Comparison

Timbre vs Lectory

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

Head to head
About

Timbre

Listen to your books aloud with natural-sounding voices and adjustable speeds. Highlight text as it's read to improve comprehension. Convert physical books into audiobooks by capturing images.

Highlights
  • Listen at 2X speed
  • Natural human voices
  • Text highlighting
  • Convert books to audiobooks
  • Free voice option
Read full description

Text-to-Speech from Timbre allows you to listen to your books aloud. FEATURES YOU'LL LOVE: • Listen to your books at 2X speed Our high quality voices allow you to breeze through your books at up to 2X speed so you can learn even quicker! • Natural sounding Human voices Our premium voices sound more natural and smooth than typical robotic AI readers. We offer a free voice for users to try out the app without a subscription. • Follow along with Text Highlighting The text of your books is highlighted and synchronized with the sentence and word being read aloud. Letting you retain more information by following audio and visual cues at the same time. • Listen to Books off Your Shelf Use our app to capture pictures of the books you're reading and turn it into an audiobook. Is a book really starting to drag? Use our app to turn it into and audiobook to get back on track. Timbre was created to provide a low barrier way to allow people to read more. We have all had that experience of struggling to book, repeating the same paragraph because its hard to focus, etc. So we designed Timbre to make it easier for everyone to read books with less friction. Please let us know if there are any features that you would like to see created or improved. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://pasos.io/privacy-policy Users are able to use the app without a subscription using our free voice only. Please note that a subscription is required to use the premium voices of Timbre. Timbre Monthly Subscription - $19.99 Timbre Annual Subscription - $99.00

About

Lectory

Features
Read full description

TURN ANY TEXT INTO AUDIO WITH LECTORY Revolutionize the way you read with cutting-edge voice technology. Listen to documents, books, or any text while working out, driving, or doing other tasks. Lectory instantly transforms any written content into natural, high-quality audio. MAIN FEATURES: • TURN BOOKS INTO AUDIOBOOKS Snap a photo of any printed page and Lectory will read it aloud with smooth, natural voices. • TRANSLATE & LISTEN IN ANY LANGUAGE Import or scan text in any language and listen to it translated into your preferred language. • SPEED UP YOUR READING Adjust playback speed from 200 to 600 words per minute — up to 4x faster than traditional reading. You choose the pace that fits you best, gaining more knowledge in less time. • NATURAL & EXPRESSIVE VOICES Enjoy clear, easy-to-follow voices — just like those you hear every day. • TOTAL FLEXIBILITY Convert text from images, documents, or any photo of any surface into ready-to-listen audio. ADDITIONAL BENEFITS: • WORD-BY-WORD HIGHLIGHTING Follow along as the text is highlighted in sync with the audio to boost comprehension and retention. • BACKGROUND PLAYBACK Keep listening while you drive, work out, or multitask. • AUTO DARK MODE Lectory adapts to protect your eyes during nighttime reading sessions. • UNIVERSAL ACCESSIBILITY Perfect for users with dyslexia, ADHD, low vision, or other reading challenges. TEXT-TO-SPEECH & INTERFACE AVAILABLE IN: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, Russian, Hindi, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Polish, Czech, Romanian, Slovak, Turkish, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Indonesian, Croatian, and more. OUR MISSION Lectory was built to democratize global, multilingual reading access. Students, professionals, and reading enthusiasts already use Lectory to break language barriers and expand their knowledge. DOWNLOAD LECTORY & START NOW! Enjoy the freedom of listening to any text, anytime, anywhere. FREE TRIAL available. • Privacy Policy: https://lectory.myspeech.app/privacy-policy/ • Terms of Service: https://lectory.myspeech.app/terms-of-use/

Screenshots

Timbre4 screens
Lectory4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Timbre at every 3 weeks against Lectory's every 4 months. Lectory's advantage is iOS requirement (16.6 vs 18.2). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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. Timbre sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $19.99 per month and Lectory sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Timbre ships an update every 3 weeks, Lectory every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
Timbre versus Lectory: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTimbreLectory
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (5 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings5 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 4 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS18.216.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size216 MB9 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJack RansomDaniel PerlerA

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Timbre

Subscriptions2
  • Timbre Monthly Subscription7 Days trial$19.991 Month
  • Timbre Annual Subscription$99.001 Year
2 purchases

Lectory

Subscriptions2
  • Weekly Subscription3 Days trial$1.997 Days
  • Annual Subscription$19.991 Year

Questions

Is Timbre free?
Timbre is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Lectory free?
Lectory is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Timbre or Lectory have ads?
Neither Timbre nor Lectory shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Timbre or Lectory?
Timbre ships an update every 3 weeks, and Lectory every 4 months. Most recently, Timbre was updated on November 5, 2026 and Lectory on October 30, 2026.

Other comparisons