Comparison · October 2026
Seven apps that take a PDF and read it to you — compared on what the PDF is: a novel, a textbook or a research paper, and on voices, offline use and price.
Written by the Lyraboo team, so we are not neutral. Facts about the other apps come from their own websites and app store listings, checked in October 2026. Spotted something out of date? Write to [email protected].
Every other app on this list reads a whole novel in one voice. That is fine for a report. In a story it is not: the listener has to work out who is talking from the words alone, and in a long conversation with no “he said” the thread is lost within a page. Lyraboo performs the book the way a full-cast audiobook does — a narrator for the description, and every character in their own voice, kept from the first chapter to the last. It is the difference between text being read at you and a story being told, and it is the main reason people choose Lyraboo for fiction. More on how it works: character voice text to speech.
| App | Platforms | Best for | Character voices | Offline | Free plan | Paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lyraboo | Android | Novels and other books | Yes — every character, automatically | No | 1 hour a month | Monthly $9.99 (US) |
| ElevenReader | Android, iPhone, web | One natural voice for any file | No — one voice you choose | Paid plan | 10 hours a month | $11 a month or $99 a year |
| Speechify | Android, iPhone, web, Mac, Windows, browser | Fast listening, scanning pages | No — one voice | Not stated | 10 basic voices, up to 1.5× | $29 a month |
| Paper2Audio | Android, iPhone, web, browser | Research papers and textbooks | No — one voice | Downloaded audio, in the apps | 56 hours a week | Plus subscription |
| NaturalReader | Android, iPhone, web, Chrome | Documents; MP3 from the app | No — one voice | Mobile app | Free forever plan | Paid plans |
| Voice Dream Reader | iPhone, iPad, Mac | A customisable reader on Apple devices | No — one voice | Yes | — | Yearly subscription |
| @Voice Aloud Reader | Android | Free reading with phone voices, MP3 | Alternating voices you set up | With phone voices | Free with ads | $15 once, removes ads |
Pick the PDF in the app and Lyraboo splits it into chapters, separates narration from dialogue, works out which character says each line — even in long exchanges with no “she said” — and gives every character their own AI voice, which they keep for the whole book. The first chapter is ready in about one to two minutes and the rest generate while you listen. It plays like a music app: chapters, 0.25×–3× speed, lock-screen controls, resume where you stopped, and the text scrolling under the player like song lyrics — words light up as they are spoken, each line is labelled with its speaker, and tapping a word jumps there. There is nothing to set up, and 1,000+ public-domain classics are built in if you want to hear it before uploading anything. Non-fiction reads in a single narrator voice.
Where it is weaker: Android only, needs a connection, no MP3 export, no OCR for scanned PDFs, and the free plan is one hour a month. It is made for books, not for papers full of tables and citations. More on the app itself: PDF to audiobook app for Android.
From ElevenLabs. Reads PDF, DOCX, EPUB, Markdown and TXT files, links and pasted text with more than 1,000 natural voices, on Android, iPhone and the web. The free plan includes 10 hours a month; Ultra is $11 a month or $99 a year and adds offline downloads, custom narrators and skipping headers and footers in PDFs. You pick one narrator per upload. See ElevenReader and Lyraboo compared.
One of the best-known readers, on Android, iPhone, the web, Mac, Windows and browser extensions. The free plan has 10 basic voices up to 1.5× speed; Premium is $29 a month and adds 1,000+ natural voices, 60+ languages, up to 5× speed, Scan & Listen for paper pages, AI summaries and cloud-drive imports. It reads in one voice. See Speechify and Lyraboo compared.
Web, Android and iPhone, plus Chrome, Firefox and Edge extensions. It handles paper PDFs, PDF books, EPUBs, web articles and Word files, cuts footnotes, references and page headings, and explains tables, figures and maths with short summaries instead of reading them out. The free plan gives 56 hours of listening a week; downloaded audio plays offline in the apps. For academic reading it is the strongest option here. See Paper2Audio and Lyraboo compared.
On the web, iPhone, Android and as a Chrome extension, reading PDFs, Word files, EPUBs and web pages. The mobile app has an OCR camera scanner, an offline mode and MP3 export. There is a free forever plan with no card. One voice per reading. See NaturalReader and Lyraboo compared.
iPhone, iPad and Mac only. Imports PDFs, EPUBs, Word and PowerPoint files and web pages, with deep reading customisation and offline listening; it moved from a one-time purchase to a yearly subscription. See Voice Dream and Lyraboo compared.
Reads PDF, EPUB, Word, HTML and text with the voices installed on your phone, or cloud voices if you bring your own Google, Microsoft or Amazon key, and records MP3, OGG or WAV. Free with ads; a one-time $15 licence removes them. See @Voice and Lyraboo compared.
Step by step: how to turn a PDF into an audiobook. For EPUBs, see the best EPUB to audiobook apps for Android; for every kind of book, the best apps to turn your own books into audiobooks.
ElevenReader, ElevenLabs, Speechify, Paper2Audio, NaturalReader, Voice Dream Reader, @Voice Aloud Reader, Microsoft Edge and NotebookLM are trademarks of their respective owners. Lyraboo is an independent app and is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by any of them. This comparison reflects publicly available product information.
The things people notice in the first chapter — and the reasons they stay.
Lyraboo’s AI finds every character in the book and casts a distinct voice for each — automatically, for every book. You always know who is speaking, and dialogue sounds like a real conversation instead of one narrator doing all the parts. Most reading and text-to-speech apps use one voice for everything.
Under the player, the book scrolls with the voice the way song lyrics do in Spotify: words light up as they are spoken, each line shows who says it, and tapping any word jumps there.
Chapters, speed from 0.25× to 3×, background playback with lock-screen controls, and it picks up exactly where you stopped.
Pick an EPUB, PDF or TXT and there is nothing to set up: the first chapter is ready in about one to two minutes, and the rest generate while you listen.
Novels, fanfiction and web-serial exports, indie ebooks, study PDFs — plus over 1,000 English classics already in the app.
One free hour of listening every month, no card needed. Hours are spent once per chapter — replaying is always free.
It depends on the PDF. For a novel or any story-driven book on Android, Lyraboo: it turns the PDF into a full-cast audiobook, giving every character their own AI voice automatically. For one natural voice on Android, iPhone and the web, ElevenReader. For research papers and textbooks with footnotes, tables and equations, Paper2Audio. For scanning paper pages and listening at high speed, Speechify.
Several have free plans: Paper2Audio gives 56 hours a week, ElevenReader 10 hours a month, NaturalReader has a free forever plan, and @Voice Aloud Reader is free with ads using your phone’s voices. On a computer, Microsoft Edge reads PDFs aloud for free. Lyraboo’s free plan is one hour of full-cast listening a month, with no card needed.
Lyraboo does it automatically: it works out which character says each line and keeps a distinct voice for each one through the whole book. @Voice Aloud Reader can alternate voices between narration and quotes once you set it up. ElevenReader, Speechify, Paper2Audio, NaturalReader and Voice Dream read in one voice.
NaturalReader’s mobile app can export audio to MP3, and @Voice Aloud Reader records what it reads as MP3, OGG or WAV. Lyraboo, ElevenReader and Speechify play inside their apps rather than giving you a file.
A scan is a picture of a page with no text inside, so it needs OCR first. Speechify can scan pages, and NaturalReader’s app has an OCR camera scanner. Lyraboo needs a PDF with real text — if you can select and copy a sentence, it will work.
ElevenReader, Speechify, Paper2Audio, NaturalReader and Voice Dream Reader. Lyraboo and @Voice Aloud Reader are Android apps.
Upload a book you own and let the app turn it into a multi-voice audiobook automatically.