Comparison

SayWave vs Text2Speach

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

Head to head
About

SayWave

This app converts spoken words into text and reads typed text aloud. It supports various languages and offers customization for reading speed, pitch, and font size. You can also extract text from images, PDFs, and files for playback.

Highlights
  • Reads typed text aloud
  • Transcribes speech to text via microphone
  • Extracts text from files, images, and PDFs using OCR
  • Customizable reading speed, pitch, and language
  • Saves and edits texts in a library
  • Highlights reading text by word or sentence
Features
Read full description

Turn text into natural speech — and speech into text. Instantly, privately, everywhere. Even offline. SayWave is the fastest way to speak and be heard. Type anything and hear it in stunning, natural Apple voices. Or tap the mic and watch your words appear as you talk — transcribed entirely on your device. TEXT TO SPEECH • Every Apple voice, every language and accent — including Premium and Enhanced voices • Follow along as each word is highlighted while it's spoken • Continuous Reading: one message flows into the next, hands-free • Reading speed from 0.5x to 3x — you set the pace • Tap any message to hear it again, anytime SPEECH TO TEXT • Unlimited on-device transcription — fast, accurate, and private • Automatic end-of-speech detection: just stop talking, and your words become text • Dictate in dozens of languages READ ANYTHING • Import PDFs — every page becomes its own tappable message • Point your camera at any text, or pick a photo — instant text recognition • Share PDFs from WhatsApp, Mail, or Files straight into SayWave with "Open in SayWave" YOUR CONVERSATION, SAVED • A clean chat-style view keeps everything you've spoken and typed • Search, edit, share, or select multiple messages at once • Polish your text with Apple Intelligence Writing Tools SHARE AS AUDIO • Export anything you write as MP3, M4A, WAV, AIFF, or FLAC • Files named by date and time — ready to send anywhere EVERYWHERE YOU ARE • iMessage app: dictate and insert text right in your chats • Apple Watch: speak from your wrist • Home Screen quick actions and Siri shortcuts for instant dictation • Designed for iPhone and iPad PRIVATE BY DESIGN • Works completely offline — no internet connection required • No data collection. Ever. Your voice never leaves your device. BUILT FOR EVERYONE • Full VoiceOver support, Dynamic Type, Reduce Motion, and more • Localized in 29 languages • Free Family Sharing included Download SayWave and give your words a voice. Terms of use : https://iapps.app/Terms Privacy-policy: https://iapps.app/Privacy

About

Text2Speach

This app converts text into natural-sounding speech. It offers monolingual and bilingual modes for reading documents, with customizable settings for font, tone, and speed. Supports multiple languages and a marquee display.

Highlights
  • Monolingual text-to-speech
  • Bilingual text-to-speech
  • Customizable speech settings
  • Marquee display mode
  • Multilingual support
  • Automatic language detection
Features
Read full description

Text2Speech - an easy-to-use text-to-speech application Text2Speech is an application that converts text into natural speech. It offers two modes for reading individual words or pairs of words in documents. Key features: Monolingual mode: This mode is suitable for reading out single-language text content. Simply input the text you want to read into the application, and Text2Speech will automatically detect the language using advanced language recognition technology and read the text content in a smooth and natural voice. If the language detection is incorrect, you can manually change the language. Bilingual mode: This mode is designed for bilingual texts, with each pair of phrases consisting of two lines. Text2Speech will read the text content of each language separately for each pair of phrases, making it more convenient for bilingual learning or translation. Just input the document containing the dual-language phrases into the application, and Text2Speech will read each pair of phrases in sequence, helping you better understand and learn both languages. Both modes support marquee mode, and you can change the colors of the marquee page, including text, highlighted text, and background. Other features: Custom settings: You can adjust the font size, tone, and speech speed according to your preferences to meet different requirements for the reading experience. Multilingual support: Text2Speech supports multiple languages, including English, Simplified Chinese, Japanese, French, German, Spanish, Russian, Portuguese, and Italian. Regardless of which language you use, you can enjoy smooth and accurate speech conversion.

Screenshots

SayWave4 screens
Text2Speach3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: SayWave at 81% against Text2Speach's 0%. SayWave also leads on ads (none vs shown) and rating (4.4 vs 4.1). Text2Speach's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and iOS requirement (16.1 vs 26.4). On price 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. SayWave sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Text2Speach asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

SayWave holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SayWave has 166 ratings behind it against 9, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 81% of SayWave's written reviews are positive against 0% of Text2Speach's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SayWave ships an update fortnightly, Text2Speach every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
SayWave versus Text2Speach: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSayWaveText2Speach
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (166 ratings) — better4.1 (9 ratings)
Positive reviews81.4% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings166 — better9
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesAd-supported — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.416.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size11 MB62 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMaryam DerakhsheshDoItWell Application Ltd

Customer experience

SayWave

All ratings166 ratings
Positive85.5%
Neutral3.0%
Negative11.4%
Written reviews43 reviews
Positive81.4%
Neutral0.0%
Negative18.6%

Text2Speach

All ratings9 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral22.2%
Negative11.1%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral100.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

SayWave

Reported bugs

10 issues
  • Forward and backward option not working after iOS update
  • App freezes when requesting 'get audio'
  • Ebook reader exports texts and then reads them
  • Speech reading is terrible, pronunciation slows down
  • App does not work on iPad
Show 5 more
  • Playback location setting doesn't work
  • Freezes for 10 seconds when pressing play
  • Does not keep PDF formatting
  • Text conversion from images is unreadable
  • Does not sync to other devices

Requested features

9 requests
  • Update for iOS compatibility
  • Improve audio player controls
  • Option to change speaker voice
  • Improvements in interface/highlighting
  • Browser integration
Show 4 more
  • Apple Watch controller
  • iMessage app for easier sharing
  • Play again on records
  • Voice recorder feature

Text2Speach

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

SayWave

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Subscription$9.991 Month
  • Yearly Subscription3 Days trial$24.991 Year
None

Text2Speach

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SayWave free?
SayWave is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Text2Speach free?
Text2Speach is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, SayWave or Text2Speach?
SayWave is rated higher. SayWave averages 4.4 out of 5 from 166 ratings, while Text2Speach averages 4.1 from 9 ratings.
Do SayWave or Text2Speach have ads?
Text2Speach shows ads; SayWave does not.
Which is updated more often, SayWave or Text2Speach?
SayWave ships an update fortnightly, and Text2Speach every 3 weeks. Most recently, SayWave was updated on October 25, 2026 and Text2Speach on October 24, 2026.

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