About this tool
Some reading goes down better with your ears: a long report on the commute, a chapter while you cook, notes you need to go over one more time before a meeting. This tool reads any of these out loud, on the phone or computer you’re already holding.
It does not use an online voice service. Your browser pulls the words out of the PDF, ebook or text file, and your device’s own built-in voices speak them. Those are the same voices behind the phone’s screen reader and its spoken directions. The file never leaves the device, there is no account to make, and after the page has loaded it keeps working with no signal at all.
Those voices sound different from one device to the next. Recent iPhones, Android phones and Macs come with voices that sound natural, including Indian English and Hindi; older devices can sound more robotic. If a voice sounds flat, pick another from the list, or add a better one in your device’s text-to-speech settings. It’s free, and this page will find it the next time.
How to use this tool
- Choose a file, or paste text. A PDF, an EPUB ebook or a plain .txt file. No file? Paste an article, a chapter or your notes into the box instead.
- Run it. The words are pulled out of the file on your device. You see a word count and roughly how long it will take to listen.
- Press Play. The sentence being read is highlighted as it goes. Tap any sentence to jump there, or use the arrows to go back or forward one sentence.
- Pick a speed and a voice. From 0.75× to 2×. The voice list shows the voices installed on your phone or computer, with Indian English and Hindi voices first when you have them.
What this tool does not do
- Scanned PDFs have no words inside them to read. Run them through an OCR app first.
- No MP3 download. Listening happens on this page.
- Ebooks with copy protection (DRM) cannot be opened.
- Headers, footers and page numbers in a PDF are read out along with everything else.
- Very long books are cut off at about 6,00,000 characters, roughly 250 pages.
Common questions
Is my file uploaded anywhere?
No. The text is taken out of the file inside your browser and spoken by the voices that come with your phone or computer. Nothing is sent to a server, and nothing needs downloading either, so once the page has loaded it works without an internet connection.
Can it read Hindi?
Yes, if your device has a Hindi voice. Most Android phones, iPhones and Windows or Mac computers include one or can add one for free. Hindi text is picked up automatically and given a Hindi voice. If there isn't one, the page tells you where to add it.
Why does the voice sound different on my phone and my laptop?
Each device brings its own voices, so the choice and quality depend on the phone or computer. Voices marked as enhanced or natural in your device's settings usually sound best.
Can I download it as an MP3?
No. The voices only play live on the page; browsers do not let a website save them as an audio file. Keep this page open to listen, the way you would with a reading app.
Why does it say my PDF has no text?
The PDF is probably a scan: pictures of pages, with no actual words inside. There is nothing to read aloud until the words are recognised with an OCR app first.
Does it keep reading when my screen turns off?
On iPhone and iPad it usually does. On many Android phones the browser pauses when the screen locks, so the page asks the phone to keep the screen on while it reads.