Free online ODT to WAV converter

A WAV copy is useful when a player, editing workflow, or accessibility setup accepts audio but not ODT. Converting the document to WAV means reading its text aloud with text-to-speech software, not simply changing its file extension.

What the ODT format is

ODT (OpenDocument Text) is an editable word-processing format used for reports, letters, and other documents. LibreOffice Writer and Apache OpenOffice create ODT files; Microsoft Word can also open and save them. An ODT file stores formatted text and may include images, tables, and other document elements.

What the WAV format is

WAV is an audio container commonly used for uncompressed PCM recordings. It is supported by many audio editors and playback systems, and its uncompressed audio is convenient to edit. WAV files are usually larger than compressed formats such as MP3.

How to convert ODT to WAV

The conversion uses text-to-speech (TTS): software extracts or reads the document’s text, then generates spoken audio. The result is a recording, not an editable word-processing document.

Online on 101convert.com

1. Upload the ODT file on the converter page. You can add several files for batch conversion; check the page for its per-file size limit.
2. Before converting, set the voice language and reading speed.
3. Start the conversion and download the resulting WAV file or files.

Offline with desktop software

LibreOffice and eSpeak NG provide a free, open-source workflow on Linux, macOS, and Windows. Install both programs, then use a terminal to export the ODT document as plain text and synthesize speech. For Linux or macOS, run:

libreoffice --headless --convert-to txt:Text --outdir out report.odt

Then generate the WAV file, changing the voice code and speed as needed:

espeak-ng -v en-us -s 150 -f out/report.txt -w report.wav

The first command writes out/report.txt; the second writes report.wav. On Windows, use the installed executable paths if these command names are not available in Command Prompt or PowerShell.

Balabolka is a free Windows desktop program that can open ODT files and save speech as WAV, using installed Windows text-to-speech voices. Open the document with File → Open, choose a voice, then select File → Save Audio File and choose WAV as the output format.

Quality and limitations

Speech quality depends on the selected TTS voice and language. Review the output for mispronounced names, abbreviations, and numbers. TTS reads text rather than reproducing page layout: images are not spoken, and tables or headers may be read in an unexpected order. The WAV file can be large because it commonly stores uncompressed audio.