Free text-to-speech tools: Immersive Reader, Speechify and what's already on your phone

Most people who want text read aloud already own the software to do it. It is just hidden in a browser menu or an accessibility setting. This guide starts there, then covers when a free app is worth installing and when paying makes sense.

What to look for in a free text-to-speech tool

Start with where your text lives, then judge the voice, the speed limit and the reading aids.

• Where the text is. Web pages, PDFs, Word documents, emails, printed paper and photos all need different tools. Pick the tool for the text you read most.
• Voice quality. Free voices range from decent to robotic. Speechify is candid that its 10 free voices sound robotic; Premium has more than 1,000.
• Speed range. If you listen fast, check the ceiling. Speechify's free tier stops at 1.5 times normal speed; Premium goes to 5 times.
• Reading aids alongside the voice. Line focus, text spacing and page colours make it easier to follow along while you listen. Immersive Reader has all three.
• Set-up. Built-in tools need no account. Apps usually want an email address, and some want your documents uploaded.
• Privacy. If you paste in a medical letter or a work contract, read the app's privacy policy first. Built-in browser tools and an offline pen avoid the question.

Which free text-to-speech tools are already built in?

If you use Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome or an Android phone, you already have one.

Immersive Reader in Microsoft Edge. Press F9, or select the icon in the address bar, or select text, right-click and choose Open in Immersive Reader. Microsoft lists read aloud with a choice of voice and speed, text size, wider line spacing, column width, page themes (including some inspired by Irlen Spectral Filters), line focus of 1, 3 or 5 lines, a picture dictionary and translation. Microsoft says it was originally designed for readers with dyslexia and dysgraphia.

Reading mode in Google Chrome. Right-click a page and choose Open in reading mode, use the icon in the address bar, or go to More, then More tools, then Reading mode. The shortcut is Alt+Shift+R on Windows. Google says you can change the font, size, line spacing, letter spacing and colour theme, and on computers you can listen to the page with a choice of voice and speed.

Select to Speak on Android. In Settings, go to Accessibility, then Select to Speak, and turn on the shortcut. You then select anything on screen to hear it. Google says it can also read text through the camera in English, Spanish, French, German and several other languages.

iPhone and iPad. Apple has built-in options that speak the screen or selected text, found in the Accessibility settings. We could not load Apple's guide on 11 Sep 2026, so check the current menu names in Settings.

Kindle. Amazon's VoiceView screen reader can read compatible Kindle books aloud over Bluetooth headphones or a speaker. It is designed for blind and visually impaired readers and does not play audiobook files.

Is Speechify's free plan enough, or is Premium worth paying for?

Start free; pay only if the robotic voices or the 1.5 times speed cap are what stop you using it.

The free plan covers the core job: reading text aloud, wherever you listen. Premium, listed at $29 a month with a saving for paying yearly, adds the natural voices, speeds up to 5 times, more than 60 languages, cloud storage links and Scan and Listen for printed pages. It is billed in US dollars, so the pound price moves with the exchange rate.

If the reason you want Premium is scanning print, try Seeing AI first. It is free, with no subscriptions or in-app purchases.

What about printed text, letters and forms?

For print, use a free camera app first and buy a pen only if you read a lot on paper or cannot use a phone.

Seeing AI, from Microsoft, has a Short Text mode that speaks text as soon as it appears in front of the camera, and a Documents mode that gives audio cues to help you capture a whole page. It is in 19 languages on the App Store. Android's Select to Speak camera option does a similar job without another app.

A reading pen such as the C-Pen Reader 2 (about £358.80) reads a line at a time with no phone, account or wifi. It suits long reading, classrooms and anywhere phones are frowned on. For exams, JCQ only allows pens without a dictionary or storage; see our guide to reading pens.

Things to know

• Try two voices before deciding. A voice that grates is the main reason people give up on text to speech.
• Speechify's prices are in dollars. The pricing page listed $29 a month; the yearly price was shown as a percentage saving, not a figure.
• Read&Write. Everway's Read&Write, formerly from Texthelp, does text to speech, a screenshot reader and dictation. It is mainly sold to schools and universities, with free accounts for teachers. Everway's UK pricing page lists an individual licence at £250 plus VAT a year, so ask whether your school, college or employer already has one.
• Exams are different. Phones and apps are not allowed in the exam hall. Your school or college will say what is.
• Checked on 11 Sep 2026. Features and prices come from each maker's page on that date. We have not tested them.