Comparison

Text to Speech vs Lector

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

This app converts text from various sources into natural-sounding speech. It offers premium AI voices, background playback, and offline listening, making reading accessible and effortless for everyone.

Highlights
  • Convert articles, PDFs, and web pages to speech
  • Import content from other apps
  • Premium AI voices with adjustable speed and pitch
  • Background playback
  • Offline listening
  • Ideal for dyslexia and visual impairments
Features
Read full description

MonReader transforms any text into natural-sounding speech, making reading effortless and accessible for everyone. LISTEN TO ANYTHING - Convert articles, PDFs, documents, and web pages to speech - Import content from your favorite apps and websites - Paste text directly or use the share extension PREMIUM AI VOICES - Choose from multiple high-quality, natural-sounding voices - Adjust speed and pitch to your preference - Multiple voice styles and accents available LISTEN ANYWHERE - Background playback - keep listening while using other apps - Works offline after content is loaded - Perfect for commutes, workouts, or multitasking ACCESSIBILITY FIRST - Ideal for people with dyslexia, visual impairments, or reading difficulties - Reduce eye strain by listening instead of reading - Learn languages by hearing proper pronunciation Whether you want to consume more content, reduce screen time, or make reading more accessible, MonReader is your personal text-to-speech companion. Download now and start listening! Privacy Policy: https://monreader.app/privacy Terms of Service: https://monreader.app/terms

About

Lector

Features
Read full description

Lector turns your documents into speech, spoken by your iPhone, on your iPhone. Import a PDF, an EPUB, a Word document, RTF, Markdown, or plain text — or share an article straight from Safari — press play, and listen while your hands and eyes are busy: while you work, while you drive, while you walk the dog, while dinner cooks. The name is Latin for reader. For two thousand years a lector has been the one who reads aloud so that others can attend to what they are doing — the appointed reader in church, the monk reading to a silent refectory, the hired reader on a platform above the cigar rollers of Havana and Tampa. Lector puts that old office in your pocket. WHAT IT DOES • Reads PDF, EPUB, Word (.docx), RTF, Markdown, and plain text • Imports articles shared from Safari, and reads text you type or paste • Highlights each sentence as it speaks and scrolls the page for you • Turns a PDF's table of contents into real chapters, with a navigator to jump anywhere • Exports any document — or a single chapter — to an M4A audio file • Keeps reading in the background, with Dynamic Island and Lock Screen controls • Six Siri and Shortcuts actions: play, pause, resume, stop, next, previous • Sleep timer, speed control, voice favorites, light and dark appearance • Honors large Dynamic Type sizes throughout VOICES Lector speaks with Apple's voices, generated entirely on the device. Every voice installed on your iPhone appears in the app, grouped by language, with your favorites pinned to the top. One recommendation: download an Enhanced or Premium voice (Settings → Accessibility → Spoken Content → Voices). They are free, and they are markedly closer to a human reader. PRIVATE BY ARCHITECTURE No account. No analytics. No server. Documents are read and spoken on the phone and never uploaded anywhere — there is no backend to upload them to. The privacy label says Data Not Collected because that is simply true. ONE PRICE, ONCE Everything in Lector is free to use. The free library holds three imported documents at a time — delete one and the slot opens again — and typed text and shared articles never count against it. A single purchase removes the cap for good. Not per month, not per year — once. The developer was tired of apps that offered a three-day trial and then wanted a hundred and twenty dollars a year, so Lector is built the other way around: the free version is the full app, and the only thing money buys is a bigger bookshelf. Requires iOS 17 or later.

Screenshots

Text to Speech4 screens
Lector4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is device support: Text to Speech at 3 against Lector's 1. Text to Speech also leads on iOS requirement (15.5 vs 17.0). On price, ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Text to Speech sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days and Lector sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
Text to Speech versus Lector: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterText to SpeechLector
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings2 — better—
Update frequency—Every 2 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.5 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size156 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperUKGADGETS LTDAlbert Collver

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Text to Speech

Subscriptions2
  • MonReader Pro (Weekly)3 Days trial$1.997 Days
  • MonReader Pro (Annual)$12.991 Year
1 purchases

Lector

One-time1
  • Lector Unlimited$9.99

Questions

Is Text to Speech free?
Text to Speech is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Lector free?
Lector is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Text to Speech or Lector have ads?
Neither Text to Speech nor Lector shows ads.

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