Comparison

Listen 2 Reader vs Byterati

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

Head to head
About

Listen 2 Reader

This app converts text to natural-sounding speech using on-device neural TTS engines. It supports various document formats and offers advanced voice tuning and word-level highlighting for an immersive reading experience without cloud reliance or subscriptions.

Highlights
  • On-device neural text-to-speech
  • 100+ voices in 13 languages
  • Voice tuning and presets
  • Import PDF, EPUB, DOCX, and more
  • Word-by-word highlighting
  • AI figure descriptions
  • True offline privacy
Features
Read full description

Listen2 runs neural text-to-speech directly on your iPhone or iPad without connecting to cloud services. No subscription or accounts — just a 7 day free trial and then a one-time purchase. Most text-to-speech apps either use the tried and true system voices or require monthly payments for cloud processing. Listen2 runs neural voice models locally using your iOS device's CPU and Apple Neural Engine, giving you natural-sounding speech without ongoing costs or privacy tradeoffs. WHAT MAKES LISTEN2 DIFFERENT Multi-Voice Engines, One App Piper provides reliable neural voices across 13 languages. Supertonic offers a fresh take on a voice engine — flow-matching models running on Apple's Neural Engine via CoreML for natural rhythm and expressive speech. Choose from 100+ voices in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Turkish, Greek, Hindi, Vietnamese, Swedish and Hungarian. More coming. Voice Tuning Adjust the model parameters of any voice to suit your preferences. Save presets to switch between profiles. Preview pronunciation rules before saving them. Import Anything PDF, EPUB, DOCX, DAISY, markdown, plain text, clipboard, or web articles. Share from Safari and Listen2 extracts the article text. Paywalled content works (even sites on which other major TTS apps fail) when shared from a browser where you are logged in. Machine Learning Word Sync CTC forced alignment matches audio to text at the word level. Watch each word highlight as it is spoken — across Latin and non-Latin scripts alike. Highlighting engine newly re-build to be lean and efficient that's dramatically easier on your battery life. Smart Document Reading Multi-column layout handling, footnote filtering (for PDF files), hyphenated word rejoining. AI Vision for scanned PDFs. Full EPUB, DOCX, and DAISY support. Figure Descriptions On-device AI vision generates spoken descriptions of figures, charts, and photos as you listen. For non-English documents, descriptions translate automatically via Apple's on-device Translation framework. (Works with EPUB and PDF as a first roll-out) Pronunciation Rules Fix how any word is spoken without changing display text. Rules for names, terms, or abbreviations. Live preview before saving. Built-in presets for footnote markers. Global or per-document. Doesn't break highlighting. True Offline Privacy Processing, normalization, and synthesis all happen on-device. Documents never leave your phone. No uploads, account, or tracking. FEATURES - 100+ neural voices across 13 languages, plus dozens of Apple system voices - 3+ engines: Piper (broad language support), Supertonic (high-fidelity CoreML, flow-matching models), and Kokoro. Apple system voices offer efficient, quality options if using enhanced or premium models. - Voice tuning with saveable presets - Word-by-word or sentence highlighting - PDF, EPUB, DOCX, DAISY, TXT, Markdown support - AI figure descriptions with auto-translation (PDF and EPUB support) - Collections with intros, cover art, and auto-advance - Web Article Collections — batch articles into an auto-playing queue - Clipboard import and Siri shortcut support - 0.5x to 2.5x playback speed (Kokoro supports up to 1.4x because of real-time constraint) - Background playback with lock screen controls - Import from Files, links, Share Extension, or other apps - Export any document as a plain-text file from the library - Pronunciation rules with live preview - Atkinson Hyperlegible and OpenDyslexic fonts - Full VoiceOver support with rotor navigation and Magic Tap - Elapsed and remaining time in now playing & reader view. WHO IT'S FOR - Commuters turning drive time into learning time - Students reviewing papers and textbooks - Professionals handling confidential documents privately - VoiceOver users looking for a fully accessible TTS reader - Readers with dyslexia who benefit from audio-visual sync - Anyone tired of TTS subscriptions One-time purchase. 7-day free trial. No subscriptions.

About

Byterati

Access a vast library of classic books with lifelike, on-device narration. Enjoy customizable reading themes, adjustable playback speed, and offline access. Your reading experience is private and ad-free.

Highlights
  • Lifelike on-device narration
  • Offline reading and listening
  • Customizable reading themes
  • Adjustable playback speed
  • Word and sentence highlighting
  • Background playback
Read full description

FREE, NATURAL NARRATION Choose Apple's built-in voices, or download Byterati's neural voices once for lifelike narration that runs entirely on your device. No streaming and no per-book fees — the whole library reads aloud for free. READ OR LISTEN, YOUR WAY • Word- and sentence-level highlighting that follows along as it reads • Adjustable speed; tap any line to start reading from there • Light, Sepia, and Dark reading themes with adjustable font and size • Background playback with lock-screen and AirPods controls • Pick up exactly where you left off, every time YOUR LIBRARY, ORGANIZED • Recent, Library, and Downloads views • Tag books by topic and filter your shelves • Download books and audiobooks for fully offline reading and listening PRIVATE BY DESIGN No accounts. No ads. No tracking or analytics. Nothing you read leaves your device. Byterati is completely free, with no in-app purchases. Thousands of timeless books — Austen, Dickens, Doyle, Shelley, Verne, and far beyond — ready to read and to hear, wherever you are.

Screenshots

Listen 2 Reader4 screens
Byterati3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Byterati at none against Listen 2 Reader's 1. Byterati also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.8). Listen 2 Reader's advantage is ratings volume (13 vs 1). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. Listen 2 Reader sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Byterati asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Byterati holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Listen 2 Reader has 13 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Listen 2 Reader versus Byterati: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterListen 2 ReaderByterati
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (13 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings13 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 10 days—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS18.218.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size185 MB49 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperZach SwiftBruce Rannala

Customer experience

Listen 2 Reader

All ratings13 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Byterati

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Listen 2 Reader

One-time1
  • Listen2 Full Access$19.99
None

Byterati

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Listen 2 Reader free?
Listen 2 Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Byterati free?
Byterati is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Listen 2 Reader or Byterati?
Byterati is rated higher. Listen 2 Reader averages 4.8 out of 5 from 13 ratings, while Byterati averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Listen 2 Reader or Byterati have ads?
Neither Listen 2 Reader nor Byterati shows ads.

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