Guide
How to make Arc read a web page aloud on Mac
Arc is a Chromium browser, but it doesn't put a read-aloud button in front of you. Here are two ways to listen to a page instead of reading it.
Updated 11 November 2026.
Short answerFor a free option, turn on Speak Selection in System Settings → Accessibility → Spoken Content, select text in Arc and press Option-Esc. To hear the whole article without menus and ads, with a word highlight and resume, open it in Arc and press Control-Option-A in Aloud (version 0.1.2 or later).
The free built-in way: Speak Selection
- Turn on Speak Selection. System Settings → Accessibility → Spoken Content → Speak selection.
- Select the text in Arc. Drag over the paragraphs you want, or press Command-A in the article.
- Press Option-Esc. Your Mac reads the selection in the system voice. Press Option-Esc again to stop.
- Pick a better voice. Spoken Content → System voice → Manage Voices, and download an Enhanced or Premium voice.
It works, but it reads only what you selected, in one system voice, with no way to jump back a sentence.
The better way: Aloud reads the front Arc tab
Aloud (ours, $19 once per Mac, macOS 14 or later) added Arc, Vivaldi and Chromium to its read-current-page shortcut in version 0.1.2:
- Control-Option-A reads the article in the front Arc tab and skips menus, cookie banners and ads.
- One-time setup: turn on Allow JavaScript from Apple Events in Arc. If it's off, Aloud tells you where. Aloud only asks Arc for the page address and its HTML; the page is read on your Mac.
- A reading window with a word highlight and click-to-seek, plus a notch reader or floating player while you keep browsing.
- Speed from 0.75x to 2x, changed mid-sentence, and resume from the last sentence.
- Natural voices: Apple Enhanced and Premium voices, the on-device Kokoro neural voice (Apple silicon, macOS 15+), or ElevenLabs v4, v4 Turbo and v3 or Cartesia with your own API key.
- .m4a export to keep an article as audio.
Buy Aloud, $19 once No subscription, no account.
Questions
Does Arc have read aloud on Mac?
Arc doesn't advertise its own read-aloud button. The free route is macOS Speak Selection: select text in Arc and press Option-Esc. Aloud reads the whole front Arc article with Control-Option-A.
Why does Option-Esc do nothing in Arc?
Speak Selection is off by default. Turn it on in System Settings → Accessibility → Spoken Content, then select text first and press the shortcut again.
What does Aloud need to read an Arc tab?
Aloud 0.1.2 or later, and Allow JavaScript from Apple Events turned on in Arc. If it's off, Aloud tells you where to switch it on. Aloud only asks Arc for the page address and its HTML.
Can I listen to an Arc article in the background?
Yes. Aloud reads in a notch reader or floating player, so you can switch Spaces or tabs while it keeps reading, and it resumes from the last sentence.
Which voices can Aloud use?
Your Mac's Apple voices including Enhanced and Premium, the on-device Kokoro neural voice (Apple silicon, macOS 15 or later), or ElevenLabs (v4, v4 Turbo, v3) and Cartesia with your own API key.
How much does Aloud cost?
$19 once per Mac. No subscription, no account, and no free trial.
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.