Voice Dream vs OrbitNote
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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
OrbitNote
This tool allows users to read, annotate, and listen to PDF documents. It converts image-based PDFs to accessible text and offers features like speech playback, highlighting, and iCloud sync for seamless document management across devices.
- Annotate PDFs with highlights, underscores, and notes
- Convert image PDFs to searchable text
- Listen to PDFs with human-quality voice playback
- Change background and text colors for readability
- Sync documents and annotations with iCloud
- Import/export PDFs from cloud storage and other apps
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OrbitNote is an accessible, reading and study PDF tool for all. Annotate, mark up, listen to and save PDF files which are then still fully compatible with other popular PDF apps. Have accessible text PDF files spoken back to you with human quality voice & synchronised highlighting. PDF image files or photographs of text can be converted to accessible, searchable PDF files and read in the app. + Speech, Productivity and Accessibility Alongside the full range of iOS system voices, OrbitNote comes with a range of high-quality voices in different languages. A ‘Speak in Background’ option lets you listen to a PDF while viewing another app - great for proofreading PDF files while you’re working in other apps. The ‘Speak on tap’ and ‘Stop on tap’ options make speech easy to control. + OrbitNote allows the background colour of the PDF to be changed, and text colour inverted, to enhance readability. OrbitNote fully supports VoiceOver. + Annotations, Notes and Comments OrbitNote includes a powerful Annotation toolbar that lets you add notes and other comments. These are fully interchangeable with most other popular PDF apps, so your OrbitNote comments will still be there if you open the PDF on another device. Annotations created in another PDF app can also be viewed and edited. Annotation features include: highlight; underscore; strikeout; notes; free text (type straight into the PDF); free line draw; shapes (circle, square, line - with many options); images (you can even insert photos from your iPad camera or photo library into the PDF file); audio and video. + Photos and Image PDF to Text PDF Conversion You can convert photos and other images to fully accessible text PDF files that can be spoken, searched, copied and highlighted. As well as converting photos, you can also convert any PDF Image file into a fully accessible Text PDF file. Along with making these PDF files accessible and searchable, it will also compress them, reducing file size. Further credit can be purchased in app. Photos and Image PDF to Text PDF Conversion in OrbitNote requires an internet connection. + Managing PDF Files PDF files can be opened in OrbitNote from all other apps, including Mail and Safari. All opened PDF files will be placed in the OrbitNote Documents List for later viewing. You can also open files from Google Drive, OneDrive, or import directly from your device. PDF files can be saved into OrbitNote Documents, OneDrive or Google Drive, sent by email, or opened in other apps that support PDF files. + Sync with iCloud You can sync ClaroPDF with your iCloud account. This lets you store and synchronise your PDF files and annotations across multiple devices. Sync with iCloud can also act as a document backup so you can keep your documents safe. + Switch Accessibility OrbitNote responds to switch or Bluetooth keyboard commands: 1 (~1) Start speech 2 (~2) Stop speech 3 (~3) Turn to previous page 4 (~4) Turn to next page + Fullscreen mode Allows the full document to be seen without toolbars in view. Ideal for smaller screens!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: OrbitNote at none against Voice Dream's shown. OrbitNote also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.5). Voice Dream's advantage is ratings volume (14K vs 60). On price, review sentiment, update cadence 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
Both are free to download. Voice Dream sells 16 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and OrbitNote sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
OrbitNote holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Voice Dream has 14K ratings behind it against 60, 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 50% of OrbitNote's.
Voice Dream ships an update every 3 weeks, OrbitNote every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and July 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Voice Dream | OrbitNote |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (14K ratings) | 4.7 (60 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 42.5% of reviews | 50.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 14K — better | 60 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 4 weeks |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 15.5 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 267 MB | 257 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Voice Dream LLC | Everway Opco Ltd. |
Customer experience
Voice Dream
OrbitNote
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
OrbitNote
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Voice Dream
- Monthly Subscription14 Days trial$4.991 Month
- Annual Subscription3 Days trial$39.991 Year
- Annual Subscription7 Days trial2 variants$59.991 Year
Show 6 moreShow fewer
- 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
- Will (Acapela US English Voice)$4.99
- Julie (NeoSpeech US English)$4.99
- Kate (NeoSpeech US English Voice)$4.99
Show 4 moreShow fewer
- 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
OrbitNote
- Krzysztof$1.99
- Joaquim$1.99
- 5000 Credits$3.99
Show 7 moreShow fewer
- Elise$3.99
- Valentin$3.99
- Elias$3.99
- Emilie$3.99
- Filip$3.99
- Freja$3.99
- Unlock ClaroPDF Pro$9.99









