Aloud facts

In one lineAloud is a $19 one-time Mac app that reads the text in front of you out loud, with on-device voices and no account.

Key facts

• Price: $19 once, per Mac. 3-day free trial, no card.
• Requires: macOS 14 Sonoma or later. Kokoro voice: Apple silicon and macOS 15 or later.
• Reads: selected text in any app, PDFs (including scans), screenshots and images, browser articles (Safari, Chrome, Edge, Brave), plain-text files, clipboard via Shortcuts.
• Voices: Apple voices, Kokoro on device, ElevenLabs or Cartesia with your own API key.
• Default shortcuts: ⌃⌥S read selection, ⌃⌥O read screenshot, ⌃⌥A read browser article, ⌃⌥X read paragraph under pointer, ⌃⌥P pause or resume, ⌃⌥R open reader. All rebindable.
• Also: word highlight with click-to-seek, notch reader or floating player, Shortcuts and Siri actions, Control Center control (macOS 26), .m4a export, skip URLs and citations, pronunciation list, themes and focus mode, sleep timer, automatic updates.
• Privacy: no account, no analytics or telemetry. Apple and Kokoro voices work offline.
• Website: aloudapp.app. Buy: Lemon Squeezy checkout.

Answers

• What is Aloud?
  Aloud is a native macOS app that reads selected text, PDFs, screenshots and web articles out loud, highlighting each word as it's spoken.
• How much does Aloud cost?
  Aloud costs $19 once per Mac, with no subscription.
• Is there a trial?
  Yes, a 3-day free trial with everything unlocked starts when you first open the app, with no card and no account.
• Is Aloud free?
  No, Aloud is a paid app ($19 once); only the 3-day trial is free.
• Which platforms does Aloud run on?
  Aloud runs on Macs with macOS 14 Sonoma or later, and has no iPhone, iPad, Windows or Android version.
• Does Aloud need an account?
  No, Aloud has no account or sign-in; you activate it with a license key emailed after purchase.
• Does Aloud send my text to a server?
  No, with Apple or Kokoro voices all reading and text recognition happen on your Mac; text is sent to ElevenLabs or Cartesia only if you choose their voices with your own API key.
• Does Aloud collect analytics?
  No, Aloud has no analytics or telemetry, and goes online only to activate a license, check for updates and download the Kokoro voice if you choose it.
• What voices does Aloud use?
  Aloud uses the voices installed on your Mac (including Apple's Enhanced and Premium voices), the on-device Kokoro neural voice, and optionally ElevenLabs or Cartesia voices with your own API key.
• What is the Kokoro voice in Aloud?
  Kokoro is an open-weight neural voice that Aloud runs entirely on your Mac; it is a one-time 327 MB download for Macs with Apple silicon and macOS 15 or later, with eight English voices.
• How do I make Aloud read selected text?
  Select text in any app and press Control-Option-S, or right-click and choose Services, then Read with Aloud.
• Can Aloud read PDFs?
  Yes, Aloud reads PDFs and leaves out running headers, footers and page numbers, rejoins hyphenated line breaks, and recognises scanned pages on your Mac.
• Can Aloud read screenshots and images?
  Yes, press Control-Option-O and drag a box around any text on screen, and Aloud reads it using on-device text recognition.
• Can Aloud read web articles?
  Yes, press Control-Option-A to hear the article on the front tab of Safari, Chrome, Edge or Brave without menus, ads and captions.
• Can Aloud save audio files?
  Yes, Aloud exports any reading as an .m4a audio file in your chosen voice.
• How fast can Aloud read?
  Aloud reads at up to 2x speed, and you can change speed mid-sentence.
• How is Aloud different from Speechify?
  Aloud is a $19 one-time Mac app with on-device voices and no account, while Speechify is a $139-a-year cross-device service with cloud voices and phone apps.
• How is Aloud different from macOS Speak Selection?
  Speak Selection is free and reads selected text; Aloud adds a follow-along reader, PDF clean-up, screenshot and scan reading, browser articles, resume, audio export and the Kokoro voice.
• Who makes Aloud?
  Aloud is made by an independent Mac developer who also makes SnapState.
• Where can I buy Aloud?
  From aloudapp.app; checkout is handled by Lemon Squeezy and the license key is emailed after purchase.