Guide
How to use Kokoro TTS on a Mac (no Python needed)
Yes, Kokoro runs well on a Mac. In Aloud it is a one-time 327 MB download on Macs with Apple silicon and macOS 15 or later, with eight English voices, offline, in any app via Control-Option-S. No Python, no server.
Updated 14 October 2026.
What Kokoro is
Kokoro is an open-weight neural text-to-speech model with 82 million parameters, released under the Apache 2.0 licence. It is small enough to run in real time on a Mac's GPU. The model is open-weight; Aloud itself is a paid app that runs it.
Option 1: in Aloud
- Install Aloud from aloudapp.app. The 3-day free trial unlocks everything.
- Open Settings ▸ Speech and find the Kokoro section.
- Click Download (327 MB). It downloads once from Hugging Face; after that it runs on the Mac without the network.
- Pick a Kokoro voice: Heart, Bella, Nicole, Sarah, Michael, Fenrir (American) or Emma, George (British).
- Read anything: select text and press Control-Option-S, open a PDF, or read the front browser tab with Control-Option-A. The word highlight still works, and you can export to .m4a.
Option 2: other apps and command-line projects
Several projects also run Kokoro on a Mac: menu-bar apps such as MoxSpeak (selected text), voice studios such as Murmur (scripts to audio files), and GitHub projects that run it as a local Python server or script. Those suit developers; they need a terminal and some setup.
Requirements and troubleshooting
- Intel Macs: not supported for Kokoro in Aloud. Aloud uses Apple voices instead.
- macOS 14: Aloud runs, but Kokoro needs macOS 15 or later.
- Storage: 327 MB. Settings ▸ Speech can remove it and download it again later.
- Interrupted download: click Resume Download.
Kokoro vs Apple Premium voices vs cloud voices
| Voice | Cost | Offline | Where it runs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple Premium / Enhanced | Included with macOS | Yes | On the Mac |
| Kokoro in Aloud | Included with Aloud ($19 once) | Yes | On the Mac |
| ElevenLabs / Cartesia | Billed by the provider | No | Provider servers |
Questions
Can I run Kokoro TTS on a Mac?
Yes. In Aloud it is a one-time 327 MB download on Apple silicon Macs with macOS 15 or later, and it reads any text with no Python setup.
Does Kokoro work on Intel Macs?
Not in Aloud. Kokoro there needs Apple silicon; Intel Macs use Apple voices.
Does Kokoro work offline?
Yes. After the one-time download it runs on the Mac without the network.
How big is the Kokoro download?
327 MB, downloaded once.
More Mac utilities from the developer: SnapState puts your Mac windows, apps and browser tabs back after sleep or a monitor reconnect. $9.99 one-time.