Comparison

PDF2Audio vs Listenly

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

Head to head
About

PDF2Audio

Features
Read full description

Turn any PDF โ€” or web article โ€” into audio you'll actually listen to. PDF2Audio reads your PDFs aloud with natural AI voices โ€” word for word, or as a lecture or a two-host podcast. Books get their own chapters, so a whole book plays like an audiobook. Paste a link, or share a page from Safari, and listen to the article instead of reading it. WHY PEOPLE USE IT โ€ข Read aloud: every word of your PDF, narrated clearly. โ€ข Book mode: whole books, with chapters you can jump between. โ€ข Lecture and podcast styles that explain the material. โ€ข Web articles: paste a link or share from Safari โ€” the article, not the menus and ads around it. โ€ข Starts playing in about a minute โ€” listen while the rest is made. โ€ข Mini player: audio keeps playing while you move around the app. โ€ข Continue listening: pick up where you stopped, right from the Library. โ€ข Quiz, key terms and section summaries to help you study. โ€ข Read along with the full transcript. โ€ข Sleep timer, adjustable speed, and your place saved โ€” on iPhone and on the web. โ€ข Page range: convert just the pages you need. โ€ข Scanned PDFs work too โ€” text recognition runs on your device. โ€ข 13 voices, 18 languages. โ€ข Library, playlists and downloads for offline listening. FREE TO START Your first 50,000 characters are free. When you need more, subscribe for a monthly allowance or buy credits once โ€” they never expire. Subscriptions renew automatically until cancelled in iOS Settings. PRIVACY Your PDFs and links are used only to create your audio and are never sold or used for ads. No ads, no tracking. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.pdf2audio.ai/privacy

About

Listenly

Features
Read full description

Turn any PDF into an audiobook โ€” instantly. Listenly reads your documents aloud with natural, human-like AI voices, so you can get through textbooks, reports, research papers, and ebooks without staring at a screen. Drop in a PDF, hit play, and listen on your commute, at the gym, while cooking, or anywhere your eyes need a break. WHY LISTENLY Reading isn't always practical โ€” but listening is. Whether you're a student buried in coursework, a professional drowning in reports, or someone who simply absorbs information better by ear, Listenly gives your PDFs a voice. KEY FEATURES Natural AI voices โ€” Choose from dozens of studio-quality voices that sound like a real person reading, not a robot. 80+ languages โ€” Listen in English, Spanish, French, German, Turkish, Arabic, Japanese, Mandarin, and more. Variable speed โ€” Slow down to study, speed up to skim. Background listening โ€” Lock your phone, switch apps, keep listening. Full lock screen controls. CarPlay & Bluetooth โ€” Perfect for commutes and road trips. Sentence highlighting โ€” Follow along with word-by-word karaoke-style highlighting when you want to read and listen together. Document library โ€” All your PDFs in one place, with progress saved automatically. PERFECT FOR Students turning textbooks and lecture notes into audio study material Researchers and academics working through dense papers Professionals processing reports, contracts, and whitepapers People with dyslexia, visual fatigue, or reading difficulties Anyone who learns better by listening than reading Multitaskers who want to reclaim commute and chore time SUPPORTS EVERY PDF From scanned books with OCR to multi-column research papers, Listenly handles it. Long documents, short memos, legal briefs, medical notes โ€” if it's a PDF, it can be an audiobook. BUILT FOR FOCUS No cluttered interface. No ads interrupting chapters. Just a clean player, a clear voice, and your document. Terms of service: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

PDF2Audio4 screens
Listenly3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Listenly at daily against PDF2Audio's every 3 months. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. PDF2Audio sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and Listenly sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $19.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PDF2Audio ships an update every 3 months, Listenly daily. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

Scorecard1 real difference ยท 5 level
PDF2Audio versus Listenly: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPDF2AudioListenly
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsDaily โ€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad โ€” betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.016.0 โ€” better
Further details โ€” not scored
Size9 MB50 MB
Age rating+44+
DeveloperShaozhuang ChenKerem Cebi

In-app purchases

7 purchases

PDF2Audio

Subscriptions4
  • Basic Plan$9.991 Month
  • Pro Users$59.991 Month
  • Basic Plan$79.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Pro Users$499.991 Year
One-time3
  • 100,000 characters$4.99
  • 300,000 characters$12.99
  • 1,000,000 characters$34.99
2 purchases

Listenly

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly$19.991 Month
  • Annual$99.991 Year

Questions

Is PDF2Audio free?
PDF2Audio is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Listenly free?
Listenly is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do PDF2Audio or Listenly have ads?
Neither PDF2Audio nor Listenly shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PDF2Audio or Listenly?
PDF2Audio ships an update every 3 months, and Listenly daily. Most recently, PDF2Audio was updated on October 31, 2026 and Listenly on October 31, 2026.

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