Speechable vs @Voice Aloud Reader

Credit voices cover a real catalog (they advertise dozens of AI voices and multiple languages). Podcast and Lecture modes are separate formats, not just another voice picker: two-speaker discussion vs TED-style single explainer vs straight Listen narration.

Not locked to a vendor catalog, install engines on the device. Experimental dialog voices for fiction (narrator vs characters) if you're into web novels.

Custom speech replacements are a killer feature for names in long series. Premium adds tagged replacement sets. Novel-translation Reddit threads call this out constantly.

MP3 download for offline / phone listening is a first-class path, but it uses credits with a Premium-style voice. Eco Mode itself is in-browser; plan on export if you want AirPods on the train without the laptop.

Device TTS works offline. Record to MP3/OGG/WAV; Premium does continuous recording through a whole list/ebook. Sleep timer, shake to restart, Bluetooth controls, screen-off playback.

PDF upload with noise stripping aimed at papers: footnotes, inline citations, headers, reference-list sludge. Section picker so you can skip methods appendices on a first pass. Competing in the same “make papers listenable” lane as Paper2Audio / Listening. Speechable leans harder into podcast/lecture reformats than faithful full-text + figure summaries.

EPUB, AZW3, FB2, etc. LCP DRM path for some stores. Bookshare for eligible users. This is daily driver territory for ebook listeners on Android.

Paste a URL, strip ads, cookie walls UI, nav, sidebars, related-blocks, footer junk. Shows you the cleaned body before play. Strong use case vs Edge/Chrome read-aloud reading the chrome. Does not bypass paywalls: only what’s publicly visible.

Smart article extract, full page, or JS-loaded browser mode. Follow "Next" for serial fiction chapter grabs. Batch URL import. Desktop @Voice Connector extension (Chrome/Edge/Brave/Firefox) sends pages to the phone, underrated.

URL paste, file upload (PDF / ebook-style docs per marketing), photo. No native mobile apps in this product: the desk browser is the app. Fine for laptop workflows; weaker if you only live on phone share sheets.

Clipboard, email, files, Dropbox auto-add, Open in @Voice from everywhere. Multiple reading lists with auto-advance.

Listen = cleaned narration. Podcast = two voices, ~5 / 10 / 15 minute discussions (credit-based). Lecture = single-speaker explainer. This is the product’s personality: NotebookLM-adjacent study audio without pretending to be a full reading OS. Accuracy is “colleague walks you through it,” not a court transcript.

Chat (type or speak) against the imported doc (“what’s the main claim?”, vocab in another language, etc.). Credit-gated with the other AI features. Handy after a podcast skim when one claim didn’t stick.

Bookmarks, history, progress. Enough for long books; not a Readwise highlight PKM system.

Offline with on-device engines is the default lifestyle here.

Auto-advance lists, follow-next for web serials, Dropbox sync of positions/bookmarks/replacements. Android Auto companion plugin. AI handoff to ChatGPT/Claude/Gemini from text. Bilingual / translate study modes.

Runs at app.speechable.co. Upload or paste a URL, review what was extracted, pick sections, then Eco Mode / Listen / Podcast / Lecture / Chat. Feels like a modern SaaS document desk, not a 2015 TTS toolbox. Sign-in with Google or email. Still early (I saw ~v0.7 on the login screen). Expect polish, not Voice Dream depth.

You can inspect the extracted text and uncheck sections before audio. That review step matters for long guides and papers where you only want intro + discussion. Not a full Reader View with live word-sync on the original PDF layout the way Paper2Audio does. More “cleaned transcript first.”

Paste URL → see cleaned article → play. Or drop a PDF and choose sections before you generate. Fewer knobs than Speechify’s suite; clearer “what am I listening to?” than dumping a messy page into browser Read aloud.

Connector on desktop browsers to open/add-to-list on the phone. Essential if you discover chapters on a laptop.

Free tier is the hook: unlimited Eco Mode playback, 10 AI credits/month, library capped around 5 documents in their write-ups. No card required to start. Real free listening if you’ll accept browser voices.

Premium $10/mo or $72/yr ($6/mo) with 1,200 credits/month. One-time $7 / 500 credits pack that doesn’t expire if you hate subscriptions. Trust-based accessibility discount up to ~50% (students, ADHD/dyslexia/vision, hardship; no proof required). Ethics page also leans hard on local Eco Mode energy use and “no training on your uploads.” Pricing is clearer and kinder than Speechify’s ~$139/yr vibe; credits still mean podcast/chat volume isn’t infinite on free.

Premium is $15 one-time (confirm on Hyperionics' pricing page). No ads, continuous list recording, tagged replacements, widget, better link handling. In a sea of $10-30/mo TTS subs this is the anti-SaaS pick. No account required for core use.