NVDA Voices: How to Change Language and Voice (2026)

Updated: 2 November 2026 (NVDA 2026.3)

To make NVDA speak another language, change its speech voice, not its menu language. Press NVDA+Control+S to choose a speech synthesizer, then pick a voice for your language in the Speech settings.

NVDA is the free screen reader that reads a Windows computer aloud. It speaks English well out of the box. This guide explains NVDA voices: how to make NVDA speak Hindi, Tamil, Spanish or many other languages, and how to get a more natural voice, free or paid. You do not need any technical background. Every step is a key press or a menu choice.

Table of Contents

What are the four NVDA settings people mix up?

Most of the confusion comes from four separate settings that all sound like “language”. Each one changes something different.

NVDA menu language. This is the language of NVDA’s own menus, dialogs and messages. It does not change the language NVDA speaks when it reads a web page.

Speech voice. This is the voice that reads text aloud. To hear Hindi read in a Hindi voice, this is the setting to change. Each voice belongs to a speech engine, which NVDA calls a synthesizer.

Windows language and voice packs. Windows can supply extra voices. NVDA can use them, but Windows needs the matching voice installed first.

Braille table. This matters only if you use a braille display. It decides which braille code NVDA uses, and it is separate from speech.

A simple way to remember it: the menu language is the label on the buttons, the voice is the person speaking, Windows is where extra voices are stored, and the braille table is the dots.

What do you need before you start?

NVDA runs on Windows 10 and later, according to NV Access. NVDA 2026.1 and later needs 64-bit Windows, and it no longer supports 32-bit Windows or Windows 10 on ARM. NV Access recommends Windows 11, or Windows 10 version 22H2 if you cannot use Windows 11. For Windows 8.1, NV Access offers the older NVDA 2025.3.3. The current release listed on the NV Access download page at the time of writing is NVDA 2026.3.

NVDA 2026.1 also changed how add-ons work, and NV Access says this breaks compatibility with existing add-ons. If an older tutorial tells you to install a voice add-on, check that it supports NVDA 2026.1 or later. The release notes for NVDA 2026.2 and 2026.3 do not flag another break. Our guide to the best NVDA add-ons in 2026 explains what changed.

How do you change NVDA’s menu language?

Do this only if you want NVDA’s menus and messages in another language. It does not change the voice.

Press NVDA+Control+G to open General settings.
Find the Language list. The default is “User Default, Windows”, which follows your Windows language. Choose your language.
Press OK. Changing the language needs a restart, so restart NVDA when asked. You can also restart it at any time with Control+Alt+N.

How do you make NVDA speak another language?

NVDA comes with eSpeak NG, a free voice engine that supports more than 100 languages. It works at once and needs no download. Its voice sounds robotic, but it stays clear at fast speeds, which many experienced users like.

Press NVDA+Control+S to open the Select Synthesizer dialog. Choose eSpeak NG and press OK.
Press NVDA+N to open the NVDA menu. Go to Preferences, then Settings, then Speech.
In the Voice list, choose your language.
Use the Rate slider to set the speed. It runs from 0 to 100, and the default is 50.

While you work, you can change speech settings without opening a dialog. Press NVDA+Control+Right Arrow to move to the next setting, and NVDA+Control+Up or Down Arrow to change it. On a laptop layout, add the Shift key to each of these.

Which NVDA voices can you use, free and paid?

If eSpeak NG sounds too robotic, you have three routes. Start with the free ones.

NVDA voices at a glance

Voice	Cost	Languages	NVDA version notes	Where to get it
eSpeak NG	Free, built in	More than 100 languages	Comes with NVDA	Included with NVDA
Windows OneCore voices	Free	The languages Windows offers	NVDA 2026.1 falls back to it if eSpeak NG fails to load	Windows language settings
Hear2Read NG	Free	Indian languages: 13 on Hear2Read’s page, 11 plus Indian English in one directory	Version 2.0.8, last tested on NVDA 2026.1	NVDA Add-on Store
RHVoice	Free	Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Croatian, Serbian, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese	Not stated here; check the add-on page	RHVoice website
Piper Neural Voices	Free	Dozens of languages, not listed	NVDA 2026.1 or later, 64-bit Windows 11	GitHub
Acapela TTS Voices for NVDA	99 euros (Premium) or 59 euros (Basic), 15-day trial	25 to 32 languages, depending on the page and licence	Engine 1.9.5, March 2026; NVDA 2026.x support not stated	acapela-nvda.com
Tiflotecnia Vocalizer	AUD $160 on the NV Access listing, 7-day trial	More than 60 languages and dialects	Needs NVDA 2023.1.0 or later; 2026.1 not mentioned	tiflotecnia.com
Eloquence	Paid	Several European languages	Code Factory dropped its NVDA add-on; a SAPI 5 version is still sold	Code Factory or Tiflotecnia

Windows voices (free). NVDA can use Windows OneCore voices. Open your Windows language settings, choose your language’s options and download its speech voice. Restart NVDA, then choose Windows OneCore Voices as your synthesizer. Windows has voices for major languages such as Spanish, French and German. It may have fewer for some Indian languages.

Free add-ons. Hear2Read NG is a free add-on made by volunteers for Indian languages. Hear2Read’s own page lists Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Tamil and Telugu. One add-on directory lists 11 Indian languages plus Indian English, without Marathi and Sanskrit, so check Hear2Read’s page for the language you need. The stable version is 2.0.8, released in July 2026 and last tested on NVDA 2026.1. RHVoice is another free add-on. It covers Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Croatian, Serbian, Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese.

Another free add-on. Piper Neural Voices is a community add-on for fast, offline neural voices. Its page says it needs NVDA 2026.1 or later on 64-bit Windows 11 and offers dozens of languages. It does not list them, and it does not mention Indian languages, so check its voice list before you rely on it. Older pages may point you to Sonata Neural Voices, the add-on that brought these voices to NVDA first. One add-on directory lists Sonata as compatible only up to NVDA 2023.1, and its original maintainer has stepped down, so choose a version that supports NVDA 2026.1 instead.

Which paid voices can NVDA use?

Acapela TTS voices for NVDA

Acapela TTS Voices for NVDA is a paid add-on sold at acapela-nvda.com. Its own site says it has over 131 High Quality voices in 32 languages and over 40 Colibri voices in 25 languages. The High Quality voices sound more realistic for long reading. The Colibri voices are slightly more robotic but smoother, so they stay clear at high speeds. Its Buy page lists a Premium licence at 99 euros, which covers all voices, and a Basic licence at 59 euros, which covers the Colibri voices only. It also gives a free 15-day trial. Each licence is for personal use only, covers up to three computers of the same user, and works only with NVDA. Acapela’s download page lists a Hindi voice (Vidhi), an Indian English voice, and Spanish and US Spanish voices. It does not list Tamil, Telugu or Bengali. The voices are installed as NVDA add-ons, and the current engine version is 1.9.5, released in March 2026. Choose your NVDA version on the download page to see which voices match it.

Tiflotecnia Vocalizer voices for NVDA

Tiflotecnia sells Vocalizer for NVDA, version 4.0, which uses Cerence Embedded TTS, the successor of the Vocalizer Expressive engine. Its website says it offers more than 100 voices in more than 60 languages and dialects, and NV Access lists it at AUD $160. Tiflotecnia’s documentation says it needs Windows 10 or later and NVDA 2023.1.0 or later, and it offers a 7-day trial. You install it by opening the add-on file, then download voices from a “Manage voices” option in its NVDA menu. That documentation is dated 2024 and does not mention NVDA 2026.1, so check with Tiflotecnia before you buy.

Eloquence voices for NVDA

NV Access reported on 4 August 2025 that Code Factory suddenly dropped support for its Eloquence add-on for NVDA. Code Factory’s own page says it is discontinuing its NVDA voices because of compatibility issues with the latest NVDA, and it gives no date. NV Access says Eloquence is still sold as a SAPI 5 voice, from Code Factory or from Tiflotecnia. NV Access’s voice list still shows the old Code Factory add-on, so check with the seller before you buy.

NV Access does not endorse any product on its list. Check each seller’s page for current prices, trials and install steps.

How do you install Hear2Read NG?

Press NVDA+N, then T for Tools, then open the Add-on Store.
On the Available add-ons tab, search for “hear2”.
Choose the Hear2Read Indic Speech Synthesizer and select Install.
Close the Add-on Store and restart NVDA when asked.
When NVDA asks whether to install a Hear2Read voice, answer Yes. In the Voice Manager, double-click a language to download it, then restart NVDA.
Choose Hear2Read as your synthesizer and pick your language in the Speech settings, as you would with any other voice.

Which voice should you use for each language?

This table lists what the sources confirm. It does not rank how good each voice sounds, because voice quality is personal. Try a voice for a few minutes on a page you know well before you decide.

Language	Free built-in option	Other options
Hindi	eSpeak NG	Hear2Read NG (free); Acapela Vidhi voice (paid)
Tamil	eSpeak NG	Hear2Read NG (free)
Telugu	eSpeak NG	Hear2Read NG (free)
Bengali	eSpeak NG	Hear2Read NG (free)
Spanish	eSpeak NG (Spain and Latin American accents), Windows OneCore (Helena, Laura)	RHVoice (free); Acapela Spanish and US Spanish voices (paid); Vocalizer (paid, check that Spanish is included)
Arabic	eSpeak NG (Arabic script only, and only fully diacritized text)	Acapela Arabic voices (paid): Leila, Mehdi, Salma and a bilingual Arabic-English voice, Nizar

How does NVDA read two languages on one page?

Many pages mix languages, such as English with a line of Hindi. NVDA can switch voices by itself. Automatic language switching is on by default. Automatic dialect switching, which switches between dialects such as US and UK English, is off by default. You can find both in the Speech settings.

Switching works only when three things are true. Your voice engine supports the other language. A voice for that language is installed. And the page marks which language each part is in. If a page does not mark its languages, NVDA reads everything in your current voice.

What if the voice does not work?

A voice add-on does not install or does not appear. Check that it supports NVDA 2026.1 or later. Add-ons made for older versions may not work, because NVDA 2026.1 changed the add-on rules.

NVDA still reads in English. Check that you changed the speech voice, not only the menu language. Then check that the voice for your language is selected in the Speech settings.

A Windows voice is missing. Install the language’s speech voice in Windows, then restart NVDA with Control+Alt+N.

You hear nothing. NVDA 2026.1 falls back to Windows OneCore if eSpeak NG fails to load, and to no speech after that. Restart NVDA and press NVDA+Control+S to check which synthesizer is selected.

You use an older Windows. NVDA 2026.1 and later does not support Windows 8.1, 32-bit Windows or Windows 10 on ARM. For Windows 8.1, NV Access offers the older NVDA 2025.3.3. Otherwise, move to a supported Windows version to use the latest NVDA.

If you are choosing between screen readers, our NVDA vs JAWS comparison explains the differences.

Frequently asked questions

How do I change the language in NVDA?

Press NVDA+Control+G to open General settings, choose a language in the Language option, and restart NVDA. This changes only NVDA’s menus and messages. To change the language NVDA speaks, change the voice in Speech settings.

What is the latest version of NVDA?

The NV Access download page lists NVDA 2026.3 as the current version at the time of writing.

What is the difference between the NVDA language and the NVDA voice?

The NVDA language is the language of its menus, dialogs and messages. The voice is what reads text aloud. They are separate settings, so you can have English menus and a Hindi voice.

How do I change the NVDA voice?

Press NVDA+Control+S to choose a speech synthesizer, then open the NVDA menu with NVDA+N, go to Preferences, then Settings, then Speech, and pick a voice from the Voice list. To change voice or speed quickly, use NVDA+Control+Right Arrow to reach the setting and NVDA+Control+Up or Down Arrow to change it.

Where can I download NVDA voices?

Free voices: eSpeak NG comes with NVDA, Windows voices come from your Windows language settings, and add-ons such as Hear2Read NG are installed from the NVDA Add-on Store (NVDA+N, Tools, Add-on Store). RHVoice is downloaded from the RHVoice website. Paid voices are bought from the seller: Acapela at acapela-nvda.com and Vocalizer from Tiflotecnia.

What are the free voices for NVDA?

The free options are eSpeak NG (built in), Windows OneCore voices, Hear2Read NG for Indian languages, and RHVoice for several European languages. Piper Neural Voices is a free community add-on for NVDA 2026.1 or later on Windows 11.

Does NVDA work with Acapela and Vocalizer voices?

Yes, both are sold as paid add-ons for NVDA. Acapela TTS Voices for NVDA costs 99 euros for the Premium licence with all voices, or 59 euros for the Basic licence with Colibri voices only, and it has a free 15-day trial. Vocalizer from Tiflotecnia is listed by NV Access at AUD $160 and has a 7-day trial. Tiflotecnia says it needs NVDA 2023.1.0 or later but does not mention NVDA 2026.1, and Acapela’s pages do not state which NVDA versions the current engine supports, so check with the seller before buying.

Does NVDA support Hindi and other Indian languages?

Yes. eSpeak NG, which comes with NVDA, lists Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Bengali. The free Hear2Read NG add-on lists Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali and several other Indian languages, and the paid Acapela add-on has a Hindi voice.

What does NVDA stand for?

NVDA stands for NonVisual Desktop Access.

Is NVDA free to use?

Yes. NV Access says NVDA is free and open source. Its built-in voice engine, eSpeak NG, comes with it. Some extra voices are paid.

Who makes NVDA, and which country owns it?

NVDA is made by NV Access, which describes itself as a registered charity and software development company. NV Access says it is an Australian public company limited by guarantee.

Which is better, NVDA or JAWS?

It depends on your needs and budget. NVDA is free, while JAWS is a paid product. Our NVDA vs JAWS comparison explains the differences in detail.

Why does my voice add-on not work after updating NVDA?

NVDA 2026.1 changed how add-ons work, and NV Access says it breaks compatibility with existing add-ons. Older add-ons need an update from their authors. Look for a version that supports NVDA 2026.1 or later. The notes for NVDA 2026.2 and 2026.3 do not flag another break, but check each add-on’s page.

Can NVDA read two languages on one page?

Yes. Automatic language switching is on by default. It works when the voice engine supports the other language, a voice for it is installed, and the page marks which language each part is in.

Which Windows version does NVDA need?

NVDA runs on Windows 10 and later. NVDA 2026.1 and later needs 64-bit Windows, and 32-bit Windows and Windows 10 on ARM are not supported. NV Access recommends Windows 11, or Windows 10 version 22H2. For Windows 8.1, NV Access offers NVDA 2025.3.3.

Does NVDA support the Windows 11 natural voices?

This is not confirmed. A request to add support was closed as a duplicate of another issue, and we found no resolution. Check NVDA’s release notes before relying on it.

NVDA Voices: How to Change the Language and Choose a Voice (2026)

What are the four NVDA settings people mix up?

What do you need before you start?

How do you change NVDA’s menu language?

How do you make NVDA speak another language?