Speech Central – Voice Reader

• Speech Central Pro — $9.99

Last verified 6 Aug 2026

4.6 1525 ratings · App Store

1. 4/5New update killed the app for me

   Update for the developers sake: Since the dev responded I’ll reply. App still has troubles for websites for me. Lightnovelworld still won’t load the page even after waiting for 5 minutes. Royal road will show that its downloaded the web page but when I click on it, even several minutes later, it just instantly closes itself. PDFs however are working now for me. I’ve downloaded a few that I have uploaded to the app with great success, so I’m upping my review a star. I use this app to grab web stories and have them read while I am doing something else. This new update killed one of the websites I go to. The website is light novel world. Now when I share to speech central the app just keeps the dial spinning like it’s trying to load it and what once to a few seconds, now won’t even load ( and I’ve let it try for over an hour). Update: also when I upload a pdf or manage to get a different website page to load, I can’t even open it in the app, it just auto closes right after I open the file so it’s completely unusable Also I use it for reading on Royal road and it use to take like 30 chapters at once, which may have very well been unintended, but now it only takes one. I’ve tried redownloading, restarting my phone, different browsers, everything I can think of but nothing helps. What was one a great app was killed for me.

   Ch0nky · 6 Aug 2026

2. 5/5Finally

   I’m so thankful that this app understands that text to speech software is an accessibility tool and not a cash grab. With that being said, I bought premium even though I definitely didn’t need it to use this app. I usually use text to speech software on my pc, but I really also needed something portable that I could use with headphones. This app reads me PDFs in a decent voice. And some of the voices are a little rough but you can fix that by adjusting the pitch and speed. There are so many customizations that I was able to fine tune one of the free voices to sound really good. I also love that it saves your progress so that you can click back into the app and open up a PDF and continue reading where you left off. The few glitches that have come up are fixed quickly because the developer really cares about this project. The one time I reached out because of an issue it was already being fixed. Before this I was using the free iOS assessability feature for text to speech, but it usually stops reading a PDF halfway through the document and it’s a huge hassle to pick up where you left off. And then I’ve tried other apps, but it seems like everything else is very very very expensive, and has the same features as this app. Plus reading limits which as far as I’ve experienced this app doesn’t have. This is my dream app at a really good price. I am so thankful that this app exists.

   California2019 · 6 Aug 2026

3. 4/5Love this app, but don't get me wrong

   I love this app and constantly recommend it to people who also like to read stories from unpublished fan author. I use Apple voices (Ava Premium is the only one tolerable to me) but I have to admit sometimes it's glitchy. I've deleted all my files but there are just moments where it just stops responding from pressing an internal link and requires several reboots. I also don't find the app intuitive when it comes to the AI voices features it advertises, especially for a person who is completely out of the loop with that side of things but just wants nice voices. From my understanding, the AI part is a 3rd party utility and you just implement api keys from them to use the AI voices? I tried doing the OpenAI one, but apparently it's not free when you already created a ChatGPT account ages ago. 🫨 Idk, if you advertise the function so heavily, maybe create a help page with more layman handholding terms in the same page for the people who just go OOH! Ai Voices! but have no idea where to start.

   Teabaobun · 6 Aug 2026

4. 4/5The best deal around

   I have mainly used two reading apps before this one, ElevenReader and then Capti. ElevenReader was free, then it started trying to change insane amounts of money, so I had to find an alternative. I used and loved Capti (which was completely free, and unlimited) for a while, but then the company shut down the service. I was heartbroken about it, as I have very long days and love having something to listen to besides just music. I was searching for an alternative that wasn’t over priced for simple text to speech, but also wasn’t extremely robotic and unlistenable. Then I found Speech Central on the App Store, and while I didn’t have high hopes, I tried it out. I was very pleasantly surprised, not only are the voices free, but they’re good! After a few days, I bought the $10 upgrade, which is a one time payment! A rarity theses days! It’s compatible with car play, which I greatly appreciate because I drive long hours often. I have noticed a few issues / glitch’s here and there, such as there being soft static in the background of the audio when used in the car, but other than that the rest are very manageable and barely noticeable when they do happen. This app is 100% worth the $10 payment, and I hope that the dev(s) keep up the great work!

   DyslexiaPerson · 6 Aug 2026

5. 5/5Wonderful app

   I already reviewed this app once but after using it for a few more months I felt the need to review it again. Because I use this app every day. Multiple times a day. I truly feel like I got an absolute steal when I paid one time for this app. I have a ADHD and if I am listening to a book or a article or a story then I have to do something with my hands. I can't just sit there and listen. And I really really enjoy listening to stories and things that I don't have the patience to sit down and read. So I listen and I clean or I cook or… Basically it helps me get things done because I wanna keep listening and so I have to keep moving. Lol. When I'm cooking I will have it on the counter and I can listen as I get everything ready and I don't get bored the same way so I'm more liable to actually do it. I also use it most days at work just to have something in my ear while I'm working. Artificial voice can be a little offputting but honestly at this point I hardly notice. The value I've gotten is beyond any other app I can think of

   Deccanxx · 6 Aug 2026

Privacy

• Data Not Collected Developer declared

Accessibility

• Dark Interface — SUPPORTED Store published
• Differentiate Without Color Alone — SUPPORTED Store published
• Larger Text — SUPPORTED Store published
• Reduced Motion — SUPPORTED Store published
• Sufficient Contrast — SUPPORTED Store published
• Voice Control — SUPPORTED Store published
• VoiceOver — SUPPORTED Store published