# Speech Central vs Screen Pencil

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Screen Pencil at none against Speech Central's 1. Screen Pencil also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 70%) and rating (5.0 vs 4.6). Speech Central's advantage is ratings volume (1.6K vs 3) and device support (4 vs 1). On price, update cadence, ads and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Speech Central sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Screen Pencil asks for nothing beyond the download.

Screen Pencil holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Speech Central has 1.6K ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 70% of Speech Central's written reviews are positive against 100% of Screen Pencil's.

Speech Central ships an update weekly, Screen Pencil every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and June 11, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Speech Central | Screen Pencil |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.6 (1.6K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/speech-central-voice-reader/id1127349155/reviews) | **[5.0 (3 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/screen-pencil/id1641997040/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **1.6K** | 3 |
| Positive reviews | 69.6% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Weekly** | Every 8 days |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Size | 34 MB | 0 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **16.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch** | iPhone |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [Labsii](https://appshunter.io/developer/1127349154) | [DAE J MYUNG](https://appshunter.io/developer/304936141) |

## 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


### Screen Pencil

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/screen-pencil/id1641997040)

Record videos of websites while simultaneously taking notes with your finger. Capture audio using the built-in or external microphone for comprehensive documentation.

**Highlights:** Website video recording, Finger-drawn note-taking, Audio recording (internal/external mic), Productivity tool

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Speech Central free?

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

### Is Screen Pencil free?

Screen Pencil is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Speech Central or Screen Pencil?

Screen Pencil is rated higher. Speech Central averages 4.6 out of 5 from 1.6K ratings, while Screen Pencil averages 5.0 from 3 ratings.

### Do Speech Central or Screen Pencil have ads?

Neither Speech Central nor Screen Pencil shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Speech Central or Screen Pencil?

Speech Central ships an update weekly, and Screen Pencil every 8 days. Most recently, Speech Central was updated on September 24, 2026 and Screen Pencil on June 11, 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.*