A Speechify alternative at half the price
Read-Along does the same job as Speechify: your document read aloud while each word lights up, for about half the price. Everyone gets one free document a day, no card needed. Premium has no daily limit and puts your documents first.
Hear a sample
Under a minute, read to you.
Press play and follow the highlighted words — this is exactly what your documents become.
The Tortoise and the Hare, by Aesop.
A Hare one day ridiculed the short feet and slow pace of the Tortoise, who replied, laughing: "Though you be swift as the wind, I will beat you in a race." The Hare, believing her assertion to be simply impossible, assented to the proposal; and they agreed that the Fox should choose the course and fix the goal.
On the day appointed for the race the two started together. The Tortoise never for a moment stopped, but went on with a slow but steady pace straight to the end of the course. The Hare, lying down by the wayside, fell fast asleep.
At last waking up, and moving as fast as he could, he saw the Tortoise had reached the goal, and was comfortably dozing after her fatigue.
Slow but steady wins the race.
From Aesop's Fables (public domain). Read by Heart, one of our AI voices.
How it works
- Add a PDF, Word file, ePub, web link, or a photo of a printed page. Nothing to install; it runs in your browser.
- Press play. We read it aloud and light up each word as it is spoken, so you never lose your place.
- Set your speed, 0.5x to 3x, and back up 10 seconds any time.
Where we are the same
- Your documents read aloud, with word-by-word highlighting.
- Speed from 0.5x to 3x, skip a sentence, resume where you left off.
- Works on a phone or a computer, in the browser.
Where we are different: the honest list
- Price. Premium is $14.50 a month or $69 a year, and it renews until you cancel. That is about half Speechify's yearly price.
- We run in the browser. We do not have a desktop app or a Chrome extension yet. Speechify does.
- We open files with no copy protection, called DRM-free. Books locked by Kindle, Apple Books or Kobo will not open; every tool in this category has this limit.
- Our voices are our own: four computer voices we made. They are not celebrity impressions.
What it costs
Everyone gets one free document a day, no card needed. Premium has no daily limit and puts your documents first. Premium is $14.50 a month, or $69 a year. It renews until you cancel.
Questions
Is it really cheaper than Speechify?
Check both prices yourself. Premium is $14.50/month or $69/year, and it renews until you cancel.
Can I move my Speechify library across?
Not automatically. Bring your files to Read-Along directly (PDF, Word, ePub, a link, or a photo).
Does it work on my phone?
Yes, in the browser. No app to install.
What is free?
One document a day, with full word-by-word highlighting. No card needed.
Will I lose my place?
No. It resumes where you left off, and every word lights up so you can follow with your eyes too.