Acapela vs ReadSpeaker (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Acapela and ReadSpeaker share a 2.4 GPA, neither has a free plan and their prices can't be set side by side, so the choice depends on whether you care more about value for money and platforms, where Acapela grades higher, or the free plan, where ReadSpeaker does.
Checked Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
They get the same grade on features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Acapela
Text-to-speech voices, SDKs and a cloud API in 30+ languages
ReadSpeaker
Text-to-speech for websites, apps, schools and custom brand voices
Which one is for you
Pick Acapela if
- Fits if you need a voice for a screen reader or an Android phone
- Works for a company that wants SDKs across several platforms
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a price for the cloud, SDK or custom voices, as they are quoted per project
- Not for you if you want a free plan, as none is listed
- Watch out: the NVDA price is a range of €59 to €99, and the page does not say whether it is per voice
- Watch out: a My-Own-Voice voice must be purchased to use outside the website
- Watch out: prices on its pages are in euros
Pick ReadSpeaker if
- Fits if you run a school or a website that needs audio on pages
- Works for an organization that wants a custom brand voice
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want prices up front, as all but TextAid's individual plan are quoted
- Not for you if you are a school wanting TextAid prices, as multi-user prices are not published
- Pricey if you want a custom voice, which needs a one-time development fee plus recording costs
- Watch out: pricing depends on page views, enrollment or speech volume, and may add setup, support and training fees
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAAcapelaFair | 2.4GPAReadSpeakerFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | B€3.99 a voice on Google Play and €59 to €99 for NVDA voices, both one-time and under a year of the category's middle. The cloud, SDK and custom prices are quoted. | C$9 a user a month for TextAid, the one published price, against a category middle of $9.99. Every other product is quoted. |
| Free plan and trial | FNo free plan and no trial are listed. A My-Own-Voice voice is free to create and test, but costs money to use outside the website. | CTextAid can be tried free with no card needed, but the length is not stated. |
| Features | BSDKs, a cloud API and studio, 30+ languages, My-Own-Voice banking, custom brand voices and screen-reader voices. | BWeb reader, document reader, a studio and API, SDKs, TextAid, custom voices and education integrations. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record, and the larger products come through sales. | CNo store rating on record, and the larger products come through sales and a setup. |
| Platforms and integrations | AWeb, Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS and Android, with NVDA, SAPI and a cloud API. | BWeb app and browser extension with Blackboard, Moodle, Canvas, Brightspace and others, plus an API and SDK. |
| Best for | voices and SDKs in 30+ languages | text to speech for sites, schools and brands |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Acapela and ReadSpeaker. How we grade
Where they differ
At a glance
| Acapela | ReadSpeaker | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free trial |
| Starts at | €3.99 per voice, in-app purchase on Google Play | $9 per user / month (TextAid, individual) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | TextAid can be tried free; no credit card needed. Length not stated. |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Acapela Group | ReadSpeaker B.V. |
| Price read from | acapela-group.com | readspeaker.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Acapela
- Cloud, SDK and voice-creation pricing is quoted per project, not published.
- The NVDA price range is stated without saying whether it is per voice or one-time.
- A My-Own-Voice voice is free to create and test but is purchased to use outside the website.
- Prices read on its pages are in euros; the NVDA and Google Play prices were not shown in dollars.
ReadSpeaker
- Pricing for every product except TextAid's individual plan is quoted on request, so costs cannot be compared up front.
- Pricing depends on page views, enrollment or speech volume, and may include setup, support and training fees.
- Custom voices need a one-time development fee, and recording costs are billed at actual cost.
- TextAid's $9 starting price is for individuals; school and multi-user prices are not published.
Key features
Acapela
- Cross-platform SDKs
- SDKs for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, iOS and Android, plus Windows Server, Linux Server and embedded Linux editions.
- Acapela Cloud API and studio
- A streaming API and a web editor for producing audio prompts, with over 100 neural, premium and standard voices.
- Large language range
- The company says it speaks over 30 languages, with children's voices and short expressive sounds called Voice Smileys.
- My-Own-Voice banking
- Record 50 sentences in the browser to build a synthetic copy of your voice; free to create, paid when used in an application.
- Branded custom voices
- Acapela builds personalized voices for services, apps and devices, used for example in transport announcements.
- Screen reader and Android voices
- End-user voices are sold for the NVDA screen reader and as in-app purchases in an Android app on Google Play.
ReadSpeaker
- webReader and docReader
- A voice plugin that reads website content aloud with translation, and a companion for listening to online documents including PDFs.
- speechMaker Studio and speechCloud API
- A cloud studio and an API for producing spoken audio from text with the company's premium voices.
- SDK and server deployment
- speechEngine SDK, an embedded edition for small devices, and speechServer let developers run speech inside their own apps or servers.
- TextAid for learners
- A literacy tool that reads text aloud with highlighting, with word prediction, dictionary and translation, in a browser extension, web app or LMS.
- Custom Voice and voice cloning
- A brand-specific synthetic voice built from a recorded voice actor, priced as a development fee plus licensing.
- Education integrations
- Ready-made connections for learning management and assessment platforms such as Blackboard, Moodle, Canvas and Brightspace.
Plans
Acapela
Voices for Google Play€3.99
per voice, one in-app purchase
Individual voices for an Android device: 50 voices in 26 languages.
Voices for NVDA€59
price range €59 to €99, basis not stated
Add-on voices for the NVDA screen reader: 130+ voices in over 32 languages, priced by voice.
Cloud, SDK and custom voicesCustom
Acapela Cloud, platform SDKs, voice branding and My-Own-Voice purchases are quoted per project.
ReadSpeaker
TextAid (individual)$9
per user / month, cancel or pause any time
Literacy support for one person; sold from $9 a month for individual, non-institutional users.
ReadSpeaker OnlineCustom
Annual license for web readers, priced by page views, students enrolled, population or speech volume.
ReadSpeaker EnterpriseCustom
Licenses or pay-per-use by volume of speech, languages and voice quality; subscription, license or usage.
Custom VoiceCustom
One-time development fee plus a license fee, with voice actor and studio costs passed through.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Acapela or ReadSpeaker?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Acapela starts at €3.99 per voice, in-app purchase on Google Play, and ReadSpeaker starts at $9 per user / month (TextAid, individual).
Which has a free plan, Acapela or ReadSpeaker?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Acapela nor ReadSpeaker has a free plan. ReadSpeaker has a free trial.
Which platforms do Acapela and ReadSpeaker run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Acapela lists macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android apps and only ReadSpeaker lists a browser extension. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.