Read Aloud guide
How to have text read aloud on your phone or computer
Every modern phone and computer has text-to-speech built in. On iPhone and iPad turn on Speak Selection or Speak Screen, on Android use Select to Speak, on a Mac use Speak selection, and on Windows open the page in Microsoft Edge and choose Read aloud. For longer pieces, a listening app that keeps your place, highlights each word and has a sleep timer makes it much easier to listen to articles, notes and books.
Built-in read aloud by device
You don't need to install anything to hear a few paragraphs read out. These settings are already on your device:
| Device | Where to find it | How to use it |
|---|---|---|
| iPhone and iPad | Settings › Accessibility › Spoken Content | Turn on Speak Selection, then select text and tap Speak. Speak Screen reads the whole screen when you swipe down with two fingers from the top. |
| Android | Settings › Accessibility › Select to Speak | Tap the Select to Speak button, then tap or drag over the text you want read. |
| Mac | System Settings › Accessibility › Spoken Content | Turn on Speak selection, select text and press Option + Esc. |
| Windows | Microsoft Edge | Open the page or PDF and choose Read aloud, or press Ctrl + Shift + U. |
Menu names move around a little between versions, so if you can't see an option, search the Settings app for "spoken" or "speak".
These tools are great for a quick read of a web page. They're less handy for longer listening: most don't keep your place between sessions, and you can't easily build up a library of things to listen to later.
Listening in Read Aloud
Read Aloud works in your browser on any phone or computer and uses the same built-in voices. To listen to something:
- Open Read Aloud and tap Paste & play. Copy an article, email or essay draft first. If your browser asks, paste it into the box by hand. You can also tap Write to type, or Upload file for a text, Markdown or HTML file.
- Follow along. Each word is highlighted as it's spoken. Tap a word to play from there.
- Pick a voice and speed. Search voices by name or language, and set the speed from 0.5x to 2x.
- Stop whenever you like. Every document keeps your place in your library, so you can carry on later.
Along the way you can highlight and annotate passages, make quote cards to share, set a daily listening goal and see your listening stats. A sleep timer softens the voice over the last 20 seconds, then stops and saves your place. On a computer, Space plays and pauses, and the arrow keys skip by sentence.
Documents, highlights and stats stay in your browser on this device, and files never leave it. There's no account. Everything above, including every voice, is free. Read Aloud Pro ($3.99 once) adds PDF and EPUB import and speeds up to 4x. With books, smart cleanup can skip page numbers, running headers and footnote marks.
Choosing a voice and speed
- Try a few voices. Voices come from your device and browser, so the choice differs between phones and computers. Many devices offer higher-quality voices to download in their accessibility or language settings.
- Start around 1x to 1.2x. Most people can comfortably follow a little faster than normal speech once they're used to a voice.
- Speed up gradually. Move up in small steps over a few days. Plenty of regular listeners settle somewhere between 1.5x and 2x for familiar material.
- Slow down for hard material. Dense or technical text, or a language you're learning, is easier at normal speed or below.
A worked example
Worked example: a long article on the commute
At your desk: copy a 3,000-word article and tap Paste & play. It's saved to your library.
On the bus: open Read Aloud on your phone's Home Screen, carry on at 1.3x and highlight two paragraphs to come back to.
Time: 3,000 words at a typical 150 words a minute is about 20 minutes; at 1.3x it's closer to 15.
Good things to listen to
- Long articles and newsletters you saved but never get round to reading.
- Your own writing. Hearing a draft read back is one of the best ways to catch clumsy sentences and missing words.
- Study notes while you walk, cook or tidy up.
- Books, especially out-of-copyright classics, which are often available as free EPUBs.
- Anything, when your eyes are tired. Listening can be a welcome break from screens, and text-to-speech is a real help for many people with dyslexia or low vision.
Tips
- Add Read Aloud to your Home Screen so it opens like an app.
- Turn on Keep screen awake if your phone stops the voice when it locks. It's in Settings.
- Use headphone controls where your browser allows them, to pause and skip without unlocking.
- Paste clean text. Copy just the article, not the menus and adverts around it.
Common mistakes
- Judging all voices by the first one. Quality varies a lot. Try several, and check your device for downloadable voices.
- Jumping straight to 2x. Build up speed over a few days.
- Listening to dense text while doing something demanding. Save hard material for when you can focus.
- Losing your place with built-in tools on long pieces. Use an app that remembers it.
Questions
How do I get my iPhone to read text aloud?
Go to Settings, Accessibility, Spoken Content and turn on Speak Selection. Then select text and tap Speak. Speak Screen reads the whole screen when you swipe down with two fingers from the top.
How do I make my computer read text out loud?
On a Mac, turn on Speak selection under Accessibility, Spoken Content, then select text and press Option + Esc. On Windows, open the page in Microsoft Edge and choose Read aloud, or press Ctrl + Shift + U.
What speed should I listen at?
Start around 1x to 1.2x and speed up in small steps. Many regular listeners settle between 1.5x and 2x for easy material, and slow down for dense or technical text.
Is Read Aloud free?
Yes. Pasted text, text, Markdown and HTML files, every voice, speeds up to 2x, word highlighting, highlights, quote cards, the sleep timer and stats are free, with no ads and no account. Read Aloud Pro is an optional one-time upgrade ($3.99) that adds PDF and EPUB import and speeds above 2x.
Where do the voices come from?
Read Aloud uses the text-to-speech voices built into your device and browser, so the choice of voices varies by phone and computer. Every voice is free.
Does Read Aloud remember where I stopped?
Yes. Each document keeps your place, and the sleep timer fades the voice out and saves your position when it stops.