars – Algorithmicly generated private avatars that are consistent across websites. Breadcrumbs Contact Form – Gutenberg compatible & private. Supports the spam blocker module. Cookie Banner CSP Header Disable Comment Urls – Removes comments urls from your site. Disable REST API – Disable the REST API from public usage. Fast 404 – Stops WordPress from loading the full 404 page for images and other content. Reduces server usage. Footnotes Get Image – Find a featured image for posts that do not have one assigned. Heading Anchors – Add anchor names to headings so that they can be linked to. Iframe Privacy Shield – Remove iframes and add a clickable screen so that they load when the user wants to see them. Infinite Scroll Jetpack Dev Mode – Disable Jetpacks connection so that only local functions are enabled. Lazy Loading Layout Grid – A nicer columns block. Markdown Monetization – Enable Coil Web Monetization. OEmbed – Add additional OEmbed providers. Optimization – Remove WordPress features that are rarely used. Portfolio – Portfolio custom post type and blocks. Post Category – A post category block. Random Redirection – Randomly redirect to a blog post. Related Posts Remove IP Addresses – Remove IP addresses from comments for user privacy (spam protection still works). Responsive Videos Search Redirect – If there’s a single search result redirect to it instead of displaying the restuls. Sitemap – Sitemap block. Slider – JavaScript free CSS slider block. Social Menu – Replace social links with icons in navigation blocks. Spam Blocker – Privacy focused spam blocker. Static Social Sharing – Link to social sharing pages, and don’t load social network content on your site. Stats – Enable privacy focused analytics providers like Fathom. Testimonials – Testimonials Custom post types and blocks. Tidy Notifications – Move plugin and theme notifications to a sidebar. Typographic Widows – Remove widows in post titles. Widget Display – Set rules for widget visibility. Toolbelt is Private Every week there’s a new story about Facebook (or Google, or Amazon, or whoever) tracking people inappropriately, or selling user details. Or some security breach that leaks users passwords or credit card info. Privacy is a big topic and frankly, it’s scary how much big corporations like Google, Facebook, and Twitter know. To ensure Toolbelt is as privacy focused as possible it: Does not phone out. No data is shared with third parties. Does not use standard social sharing javascripts (loaded from social networks servers). Does not track your usage of the plugin. Does not add generator comments, or secret promotional comments to your site html. Toolbelt is Fast Slow websites make me sad. I don’t want to add anything to Toolbelt that will impact site load speed. My Google Pagespeed score should not move from 100. Why? Faster sites are shown to increase conversions and time on site. Google loves fast sites and improves their search rankings. In addition fast sites are great for people with slower internet access, or on mobile data, and use less resources to generate the page. So many benefits! To be fast Toolbelt: Doesn’t use jQuery or any other javascript framework. All javascript is vanilla js, and minified. Minifies all assets (JS and CSS). Loads all assets inline. They are already small, and loading them directly on the page means there are no server requests. Only loads things when they are needed. JS and CSS are only loaded for activated modules. Very few options. There’s one main database option, an array that stores what modules are active. And another that stores settings for some modules. Uses the minimum code possible. Minimum Javascript and PHP. Less code means more speed, and fewer bugs. All options are disabled by default. You enable only the ones you need. Built for developers Toolbelt is built with developers in mind. It has a collection of hooks and filters to enable you to make the modules work the way you want. If you’re intersted to jump in the project, there are opportunities for developers at all levels to help out. Contribute to Toolbelt on GitHub and join the party. 🎉 The code can be found on Github Documentation with code examples can be found on the wiki You can reach out to me with questions or problems on Twitter