BetterTalk

A free talking keyboard for people who cannot speak

BetterTalk is a Windows program that says out loud what you type or pick. It was made for a friend living with ALS, and works with a QuadStick, a head or mouth switch, a mouse, or an eye tracker that moves the mouse.

Download for Windows

Free. Version 0.4.2. Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit), about 59 MB. No account needed. Then follow the three steps to install it.

The BetterTalk window: a row of red buttons for urgent phrases at the top, a row of green word suggestions, a large keyboard with a Speak button, and the message box at the bottom.
Urgent phrases in red, word suggestions in green, then the keyboard and the Speak button.

BetterTalk is new (early beta). Very few people have used it so far. Please use it alongside an existing way of communicating, not instead of one, until you have checked it works reliably for you (a speech and language therapist can help). If something goes wrong, please tell me.

What it does

Big keys

A large on-screen keyboard. Every key is the same size, and nothing jumps around while you type.

Suggests words

Six word suggestions above the keys. The more you use it, the better they fit how you talk. (What it learns stays on your computer, encrypted, and can be switched off. How the learning works.)

Urgent phrases, one press

Help!, I need the bathroom., I'm in pain., Yes., No. Change them to your own.

Real-sounding voices

Lots of free voices to choose from. Each one downloads once, then works without the internet.

Show where it itches

Click the spot on a 3D figure and BetterTalk says exactly where, like "my left inner thigh, just above the knee".

Turns other sounds down

Anything else playing on the computer gets quieter while BetterTalk talks, then goes back to normal.

BetterTalk with the Itch screen open: the red strip shows words for the person scratching (Keep going, Scratch harder, That's the spot, Stop), beside the keyboard is a 3D figure of a body to click on, and a panel of buttons to turn and zoom the figure.
The Itch screen: click the spot on the body, and the red buttons become words for the person scratching.

Who it is for: people who use Windows with limited movement and want a quick way to speak, and the family and carers who set it up. What it is not: a medical device, a replacement for a dedicated speech device, or an app for phones, iPads or Macs (Windows 10 and 11 only, for now).

How to install it

  1. Download it with the green button above. Your browser saves a file called BetterTalk-Setup.exe, usually in your Downloads folder.
  2. Double-click that file. Windows will probably show a blue box like this one:

    Click More info. A Run anyway button appears: click it.

    This box is not a virus warning. Windows shows it for any new program from a maker it does not know yet, because BetterTalk is not signed with a paid certificate. Why it is safe.

  3. Click Install. No administrator password is needed. BetterTalk opens by itself and puts an icon on the Desktop and in the Start menu. A short set-up guide (about a minute) asks a few questions; you can skip it and change everything later in Settings.

The program starts with the standard Windows voice. To pick a more natural one, open Settings → Voice & speaking: each voice downloads once and then works with no internet.

To remove BetterTalk: Windows Settings → Apps → Installed apps → BetterTalk → Uninstall.

Getting new versions

In BetterTalk, open Settings → Updates → Check for updates. It shows what is new and offers to update. Your buttons, settings and learned words are always kept, and you can go back to the version you had. BetterTalk never updates or goes online by itself.

Is this safe?

This page has no cookies, no trackers and no ads either.

Tell me what goes wrong, or what would help

The easiest way is from inside BetterTalk: open Settings → Updates → Send feedback (or right-click the BetterTalk icon near the clock and choose Send feedback to the makers). Type your message with BetterTalk's own keyboard and press Send feedback. No account or email is needed. Only your words, the BetterTalk version and the Windows version are sent.

It helps to say how you control the computer (QuadStick, switch, mouse, eye tracker) and what happened just before the problem. Please never include anything private that was typed or said.