# Speech Central vs Speechify

The clearest difference is ads: Speech Central at none against Speechify's shown. Speech Central also leads on review sentiment (70% vs 35%) and device support (4 vs 2). Speechify's advantage is ratings volume (524K vs 1.6K) and chart position (#8 vs unranked). On price, rating, update cadence and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Speech Central sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Speechify sells 14 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Speech Central against 4.7 for Speechify. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Speechify has 524K ratings behind it against 1.6K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 70% of Speech Central's written reviews are positive against 35% of Speechify's.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Speech Central | Speechify |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.6 (1.6K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/speech-central-voice-reader/id1127349155/reviews) | **[4.7 (524K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/speechify-text-to-speech-pdf/id1209815023/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 1.6K | **524K** |
| Positive reviews | **69.6% of reviews** | 35.3% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Weekly | Weekly |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | — | **#8** |
| Size | 34 MB | 555 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Labsii](https://appshunter.io/developer/1127349154) | [Speechify Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1263322875) |

## What reviewers say

### Speech Central

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/speech-central-voice-reader/id1127349155)

This app transforms text from various documents and web pages into speech, offering a distraction-free reading experience. It supports numerous file formats and provides customizable voices, including offline and AI options. Designed for productivity and accessibility, it syncs across Apple devices and offers study tools.

**Highlights:** Optimized PDF & Web Reading, Broad Document Support (PDF, EPUB, DOCX), Offline and Cloud AI Voices, Cross-device Sync, CarPlay & Apple Watch Support, Accessibility Profiles, Annotation and Export Tools

**Features:** Family Sharing, Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Speech Central Pro | $9.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Life-saving app
- 👍 Nice app
- 👍 Great app
- 👍 Affordable and full-featured
- 👍 Excellent app for accessibility

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Not great
- 🐛 Trash
- 🐛 Robotic voices
- 🐛 Terrible voices
- 🐛 Buggy

**Reported bugs**

- Crashes when changing advanced settings
- Inconsistent behavior when importing documents
- Fails to recognize some file formats
- Playback issues with high-speed mode
- Repeating chapters unexpectedly

**Requested features**

- Add more natural-sounding voices
- Improve chapter/section navigation
- Allow custom pronunciation of words
- Add support for more languages
- Integrate with Bookshare library


### Speechify

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/speechify-text-to-speech-pdf/id1209815023)

**Currently charting:** #8 Top Grossing · Productivity, #40 Top Free · Productivity, #148 Top Grossing (US App Store)

This app transforms text into spoken word with lifelike voices, reads documents, images, and articles aloud, and offers voice typing. It also features an AI assistant for summarizing and quizzing, and allows for AI podcast creation.

**Highlights:** Reads text aloud from various sources, Voice typing for faster input, AI assistant for summarization and quizzes, Customizable listening speeds, Human-like voices, Cross-device syncing, AI podcast creation

**Features:** Safari Extension, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (14)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| $160 Donation No HD voices | $9.99 | per 7 days |
| Premium Monthly | $11.99 | per month |
| Premium Monthly | $24.99 | per month |
| Dyslexia Donation | $29.99 | per year |
| Premium | $55.99 | per year |
| Premium | $79.99 | per year |
| Premium Yearly | $99.99 | per year |
| Premium | $139.99 | per year |
| Premium | $139.99 | per year |
| Speechify Premium | $139.99 | per year |
| Speechify Premium | $159.99 | per year |
| Audiobooks + Speechify TTS | $249.99 | per year |
| Speechify Library | $14.99 | one-time |
| Speechify Library | $24.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Efficient text-to-speech
- 👍 Diverse voice options
- 🤖 Realistic AI narration
- 💡 Helpful for dyslexic/ADHD users
- 🤓 Improved reading comprehension

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💰 Expensive subscription
- 🔇 Inconsistent voice quality
- 🐛 Frequent bugs and glitches
- 🔀 Unreliable page navigation
- 🚫 Restrictive word limits on premium voices

**Reported bugs**

- Frequent app crashes
- Text syncing issues
- Incorrect word pronunciations
- Inconsistent highlighting/pacing
- Unexpected voice switches

**Requested features**

- Ability to edit/annotate text
- Improved PDF/document handling
- More affordable subscription options
- Seamless integration with ebooks/websites
- Automatic removal of citations/formatting


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Speech Central free?

Speech Central is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Speechify free?

Speechify is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Speech Central or Speechify?

Speechify is rated higher. Speech Central averages 4.6 out of 5 from 1.6K ratings, while Speechify averages 4.7 from 524K ratings.

### Do Speech Central or Speechify have ads?

Speechify shows ads; Speech Central does not.

### Which is updated more often, Speech Central or Speechify?

Speech Central ships an update weekly, and Speechify weekly. Most recently, Speech Central was updated on September 24, 2026 and Speechify on September 25, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*