ReadSpeaker vs Speechify (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Speechify grades higher than ReadSpeaker: 2.8 against 2.4 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 9, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Speechify grades higher on ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan and features.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
ReadSpeaker
Text-to-speech for websites, apps, schools and custom brand voices
Speechify
Text-to-speech reader for listening to documents and web pages
Which one is for you
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
Pick Speechify if
- Fits if you'd rather listen to articles and PDFs on your commute
- Works for students who want a chapter summarized before they listen
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you pay monthly, at $29 against $139 for a whole year
- Skip it if you want to publish voiceovers, which need Studio, a separate plan at $100 or $300 a year
- Not for you if robotic voices put you off and you won't pay: free has 10 of them at up to 1.5x
- Watch out: the 3-day Premium trial charges the yearly plan on day 3
- Tight if you want scanning or AI summaries for free, as both are Premium; Studio's free plan has no commercial rights
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAReadSpeakerFair | 2.8GPASpeechifyGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C$9 a user a month for TextAid, the one published price, against a category middle of $9.99. Every other product is quoted. | CPremium is $139 a year or $29 a month, a little dearer than NaturalReader's Plus. For voiceovers you'd want Studio instead: $100 a year with commercial rights, which the listing says buys about 24 hours of voiceover. Paying monthly costs more than twice the yearly price. |
| Free plan and trial | CTextAid can be tried free with no card needed, but the length is not stated. | CThe free plan never ends, but it's 10 robotic-sounding voices at up to 1.5x. Natural voices, scanning and the AI tools are Premium, whose trial charges the yearly plan on day 3. Studio's free plan has no commercial rights, so it's no use for voiceovers. |
| Features | BWeb reader, document reader, a studio and API, SDKs, TextAid, custom voices and education integrations. | B1,000+ natural voices in 60+ languages, up to 5x speed, Scan & Listen, AI summaries, chats and podcasts, voice typing and a voice assistant. As a reader it covers the whole job. Voiceovers and cloning live in Studio and the API, sold separately. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record, and the larger products come through sales and a setup. | B4.66 from 526,597 App Store ratings, just short of an A. Open a PDF or a web page and press play. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb app and browser extension with Blackboard, Moodle, Canvas, Brightspace and others, plus an API and SDK. | AiPhone, iPad, Android, Mac, Windows and the web, Chrome and Edge extensions, imports from Google Drive, Dropbox and OneDrive, and an API. |
| Best for | text to speech for sites, schools and brands | listening to anything you'd otherwise read |
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: ReadSpeaker and Speechify. How we grade
Price against what you get
ReadSpeaker starts at $9 a month for each person and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Speechify starts at $29 a month and scores 3.3.
Speechify scores higher, and starts $20 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other AI voice generators on the chart, 3 score higher than ReadSpeaker for less, and 1 scores higher than Speechify for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Speechify also covers dictation.
At a glance
| ReadSpeaker | Speechify | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $9 per user / month (TextAid, individual) | $29 per month, billed monthly |
| Free plan | None | Listen anywhere at up to 1.5x speed with 10 robotic-sounding voices, text to speech features only. |
| Free trial | TextAid can be tried free; no credit card needed. Length not stated. | 3-day free trial of Premium in the app; the yearly plan is charged on day 3 |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | ReadSpeaker B.V. | Speechify Inc. |
| Price read from | readspeaker.com | speechify.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 9, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
Speechify
- The free plan is limited to 10 robotic-sounding voices at up to 1.5x speed; natural voices, scanning and the AI features need Premium.
- Voiceovers for publishing need Speechify Studio, a separate plan: free with 600 credits and no commercial rights, or $100 or $300 a year with commercial rights.
- Studio credits are spent per second: 1 for voiceover, 3 for dubbing and 30 for avatars, so $100 a year buys about 24 hours of voiceover.
- Cloned voices need the voice owner to pass Speechify's verification or a written business agreement; users must be 18, and politicians' and deceased people's voices are barred.
Key features
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.
Speechify
- Listen to any text
- Have PDFs, documents, emails and web pages read aloud in natural voices, at speeds up to 5x on Premium.
- Scan & Listen
- Photograph a printed page or book and listen to it. Scanning is a Premium feature.
- AI summaries, chats and podcasts
- Premium can summarize what you are reading, answer questions about it and turn it into a podcast-style episode.
- Voice typing and voice assistant
- Dictate text in other apps with voice typing, and talk to the Voice AI Assistant about a website, book or anything else.
- Apps and cloud imports
- Apps for iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac and Windows, extensions for Chrome and Edge, and imports from Google Drive, Dropbox and OneDrive.
- Studio and API
- Speechify Studio, sold separately, makes voiceovers and dubbed videos with commercial rights. The API lets developers add Speechify voices and voice cloning to their apps.
Plans
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.
Speechify
Free$0
Listening at up to 1.5x speed with 10 robotic-sounding voices, and text to speech features only.
Premium$29
per month, billed monthly
1,000+ natural voices in 60+ languages, 5x speed, Scan & Listen, AI summaries and chats, AI podcasts, voice typing and cloud drive imports. $139 a year billed yearly.
Ways to pay less
ReadSpeaker
No public discounts listed.
Speechify
- Annual discount
Premium for $139 a year
Yearly billing costs $139 against $29 a month on monthly billing; the pricing page says this saves 60%.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, ReadSpeaker or Speechify?
As of Nov 13, 2026, ReadSpeaker starts at $9 per user / month (TextAid, individual), and Speechify starts at $29 per month, billed monthly. One is priced for each person and the other is not, so which costs less depends on how many of you use it.
Which has a free plan, ReadSpeaker or Speechify?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Speechify has a free plan. ReadSpeaker does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do ReadSpeaker and Speechify run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Speechify lists macOS, Windows, iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app and a browser extension. 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.