Speaking Email vs ZAGNALS
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Speaking Email
This app reads your emails aloud and allows you to manage them using voice commands. It's ideal for hands-free and eyes-free email access, benefiting drivers and individuals with visual impairments or motor difficulties.
- Reads emails aloud
- Voice commands for replies and management
- Hands-free and eyes-free operation
- Smart content detection
- Multilingual email support
- Secure connection to various email servers
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Reads your email out loud, lets you reply and manage mail by voice commands. Ideal for visually impaired users, driving, or anytime you'd like to check email hands free & eyes free. Premium Edition is free for 7 days. Then you are automatically switched to Basic Edition. (Note for CarPlay users: see our other app 'Speaking Email CP') — WHY DO I WANT IT? — FOR DRIVERS Get more time in your day when you check your email on the move. Most people spend 1-2 hours in their inbox. With the help of Speaking Email during your daily drive to work, you can easily cut this time in half. Get more done, stay on top and keep a clean inbox. Voice commands and simple gestures designed to be safe to use while driving give you the ability to archive, flag or even reply on the move. (Note for CarPlay users: see also our other app "Speaking Email CP") FOR ACCESSIBILITY Makes email easy to use for those with visual impairment, blindness, dyslexia, stroke, motor dysfunction. Designed to be used without needing to see or touch the screen, Speaking Email works as a fully voice operated email app. Note: a sighted assistant or VoiceOver is required to sign into your email account and configure the many preferences to your liking. The rest is all voice controlled! — HOW DOES IT WORK? — Speaking Email reads your latest emails out loud from your inbox, one by one. Swipe left and right to play your inbox like a jukebox. Whip through your inbox, clear clutter, flag important items and make inbox zero a reality - all while on the go. You can interact with your email using full screen taps, swipes and voice commands. Voice recognition needs a trigger. You choose when to pause for a command - on full screen tap, every 30 seconds, at the start/end of emails. — FEATURES — - Smart content detection skips over disclaimers, reply headers, and email signatures to speak only the content without the clutter - Multilingual mode automatically detects the email language and switches voices to match, using Apple text-to-speech voices - Makes use of the latest Apple speech recognition technology lets you dictate your reply, which is read back to you before sending - Our simple Ignore Sender command puts you in control, allowing you to avoid hearing emails from the sender in future - Connects securely to all email servers, including Gmail (using Google Sign In), Microsoft 365 (aka Office 365 - using Microsoft Sign In supporting Intune, MFA and OAUTH), Exchange (via ActiveSync), IMAP, POP, iCloud (using app password), Outlook/Hotmail (using Microsoft Sign In), Yahoo (using Yahoo Sign In), AOL (using AOL Sign In) - Voice commands and buttons include: Next Back Archive/Done Flag Trash Reply Forward Ignore (thumbs down) Important (thumbs up) Block Sender Rewind Fast Forward Compose Search Voice Slower Faster People When - Many preferences to set up your experience how you like — QUESTIONS — Reach us at feedback@speaking.email See our FAQ: http://www.speaking.email/faq Feature tour: http://www.speaking.email — RECOGNITION — - Gizmodo - "Highly Recommended" by Marc Saltzman in USA Today - TV3 News (NZ), Sky News - The Australian, Herald Sun, Daily Telegraph - NZ Herald, National Business Review - Featured by Apple in Best New Apps - Voted Most Fundable App by Context.IO - Finalist in NZ Hi Tech Awards — QUOTES — “This is a nifty app, and one that will make driving a little safer for inbox addicts”—NBR “My eyesight isn’t as it was years ago, and your Speaking Email makes it so much easier for me to keep in touch with folks” — Willis Hargrave “I absolutely love the app and being an outside sales rep in the car 4-6 hours a day find it incredibly helpful. It is literally freeing up and hour or 2 of time for me every day I am on the road by having a lot less time at the desk doing email. THANKS!!!” — Scott Middleton https://speaking.email/page/privacy https://speaking.email/page/terms-of-use
ZAGNALS
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ZAGNALS turns your iPhone or iPad into a professional visual display — instantly readable from across any room. SPEECH TIMER Keep any talk on time with a full-screen green-yellow-red signal. Set your minimum (green), target (yellow), and maximum (red) times — or tap a preset — then count up or down. A persistent G / Y / R letter shows alongside the color, so the cue is clear even to colorblind viewers. Optional beep and a per-session report included. Perfect for public-speaking practice, club meetings, debates, and contests. DISPLAY MESSAGES (CUE) Type any message and display it full-screen in large, bold text. Save up to 10 favorite messages and reuse them with a single tap. Perfect for cueing speakers, directing audiences, or communicating across a room without interruption. COUNTDOWN TIMER Run a countdown with visual and audio alerts. Two-minute warning, 30-second strobe, and completion alerts keep everyone on schedule. CLOCK DISPLAY Show the current time in a large format clock — ideal for keeping sessions on track without anyone needing to check their phone. DESIGNED FOR DISTANCE Every element is sized and calibrated for visibility at 3 meters (10 feet). High-contrast color for any lighting condition. NO SUBSCRIPTION. NO ACCOUNT. NO ADS. One purchase. Works completely offline.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Speaking Email at Free against ZAGNALS's $4.99. ZAGNALS's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 5). On update cadence, 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
Speaking Email is free to download; ZAGNALS costs $4.99 up front. Speaking Email sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. ZAGNALS asks for nothing beyond the download.
Speaking Email ships an update every 3 weeks, ZAGNALS every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Speaking Email | ZAGNALS |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $4.99 |
| Rating | 4.5 (206 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 67.5% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 206 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 5 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 33 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | BEWEB LTD | Gary Seiler |
Bugs and requests
Speaking Email
Reported bugs
18 issues- Keeps crashing
- Doesn't work reliably
- Granting Gmail access is buggy
- App crashes after an update
- Doesn't save place in emails
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- Cannot skip forward in emails
- Cannot connect to emails
- Times out from mail setup screen
- Frozen in settings page
- Emails disappear after reading
- Unstable with Exchange
- Archived emails disappear
- Doesn't recognize passwords
- Cannot delete the app
- Hidden icon floating around screen
- Browser cookies disabled error for Gmail
- Too loud with AirPods
- Emails don't load properly
Requested features
13 requests- Ability to search using voice command
- CarPlay support
- Apple Watch App for interaction
- Support for Exchange using Active Sync or Outlook Web Access
- Dark mode option
Show 8 moreShow fewer
- Better voice quality
- Option to turn off voice command prompts
- Ability to set to only pull 'primary' for Gmail
- Improve editing of responses
- Better battery optimization
- Clearer understanding of settings
- Ability to save place in emails
- Search functionality
ZAGNALS
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Speaking Email
- Premium Subscription$4.991 Month
- Premium Subscription Annual$34.991 Year
- Premium Plan$4.99
- Premium Plan 3 Months$14.99
- Premium Plan 12 Months$49.99
ZAGNALS
No in-app purchases









