Comparison

Text to Speech vs Local TTS

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

Head to head
About

Text to Speech

Features
Read full description

Local TTS: Speak For Me is your AI-powered voice companion for converting written text into clear, natural-sounding speech. Whether you are a content creator, student, educator, or professional, Local TTS: Speak For Me helps bring your words to life quickly and easily. Simply type or paste your text, choose a voice, and listen instantly. Local TTS: Speak For Me offers a wide selection of realistic voices, supported languages, and voice styles for different needs. Use Local TTS: Speak For Me for video voice-overs, presentations, study materials, accessibility, audiobooks, pronunciation practice, and everyday listening. With support for more than 50 languages and over 30 natural voice options, Local TTS: Speak For Me makes it easy to find the right voice for your content. Create, listen, and save speech in just a few simple steps with Local TTS: Speak For Me. EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Local TTS

This app converts text into lifelike speech using on-device processing. It supports various file formats, including PDFs and Word documents, and allows scanning printed pages. Enjoy offline playback with customizable voices and background audio controls.

Highlights
  • 100% offline text-to-speech
  • Import PDF, EPUB, Word, TXT, Markdown
  • Scan printed pages with camera (OCR)
  • Background playback with lock screen controls
  • iCloud sync across devices
  • Adjustable playback speed
  • Word-by-word highlighting
Features
Read full description

Local TTS turns any text into natural speech with 38 neural voices, powered by the open-source Kokoro-82M and Supertonic 3 engines — 100% offline, right on your iPhone or iPad. Listen to PDFs, e-books, articles, scans, and notes with no internet, no account, and no tracking. Nothing ever leaves your device. TWO OPEN-SOURCE NEURAL ENGINES • Kokoro-82M: 28 natural American and British English voices • Supertonic 3: multilingual voices that read 31 languages, with automatic language detection • Every voice runs entirely on your device — it even works in airplane mode ALL 31 LANGUAGES English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Slovenian, Croatian, Bulgarian, Romanian, Hungarian, Greek, Swedish, Danish, Finnish, Lithuanian, Latvian, Estonian, Turkish, Arabic, Hindi, Indonesian, Vietnamese, Japanese, and Korean. READ FROM ALMOST ANYTHING • Files: import PDF, EPUB, Word (DOCX), TXT, and Markdown • Paper: scan a printed page with the camera, or read text from a photo — on-device OCR • Everything else: paste text or type your own notes A READING VIEW THAT FOLLOWS ALONG • Word-by-word highlighting synced to the audio • Immersive mode: the toolbar and player tuck away while you listen — or pin the player • Make it yours: choose the reading font and text size • Search inside a document, jump from the PDF table of contents, and pick up right where you left off • Natural delivery: dates, units, and Roman numerals are read the way people actually say them MADE FOR LISTENING • Background playback with lock screen and Control Center controls • Adjustable playback speed • A different voice for each note, plus tags to keep things organized • Private iCloud sync across iPhone and iPad FREE PLAN • One Supertonic 3 multilingual voice that reads all 31 languages • Three premium Kokoro-82M English voices • Read up to 500 characters per note • No account required — and no ads, ever GO PRO — UNLOCK EVERYTHING • Unlimited text: paste or import with no 500-character cap • The full catalog of all 38 neural voices • Export speech as M4A audio files to play anywhere, on any device • Full multi-page PDF import • Still 100% offline and private, even with Pro SUPPORTED DEVICES On-device neural speech needs a recent chip, so Local TTS requires: • iPhone 12 or later • iPad (10th generation) or later • iPad Air (4th generation) or later • iPad mini (6th generation) or later • iPad Pro (M1, 2021) or later • iOS / iPadOS 18.6 or later Download Local TTS and turn every screen into your personal narrator. • Contact: support@richsoft.app • Privacy Policy: https://richsoft.app/tts/privacy • Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Text to Speech3 screens
Local TTS4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Local TTS at weekly against Text to Speech's every 2 months. 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 to Speech sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days and Local TTS sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Text to Speech ships an update every 2 months, Local TTS weekly. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Text to Speech versus Local TTS: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterText to SpeechLocal TTS
PriceFreeFree
Rating—4.6 (10 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—80.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—10 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Freemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.0 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size43 MB529 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developeralperen biginRich Soft Co., Ltd

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Text to Speech

Subscriptions2
  • Weekly$4.997 Days
  • weekly pro$9.997 Days
2 purchases

Local TTS

Subscriptions1
  • Local TTS Pro Monthly$4.991 Month
One-time1
  • Local TTS Pro Lifetime$19.99

Questions

Is Text to Speech free?
Text to Speech is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Local TTS free?
Local TTS is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Text to Speech or Local TTS have ads?
Neither Text to Speech nor Local TTS shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Text to Speech or Local TTS?
Text to Speech ships an update every 2 months, and Local TTS weekly. Most recently, Text to Speech was updated on October 31, 2026 and Local TTS on October 31, 2026.

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