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The best text to speech apps for iPhone
Your iPhone can already read any screen aloud for free. Apps add natural voices, libraries, audiobooks and scanning. Here are the options, with prices from their own sites.
By the SpeechBee team, who make SpeechBee. Prices checked on 12 October 2026
Speechify
ElevenReader
NaturalReader
Voice Dream
SpeechBee
On this page
At a glance
| App | Price | Free option | Best at |
|---|---|---|---|
| Speak Selection and Speak Screen | Free | Built in | Anything on screen |
| Speechify | $29/mo or about $139/yr | Basic voices up to 1.5x | Books, PDFs, scanning |
| ElevenReader | $11/mo or about $99/yr | 10 hours a month | Voices and audiobooks |
| NaturalReader | $79 to $159/yr | 20,000 AI characters a day | MP3 export, OCR |
| Voice Dream | In-app purchases | Free download | Reading library, accessibility |
| SpeechBee | $9/mo, $79/yr, or $99 once | 7 days free | Pasted text on iPhone, any app on Mac, dictation |
Built in: Speak Selection and Speak Screen
In Settings, Accessibility, Read & Speak, turn on Speak Selection to hear text you select (tap Speak), and Speak Screen to hear a whole page with a two-finger swipe down from the top. You can choose voices, speed and pronunciations, or open Accessibility Reader for a full-screen reading view. Full guide: how to make your iPhone read text aloud.
Speechify
1,000+ voices, speeds up to 5x, Scan & Listen for printed pages, AI summaries and voice typing on Premium, at $29 a month or about $139 a year. Apps for iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac and Windows. See Speechify review.
ElevenReader
10 free hours of audio a month with 1,000+ voices. Ultra, $11 a month or about $99 a year, adds unlimited listening to your imports, audiobooks and offline downloads. iPhone and Android apps.
NaturalReader
Free plan with 20,000 characters a day of Lite AI voices. Paid Lite, Plus and Pro plans, $79 to $159 a year, add OCR and MP3 export. Its mobile apps have an offline mode. See NaturalReader pricing.
Voice Dream
Import PDFs, EPUBs, Word files and web pages, annotate, tune voices and pronunciation, and listen offline across iPhone, iPad and Mac. Built with accessibility throughout, including VoiceOver support. Free download with in-app purchases.
SpeechBee
SpeechBee is our app. On iPhone and iPad, paste text into its Read tab to hear it in a natural voice that runs on your device; your text isn't sent anywhere. It's mainly a dictation app, with a voice keyboard for writing by voice, and the same plan covers your Mac, where it reads selected text in any app with one key. It doesn't import books or scan pages.
Read and write by voice on iPhone and Mac. Free for 7 days.
Voice to text and Read Aloud on your Mac, iPhone and iPad. After the week, $9 a month, $79 a year, or $99 once. Every plan has every feature.
Questions
Does iPhone have free text to speech?
Yes. Turn on Speak Selection or Speak Screen in Settings, Accessibility, Read & Speak.
What is the best free text to speech app for iPhone?
The built-in Speak Screen and Speak Selection. For natural voices, ElevenReader's free plan gives 10 hours a month.
Which iPhone reader works offline?
Voice Dream, NaturalReader's mobile offline mode, ElevenReader Ultra downloads, and SpeechBee's on-device voices all work without a connection.
Keep comparing
- The best text to speech apps for Mac
- The best dictation apps for iPhone
- Voice Dream Reader alternatives
Sources
All checked on 12 October 2026.