Speechify Review: Features, Pricing & Alternatives

What is Speechify?

Speechify is a text-to-speech app that reads PDFs, documents, web pages, emails and photographed text aloud in natural AI voices. It runs in the browser, as Chrome and Edge extensions, and on iOS, Android, Mac and Windows, so you can start a document on one device and finish it on another.

Founder Cliff Weitzman, who is dyslexic, built the first version as a student to keep up with his reading. Speechify says it now has more than 60 million users. Over 2025 and 2026 it added voice typing, AI podcasts and a Voice AI Assistant, which came to iOS in January 2026, alongside a Studio suite for voiceovers and dubbing.

What sets Speechify apart is that it is built for listening rather than producing audio files. Its strengths are speed controls up to 5x, Scan and Listen for printed pages, and syncing across devices. In July 2026 it launched Simba 3.2, a real-time voice model for developers priced from $10 per million characters through its API.

Key features of Speechify

• Text-to-speech readerListen to PDFs, docs, web pages and emails with highlighted text that follows the voice.
• 1,000+ voicesPremium unlocks over 1,000 natural voices in 60+ languages, with speeds up to 5x.
• Scan and ListenPhotograph a printed page or book and Speechify converts it to text and reads it aloud.
• AI summaries and chatSummarise a document or ask questions about it while you listen.
• Voice typing and AI podcastsDictate text in any app, or turn a document into a podcast-style audio episode.
• Speechify APIDevelopers can use the Simba voice models for streaming text to speech in their own apps.

Who is Speechify best for?

• Students who want to get through reading lists faster or learn by listening.
• People with dyslexia or ADHD who find listening easier than reading long text.
• Busy professionals who want to catch up on reports and articles while commuting.
• Developers who need a low-cost streaming text-to-speech API.

Popular ways to use Speechify

• Study reading: listen to textbooks and papers at higher speeds.
• Accessibility: support readers with dyslexia or visual strain.
• Commute listening: turn articles and reports into audio for the road.
• Proofreading: hear your own writing read back to catch mistakes.
• Voice apps: add real-time speech to products through the API.

Speechify pricing (October 2026)

Speechify promotes the annual plan as saving about 60% versus monthly billing. Studio and API are billed separately from the reader app.

Speechify pros and cons

How to get started with Speechify

1. Install the Chrome extension or mobile app from speechify.com.
2. Open a web page or upload a PDF and press play.
3. Choose a voice and adjust the reading speed.
4. Try Scan and Listen on a printed page.
5. Upgrade to Premium annual if you listen every day.

Tips to get better results from Speechify

• Raise the speed gradually; most people adapt to 2x within a week.
• Use the annual plan if you expect to use Premium for more than four months.
• Pair listening with the text highlighting to improve retention.

Speechify vs alternatives

For producing voiceovers rather than listening, ElevenLabs and Murf AI offer richer editing and cloning, while WellSaid targets corporate narration. NotebookLM can also turn documents into podcast-style audio overviews.

Speechify remains the most polished choice for reading documents aloud across devices. If you mainly record and edit speech, Descript fits better. See all best AI voice and audio tools.

Our verdict: is Speechify worth it?

Speechify FAQs

Pricing and features change often. Details on this page were last reviewed in October 2026. Always confirm current plans on the official Speechify website.