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Speechify alternatives for Mac

Speechify reads almost anything aloud, and Premium costs $139 a year. On a Mac you have cheaper ways to hear your text, including one already built into macOS. Here are five, with a straight answer on who each one suits.

By the SpeechBee team. Prices checked on 12 October 2026

  • Speechify
  • SpeechBee
  • ElevenReader
  • NaturalReader
  • Voice Dream
On this page
  1. Speechify alternatives at a glance
  2. Why people look past Speechify
  3. 1. SpeechBee
  4. 2. ElevenReader
  5. 3. NaturalReader
  6. 4. Voice Dream
  7. 5. Speak selection, built into macOS
  8. When Speechify is still the right call
  9. Questions
  10. Keep comparing
  11. Sources

Speechify alternatives at a glance

US dollars, before tax, as published on 12 October 2026.

AppPriceFree optionHow it runsOn a Mac
Speechify$29/mo or $139/yrUp to 1.5x speed, 10 basic voicesAccount and online serviceMac app, web, Chrome extension
SpeechBee$9/mo, $79/yr, or $99 once7 days free, every featureOn your deviceMac app, plus iPhone and iPad
ElevenReader$11/mo or $99/yr10 hours of audio a monthOnline, offline downloads on UltraWeb and Chrome extension
NaturalReaderPaid plansFree forever planOnline, offline mode in mobile appsWeb and Chrome extension
Voice DreamIn-app purchasesFree downloadVaries by voiceiPhone, iPad and Mac
Speak selectionIncluded with macOSYesBuilt into macOSBuilt in

Why people look past Speechify

$139 a year is a lot to be read to. Premium is $29 a month on monthly billing, or $139 a year. The free tier caps you at 1.5x speed with ten basic voices, so the natural voices are effectively the paid product.

It has grown into an everything app. Speechify Premium now bundles AI summaries, AI podcasts, a voice assistant and voice typing. If all you wanted was your own text read back, you are paying for a lot you will not use.

You may not need another subscription. macOS can already read selected text aloud, and some Mac apps now pair a reading voice with dictation. If you mostly listen to your own drafts and emails, that can be enough.

1. SpeechBee

Voice to text
New message

Hi Maya, I'll send the revised proposal tomorrow morning.

SpeechBee's listening indicator on Mac
Hold your key, talk, let go. The text lands at the cursor.
Text to speech
Article

Most people read faster than they speak. SpeechBee reads the sentence you selected out loud, while you keep working.

SpeechBee's Read Aloud player on Mac
Select text, press your reading key, listen.

SpeechBee is our app. It reads selected text aloud on your Mac, and it also does the reverse. Select a paragraph in any app, a browser tab, an email draft, a PDF, and press your reading key. A natural voice reads it, and a small player lets you pause, skip, and change the speed. On iPhone and iPad, paste text into the Read tab.

The reading voices download once and then run on the device. Your selected text never leaves your Mac and is not saved. Reading works offline. Each read takes up to 5,000 characters, so it suits emails, articles and chapters you select in parts, not whole books in one go.

The other half is dictation. Hold a key, talk, and your words appear at the cursor with filler words removed, in 25 languages, or up to 99 on Mac with the optional Whisper model. The two work well together. Dictate a draft, then listen back to catch mistakes.

It needs an Apple silicon Mac with macOS 14 or later. 7 days free, then $9 a month, $79 a year, or $99 once, and one plan covers Mac, iPhone and iPad.

2. ElevenReader

ElevenReader comes from ElevenLabs and is the strongest pick if voice quality and books matter most. Its free plan gives you 10 hours of text to audio a month, more than 1,000 voices, speeds up to 4x, and thousands of free audiobooks.

Ultra is $11 a month or $8.25 a month billed yearly, about $99 a year. That buys unlimited listening for your own imports, 20 hours a month of premium audiobooks from a 200,000-title library, offline downloads and custom voices. There is a 3-day free trial. On a Mac you use it on the web or through the Chrome extension, and there are iPhone and Android apps.

3. NaturalReader

NaturalReader is a long-running text-to-speech reader with a free forever plan that needs no credit card. It reads documents and web pages, has a focus mode that highlights text as it reads, exports MP3 files, and scans printed text with your phone's camera. You can use it in any browser, through a Chrome extension, or in its iPhone and Android apps, which have an offline mode. It also sells EDU and commercial plans.

4. Voice Dream

Voice Dream is a reading app built for accessibility from the start. Import PDFs, EPUBs, Word and PowerPoint files and web pages, highlight passages and add notes, choose a voice and tune speed and pronunciation. It works offline and carries on across iPhone, iPad and Mac. It supports VoiceOver throughout, as well as Dynamic Type, Voice Control and braille displays. It is a free download with in-app purchases on the App Store.

5. Speak selection, built into macOS

Your Mac can already read selected text aloud for free. Open System Settings, click Accessibility, then Read & Speak, and turn on Speak selection. Select text in any app and press Option-Esc. You can have the words highlighted as they are spoken and show a small controller to change the speed, skip by sentence, or pause.

It costs nothing and needs no account. The trade-off is the voices. Apple's are clear, but to our ears they sound flatter than the natural voices in dedicated readers.

When Speechify is still the right call

Stay with Speechify if you scan printed books and pages, want its library of more than 1,000 voices in 60+ languages, use it on Android or in Edge as well, or actually use the AI summaries and podcasts it now bundles. If your school or employer pays for it, it is hard to argue with.

Hear your own text, privately. 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.

Download for MacGet it for iPhone & iPad

Questions

What is the best free alternative to Speechify on a Mac?

Speak selection is built into macOS and free. Turn it on in System Settings, Accessibility, Read & Speak, then select text and press Option-Esc. ElevenReader's free plan gives 10 hours of natural voices a month in the browser, and NaturalReader has a free forever plan.

Is there a Speechify app for Mac?

Yes. Speechify lists a Mac app alongside its web app and Chrome and Edge extensions. Premium costs $29 a month or $139 a year.

Which Speechify alternative works offline on a Mac?

SpeechBee reads with voices that run on your Mac, so it works offline once the voices have downloaded. Voice Dream supports offline listening, and ElevenReader Ultra lets you download audio for offline listening.

Is ElevenReader cheaper than Speechify?

Yes. ElevenReader Ultra is $11 a month or about $99 a year, against Speechify Premium at $29 a month or $139 a year. ElevenReader also has a free plan with 10 hours of audio a month.

Can one app read text aloud and do dictation on a Mac?

SpeechBee does both. Hold one key to dictate into any app and press another to hear selected text, with both running on your Mac. Speechify Premium also lists voice typing among its features.

Is my text private when I use a text-to-speech app?

It depends where the voice is made. Check each app's privacy policy for how it handles the text you send. SpeechBee generates the voice on your Mac, so your selected text never leaves it and is not saved.

Keep comparing

Sources

All checked on 12 October 2026.