Read text aloud
Paste your text or open a PDF, Word, EPUB or TXT file, press Play and follow along as each sentence lights up. It uses the voices your browser and device already have, so it is free and needs no account, and your file is opened right here in the browser, never uploaded.
It does not include speech synthesis, which this page relies on. Open the page in a current version of Chrome, Edge, Safari or Firefox, or have the text read by a natural voice in Speecho.
Open the Speecho voice panel →Paste some text or open a file, then press Play.
Your text is long, so it was copied to the clipboard. Paste it into the voice panel.
Translate, summarize or voice this document in Speecho →Files are opened in this browser, and Speecho never receives them or your text. The exception is voices marked “online”: they send each sentence to Google (in Chrome) or Microsoft (in Edge) to be spoken.
How to have text read aloud
- Add the textPaste it into the box, or open a PDF, Word, EPUB, TXT, Markdown or subtitle file. The text is pulled out in your browser and shown in the box, so you can check or edit it first.
- Choose a voice and a speedThe list shows the voices on your device, grouped by language, and picks one that matches your text. Speed goes from 0.5× to 2×.
- Press Play and follow alongThe sentence being read is highlighted and kept in view. Pause, stop, or click any sentence to jump straight to it.
Good to know before you press Play
- The voices belong to your device and browser, so the same text sounds different on a Mac, a Windows laptop, an iPhone or an Android phone. Some voices sound natural, others robotic.
- A browser voice cannot be saved as a file, so there is no MP3 download here. The Speecho voice panel reads text with a natural voice and gives you the MP3, paid per character.
- Your file never leaves this browser, and Speecho never receives your text. The one exception is voices marked “online” in the list, which send each sentence to Google or Microsoft to be spoken.
- A scanned PDF is pictures of pages with no text inside, so there is nothing to read. Pages like that are skipped, and you are told how many.
- Files are read up to 200,000 characters, roughly three hours of listening at normal speed. Split a longer book into parts.
A free text reader, and where it stops
Chrome, Edge, Safari and Firefox can all speak text with the voices built into the operating system. This page turns that into a proper reader: it opens documents, splits the text into sentences, highlights where you are and lets you jump around. Use it to proofread your own writing by ear, to get through a long article or report while your eyes rest, or to hear how a sentence sounds in a language you are learning.
What a browser voice cannot do is sound the same on every device or become a file you keep. For narration you can download, Speecho’s text-to-speech voices have samples to play before you pay. To see how long a script runs when read aloud, use the speaking time calculator, and to write by talking instead of typing, try voice typing.
Watch the full tutorial on YouTube
Read aloud - FAQ
Is this text reader really free?
Yes. The speech comes from the voices built into your browser and operating system, so running it costs us nothing, and there is no account or limit on our side.
Can it read a PDF aloud?
Yes, when the PDF contains text: open it and the text appears in the box, ready to play. PDFs exported from Word, Google Docs or a web page have text. A scanned PDF holds only pictures of pages, so those pages are skipped and counted. A password-protected PDF needs the password removed first.
Is my document uploaded anywhere?
No. The file is opened and turned into text inside this browser tab, and Speecho never receives the file or its text. Only the voice can send text out: voices marked “online” in the list (the Google voices in Chrome, the Online voices in Microsoft Edge) send each sentence to Google or Microsoft to be spoken. Pick a voice without that label to keep everything on your device.
Why does it sound different on another computer?
The page uses whatever voices your device provides. Macs and iPhones can download more natural voices under Accessibility, Spoken Content in the system settings; Windows includes a few and Edge adds natural online ones; Android uses its installed speech engine. If a language is missing from the list, add a voice for it in your system settings and reload the page.
Can I download the audio as an MP3?
Not from a browser voice: the browser plays it but never hands the sound to the page, so there is nothing to save. For an MP3, send the text to Speecho’s text-to-speech, which reads it with a natural voice and gives you the file, priced per character.
Is this AI text to speech?
No. This page uses the voices built into your browser and operating system, which is why it is free and has no limit. For natural AI voices and an MP3 you can download, use Speecho text to speech: every voice has a free preview, and you pay per character with no subscription.