Comparison
Aloud vs Read Aloud extension: browser add-on or Mac app?
Read Aloud: A Text to Speech Voice Reader is a free, open-source browser extension: click its icon and it reads the current web page, with browser voices or paid and bring-your-own-key cloud voices. It lives in the browser. Aloud is a $19 native Mac app that reads selected text in any app, PDFs without headers and page numbers, scans and screenshots, and the article on your front browser tab, in a reading window with word-by-word highlight. If you only listen to web pages in Chrome, try Read Aloud first.
Updated 12 November 2026.
At a glance
| Aloud | Read Aloud extension | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $19 once per Mac, no subscription | Free extension; cloud AI voices may need an in-app purchase or your own API key |
| What it is | A native Mac app with a reading window, notch reader or floating player | A browser extension (open source) |
| Where it reads | Selected text in any Mac app, PDFs, scans and screenshots, and the front browser tab | The page open in the browser |
| Browsers | Reads the article on the front tab of Safari, Chrome, Edge, Brave, Arc, Vivaldi or Chromium, no extension needed | Chrome Web Store listing checked; other browsers not checked here |
| How you start reading | Control-Option-S on a selection, Services menu, or shortcuts for PDFs, scans and the browser tab | Click the toolbar icon, Alt-P / Alt-O / Alt-Comma / Alt-Period shortcuts, or right-click a selection |
| Follow along | Word-by-word highlight in a reading window, click any word to jump | Text highlighting can be turned on in Options |
| Voices | Apple voices and Kokoro on device; your own ElevenLabs (v4, v4 Turbo, v3) or Cartesia key optional | Browser voices; Google Wavenet, Amazon Polly, IBM Watson, Microsoft Azure and OpenAI voices |
| Documents | PDFs in any app, skipping running headers, footers and page numbers; Word, Pages, Notes via selection | PDF, Google Docs, Google Play Books, Kindle; EPUB with the EPUBReader extension |
| Scans and screenshots | Yes: Control-Option-O, drag over the page, recognised on your Mac | Not stated |
| Export audio | .m4a | Not stated |
| Reading comfort | Paper, Sepia, Night and High Contrast themes; serif or sans; focus mode | Popup font size and dark mode |
| Account | None | None needed for browser voices |
| Store rating | Not on the Chrome Web Store | 3.8 from 3.7K ratings (Chrome Web Store) |
Read Aloud details from its Chrome Web Store listing (version 2.28.1, updated 27 October 2026, by LSD Software), checked 12 November 2026. Check the listing before you choose.
A browser extension vs a Mac app
Read Aloud is built for web pages: open an article, click the icon, and it reads. It is free, open source and can also read PDFs, Google Docs and Kindle books that are open in the browser. Aloud works across the whole Mac: select text in Mail, Notes, Pages, Word, Slack or anything else and press Control-Option-S, open a PDF, drag over a scan with Control-Option-O, or have it read the article on your front browser tab.
Web pages in any browser
Aloud reads the article on the front tab of Safari, Chrome, Edge, Brave, Arc, Vivaldi or Chromium, and does not need an extension in each browser. See the guides for Safari, Chrome, Arc and Vivaldi.
Voices and cost
Read Aloud is free with your browser's voices; its AI voices from Google, Amazon, IBM, Microsoft and OpenAI may need an in-app purchase or your own API key. Aloud costs $19 once and includes Apple voices (Enhanced and Premium) and the Kokoro neural voice on your Mac; ElevenLabs (v4, v4 Turbo, v3) or Cartesia voices are optional with your own key.
PDFs, scans and long reading
Aloud leaves out running headers, footers and page numbers in PDFs and rejoins words split across lines, reads scans and screenshots with on-device text recognition, highlights each word in a reading window where you can click to jump, and saves any reading as an .m4a file.
Who should pick which
Read Aloud if you only listen to web pages in the browser and want it free. Aloud if you also listen to email, documents, PDFs and screenshots on your Mac, want one tool across Safari and other browsers, and are happy to pay $19 once.
Questions
Is the Read Aloud extension or Aloud better on a Mac?
Read Aloud is better if you only listen in the browser and want something free: it reads the current web page with one click and is open source. Aloud is better if you also read outside the browser: it reads selected text in any Mac app, PDFs without headers and page numbers, scans and screenshots, and the article on the front tab of Safari, Chrome, Edge, Brave, Arc, Vivaldi or Chromium. Aloud costs $19 once.
Is the Read Aloud extension free?
The extension installs free from the Chrome Web Store and can use the voices built into your browser. Its listing says cloud AI voices (Google Wavenet, Amazon Polly, IBM Watson, Microsoft Azure, OpenAI) may need an in-app purchase or your own API key.
Can Read Aloud read text outside the browser on a Mac?
It is a browser extension, so it reads what is open in the browser: web pages, and per its listing PDFs, Google Docs, Google Play Books, Kindle and EPUB (with the EPUBReader extension). Aloud reads selected text in any Mac app with Control-Option-S or the Services menu, including Mail, Notes, Pages, Word, Preview and Slack.
Does Read Aloud work in Safari?
The listing we checked is the Chrome Web Store one. Aloud reads the article on the front tab of Safari as well as Chrome, Edge, Brave, Arc, Vivaldi and Chromium, without installing an extension.
Which one works offline and keeps text private?
Read Aloud with your browser's own voices does not need a cloud voice service; its cloud voices send text to that provider. Aloud's Apple and Kokoro voices and its text recognition run on your Mac; ElevenLabs (v4, v4 Turbo, v3) and Cartesia voices are optional and use your own API key.
More Mac utilities from the developer: SnapState puts your Mac windows, apps and browser tabs back after sleep or a monitor reconnect. $9.99 one-time.