Comparison

Aloud!, text to speech reader vs PDF Voice Reader

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

Head to head
About

Aloud!, text to speech reader

Transform documents, articles, and eBooks into audio with this text-to-speech reader. Enjoy offline playback, customizable voices, and automatic progress tracking for a seamless listening experience anywhere, anytime. It's an ideal tool for productivity and accessibility.

Highlights
  • Hear PDF, DOCX, EPUB & web pages
  • Background & offline playback
  • Auto progress tracking
  • Customizable speech rate and pitch
  • Synchronized word highlighting
  • Universal format support
Features
Read full description

Reading on YOUR TERMS - Anywhere, Anytime, Anything Welcome to Aloud!, the ultimate Text-to-Speech (TTS) reader that transforms your content into audio. Turn your documents, articles, and eBooks into a personal audio library. Aloud! is the perfect voice reader for your commute, workout, or study session. It’s a powerful accessibility tool for anyone who needs reading support, and an essential productivity app for those who want to give their eyes a rest. ■ HEAR PDF, DOCX, EPUB & WEB PAGES Finally, a reader that handles everything. From critical PDF reports and Word (DOCX) documents to your favorite EPUB or Mobi eBook. Use our integrated browser to instantly import and listen to web pages, saving them for offline access. No more format juggling. ■ BACKGROUND & OFFLINE PLAY Aloud! works where you do. With true offline playback for all saved files, you're never limited by a connection. Continue listening with your screen locked or while using other apps—your audio plays seamlessly in the background. ■ AUTO PROGRESS TRACKING Never lose your place. Aloud! automatically remembers your position in every document and article. Pick up right where you left off, every single time. ■ YOUR VOICE, YOUR CHOICE Tailor your listening experience. Adjust the speech rate and pitch to find a voice that's perfect for you. Follow along with synchronized word highlighting, an essential tool for study, proofreading, and improving reading comprehension. THE ALOUD! ADVANTAGE: • Trusted Since 2014: A decade of continuous improvement and user-focused updates. • Universal Format Support: Our powerful engine supports PDF, Microsoft Office (DOC, DOCX, PPT, PPTX), iWorks Pages, OpenOffice (ODT, ODP), EPUB, MOBI, AZW, FB2, TXT, RTF, HTML, and even files inside ZIP, RAR, & 7Z archives. • Accessibility Focused: A vital tool for users with dyslexia, visual impairments, and other reading challenges. Stop reading, start listening. Download Aloud! today and reimagine your content.

About

PDF Voice Reader

Convert documents like PDFs and Word files into natural-sounding audio. Listen on the go with background playback, customize your listening experience with adjustable speed and voices, and visually track spoken text with color highlighting. Supports cloud sync, translation, and scanning of paper documents.

Highlights
  • Background audio playback
  • Adjustable speech speed and voice
  • Color highlighting of spoken text
  • Cloud storage integration
  • Text translation
  • Document scanning to audio
  • Web content to speech
Features
Read full description

Give Your Eyes a Rest – Let Your Documents Speak! Tired of screen fatigue? PDF Voice Reader – Docs Aloud turns your PDFs, Word files, and more into natural-sounding audio, so you can listen anytime, anywhere. Perfect for studying, commuting, or simply giving your eyes a well-deserved break. Key Features: • Listen on the go – Supports background playback for multitasking • Customizable experience – Adjust speed, voice, and skip headers/footers • Color Highlighting – Visually track spoken text with customizable colors! Perfect for following along, studying, or improving comprehension as words light up in sync with the audio. • Seamless cloud sync – Works with iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive & more • Smart tools – Bookmarking, text translation, and multiple voice options • Accessibility-friendly – Ideal for students, professionals, and visually impaired users • Scan & Listen – Turn paper documents and books into audio with built-in scanning • Web-to-Speech – Listen to articles, blogs, and online content directly from websites! Just paste the URL, and the app will read it aloud. Following formats are supported: • PDF. • Microsoft Documents. • Rich Text Format. • Plain Text. Transform reading into listening—download PDF Voice Reader today! https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Aloud!, text to speech reader4 screens
PDF Voice Reader4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Aloud!, text to speech reader at 38% against PDF Voice Reader's 22%. Aloud!, text to speech reader also leads on rating (4.3 vs 4.1) and iOS requirement (14.2 vs 26). PDF Voice Reader's advantage is ratings volume (955 vs 242). On price, update cadence, 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. Aloud!, text to speech reader sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and PDF Voice Reader sells 16 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Aloud!, text to speech reader holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 4.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 242 and 955 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 38% of Aloud!, text to speech reader's written reviews are positive against 22% of PDF Voice Reader's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Aloud!, text to speech reader ships an update fortnightly, PDF Voice Reader every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Aloud!, text to speech reader versus PDF Voice Reader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAloud!, text to speech readerPDF Voice Reader
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (242 ratings) — better4.1 (955 ratings)
Positive reviews38.3% of reviews — better22.0% of reviews
Number of ratings242955 — better
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS14.2 — better26
Further details — not scored
Size54 MB41 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperChun Kai LauStorch

Customer experience

Aloud!, text to speech reader

All ratings242 ratings
Positive82.2%
Neutral3.3%
Negative14.5%
Written reviews133 reviews
Positive38.3%
Neutral14.3%
Negative47.4%

PDF Voice Reader

All ratings944 ratings
Positive76.2%
Neutral5.3%
Negative18.5%
Written reviews328 reviews
Positive22.0%
Neutral9.8%
Negative68.3%

User reviews

Aloud!, text to speech reader

From 242 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy copy-paste functionality for text input
  • 🎧 Helpful for accessibility and learning disabilities
  • ⚡ Works well with multiple file formats when functioning
  • 🎯 Useful for multitasking (studying while driving/walking)
  • 🔊 Adjustable speech speed

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent app crashes when opening files
  • 🐛 Crashes on startup after updates
  • 🗣️ Robotic and unnatural voice quality
  • 📄 Poor PDF and ePub file handling
  • 💾 Save function doesn't work reliably

PDF Voice Reader

From 955 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🚀 Efficient reading
  • 📚 Useful for studying and multitasking

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and bugs
  • 💰 Paid version still has ads
  • 🔇 Poor voice quality
  • 🤖 Robotic reading
  • 🔍 Difficult to navigate and select reading position

Bugs and requests

Aloud!, text to speech reader

Reported bugs

17 issues
  • App crashes when opening large files
  • App crashes on startup after recent updates
  • Save function fails to work
  • Text repetition bug - reads same paragraph repeatedly
  • Cursor position doesn't match audio being read
Show 12 more
  • PDF files load with no spaces between words
  • ePub files load in reverse order
  • Language selection doesn't work
  • App freezes when loading documents
  • Upgrade widget broken - cannot complete purchase
  • Purchased app reverts to free version
  • Ads cause app to crash when closed
  • Mispronounces special characters as 'to the power of'
  • Cannot edit text after typing
  • Incompatibility with iOS 12.5.5 and older versions
  • Scrolling to previous location causes crashes
  • Character recognition failures (fi, fl, ff)

Requested features

14 requests
  • Ability to set custom starting point for reading
  • Better voice options and quality
  • Ad-free paid version
  • Improved PDF/ePub integration
  • Better language support (Vietnamese, Dutch, etc.)
Show 9 more
  • Screen lock prevention during reading
  • Repeat/loop functionality
  • Better character recognition (fi, fl, ff combinations)
  • Direct PDF opening from other apps
  • Better voice selection for different dialects
  • Skip opening statements/introductions
  • Improved keyboard handling
  • Dark mode or customizable background
  • Better integration with other apps

PDF Voice Reader

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App crashes frequently
  • Paid version not working as expected
  • Issues with syncing across devices
  • Reading position not saved properly

Requested features

4 requests
  • Allow selecting reading start position
  • Add more voice options and customization
  • Improve page navigation and bookmarking
  • Provide better customer support

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Aloud!, text to speech reader

One-time1
  • Premium Version$6.99
16 purchases

PDF Voice Reader

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Yearly$24.991 Year
One-time14
  • English US$4.99
  • English UK$4.99
  • English Irish$4.99
Show 11 more
  • Czech$4.99
  • Portuguese Br$4.99
  • Russian$4.99
  • Spanish Mex$4.99
  • Spanish$4.99
  • English AU$4.99
  • French$4.99
  • Chinese$4.99
  • Italian$4.99
  • Portuguese$4.99
  • PDF Voice Reader Pro$49.99

Questions

Is Aloud!, text to speech reader free?
Aloud!, text to speech reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PDF Voice Reader free?
PDF Voice Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Aloud!, text to speech reader or PDF Voice Reader?
Aloud!, text to speech reader is rated higher. Aloud!, text to speech reader averages 4.3 out of 5 from 242 ratings, while PDF Voice Reader averages 4.1 from 955 ratings.
Do Aloud!, text to speech reader or PDF Voice Reader have ads?
Both Aloud!, text to speech reader and PDF Voice Reader show ads.
Which is updated more often, Aloud!, text to speech reader or PDF Voice Reader?
Aloud!, text to speech reader ships an update fortnightly, and PDF Voice Reader every 3 weeks. Most recently, Aloud!, text to speech reader was updated on September 21, 2026 and PDF Voice Reader on September 23, 2026.

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