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Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
Head-to-head

Text to Speech! vs Speechify

Text to Speech! 4.6★ · Free + IAP 65
Winner Tie
Speechify 4.7★ · Free + IAP 60

For basic text-to-speech needs, Text to Speech! offers a simpler, more accessible free experience, while Speechify is better for those seeking advanced features and a larger content library, provided they are willing to pay for a subscription.

Full reviews: Text to Speech! · Speechify

Text to Speech! is praised for its simplicity and free core functionality, making it a good choice for temporary communication needs, despite frequent bug reports and intrusive ads. Speechify offers more advanced features like document scanning and a wider range of voices, but is heavily criticized for its deceptive free tier and high subscription costs.

Head to head

Features edge: SpeechifyR5R8R16R19
Text to Speech! Users appreciate Text to Speech!'s core functionality for basic communication, especially in situations where they've lost their voice R8. However, many find it too simple and lacking advanced features like looping playback or reliable audio export R5R19. Some users also report issues with text length limits R16.
Speechify Speechify offers more advanced features, including scanning physical books R97 and a variety of voices, including celebrity options . However, users are frequently disappointed by the limited library of pre-available books and the necessity to scan pages manually for many titles, which they find impractical and tedious R97R103R109.
Ease of Use edge: Text to Speech!R2R3R13R17
Text to Speech! Text to Speech! is generally considered easy to use with a simple, clean interface R2R17. However, some users report UI issues, such as inability to copy text from starred sections, misplaced letters in slide-over view, and non-functional text size controls R3R13.
Speechify Speechify is described as easy to navigate and set up by some users . However, many find it confusing, especially regarding how to use features like scanning books or logging into extensions . The constant prompts for subscriptions also hinder the user experience .
Reliability tieR1R9R11R12
Text to Speech! Text to Speech! suffers from significant reliability issues, with frequent reports of freezing, crashing, and glitches R1R9R11R12. Some users also note issues with voices stopping mid-sentence or specific voices being removed .
Speechify Speechify also has reliability problems, with users reporting app crashes, especially after recent updates . Some users experience issues with scanned pages being deleted by ads or the app not reading all words from scanned text .
Price/Value edge: Text to Speech!R2R4R6R9
Text to Speech! Text to Speech! is praised for being free, making it accessible for temporary communication needs R2R9. However, the free version is heavily criticized for intrusive and frequent ads that disrupt usage, especially for those with urgent communication needs R4R6R10. There are also limits on free exports .
Speechify Speechify is widely criticized for its high cost and deceptive advertising, with many users feeling misled about its free capabilities R61R70R76. Users report having to pay for books they already own, or for basic features and better voices, with subscriptions costing around $140 annually R61R70.
Support tieR11R12R13R15
Text to Speech! Users express frustration over unaddressed bugs and freezing issues, suggesting a lack of timely support or updates R11R12R13R15. There are requests for specific features like loop playback or voice additions, but no indication of responsiveness R19.
Speechify Some users report difficulty contacting support for refunds or subscription issues, with one user noting only email contact and initial resistance to refunds . However, one user did eventually receive a refund after persistence .
Pick Text to Speech! if

Pick Text to Speech! if you need a simple, free text-to-speech app for temporary communication or basic tasks, and are willing to tolerate frequent ads and occasional bugs R2R8R17. It's particularly useful if you've lost your voice and need a quick way to communicate R8.

Pick Speechify if

Pick Speechify if you are looking for more advanced features like scanning physical books, a wider range of voices including celebrity options, and are prepared to pay a significant subscription fee for full functionality . It may be beneficial for students or those with reading difficulties who need to process large amounts of text .

Evidence note: Both apps are 'Free + IAP', but the user experience differs significantly. Text to Speech!'s negativity largely stems from free-tier friction (ads, bugs), while Speechify's negative reviews heavily criticize its deceptive 'free' advertising and high subscription costs for core features. Speechify has a much larger user base and rating count, which could skew its lifetime rating slightly higher despite recent negative sentiment.

Frequently asked

Is Text to Speech! truly free?
Text to Speech! is free to download and use for basic functionality, but it includes frequent and intrusive ads that many users find disruptive, especially when needing to communicate urgently R4R6R10R29. There are also limits on free exports .
Does Speechify allow me to scan any book and have it read aloud?
While Speechify is advertised with this feature, users report that it only works seamlessly for a limited library of books; for most titles, you have to manually scan each page, which is described as impractical and tedious R88R97R103R109.
How much does Speechify cost?
Speechify is free to download but requires payment for most features, with users reporting subscription costs around $140 annually R61R70. Many users feel misled by the initial 'free' advertising R76R85.

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R5] Text to Speech! 4/5 · US Too simple: Its a great app but its much too simple
  2. [R8] Text to Speech! 5/5 · US Text to speech: I recently had a double jaw surgery and this app helped me communicate to everyone including plenty of my nurses and my family members.
  3. [R16] Text to Speech! 2/5 · US Reduced Usability: Was much better before text length limit was implemented. I can’t listen to a full article anymore, only a 2 or 3 paragraph excerpt.
  4. [R19] Text to Speech! 2/5 · US Please Loop Playback 🔂: Please add a feature to be able to loop playback. Been waiting years. Then 5 stars!!!
  5. [R2] Text to Speech! 5/5 · US Best free text to speech app: Love how this app is free! I also like how simple it is. Definitely worth having.
  6. [R3] Text to Speech! 3/5 · US Inconvenient to use: The app needs refinement regarding its UI settings and core functionality. Currently, you cannot copy text from the 'Starred' section. This is a major inconvenience because it prevents me from backing up or transferring important data before the app's auto-delete function triggers. Having to manually transcribe text that should be copyable is frustrating
  7. [R13] Text to Speech! 1/5 · US Please fix the multiple bugs: When the app is in slide over view after a few seconds and I open it back up in the slide over view mode, the letters are misplaced so I have to exit slide over view and put it back. Also, the controls to change the text size doesn’t work.
  8. [R17] Text to Speech! 4/5 · US I love this app but there are a few things I don’t like: So for one this is an awesome app but even if you pick out a good voice out of the few choices for some words it can sound very demonic, for another thing is yes there are adds but of course there are, also it can take a while to type out what you need to say. So if you need a temporary way to communicate it is a great app. I also love how
  9. [R1] Text to Speech! 2/5 · US Glitchy already: I just downloaded this app cause of surgery so I can “talk” still and it’s already glitching out and making my keys stick
  10. [R9] Text to Speech! 3/5 · US Bugs: This app is so buggy but it’s the only fully free one out there so i don’t really care. It won’t let me put any of files in for it to read and it also crashes if I add too much text when typing or copy and pasting
  11. [R11] Text to Speech! 4/5 · US Problems recently though: Love the app had it for a few years works perfectly up until last month. When it started freezing. Had to delete app and reload now it seems like it’s happening every couple days. If not sooner is the latest update the problem? Is there a resolution for this? Please fix the app Thank you.
  12. [R12] Text to Speech! 3/5 · US Amazing app but freezes a lot: The app freezes a lot but other than that it’s amazing please fix it asap
  13. [R4] Text to Speech! 1/5 · US Ads: Annoying ads not good quality software but doesn’t say yeah very well
  14. [R6] Text to Speech! 3/5 · US To many adds: So every time I click a the words I saved like if I click 3 or 5 and add always pops up so if you could pls put less adds
  15. [R15] Text to Speech! 3/5 · US App crashes: I have both both regular and Pro. But both app keep crashing. Need update
  16. [R10] Text to Speech! 1/5 · US 5 stars must be fake: The in-app ads make this unusable and infuriating. A person who can’t speak doesn’t want or need an ad interrupting what could be a desperate need to communicate. My friend with PLS can barely use his hands in the first place, so just using the device is an obstacle already…this app is 100% useless as long as it has video ads that play while trying to use it.
  17. [R29] Text to Speech! 4/5 · US Overall great.: Overall very helpful. I had vocal cord surgery and cannot speak for 1 week, only 5 mins per hour the next week. The only bad thing is that the ads. It’s challenging enough to not be able to speak even a whisper, laugh, cough, etc. But then you have to wait for an ad. That’s very annoying. For someone who can’t speak ever, that’s just unacceptable. I will be able to speak eventual
  18. [R88] Speechify 1/5 · US False Advertising: The ads for this app shows someone taking a photo of a book and then being able to have it read to them. This is not how it works unless the book is among their limited library!!
  19. [R97] Speechify 2/5 · US Not what is shows in commercials: There is a lot of books not in this app. I’ve looked up seven and none of them have been in the app. And it’s not easy to download like they show in the commercial where you just scan the book and it starts reading it to you. You have to scan any book that is not in the app page by page and either added it to the app or just let it read it page by page. so, there’
  20. [R103] Speechify 1/5 · US Very disappointed: The advertisement implies that you can simply take a picture of most any book with your phone and the book can be read to you. Reality is that there are fewer than 100 books in their “library”. Incredibly misleading and disappointing. Would like my money back!
  21. [R109] Speechify 1/5 · US Books not practical: I got this app to listen to books like shown in the ad. Well the ad is an outright lie, in order to listen to a book you have to scan every page of the book. The time and effort involved makes this impractical and tedious. If this is the feature you are looking for you will be disappointed.
  22. [R61] Speechify 1/5 · US Not worth the money: There are apps out there that are so much better. So far, I cannot read a single book on this app without (of course) paying even more money! Absolutely not. I truly want a refund, advertised and what is delivered are two completely different things!!
  23. [R70] Speechify 1/5 · US Expensive: It’s 140$ to expensive
  24. [R76] Speechify 1/5 · US Thought it was free: I installed it because it didn’t give a price on the screen, so I thought it was free. But it appears that it’s not it should’ve said that upfront before I installed it disappointing
  25. [R85] Speechify 1/5 · US Misleading: Free to download but prepare to pay to use the app

Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store