Balabolka review

Balabolka is a free Windows program that reads text aloud with whatever voices are installed on your computer, using Microsoft's Speech API. Its strength is file support and audio export: it opens AZW, DOCX, EPUB, MOBI, PDF, RTF, HTML, ODT and many other formats, and it can save the text as an audio file with the words synced for players that show lyrics. That makes it useful for turning a long document into audio for a phone or MP3 player. Readers with dyslexia or low vision can set the font and background color, and pronunciation rules correct words the voice gets wrong. It can also read the clipboard and be controlled by global hotkeys or from the system tray. A portable version runs from a USB drive. The interface is dated and the voice quality depends entirely on the voices on your PC, so it suits people who are comfortable with settings.

Who it is for

Windows users who want to convert ebooks and documents into audio files for free.

Price

Free (freeware).

As long as people pay money for Cross+A, Balabolka will remain freeware.
Quoted from the vendor pricing page on November 9, 2026.

Key features

• Uses every voice installed on your Windows PC
• Opens DOCX, EPUB, MOBI, PDF, RTF, HTML and many more formats
• Saves text as audio files with synced text for players
• Custom font and background color
• Portable version runs from a USB drive

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: Completely free
• Strength: Reads more file formats than most apps here
• Strength: Pronunciation rules fix words the voice gets wrong
• Weakness: Windows only
• Weakness: Dated interface aimed at technical users
• Weakness: Voice quality depends on the voices on your PC

Key facts

• Platform: Windows
• License: Freeware
• Formats: AZW, DOCX, EPUB, MOBI, PDF, RTF and more
• Voices: Any SAPI voice on the PC
• Portable: Yes, runs from USB

Where it ranks

Balabolka is No. 10 in our Best Text to Speech Apps verdict.