Comparison

Voice Dream vs Scribd

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

Head to head
About

Voice Dream

Transform digital and scanned text into natural-sounding speech with advanced AI. Listen to PDFs, web pages, emails, and books with customizable voices and reading styles. Supports numerous document formats and cloud services.

Highlights
  • AI Text-to-Speech
  • Supports PDF, Web, Email, eBooks
  • Customizable voices and languages
  • Built-in scanner for paper documents
  • Speed-reading and distraction-free modes
  • Cloud service integration
Features
Read full description

Apple Design Award Winner! Voice Dream - Read Aloud lets you listen to PDFs, textbooks, Web pages, emails, and books using advanced AI Text To Speech! Featured by Apple as Best New App and App of the Day in 81 countries. Voice Dream - Read Aloud is also part of App Store Permanent Collections in Education. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Both experts recommend Voice Dream Reader as the best app in the text-to-speech space.” - Wired “This app is one of the best educational finds of my entire career.” - Forbes “As a user myself and as a mother of a child with dyslexia, I am blown away by the features of Voice Dream.” - Quartz “Voice Dream Reader is hailed by many as the best mobile text-to-speech (TTS) app.” - Examiner ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Text-to-Speech - 36 built-in iOS voices in 27 languages are also available for free. - 200+ additional premium voices in 30 languages from Acapela, NeoSpeech and Ivona available. - Correct pronunciation with your own pronunciation dictionary. - All voices work offline and play in the background even with the screen locked. Supported Document Formats - PDF, Plain text, MS Word, MS PowerPoint, RTF, and Google Docs. - Textbooks - Web articles. - Bookshare Books. - EPUB eBooks. (DRM-free books only. Kindle, iBooks and most commercial eBook platforms are not supported.) - DAISY text-based books and audiobook. - Audiobooks in MP3, MP4 or zipped MP3 format. - Rich text and image support for all documents. Built-in Scanner - Scan paper documents with the camera for text-to-speech. - State-of-the-art A.I. is fast and accurate, even in poor lighting conditions. - Works entirely on device: No need for internet and your data stays private. - Only languages using Latin alphabets are currently supported. Reading Styles - Tee-up a list of articles and play while you drive, walk or run. - Spoken word is highlighted to improve comprehension and retention. - Auto-scrolling and full screen, distraction-free mode to help reader focus. - Finger reading. For beginners to read by at running a finger under each word. - Pac-Man. Harvard and MIT developed speed-reading method for everyone to read at 2x speed with no loss of comprehension. - High contrast and large font size for low vision readers. - Optimized for VoiceOver, Braille and switch control. Tools - Recognize text for scanned PDF documents. - Bookmarking, text highlighting and annotation. Highlights and notes can be exported. - Full-text search. - Built-in dictionary. - Automatically skip text in PDF header and footer. Content Sources - Native support for Dropbox, Google Drive, iCloud Drive, Pocket, Instapaper and Evernote. - Native access to Bookshare. - Safari extension to save Web pages and Web addresses. - Support for Box and OneDrive via iOS Document Picker. Library Synchronization - Your entire library, including folders, reading locations, bookmarks and annotations are synchronized across all your devices using iCloud Drive A subscription is required to access the app. A free trial is offered to new users. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula

About

Scribd

Access a vast library of over 200 million documents covering diverse topics, from government records and research papers to DIY guides and user manuals. Understand anything with shared knowledge from a global community. Read offline and sync across devices.

Highlights
  • Access 200M+ documents
  • Official government documents
  • Research papers and dissertations
  • User manuals and DIY guides
  • Offline PDF downloads
  • Sync across multiple devices
  • Includes Everand and SlideShare
Features
Read full description

Home to the world’s documents. Specialized knowledge, and answers you won’t find anywhere else. Get to the source with over 200 million documents [and counting] on every topic and niche, including: Official government documents Research papers Academic dissertations Medical reports DIY hobbies User manuals Case studies And more You’ve seen it all, now understand it all. Make sense of anything with information on just about everything, shared by a global community of thinkers. All content on Scribd can be synced across multiple devices. Features for the document reader: Download pdf documents to read offline. Save your documents. Our monthly subscription starts at $11.99 and automatically renews unless the subscription is canceled at least 24 hours prior to the next billing date. Payment will be charged to your iTunes account at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user’s Account Settings after purchase. A Scribd monthly subscription also includes access to Everand (ebooks and audiobooks) and SlideShare (presentations) at no extra cost. Download the free Scribd app and start exploring today! Our privacy policy can be found at https://www.scribd.com/privacy Our terms of use can be found at https://www.scribd.com/terms

Screenshots

Voice Dream4 screens
Scribd4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Voice Dream at 4.5 against Scribd's 2.8. Voice Dream also leads on monetization model (free with in-app purchases vs subscription) and review sentiment (43% vs 14%). Scribd's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and chart position 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. Voice Dream sells 16 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Scribd sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Voice Dream holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 2.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Voice Dream has 14K ratings behind it against 275, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 43% of Voice Dream's written reviews are positive against 14% of Scribd's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Voice Dream ships an update every 3 weeks, Scribd fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 30, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Voice Dream versus Scribd: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterVoice DreamScribd
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (14K ratings) — better2.8 (275 ratings)
Positive reviews42.5% of reviews — better14.0% of reviews
Number of ratings14K — better275
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksFortnightly — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterSubscription
Best chart rank#189#118 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size267 MB156 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperVoice Dream LLCScribd

Customer experience

Voice Dream

All ratings14,153 ratings
Positive86.8%
Neutral4.0%
Negative9.2%
Written reviews724 reviews
Positive42.5%
Neutral5.7%
Negative51.8%

Scribd

All ratings275 ratings
Positive41.1%
Neutral4.0%
Negative54.9%
Written reviews235 reviews
Positive14.0%
Neutral5.5%
Negative80.4%

User reviews

Voice Dream

From 14K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Excellent productivity tool
  • 👍 Customizable reading experience
  • 🔍 Useful for academics and research
  • 🎨 Supports a variety of file formats
  • 🔊 Natural-sounding voices

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional bugs and crashes
  • 🔢 Issues with numbers and abbreviations
  • 📚 Struggles with complex text formatting
  • 💰 Expensive subscription model

Scribd

From 275 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🤩 Excellent content library
  • 💯 Great value for money
  • 🤓 Helpful for research and learning
  • 🙌 Seamless reading experience

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent app crashes
  • 🔒 Difficult to cancel subscription
  • 💰 Unexpected charges after cancellation
  • 🤯 Confusing navigation between Scribd and Everand

Bugs and requests

Voice Dream

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Inconsistent behavior when importing files
  • Unreliable iCloud syncing
  • Jumps in playback position

Requested features

4 requests
  • Improved table of contents and navigation
  • Ability to annotate and highlight text
  • Syncing across multiple devices
  • Better support for mathematical content

Scribd

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Login issues due to constant redirects
  • Inability to download or access certain content
  • Syncing problems between devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • Offline reading mode
  • Ability to highlight and annotate content
  • Improved search and discovery features
  • Support for older device models

In-app purchases

16 purchases

Voice Dream

Subscriptions9
  • Monthly Subscription14 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Annual Subscription3 Days trial$39.991 Year
  • Annual Subscription7 Days trial2 variants$59.991 Year
Show 6 more
  • Annual Subscription$59.991 Year
  • Annual Subscription3 Days trial$59.991 Year
  • Annual Subscription1 Month trial$79.991 Year
  • Annual Subscription7 Days trial$79.991 Year
  • Premium3 Days trial$79.991 Year
  • Annual Subscription7 Days trial$89.991 Year
One-time7
  • Will (Acapela US English Voice)$4.99
  • Julie (NeoSpeech US English)$4.99
  • Kate (NeoSpeech US English Voice)$4.99
Show 4 more
  • Paul (NeoSpeech US English Voice)$4.99
  • Salli (Ivona US English Voice)$4.99
  • James (NeoSpeech US English Voice)$4.99
  • Hugh (NeoSpeech US English Voice)$4.99
10 purchases

Scribd

Subscriptions10
  • Scribd Membership$3.991 Month
  • Scribd Membership1 Month trial$3.991 Month
  • Scribd Membership$6.991 Month
Show 7 more
  • Scribd Membership1 Month trial$6.991 Month
  • Scribd Membership1 Month trial$7.991 Month
  • Scribd Membership$9.991 Month
  • Scribd Membership1 Month trial2 variants$11.991 Month
  • Scribd Membership2 variants$11.991 Month
  • Everand Membership2 variants$11.991 Month
  • Everand Membership2 variants$16.991 Month

Questions

Is Voice Dream free?
Voice Dream is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Scribd free?
Scribd is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Voice Dream or Scribd?
Voice Dream is rated higher. Voice Dream averages 4.5 out of 5 from 14K ratings, while Scribd averages 2.8 from 275 ratings.
Do Voice Dream or Scribd have ads?
Voice Dream shows ads; Scribd does not.
Which is updated more often, Voice Dream or Scribd?
Voice Dream ships an update every 3 weeks, and Scribd fortnightly. Most recently, Voice Dream was updated on September 30, 2026 and Scribd on September 29, 2026.
Which is more popular, Voice Dream or Scribd?
Voice Dream currently peaks at #189 in the App Store charts, and Scribd at #118. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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