Comparison

Text to Speech Reader vs ReadBack

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

Head to head
About

Text to Speech Reader

This app converts text from various sources into natural-sounding audiobooks. It supports numerous file formats, offers advanced AI voices in multiple languages, and includes features like word-by-word highlighting and text summarization to enhance comprehension and save time.

Highlights
  • Convert text to audiobooks with AI voices
  • Supports PDFs, web articles, and scanned documents
  • 120+ natural-sounding voices in 27 languages
  • Word-by-word text highlighting
  • Summarizes text and extracts keywords
  • Adjustable speech rate
  • Personal reading habit tracker
Features
Read full description

Your fastest reading companion! Read aloud everything with natural AI voices! ReadBit is a free text-to-speech reader that helps you to read aloud books, PDFs, docs, web articles and many other file formats. It saves a lot of time by instantly converting any text to an audiobook, reading all the information at your desired speech rate and providing an excellent listening experience with natural lifelike voices. Features - Convert text files to audiobooks with advanced text-to-speech in 27 languages - Supports websites, ePub, pdf, jpg, png and more - Scan physical documents with your camera and listen - Amazing listening experience with more than 120 voices - No more robotic voices! Listen to everything with the most natural voices in the market - Text reader highlights the document word by word as it reads to enhance engagement and comprehension - Summarizes text and extracts valuable insights such as keywords, places, and characters across chapters - Change the speech rate. Listen faster! - Track your progress with a personal reading habit tracker A Free Text to Speech (TTS) Reader Text-to-speech is an amazing technology that converts all text into audiobooks, whether it’s an online book, a pdf, a school assignment, or a lengthy report. Read Aloud Books, PDFs and Websites with Natural AI Voices Driving? Or maybe taking a long walk? Listen to your books and web articles with natural, lifelike voices using our cutting-edge text-to-speech reader. Reading Coach Strong habits start with small steps! Reading Coach is a tool that serves your document in bites like IG stories, tailored for your daily reading time. We call them Bits, and they make reading easier and more fun than ever! Create Playlists Create a list of your favorite blog posts, articles, books, or pdf and take them with you anywhere you go! You can create playlists to listen to your files back-to-back in your preferred order. Highlight and Focus The text reader highlights every word while reading out loud. You can scan physical documents and books to read along while listening. Highlighting the text increases your focus and helps you retain more information than just reading. Need a spell checker? Do you know what is one of the best things about a text-to-speech reader? You can use it as a spell checker. ReadBit will convert your file from text to speech, pronounce every word, and let you spot any misspelled words instantly. Summarize and Save Time ReadBit is not only a text reader but also a summarizer. It digs out the most relevant information like keywords, characters, and places. ReadBit is developed by Mediate, an MIT spinoff AI start-up based in Boston. As Mediate, we develop innovative computer vision systems with the support of the National Science Foundation and the US Department of Veterans Affairs. Subscription Plans: ReadBit has limited access to some advanced features such as Natural Voices, Font Adjustments and Keywords. If you would like unlimited access, we have created subscription plans. 1 Month: $11.99 6 Month : $59.99 ~ $9.99/month 12 Months: $95.99 ~ $7.99/month If you choose to purchase a subscription plan, the payment will be charged to your iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. All plans automatically renew unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. Auto-renew may be turned off by going to your iTunes Account Settings after purchase. The account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours before the end of the current period. Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable. If you don't choose to purchase a plan, you can simply continue using designated ReadBit features for free. You can read our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy from here: https://mediate.tech/policies

About

ReadBack

This application converts documents like PDFs and Word files into natural-sounding speech. It's designed for users who need to listen to written content, offering lifelike voices and background playback for multitasking. Your files are processed and stored locally for enhanced privacy.

Highlights
  • Reads documents aloud (PDF, Word, EPUB)
  • Lifelike, comfortable voices
  • Background playback for multitasking
  • Unlimited audio replays
  • Local file processing for privacy
  • Pay-as-you-go credits or subscriptions
Features
Read full description

ReadBack is a powerful, easy-to-use text-to-speech app built for writers, students, and professionals. Import your Word docs, PDFs, EPUBs, text files, or notes and let ReadBack read them aloud in voices designed to stay smooth and comfortable for long listening. Whether you’re proofreading chapters, reviewing lecture notes, or catching up on research during your commute, ReadBack makes it easy to keep up with your reading. Why people love ReadBack: - It reads real documents, from start to finish (yes, even full manuscripts) - Lifelike voices designed for hours of listening. - Plays in the background so you can multitask. - Unlimited replays of generated audio. - Great for catching awkward sentences, studying on the go, or giving your eyes a break. Privacy comes first: Your files are yours. After processing documents into audio, ReadBack doesn’t store your content on its servers. All of your documents and document audio live on your device only. Perfect for drafts, sensitive notes, or research. Subscriptions & Credits: Choose the plan that works best for you. ReadBack's subscriptions offer the best value for frequent listeners. But, for infrequent or irregular listening, try pay-as-you-go credits. They never expire. Why wait? Join writers, students, and professionals already using ReadBack to polish your work, focus better, and save time. Terms of use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Text to Speech Reader4 screens
ReadBack4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: ReadBack at 5.0 against Text to Speech Reader's 4.3. ReadBack also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 74%). Text to Speech Reader's advantage is ratings volume (240 vs 10). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. Text to Speech Reader sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per 7 days and ReadBack sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ReadBack holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Text to Speech Reader has 240 ratings behind it against 10, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 74% of Text to Speech Reader's written reviews are positive against 100% of ReadBack's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Text to Speech Reader ships an update every 3 weeks, ReadBack fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 17, 2026 and July 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Text to Speech Reader versus ReadBack: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterText to Speech ReaderReadBack
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (240 ratings)5.0 (10 ratings) — better
Positive reviews73.9% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings240 — better10
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Vision Pro — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size51 MB43 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperVirtual Collaboration Research Inc.Trent Guillory

Customer experience

Text to Speech Reader

All ratings240 ratings
Positive82.9%
Neutral5.8%
Negative11.3%
Written reviews115 reviews
Positive73.9%
Neutral8.7%
Negative17.4%

ReadBack

All ratings9 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Text to Speech Reader

Reported bugs

14 issues
  • App crashes when opening or loading large libraries
  • Random data loss and document disappearance
  • Text syncing issues causing data to vanish
  • OCR misreads words and scrambles sentence order
  • App freezes when adding multiple books
Show 9 more
  • Playback stops or pauses unexpectedly
  • Login/logout loops and session disconnections
  • Scanner fails with multi-column text and images
  • Electronic humming sound when slowing playback speed
  • Reads content in brackets and parentheses despite settings
  • Doesn't recognize text on certain websites
  • Incompatibility with older iPhone models
  • In-app feedback form non-functional
  • App doesn't respond to language selection changes

Requested features

12 requests
  • One-time lifetime purchase option instead of subscription
  • Offline download capability for entire books
  • Chrome browser extension
  • Custom pronunciation settings for character names
  • Option to skip footnotes, page numbers, and citations
Show 7 more
  • Default voice selection feature
  • Ability to edit scanned text
  • Better margin crop functionality
  • Ignore brackets/parentheses option
  • Share playlists with friends
  • Automatic language detection
  • Improved Turkish and non-English voice quality

ReadBack

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

8 purchases

Text to Speech Reader

Subscriptions4
  • Weekly Premium$5.997 Days
  • Monthly Premium$11.991 Month
  • 6 Months Premium$59.996 Months
Show 1 more
  • Yearly Premium$95.991 Year
One-time4
  • 50.000 Words$14.99
  • 75.000 Words$19.99
  • 150.000 Words$19.99
Show 1 more
  • 150.000 Words$29.99
7 purchases

ReadBack

Subscriptions4
  • ReadBack Plus$4.991 Month
  • ReadBack Pro$9.991 Month
  • ReadBack Plus7 Days trial$47.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • ReadBack Pro$95.991 Year
One-time3
  • 1 Hour Credit$0.99
  • 5 Hour Credit$4.49
  • 10 Hour Credit$7.49

Questions

Is Text to Speech Reader free?
Text to Speech Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ReadBack free?
ReadBack is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Text to Speech Reader or ReadBack?
ReadBack is rated higher. Text to Speech Reader averages 4.3 out of 5 from 240 ratings, while ReadBack averages 5.0 from 10 ratings.
Do Text to Speech Reader or ReadBack have ads?
Neither Text to Speech Reader nor ReadBack shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Text to Speech Reader or ReadBack?
Text to Speech Reader ships an update every 3 weeks, and ReadBack fortnightly. Most recently, Text to Speech Reader was updated on September 17, 2026 and ReadBack on July 4, 2026.

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