Comparison

Lextra vs Listening

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Lextra

Convert documents like PDFs and Word files into natural-sounding audio. Listen on the go with background playback, customize your listening experience with adjustable speed and voices, and visually track spoken text with color highlighting. Supports cloud sync, translation, and scanning of paper documents.

Highlights
  • Background audio playback
  • Adjustable speech speed and voice
  • Color highlighting of spoken text
  • Cloud storage integration
  • Text translation
  • Document scanning to audio
  • Web content to speech
Features
Read full description

Give Your Eyes a Rest – Let Your Documents Speak! Tired of screen fatigue? PDF Voice Reader – Docs Aloud turns your PDFs, Word files, and more into natural-sounding audio, so you can listen anytime, anywhere. Perfect for studying, commuting, or simply giving your eyes a well-deserved break. Key Features: • Listen on the go – Supports background playback for multitasking • Customizable experience – Adjust speed, voice, and skip headers/footers • Color Highlighting – Visually track spoken text with customizable colors! Perfect for following along, studying, or improving comprehension as words light up in sync with the audio. • Seamless cloud sync – Works with iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive & more • Smart tools – Bookmarking, text translation, and multiple voice options • Accessibility-friendly – Ideal for students, professionals, and visually impaired users • Scan & Listen – Turn paper documents and books into audio with built-in scanning • Web-to-Speech – Listen to articles, blogs, and online content directly from websites! Just paste the URL, and the app will read it aloud. Following formats are supported: • PDF. • Microsoft Documents. • Rich Text Format. • Plain Text. Transform reading into listening—download Lextra today! https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Listening

This app converts written content like articles, papers, and PDFs into natural-sounding audio. It allows for customizable playback speeds and one-tap note-taking, making it ideal for learning on the go.

Highlights
  • Convert articles, papers, and PDFs to audio
  • Natural-sounding voices
  • One-click note-taking
  • Adjustable playback speed (0.5x to 4x)
  • Supports multiple file formats
  • Multitasking while listening
Features
Read full description

Listening transforms articles, research papers, books, and PDFs into high-quality, natural-sounding audio. Whether you’re a student, a professional, or simply love learning on the go, Listening offers a seamless way to consume written content effortlessly. Key Features: Versatile Content Conversion: Turn a wide range of text—whether it’s academic papers, business reports, articles, or eBooks—into audio, making it easy to listen wherever you are. Natural Voices: Enjoy human-like voices, even for complex or technical terms, that make listening more engaging and easier to follow. One-Click Note-Taking: Capture key ideas with just one tap while listening. Perfect for keeping track of important points during your commute or workout. Efficient Multitasking: Listen while you exercise, drive, or relax, freeing up time for other activities without missing out on important reading. Custom Listening Experience: Adjust playback speeds from 0.5x to 4x to suit your needs. Speed through easier content or slow down for detailed comprehension. Multi-Format Support: Convert PDFs, Word documents, articles, and more into audio, supporting a wide variety of formats. Who Is Listening For? Whether you’re a busy professional trying to stay on top of the latest reports, a student balancing a heavy reading load, or simply someone who enjoys audiobooks and podcasts, Listening makes it easy to turn written text into a hands-free, on-the-go experience. Pricing: Premium Plans: Unlock unlimited listening and enhanced features with flexible monthly or yearly subscriptions. Join thousands of users who are transforming the way they read and learn with Listening. [:mav: 5.1.2]

Screenshots

Lextra4 screens
Listening4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Listening at none against Lextra's shown. Listening also leads on rating (4.5 vs 4.1) and iOS requirement (16.4 vs 26). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and update cadence there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Lextra sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Listening sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $12.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Listening holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 972 and 1.5K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 22% of Lextra's written reviews are positive against 29% of Listening's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Lextra ships an update fortnightly, Listening every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and November 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Lextra versus Listening: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLextraListening
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.1 (972 ratings)4.5 (1.5K ratings) — better
Positive reviews22.0% of reviews28.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings9721.5K — better
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 8 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, Apple Watch
Requires iOS2616.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size10 MB128 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperStorchThe Listening App Inc.

Customer experience

Lextra

All ratings972 ratings
Positive76.4%
Neutral5.1%
Negative18.4%
Written reviews328 reviews
Positive22.0%
Neutral9.8%
Negative68.3%

Listening

All ratings1,466 ratings
Positive85.3%
Neutral5.6%
Negative9.1%
Written reviews242 reviews
Positive28.9%
Neutral16.9%
Negative54.1%

User reviews

Lextra

From 972 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🚀 Efficient reading
  • 📚 Useful for studying and multitasking

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and bugs
  • 💰 Paid version still has ads
  • 🔇 Poor voice quality
  • 🤖 Robotic reading
  • 🔍 Difficult to navigate and select reading position

Listening

From 1.5K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Easy to use
  • 👍 Clear and natural-sounding voice
  • 📚 Helpful for academic papers and articles
  • 🚶‍♀️ Convenient for listening on-the-go
  • 🔖 Skips citations and formatting

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy PDF conversion
  • 🔀 Jumbles paragraphs and sentences
  • 🔢 Struggles with technical terms and numbers
  • 💰 Expensive subscription
  • 🔒 Difficult to cancel subscription

Bugs and requests

Lextra

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App crashes frequently
  • Paid version not working as expected
  • Issues with syncing across devices
  • Reading position not saved properly

Requested features

4 requests
  • Allow selecting reading start position
  • Add more voice options and customization
  • Improve page navigation and bookmarking
  • Provide better customer support

Listening

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Frequent app crashes
  • Inconsistent performance across PDFs
  • Login and password reset issues
  • Unexpected charges after cancellation
  • Inability to delete or manage uploaded files

Requested features

6 requests
  • Multiple voice options
  • Ability to edit and annotate text
  • Improved section detection and navigation
  • Offline mode for downloading content
  • Better integration with cloud storage
Show 1 more
  • More affordable pricing options

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Lextra

Subscriptions1
  • Monthly$4.991 Month
One-time9
  • English US$4.99
  • English UK$4.99
  • English Irish$4.99
Show 6 more
  • Portuguese Br$4.99
  • Russian$4.99
  • Spanish Mex$4.99
  • Spanish$4.99
  • English AU$4.99
  • PDF Voice Reader Pro$49.99
10 purchases

Listening

Subscriptions10
  • Unlimited Listening, Monthly7 Days trial$12.991 Month
  • Unlimited Listening, Monthly14 Days trial$12.991 Month
  • Unlimited, Monthly$12.991 Month
Show 7 more
  • Unlimited Listening, Monthly3 Days trial$12.991 Month
  • Unlimited Listening, Monthly3 Days trial$14.991 Month
  • Unlimited Listening, Monthly14 Days trial$19.991 Month
  • Unlimited Listening, Monthly7 Days trial$19.991 Month
  • Unlimited, Yearly$39.001 Year
  • Unlimited Listening, Yearly7 Days trial$99.991 Year
  • Unlimited Listening, Yearly14 Days trial$139.991 Year

Questions

Is Lextra free?
Lextra is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Listening free?
Listening is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Lextra or Listening?
Listening is rated higher. Lextra averages 4.1 out of 5 from 972 ratings, while Listening averages 4.5 from 1.5K ratings.
Do Lextra or Listening have ads?
Lextra shows ads; Listening does not.
Which is updated more often, Lextra or Listening?
Lextra ships an update fortnightly, and Listening every 8 days. Most recently, Lextra was updated on November 11, 2026 and Listening on November 12, 2026.

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