# Speech Central vs Text to Speech PDF Reader

The clearest difference is monetization model: Speech Central at free with in-app purchases against Text to Speech PDF Reader's subscription. Speech Central also leads on review sentiment (70% vs 44%). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Speech Central sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Text to Speech PDF Reader sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 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 4.5 for Text to Speech PDF Reader. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1.6K and 552 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 70% of Speech Central's written reviews are positive against 44% of Text to Speech PDF Reader's.

Speech Central ships an update weekly, Text to Speech PDF Reader every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Speech Central | Text to Speech PDF Reader |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.6 (1.6K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/speech-central-voice-reader/id1127349155/reviews)** | [4.5 (552 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/text-to-speech-pdf-reader/id1519637964/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **1.6K** | 552 |
| Positive reviews | **69.6% of reviews** | 44.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Weekly** | Every 10 days |
| Monetization | **Free with in-app purchases** | Subscription |
| Size | 34 MB | 12 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **16.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch** | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Labsii](https://appshunter.io/developer/1127349154) | [Bret Lester](https://appshunter.io/developer/917672169) |

## 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


### Text to Speech PDF Reader

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/text-to-speech-pdf-reader/id1519637964)

Listen to your PDF documents with a variety of high-quality voices and languages. The app highlights words as it reads, automatically scrolls pages, and remembers your reading progress. Save and access specific text sections as highlights.

**Highlights:** Listen to PDF documents, Multiple high-quality voices and languages, Word highlighting and automatic scrolling, Resume reading from last position, Save and access text highlights, Crop feature to skip content, Sync documents across devices

**Features:** Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (10)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| TTSPDF Unlimited Weekly | $0.99 | per 7 days |
| TTS PDF Yearly | $9.99 | per year |
| Premium Weekly | $9.99 | per 7 days |
| Premium Weekly | $9.99 | per 7 days |
| TTS PDF Basic | $12.99 | per year |
| Premium Monthly | $29.99 | per month |
| Premium Monthly | $29.99 | per month |
| Premium Annual | $119.99 | per year |
| Premium Annual | $119.99 | per year |
| 1 Million Characters | $39.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Simple and works
- 🚀 Saving my life
- 🚀 Fantastic app
- 🚀 Awesome app
- 🚀 Turns my PDFs to Audio Books

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Does not read alternate text
- 🐛 Not reading clear anymore
- 🐛 Rubbish
- 🐛 Garbage
- 🐛 Crashed every time I opened it

**Reported bugs**

- Skips paragraphs and double plays when pausing
- Erased files without consent
- Doesn't work with two-column text
- Reads text backwards
- Unable to copy/paste or open certain files

**Requested features**

- Add ability to read alternate text (alttext) in PDFs
- Improve voice quality and options
- Add ability to organize files in folders
- Add mobile-friendly version
- Improve handling of scanned/column PDFs


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Speech Central free?

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

### Is Text to Speech PDF Reader free?

Text to Speech PDF Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Speech Central or Text to Speech PDF Reader?

Speech Central is rated higher. Speech Central averages 4.6 out of 5 from 1.6K ratings, while Text to Speech PDF Reader averages 4.5 from 552 ratings.

### Do Speech Central or Text to Speech PDF Reader have ads?

Neither Speech Central nor Text to Speech PDF Reader shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Speech Central or Text to Speech PDF Reader?

Speech Central ships an update weekly, and Text to Speech PDF Reader every 10 days. Most recently, Speech Central was updated on September 24, 2026 and Text to Speech PDF Reader on September 23, 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.*