Speechify speechify.com

Free alternatives to Speechify

Speechify costs $29/mo on the Premium plan, or $348 a year. Here are 5 free and open-source options, what each one does, and what you give up compared with paying.

Prices checked Aug 12, 2026Can AI replace it? Half-bot

01At a glance

Alternative	Type	Where it runs	Works on
OpenReader	Open source	You host it	Web, Your server
Balabolka	Free	On your device	Windows
Koodo Reader	Open source	On your device	Web, Mac, Windows, Linux
Readest	Open source	Hosted or self-hosted	Web, Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone, Android
Thorium Reader	Open source	On your device	Mac, Windows, Linux

02Each alternative, in detail

OpenReaderOpen source

The direct answer: documents in, natural local narration out, with synchronized highlighting and no listening meter.

491 GitHub stars (checked Aug 10, 2026)

openreader.richardr.dev →

BalabolkaFree

The Windows answer: open the document, press play, save the audio, ignore the time-travel interface.

Versus paying: It is Windows-only and lacks Speechify's mobile/browser sync, OCR capture and polished voice catalog.

Setup: Run the Windows installer or unzip the portable build

Watch for: Balabolka includes no voices, so the desired Windows SAPI voice or language pack must already be installed

cross-plus-a.com →

Koodo ReaderOpen source

A cross-platform ebook and document reader with free local or system text-to-speech.

Versus paying: It is built around ebooks rather than Speechify's scan-anything, browser and cross-device listening workflow.

Setup: Install a desktop/mobile package from the site or app store; Windows also offers portable builds

Watch for: The macOS desktop build may need Open Anyway, while Linux read-aloud depends on a working system or browser speech engine

27,800 GitHub stars (checked Aug 6, 2026)

koodoreader.com →

ReadestOpen source

Reads books, PDFs and documents aloud across desktop, mobile and web without a listening quota.

Versus paying: Its strongest use is book reading, while desktop TTS and OCR are less complete than Speechify's.

Setup: Install from an app store, the site/GitHub releases or Flathub, or use the hosted web app

Watch for: Desktop native voices are not yet wired up, so desktop users need Edge TTS or browser voices; Windows may also need WebView2

23,100 GitHub stars (checked Aug 6, 2026)

readest.com →

Thorium ReaderOpen source

A cross-platform accessible ebook reader with built-in read-aloud and no cloud account.

Versus paying: It has no PDF read-aloud and no Speechify-style mobile cloud library or OCR capture.

Setup: Install from Microsoft Store or use the official Windows installer, macOS build, AppImage or Debian package

Watch for: A corresponding operating-system voice pack must be installed for any missing language

2,814 GitHub stars (checked Aug 6, 2026)

thorium.edrlab.org →

03Speechify's own free plan

The free plan reads text aloud at up to 1.5x speed with 10 basic voices.

04What you give up by leaving Speechify

Speechify's 1000+ hosted voices and consistent quality across devices
mobile scanning and polished OCR capture
cross-device sync and offline native apps
Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive integrations
voice typing, AI podcasts, and document chat

People still pay for Speechify because it turns many document formats into reliable audio across phones, browsers, and desktops without setup. The subscription buys polished capture, a larger ready-to-use voice catalog, sync, integrations, and the newer voice and AI workflows around the reader.

05Questions

Is there a free alternative to Speechify?

Yes. This page compares 5: OpenReader, Balabolka, Koodo Reader, Readest and Thorium Reader. 4 of them are open source, so you can run them yourself.

How much does Speechify cost?

$29/mo on the Premium plan (monthly), which is $348 a year. Free plan: The free plan reads text aloud at up to 1.5x speed with 10 basic voices. Prices checked Aug 12, 2026.

What do you give up with a free alternative to Speechify?

Most often: Speechify's 1000+ hosted voices and consistent quality across devices, mobile scanning and polished OCR capture, cross-device sync and offline native apps and Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive integrations. Each alternative on this page lists its own gap under “Versus paying.”

Can AI build me my own version of Speechify?

Half-bot. Speechify's core reading loop is a weekend build: import documents, extract text, read it aloud with a natural local voice, highlight the current sentence, and save progress. The gap is product depth, including the size and consistency of Speechify's hosted voice catalog, OCR and mobile capture, cross-device sync, cloud-drive integrations, voice typing, AI podcasts, and document chat.

Prices change; confirm on the vendor's site before you decide.