Comparison

Text and Speech vs Local Narrator

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

Head to head
About

Text and Speech

This app allows you to read and listen to ebooks and web content. It offers a distraction-free reading experience with customizable settings and advanced text-to-speech capabilities in multiple languages. Organize your library, track progress, and enjoy offline listening for a seamless reading journey.

Highlights
  • Import ebooks and files (epub, pdf, txt, html)
  • Import web pages via sharing or built-in browser
  • Ad and clutter removal from web pages
  • Customizable reading appearance (color, font, margin)
  • Text-to-speech in 30+ languages with premium voices
  • Offline audio generation for private listening
  • Organize content into collections
  • Track reading progress and stats
Features
Read full description

Read, listen and save your favorite ebooks or web content with AvidReader. Importing is simple: - Import your ebooks and files (epub, pdf, txt, html) from your device or other apps - Import web pages by sharing or copying a link, or use the built-in browser to browse the web without leaving AvidReader Read comfortably: - AvidReader automatically removes ads and clutter from web pages for a distraction-free reading experience. - Adjust color, font, margin, and more - Dark theme and dyslexia-friendly fonts available Read aloud/Text-to-speech: - Enjoy realistic and engaging audio renditions in 30+ languages created by state-of-the-art TTS models - Choose from 20+ premium voices in English - On-device audio generation allow you to listen offline while keeping your content private. No need to pre-download audio either! - Adjust speed as you like Collect and organize - Save any web content you’d like to read later, such as news articles, recipes, web novels, etc. - Download web pages to read anytime, anywhere - Configure auto downloads to ensure your content is always available - Create collections to organize your favorite content - Automatically or manually update item status (reading, to read, or finished) - Sync your files across devices AvidReader or iCloud. Track your progress and stay motivated: - Your reading progress is auto recorded - Earn streaks by reading or listening for 2 minutes a day - See your reading time stats and daily log from the home page Your wellbeing is important - AvidReader show the status bar when you’re reading, allowing you to keep track of time - Enable break reminders and bedtime reminders - Set a sleep timer in voiceover controls and drift off with relaxing narrations Privacy - Your files are never uploaded to our servers without your explicit consent - The in-app browser does not collect any data from your browsing - Add an extra layer of privacy by requiring biometrics to unlock the app - AvidReader is ad-free and does not track you across websites. - See our privacy policy at https://shydog.net/about/privacy-policy

About

Local Narrator

Features
Read full description

Your books, read aloud — privately, on your iPhone. Local Narrator turns any EPUB or text-based PDF in your library into a real audiobook, narrated by a warm neural voice that runs entirely on the Apple Neural Engine. Nothing leaves your device. There is no cloud. There is no account. There is nothing to opt out of. — BRING YOUR OWN BOOKS — Drop in EPUB or PDF files from the Files app, the share sheet, or AirDrop. Your books stay on your iPhone, and the audio they become stays there too. No upload, no forced sync, no backup you didn't ask for. — A REAL NEURAL NARRATOR — Local Narrator runs Kokoro-82M, a state-of-the-art on-device text-to-speech model, on the Apple Neural Engine. The voices are warm, natural, and quietly expressive. When you'd rather not download the model, Apple's built-in system voices work for free. — BILINGUAL, AND SMART ABOUT IT — English and Spanish. Local Narrator detects each book's language and picks a voice trained for it. Spanish voices are still in beta stage. — LIKE AN AUDIOBOOK SHOULD BE — • Background playback that doesn't stop when the screen sleeps • Lock-screen controls — play, pause, +30, −15, scrub • Home and Lock-screen widget with a clean amber progress ring • Sleep timer for reading yourself to sleep • Per-book reading position, automatically saved • Unlimited bookmarks • Adjustable speed from 0.5× to 3.0× • Light parchment or dark charcoal reading themes • Full Dynamic Type and VoiceOver support — PRIVATE BY DESIGN — No accounts. No telemetry. No advertising SDKs. No third-party trackers. The only network call the app ever makes is the optional, one-time download of the Kokoro voice model. After that, everything works in airplane mode. — ONE PURCHASE. YOURS FOREVER. — Free to download and try with one book and Apple's system voices. A single $4.99 in-app purchase ("Local Narrator Full Access") unlocks unlimited books, all neural voices, the full speed range, the widget, the sleep timer, and unlimited bookmarks. No subscription. Family Sharing supported. — BUILT FOR REAL iPhones — iOS 17 and newer. iPhone 15 or later (Pro version recommended), optimised for the Apple Neural Engine. A small, careful app for people who still read.

Screenshots

Text and Speech4 screens
Local Narrator4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Text and Speech at every 5 days against Local Narrator's monthly. Text and Speech also leads on iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.6). 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. Text and Speech sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and Local Narrator sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Text and Speech ships an update every 5 days, Local Narrator monthly. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Text and Speech versus Local Narrator: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterText and SpeechLocal Narrator
PriceFreeFree
Rating1.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 5 days — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS16.0 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size139 MB14 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperShy Dog Pte. Ltd.Carlo Mario Paolo Grimaldi Perez

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Text and Speech

Subscriptions2
  • AvidReader PRO - Monthly$3.991 Month
  • AvidReader PRO - Yearly7 Days trial$34.991 Year
1 purchases

Local Narrator

One-time1
  • Local Narrator Full Access$9.99

Questions

Is Text and Speech free?
Text and Speech is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Local Narrator free?
Local Narrator is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Text and Speech or Local Narrator have ads?
Neither Text and Speech nor Local Narrator shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Text and Speech or Local Narrator?
Text and Speech ships an update every 5 days, and Local Narrator monthly. Most recently, Text and Speech was updated on October 24, 2026 and Local Narrator on October 24, 2026.

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