Comparisons

[Jerry Martin]

Good morning to all.

 

I was curious as to the differences in speech between NVDA, JAWS and Narrator.

 

I do not have NVDA installed as of yet; and whenever my JFW gets squirrely, I use Narrator as a backup. I do not like it though as the voice is too robotic for me. Thanks.

Jerry

[Richard Turner]

I believe by default the NVDA voice is the same as Narrator unless you add other voices which I believe cost something, not sure how much.

 

 

 

Richard, USA,

he only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance."

-- Alan Watts (1915-1973)

 

My web site: https://www.turner42.com

 

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[Gene Asner]

Since you can use a lot of different voices in both JAWS and NVDA, your
question can't be properly answered. By default, NVDA uses Microsoft
Voices so it will sound like Narrator. But you can use Eloquence with
NVDA and lots of other voices and that is the case concerning JAWS as well.

Gene
On 11/18/2025 9:29 AM, 'Jerry Martin' via NVDA Screen Reader Discussion
wrote:

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[muhammed ali çiçek]

"Extra synthesizers can be installed into NVDA, but this comes at a cost.
There is one synthesizer add-on in the add-on store; you can download it, purchase a license, and use it.
In my opinion, NVDA's biggest drawback is the poor quality of the voices that come by default.
The Narrator voices, which are the OneCore voices, are of poor quality in almost all languages.
I think it would be appropriate for NV Access to work on this issue."
 

'Jerry Martin' via NVDA Screen Reader Discussion <nvda-...@nvaccess.org>, 18 Kas 2025 Sal, 18:29 tarihinde şunu yazdı:

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[Sarah Alawami]

there are free voices for nvda. I'm using RhVoice. it is a bit robotic but my ears and work style need that right now.

Thanks and happy Tuesday.

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Sarah Alawami | Salesforce Administrator | Accessibility Consultant | Educator

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[Quentin Christensen]

I believe Jaws comes with Eloquence and Vocalizer Expressive - both of which are available for NVDA (both are paid options).  As noted, NVDA uses the Windows OneCore voices which are also what Narrator use.  The newer Windows 11 Narrator also has access to a "natural" voice, however Microsoft have not made that available outside Narrator at this stage. We have a page with extra voices listed here: https://github.com/nvaccess/nvda/wiki/ExtraVoices which includes both free and paid options.  RH Voices and Sonata Neural Voices are two free options I've heard good feedback from users on.  However, voices are such a subjective thing, please try out the various options and make your own decision on what works best for you.

Back on the Windows OneCore voices, you can install extra voices in that by adding new languages in Windows itself.  Note that for English speakers, there are a range of options - from English US, English UK, English Australia, English Canada, and more.  If you do prefer a particular accent, do make sure you have that one installed.  We wrote a blog post on doing that awhile ago - the steps may have changed slightly since then, but the broad idea should be similar: https://www.nvaccess.org/post/in-process-14th-january-2021/#OneCore

And as always, for those who prefer other options, please do let us know, and I can ensure they are listed on that extra voices page at least (as long as they are legal).

Kind regards

Quentin.

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[Steve Nutt]

Would be good if NVDA could support Microsoft Natural Voices, this would certainly make some people happy. I don’t think any screen reader other than Narrator supports them currently though.

All the best

 

Steve

 

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[muhammed ali çiçek]

"I seem to recall hearing that Jaws also has it. It was mentioned in the NV Access roadmap, but an agreement with Microsoft is essential for this. I am not sure if such an agreement will happen, I hope it comes."

Steve Nutt <st...@comproom.co.uk>, 20 Kas 2025 Per, 15:40 tarihinde şunu yazdı:

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[Quentin Christensen]

Yes this one is on Microsoft to open up access to any third party screen readers for use of the newer natural voices.  Until then, we have the Windows OneCore voices and we also compile a list of other synthesizers at: https://github.com/nvaccess/nvda/wiki/ExtraVoices

Kind regards

Quentin

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[Steve Nutt]

No, JAWS doesn’t currently support them. I have JAWS 2026.

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