Seven apps that read EPUB and PDF files out loud, compared on the four things that actually decide which one you keep: the platforms they run on, whether the voices are bearable for an hour, what they cost, and whether they can translate what they read.
In 30 seconds: for a one-off document, the free options are enough — Edge reads a PDF aloud without installing anything. For reading you come back to, the differences that matter are whether it remembers your place, whether the voice is bearable for an hour, and where your document ends up: the big cloud apps need you to upload it to their servers first. Auris Reader keeps your library on your machine, reads it with neural voices in 12 languages, and is the only one here that can translate a book while it reads it to you.
Who is writing this. Auris Reader is our own app, and it is in the table below. We have tried to be useful rather than flattering: every row is a fact you can check, we say where the others are better, and we point out what ours cannot do — there is no macOS or iPhone version, and it cannot export audio files. Third-party details are as published on 4 September 2026 and change often.
The comparison
| Speechify | NaturalReader | Voice Dream | Moon+ Reader | Balabolka | Auris Reader | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Platforms | iOS, Android, web, Mac, Windows | iOS, Android, web, Windows, Mac | iOS, Mac, Android | Android | Windows | Windows, Linux, Android |
| EPUB and PDF | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Neural voices | Yes | Yes | Yes | System voices | System voices | Yes |
| Translates while reading | No | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Exports an audio file | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No |
| Your document is uploaded to a server | Yes, to your cloud library | Yes, to your cloud library | No | No | No | No — only the page being translated, if you turn translation on |
| Free tier | Limited | Limited | No | Yes | Yes, fully | 14-day trial |
| Price | Subscription | Subscription | One-off purchase | Free / paid Pro | Free | €4.99/month |
Speechify
The best known of the group, and the one with the widest reach: iPhone, Android, browser extension, Windows and Mac. Its selling point is voice quality and speed — people who use it to get through work documents read at two or three times normal speed without losing the thread. It handles EPUB, PDF, scanned pages via OCR and web articles.
Where it wins: the voices, the speed control, and the fact that it is everywhere you are. Where it does not: the useful tier is a subscription and it is not cheap, and it reads what is in front of it — it does not translate.
NaturalReader
The other veteran. Similar coverage to Speechify and a generous free tier for occasional use, with a well-regarded desktop app for Windows and Mac. Supports a long list of voices across many languages.
Where it wins: you can get real work done without paying, and the desktop app is solid for long documents. Where it does not: the free voices are the plain ones — the good voices are behind the subscription — and, again, no translation.
Voice Dream Reader
A favourite in the accessibility community for years, and the only one here you buy once instead of renting. Excellent word-by-word highlighting, fine control over voice and spacing, and strong support for dyslexia-friendly typography.
Where it wins: if you read on an iPhone or a Mac and want to pay once, this is the one. Where it does not: its home is Apple’s world — the Windows and Linux user is out of luck.
Moon+ Reader
The Android reader of reference. Reads EPUB, PDF, MOBI and half a dozen other formats, uses the voices installed on your phone, and the free version already includes reading aloud.
Where it wins: free, fast, and it opens everything. Where it does not: Android only, and it depends on your phone’s system voices — which on a mid-range phone can be exactly the robotic voice you were trying to escape.
Balabolka
A veteran Windows program, completely free, that reads EPUB and many other formats and can save the result as MP3 or WAV. It uses the SAPI voices installed on Windows.
Where it wins: nothing leaves your computer, it costs nothing, and it is the simplest way to turn a document into an audio file. Where it does not: the interface is from another era and the voice quality depends entirely on what you have installed — out of the box it sounds like a computer.
Microsoft Edge (Read Aloud)
Not an app but worth knowing: the browser you already have reads PDFs and EPUB files aloud with decent neural voices, at no cost and with nothing to install.
Where it wins: it is already on your computer and it is free. Where it does not: it is a browser — it does not keep a library, does not remember where you stopped between sessions the way a reader does, and gives you no control beyond speed and voice.
Auris Reader
Ours. A desktop app for Windows and Linux plus an Android app, built around reading long documents rather than clipping articles: it opens EPUB and PDF, reads them with neural voices in 12 languages, highlights each sentence as it goes and reopens your book exactly where you left it — down to the sentence, on every device you sign in on.
The thing it does that the others do not is translate while it reads: choose a voice in your language, turn translation on, and it translates each page and reads the translation. Nothing else on this list does that.
It also reads scanned PDFs — the ones that are a photograph of the page, with no text underneath. The recognition runs on your own machine rather than on a server, and it comes with the Pro and Premium plans; on the entry plan a scan still opens and you can read it yourself, it just is not read aloud.
On privacy it is the strictest of the paid apps here. Your library never leaves your computer — there is no upload, no cloud library, nothing of yours stored on our servers. Speechify and NaturalReader work the other way round: to read your document they need it on their servers first. Translation is the one exception, and it is opt-in: it ships switched off, and only while you have it on does the text of the page being read go to Google’s translator. You turn it off and nothing leaves again.
Where it does not win: there is no macOS or iPhone version. It cannot export MP3 files — it plays, it does not convert. And the free tier is a 14-day trial rather than a permanent free mode.
How to choose
Pick by the constraint that actually binds you:
- You are on iPhone or Mac. Voice Dream if you want to pay once, Speechify or NaturalReader if a subscription is fine. We have nothing for you yet.
- One document, once. Edge. Do not install anything for that.
- You want an audio file to keep. Balabolka or NaturalReader. Not us.
- You read long documents over days — a textbook, a thesis, a report — and want your place kept to the sentence across devices. That is what a dedicated reader buys you over Edge, and what Auris Reader is built around.
- Your documents are private — work, legal, medical, unpublished — and you would rather not upload them to anyone. Auris Reader or Balabolka; the cloud apps all require the upload.
- You want to listen to a book written in a language you do not read. Auris Reader — nothing else on this list does it.
Questions
Which of these is free?
Balabolka is free with no limits on Windows, and Edge’s Read Aloud costs nothing. Moon+ Reader has a free version on Android that already reads aloud. Speechify and NaturalReader have limited free tiers. Voice Dream is a one-off purchase and Auris Reader is a subscription with a 14-day trial.
Which has the most natural voices?
Speechify, NaturalReader and Auris Reader all use neural voices, and in blind listening most people cannot reliably tell them apart. Moon+ Reader and Balabolka use the voices installed on your device, which is where the old robotic sound still lives.
Can any of them read a scanned PDF?
Speechify, NaturalReader and Auris Reader can. A scanned page is an image with no text underneath, so it has to be recognised first. Speechify and NaturalReader do that on their servers, which means the document is uploaded; Auris Reader does it on your own machine, as part of the Pro and Premium plans. An app without OCR will show you the page but have nothing to read aloud.
Which one works offline?
Balabolka and Moon+ Reader, because they use the voices already installed on your device. The apps with neural voices need a connection to generate the audio, Auris Reader included — it falls back to your system voices when the connection drops. Needing a connection is not the same as uploading your file: Auris sends the sentences it is about to speak, not the document, and never stores it.
If the translation row is the one that matters to you, that is what Auris Reader is for. EPUB and PDF read aloud with neural voices in 12 languages, translated as it reads, on Windows, Linux and Android.
Download Auris ReaderSee pricing
14-day free trial, cancel anytime. €4.99/month afterwards. No macOS or iPhone version yet.
Third-party prices, platforms and features are those published on 4 September 2026 and change frequently — check the vendor’s own page before deciding. Auris Reader is our product, and this comparison is written by its makers.