WebOutLoud vs Bookshare Reader
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
WebOutLoud
Listen to websites, PDFs, and EPUBs with advanced text-to-speech technology. Features premium voices, AI summaries, and offline capabilities for a seamless reading experience. Organize content into playlists and collections for later.
- Listen to websites, PDFs, EPUBs
- Premium voices from Amazon Polly, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure
- AI content summaries & chat
- Offline capabilities
- Custom pronunciations
- Playlist creation
- Safari and Chrome extension
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Listen to websites, PDFs, EPUBs, any text using text to speech. Perfect for Web Novels & Fanfiction. Includes premium voices from Amazon Polly, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure and others. Custom pronunciations, AI summaries, PDF text-to-speech, offline capabilities, desktop integration, iCloud sync and Dark Mode.* You can save articles, e-novels, PDFs and EPUBs to read later, or listen to them one after another in a playlist. Includes Safari extension where you can listen to websites without leaving the browser. No Longer Limited to Websites! - Use WebOutLoud to listen to EPUBS and PDFs*. It highlights words as it reads and remembers where you left off. - Use WebOutLoud to read aloud any text on your device. - Organize your saved content into collections. - Custom substitutions including regular expression support - AI content summaries & chat. Instantly summarize and ask questions about documents and websites up to 300 pages in length.* About WebOutLoud's Leading Website Reader: It's simple! Just navigate to any web page using the in-app web browser and touch play. Web Out Loud will read web pages using a wide selection of voices, from those freely available on your device to the high quality premium voices from Amazon Polly, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud and others. Reading requires way too much of your attention. Multitask like a champ! Listen to articles in your car or while you work. - Reads any web page, PDF or text document - Highlights words as it reads - Scrolls the page automatically as you follow along - Tell the app where to begin reading using Touch Assist, or enable the powerful Reader View to eliminate ads and isolate readable content automatically. - Dozens of supported languages, each with their own unique voice - Chrome and mobile Safari browser integration - Custom pronunciations and word substitution - AMP link blocking But how does it know what to read!?!? WebOutLoud uses hand-crafted AI to read web pages to you Out Loud. ---------------------- * PLEASE NOTE: PDF Text to Speech requires, and custom substitutions require a Basic subscription. A Premium subscription is required for AI content summaries and premium voices (i.e. voices by Amazon Polly, Microsoft Azure and others). Listening to web pages and text using the voices that are built-in to your device is free with an occasional ad. ---------------------- WebOutLoud Full Version is a 1-year auto-renewable subscription Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period. You can turn off auto-renew up to 24 hours before your next subscription payment is due via your App Store settings page. Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase. Terms of Service http://wol.bretlester.com/terms_of_service.html Privacy Policy http://wol.bretlester.com/privacy_policy.html
Bookshare Reader
Access a vast library of ebooks designed for individuals with reading barriers. Enjoy high-quality audio narration and customize your reading experience with adjustable fonts, colors, and speeds. Continue reading seamlessly from where you left off.
- Access millions of ebooks
- High-quality audio narration
- Customizable reading experience
- Adjustable font size and colors
- Follow along with highlighted text
- Offline reading
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Get the official Bookshare Reader app. Access millions of ebooks from Bookshare, the world's largest library of ebooks for people with reading barriers like dyslexia, blindness, low vision, and physical disabilities. Listen to books in high quality audio and customize your reading experience in ways that work for you. Read bestsellers, new releases, textbooks and educational books, children’s books, young adult, mysteries, biographies, and more. Read your way with these customizable features: • Listen to books in high quality audio • Adjust reading speed, font size, and colors • Follow along with highlighted text • Navigate by page and chapter • Stop reading and pick up from your last spot • Download books and read offline To use Bookshare Reader, you must have a Bookshare membership. Learn more by visiting the Bookshare website.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: WebOutLoud at 4.6 against Bookshare Reader's 3.3. WebOutLoud also leads on review sentiment (60% vs 35%) and update cadence (weekly vs every 3 weeks). Bookshare Reader's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 9). 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
Both are free to download. WebOutLoud sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Bookshare Reader asks for nothing beyond the download.
WebOutLoud holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: WebOutLoud has 767 ratings behind it against 67, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 60% of WebOutLoud's written reviews are positive against 35% of Bookshare Reader's.
WebOutLoud ships an update weekly, Bookshare Reader every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and August 13, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | WebOutLoud | Bookshare Reader |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (767 ratings) — better | 3.3 (67 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 59.5% of reviews — better | 34.5% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 767 — better | 67 |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 16.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 46 MB | 60 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Bret Lester | Benetech |
Customer experience
WebOutLoud
Bookshare Reader
Bugs and requests
WebOutLoud
Reported bugs
4 issues- Inconsistent reading behavior, skipping words or paragraphs
- Login and account issues, unable to access subscription features
- Compatibility problems with certain websites and content
- Resets to the beginning of content when paused
Requested features
4 requests- Add support for Bluetooth
- Improve PDF reading capabilities
- Provide more natural-sounding voice options
- Allow customization of pronunciation for specific words
Bookshare Reader
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
WebOutLoud
- WebOutLoud Basic Monthly$2.991 Month
- WebOutLoud Premium3 Days trial$9.997 Days
- WebOutLoud Premium$9.997 Days
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- WebOutLoud Basic Annual7 Days trial$12.991 Year
- WebOutLoud Premium3 Days trial$29.991 Month
- WebOutLoud Premium$29.991 Month
- WebOutLoud Premium Yearly3 Days trial$119.991 Year
- WebOutLoud Premium Yearly$119.991 Year
- 1 Million Premium Characters$39.99
Bookshare Reader
No in-app purchases








