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How to enable Read Aloud on every device

Built-in text-to-speech is free and instant on most phones, tablets, and browsers — you just have to know where to look. Search below for your device or browser.

13 guides

Have your iPhone or iPad read any text aloud (Spoken Content)

iOS AccessibilityiOSFree, built-in

  1. Open Settings → Accessibility → Spoken Content.
  2. Turn on Speak Selection (highlight text, tap Speak) and Speak Screen (swipe down with two fingers from the top to read the whole screen).
  3. Tap Voices to pick a high-quality voice — download a Siri or Premium voice for natural-sounding playback.
  4. Adjust Speaking Rate to taste.

Tips

  • Speak Screen works in almost any app — Safari, Mail, Books, Notes, PDFs.
  • You can show a floating playback controller with play/pause and speed.

Listen to a webpage in Safari on iPhone or iPad

SafariiOSFree, built-in

  1. Open the article in Safari.
  2. Tap the aA icon in the address bar and choose Show Reader to strip away ads and clutter.
  3. Tap aA again and pick Listen to Page. Safari starts reading aloud.
  4. Use the Now Playing controls on the lock screen or Control Center to pause, skip, or change speed.

Tips

  • If Listen to Page is missing, make sure iOS is updated to iOS 17 or later.

Make your Mac read text aloud (Speak Selection)

System SettingsmacOSFree, built-in

  1. Open System Settings → Accessibility → Spoken Content.
  2. Turn on Speak Selection and set a keyboard shortcut (default is Option+Esc).
  3. Click System Voice → Manage Voices to download a Siri or Premium voice.
  4. Highlight any text anywhere and press the shortcut to start playback.

Tips

  • Speak Screen and a floating Speech Controller are also available — useful for long pages.

Use Read Aloud in Microsoft Edge

Microsoft EdgeWebFree, built-in

  1. Open the webpage or PDF in Edge.
  2. Right-click the page and choose Read aloud, or press Ctrl+Shift+U (Windows) / ⌘+Shift+U (Mac).
  3. Use the toolbar that appears to play, pause, skip, change voice, or change speed.
  4. Click Voice options to pick a Natural voice like Jenny or Aria for the best quality.

Tips

  • Edge Read Aloud also works on local PDFs you open in the browser.
  • Immersive Reader (the book icon in the address bar) hides ads first, then reads.

Strip ads, then listen — Immersive Reader in Edge

Microsoft EdgeWebFree, built-in

  1. Open an article in Edge.
  2. Click the book icon in the address bar (or press F9) to enter Immersive Reader.
  3. Click the Read aloud button in the Immersive Reader toolbar.
  4. Adjust voice, speed, and text size from the toolbar.

Read pages aloud in Google Chrome

Google ChromeWebFree, built-in

  1. Chrome doesn't have a built-in Read Aloud on desktop. Install a free extension like Read Aloud: A Text to Speech Voice Reader from the Chrome Web Store.
  2. Pin the extension to your toolbar.
  3. Open any page and click the extension to start playback.
  4. In the extension's options, switch to a Google Wavenet or Microsoft Natural voice for better quality.

Tips

  • On ChromeOS or Chrome with Reading Mode enabled, you can also use Select-to-Speak (see the ChromeOS guide).
  • If you want a built-in option, use Edge instead — it's the same Chromium engine with Read Aloud included.

Use Select-to-Speak on a Chromebook

ChromeOS AccessibilityChromeOSFree, built-in

  1. Open Settings → Accessibility → Text-to-Speech.
  2. Turn on Select-to-Speak.
  3. Hold Search (or Launcher) and click + drag over any text on screen.
  4. ChromeOS reads the selection aloud and highlights each word.

Tips

  • You can change voice, language, and speed in the Select-to-Speak settings.

Have Android read text aloud (Select to Speak)

Android AccessibilityAndroidFree, built-in

  1. Open Settings → Accessibility → Select to Speak.
  2. Turn the feature on. A small accessibility shortcut appears.
  3. Tap the shortcut, then tap the text you want read, or drag to highlight a range.
  4. Tap Play. Use the controls to skip, change speed, or stop.

Tips

  • Install Google Text-to-Speech and download high-quality voices in its settings for the best playback.
  • TalkBack (also under Accessibility) reads everything continuously, useful for fully hands-free use.

Listen to articles in Chrome on Android

ChromeAndroidFree, built-in

  1. Open the article in Chrome.
  2. Tap the three-dot menu → Listen to this page.
  3. A media player appears at the bottom — play, pause, change speed (0.5×–4×), or pick a different voice.
  4. Playback continues in the background and shows on your lock screen.

Read aloud in Windows with Narrator scan mode

Windows NarratorWindowsFree, built-in

  1. Press Ctrl+Win+Enter to turn Narrator on.
  2. Press Caps Lock+Space to toggle Scan mode.
  3. Press Caps Lock+M to start reading from where you are, or Caps Lock+R to read the whole window.
  4. Press Ctrl to stop. Press Ctrl+Win+Enter again to turn Narrator off.

Tips

  • For one-off reading, Edge's Read Aloud is usually friendlier than Narrator.

Read a PDF out loud in Adobe Acrobat Reader

Adobe Acrobat ReaderWindowsFree, built-in

  1. Open the PDF in Adobe Acrobat Reader.
  2. Go to View → Read Out Loud → Activate Read Out Loud (or press Shift+Ctrl+Y).
  3. Choose Read This Page Only (Shift+Ctrl+V) or Read To End of Document (Shift+Ctrl+B).
  4. Use Shift+Ctrl+C to pause and Shift+Ctrl+E to stop.

Tips

  • Read Out Loud uses your operating system's voices — install higher-quality system voices first for better playback.
  • For long PDFs, exporting to MP3 with Harkable is usually faster and lets you listen on the go.

Listen to a book on a Kindle (VoiceView)

Kindle E-readerKindleFree, built-in

  1. Plug in a pair of Bluetooth headphones or a Bluetooth speaker.
  2. On the Kindle, swipe down and tap All Settings → Accessibility → VoiceView Screen Reader.
  3. Turn VoiceView on. You'll be guided through the gestures.
  4. Open your book — VoiceView reads the page aloud and you can swipe to advance.

Tips

  • Kindle uses a robotic voice. For natural narration of personal documents, send the PDF to Harkable and download an MP3.

Use Reader View + Narrate in Firefox

Mozilla FirefoxWebFree, built-in

  1. Open the article in Firefox.
  2. Click the Reader View icon in the address bar (looks like a small book).
  3. Click the headphones icon in the Reader View toolbar to start Narrate.
  4. Adjust voice and speed from the same toolbar.

Tips

  • Narrate isn't shown on every page — it only appears when Reader View is available.

Built-in voices not cutting it?

For PDFs, Word docs, and long-form reading you want to keep, Harkable converts the file into a natural-sounding MP3 you can download and listen to anywhere — no robotic voice, no tab needs to stay open.

Convert a documentWhy Harkable