# Read Aloud review (2026): is it any good? > Open-source browser extension that reads web pages aloud Checked Nov 13, 2026 ยท graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA. Read Aloud is a browser extension for Chrome, Edge and Firefox that reads the current web page aloud with one click. It uses the voices built into the browser and can also connect to cloud voice providers. The code is open source under an MIT license, and the extension is made by LSD Software. - **Category:** AI Voices & Text to Speech - **Made by:** LSD Software - **Website:** https://readaloud.app - **Runs on:** Browser extension - **Who should skip it:** Skip it if you want natural voices out of the box: the free setup uses whatever voices your system has. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 13, 2026 ## Pricing As of Nov 13, 2026, Read Aloud is free to use. - **Pricing model:** Free - **Free plan:** The extension is installed from the browser stores and reads pages with the browser's own voices. - **Free trial:** None listed. | Plan | Price | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | Extension | $0 | Reads pages with the browser's built-in voices. Cloud voices may need an in-app purchase or your own API key, with no prices stated. | Read from https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/read-aloud-a-text-to-spee/hdhinadidafjejdhmfkjgnolgimiaplp on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Read Aloud before buying. ## Key features - **One-click page reading:** Click the toolbar icon or use a keyboard shortcut to read the current article, or only the text you have selected. - **Browser and cloud voices:** Uses native browser voices, and the Chrome Web Store page says it can use cloud voices from Google Wavenet, Amazon Polly, IBM Watson, Microsoft Azure and OpenAI. - **40+ languages:** The store listing says it supports more than 40 languages. - **Reading controls:** Voice, speed and pitch can be changed, text highlighting can be turned on, and the popup has a dark mode. - **Documents and books:** Reads PDF, Google Docs, Google Play Books and Kindle pages, and EPUB through a separate extension. ## Good for - People who want any web page read aloud without leaving the browser - Users who prefer an open-source tool they can inspect ## Worth knowing - Voice quality with the free setup depends on the voices your browser and operating system provide. - Cloud-based voices may need an in-app purchase or your own provider API key; the pages do not state prices. - It runs only as a browser extension, with no mobile or desktop app. - EPUB reading depends on a separate extension from another publisher. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 3.0 out of 4**, graded Nov 13, 2026. Read Aloud is a free, open-source browser extension for Chrome, Edge and Firefox that reads the current page with one click. It uses your browser's own voices, so the sound depends on your system, and nicer cloud voices need your own API key or a purchase with no price listed. - **Value for money: A.** Free and open source under an MIT license. Anyone can install it, so it counts as free and substantial. - **Free plan and trial: A.** Free outright with no account. The only paid parts are optional cloud voices. - **Features: C.** Reads pages, selected text, PDFs, Google Docs and Kindle pages, with speed, pitch and highlighting. Cloud voices need a provider key, and EPUB depends on a separate extension. - **Ease of use: B.** No store rating on record. Install it and click the toolbar icon, with nothing to set up. - **Platforms and integrations: C.** Browser extension only: Chrome, Edge and Firefox. No phone or desktop app, though it can plug into Polly, Azure, OpenAI and other voice providers. These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from LSD Software's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. ## Where it stands among AI voice generators - Read Aloud's GPA of 3.0 is higher than 71 of the 72 other AI voice generators we grade, and level with 1. - It stands best on free plan and trial (A, above 72 of 72) and worst on features (C, above 0). - Read Aloud has no paid plan. - On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.3 out of 4, and no tool on the category's chart scores higher without costing more. The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/ai-voices ## Keep it, or make your own? **Keep it.** Read Aloud is free, so making your own would save you nothing. And it is not the kind of software a weekend replaces. It is one of the better ones too: its GPA of 3.0 is higher than 71 of the 72 other AI voice generators we grade. - You could not: A voice model, which you can rent by the minute but not make. - You could not: It plugs into other products, Google Wavenet, Amazon Polly and IBM Watson among them. - You could not: AI features, unless you pay a model provider for each request yourself. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. ## Works with Google Wavenet, Amazon Polly, IBM Watson, Microsoft Azure, OpenAI **Tags:** Text to speech, Open source, AI features ## Alternatives - [Speaktor](https://toolgpa.com/tools/speaktor): Text-to-speech reader and voiceover tool for documents and video. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/read-aloud-vs-speaktor) - [TTSReader](https://toolgpa.com/tools/ttsreader): Online text reader with free voices, premium AI voices and MP3 export. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/read-aloud-vs-ttsreader) - [NaturalReader](https://toolgpa.com/tools/naturalreader): Text-to-speech reader for listening to documents, with a voiceover app. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/naturalreader-vs-read-aloud) - [Speechify](https://toolgpa.com/tools/speechify): Text-to-speech reader for listening to documents and web pages. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/read-aloud-vs-speechify) - [ElevenReader](https://toolgpa.com/tools/elevenreader): Reader app that reads your files and audiobooks aloud in AI voices. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/elevenreader-vs-read-aloud) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026: - https://readaloud.app/ - https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/read-aloud-a-text-to-spee/hdhinadidafjejdhmfkjgnolgimiaplp - https://github.com/Read-Aloud/read-aloud Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/read-aloud Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).