Comparison

Text Reader vs Timber

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

Head to head
About

Text Reader

This AI-powered app converts any written text into natural-sounding speech. Listen to books, articles, or documents on the go, making content consumption more accessible and convenient. It's ideal for multitasking or for those who prefer auditory learning.

Highlights
  • AI-powered text to speech conversion
  • Reads aloud any text, document, or book
  • Built-in screen reader functionality
  • Supports English and over 40 languages
  • Adjustable reading speed control
  • Scans and reads text quickly
Features
Read full description

What is SPEAKTOR? SPEAKTOR is a text to speech converter that takes any text file, turns it into a speech, and reads it to you. This AI-powered text to speech app converts any written word into a speech. Speech has become more convenient to consume and share thoughts and ideas. The digital world sees more of this conversion through text to speech converters. The emergence of text to speak converters has made it easier for all kinds from researchers to travelers tirelessly waiting at the airport. There are multiple benefits of the text to speak communication. TTS can be excellent for businesses that operate at a fast pace. Why do People Love SPEAKTOR? See the speech synthesizer read aloud for you Convert English text to speech to be more productive Automatically convert text to voice within minutes with the natural reader Work faster in school and work with the text to speak converter SPEAKTORS text reader can help you read any article Listen to lessons and books with text to voice converter Scan a book and watch SPEAKTOR read out loud Has a built-in screen reader It takes SPEAKTOR only minutes to scan and read text I want an app to read to me! Do you want to listen to a book on the go but don't have time or simply don’t like reading? Have you ever thought, “I wish someone would read to me”? Then SPEAKTOR is for you. With SPEAKTOR you can enjoy stories and articles by listening to them. It reads aloud any text, content, document, or book given to it making it possible for anyone who cannot read or may not be able to read well. With speech synthesizer technology you will never be bored with your audiobook again. How do TTS apps read to me? This text reader picks up not only the rhythm and speed but also the tone in which someone would pronounce words. SPEAKTOR sounds unlike any other text reader on the market right now. With innovative advancements in speech synthesis technology, you can speechify texts to audio that you can listen to anywhere. Just use this new text reader service. You don’t need anything special to access SPEAKTOR. Just upload a text or book that will be read aloud wherever and whenever you want. Speaktor is a natural reader. It’s the best screen reader on the market. Some people prefer to have their phones read out loud; this kind of text reader technology is often called “text to voice.” It allows those who can’t type on a screen to hear the words before them and make any necessary changes. This content consumption mode has been considered for people who don't want to use their eyes to a large extent. SPEAKTOR provides English text to speak and a reading speed control. SPEAKTOR can be your companion, helping you speechify websites much faster when you're in a hurry. A TTS program that has a screen reader feature Make SPEAKTOR speechify your texts - it turns text into speech in English and more than 40 languages. With SPEAKTOR you can hear content in any subject area or format and listen to it as if you read out loud. This tts tool can be used as a screen reader for online text content that is often difficult to scan and read. TTS (Text to speech) overcomes the problems of screen fatigue. Brightness, font size, or color may not suit some users. When you take a book picture, SPEAKTOR’s speech synthesizer scans and reads aloud for you in only a few minutes. SPEAKTOR has also introduced tts for businesses and organizations so that they can make information more accessible for everyone. Convert text to voice Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Timber

This app transforms any text into spoken audio, allowing you to listen to articles, books, and documents. It offers a wide selection of voices and languages, with advanced features for customization and offline processing. The core reader is free and respects user privacy.

Highlights
  • Text-to-speech conversion
  • Supports links, PDFs, and photos
  • 300+ voices in 71 languages
  • On-device processing for privacy
  • Customizable reading experience
  • Offline translation and summarization
  • Export audio files
Features
Read full description

Timber turns readers into listeners. Anything you want to read, you can listen to instead. Paste a link, drop in a PDF, open a book, or snap a photo of a printed page. Timber pulls out the real text, cleanly, and reads it aloud in a voice you pick. There is a companion desktop app that moves your open browser tabs into your ears. Ever asked your phone to read a page aloud and had it stop halfway, or skip the part that mattered? That is not you missing a setting. Most reader tools are not built to get the whole article. Timber pulls the full text out first, before it ever starts speaking. What you paste is what you hear, start to finish. It was built by a teacher, after watching students struggle to read, who could not find one app that read well, respected privacy, and did not hold the basics hostage. WHAT TIMBER PROMISES • No account. No sign-up. Open it and read. • The core reader is free, and stays free. • What you read is nobody's business. Articles, books and clipboard text are processed on your device. What you read is never shared, sold, or used for ads. VOICES, PROPERLY • 300+ voices across 71 languages, free, spoken entirely on your device. • Every Apple voice on your device works, free, including Enhanced and Premium. • Every voice library includes a free male and female voice in your language. No teaser locked behind a trial. • Record a reference of your own voice and Timber can read in it. Created on device, never uploaded. A READER THAT FEELS LIKE PAPER • Warm parchment design. An open book under a reading lamp, not a tech product. • Every word lights up as it is spoken, and keeps pace whether you slow it right down or push it fast. • Tune the size, the face and the line spacing until it is comfortable. 30 palettes built in, plus a full dyslexia mode. BRING ANYTHING • Paste a link and Timber extracts the article. No ads, no popups, just the text. • Share from Safari or any browser. Import PDFs, EPUB, Word and PowerPoint. Follow RSS feeds. • Point your camera at a printed page and Timber reads it back to you. • Scanned chapters carry junk on every page. Timber spots a line that repeats and silences it across the whole document in one tap. • Browse 70,000+ free public-domain books from Project Gutenberg. • Translate an article on device, or get a quick summary on device. No cloud, no AI account. • Export any article as spoken audio to take with you. • Optional iCloud sync keeps your library on all your devices. FOR CLASSROOMS AND STUDY • Mark passages while you listen, then hand out what you marked as a worksheet. • MLA and APA citations built in. • A chapter becomes a lesson in the time it takes to listen to it. TIMBER PRO (optional, subscribe or pay once) The free reader is complete. Pro unlocks the full neural voice catalog beyond each library's free pair, the whole speed range, every palette, and ongoing personal-voice listening after the free 24-hour trial. Monthly, yearly, or lifetime. The trial simply lapses. It never auto-charges. Privacy Policy: https://timberreader.com/privacy.html Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Timber was made for the kid in the back row who hears a story better than they can read it, and for everyone whose eyes are tired, busy, or somewhere else. If that is you, welcome.

Screenshots

Text Reader4 screens
Timber4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Timber at 100% against Text Reader's 61%. Timber also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.3) and update cadence (every 5 days vs every 3 weeks). Text Reader's advantage is ratings volume (116 vs 3) and iOS requirement (16.6 vs 18.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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 Reader sells 22 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days and Timber sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Timber holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Text Reader has 116 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 61% of Text Reader's written reviews are positive against 100% of Timber's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Text Reader ships an update every 3 weeks, Timber every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Text Reader versus Timber: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterText ReaderTimber
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (116 ratings)4.7 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews60.7% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings116 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS16.6 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size124 MB287 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTorappTruth in the Machine LLC

Customer experience

Text Reader

All ratings115 ratings
Positive80.9%
Neutral1.7%
Negative17.4%
Written reviews135 reviews
Positive60.7%
Neutral3.7%
Negative35.6%

Timber

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

22 purchases

Text Reader

Subscriptions22
  • 300 Minutes (2 Dollar Weekly)$1.997 Days
  • 300 Minutes (5 Dollar Weekly)$4.997 Days
  • 300 Minutes (Monthly) 1.5x$4.991 Month
Show 19 more
  • 300 Minutes (Monthly)$4.991 Month
  • 300 Minutes (Weekly)$4.997 Days
  • 300 Minutes (6 Dollar Weekly)$5.997 Days
  • 300 Minutes (7 Dollar Weekly)$6.997 Days
  • 300 Minutes (Monthly) 0.75x$7.491 Month
  • 300 minutes/month (Monthly)$9.991 Month
  • 300 Minutes (Weekly)$9.997 Days
  • 300 Minutes (Monthly) 1.5x$14.991 Month
  • 3000 Minutes (Monthly)$24.991 Month
  • 2400 Minutes (Monthly)$24.991 Month
  • 300m per week (30 USD Yearly)$29.991 Year
  • 300 minutes/month (Yearly)$29.991 Year
  • 300 Minutes (Yearly)$29.991 Year
  • 300 Minutes per week (Yearly)$29.991 Year
  • 300 minutes/month (Yearly)$44.991 Year
  • 300 minutes/month (Yearly)3 Days trial$59.991 Year
  • 300m per week (60 USD Yearly)$59.991 Year
  • 300 minutes/month (Yearly)$59.991 Year
  • 300 Minutes per week (Yearly)$59.991 Year
4 purchases

Timber

Subscriptions2
  • Timber Pro Monthly$5.991 Month
  • Timber Pro Yearly$39.991 Year
One-time2
  • Your Own Voice$14.99
  • Timber Pro Lifetime$99.99

Questions

Is Text Reader free?
Text Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Timber free?
Timber is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Text Reader or Timber?
Timber is rated higher. Text Reader averages 4.3 out of 5 from 116 ratings, while Timber averages 4.7 from 3 ratings.
Do Text Reader or Timber have ads?
Neither Text Reader nor Timber shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Text Reader or Timber?
Text Reader ships an update every 3 weeks, and Timber every 5 days. Most recently, Text Reader was updated on October 30, 2026 and Timber on October 31, 2026.

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