Use ElevenLabs or Cartesia voices on any Mac text with your own API key

Why bring your own key

You pay ElevenLabs or Cartesia directly, at your plan's rate, and only for what you read. Aloud's $19 one-time price is separate and covers the app, Apple voices and Kokoro.

Step by step

1. Create an API key in your ElevenLabs or Cartesia account.
2. Open Aloud Settings ▸ Speech, find "Your own voices", and turn on Use cloud voices. Aloud asks you to confirm, because text will leave the Mac.
3. Paste the key. It is kept in the Keychain on your Mac.
4. Pick a voice from the provider's section of the voice menu. For ElevenLabs, choose Multilingual v2 (most natural) or Flash v2.5 (faster to start, half the credits per character).
5. Read: select text and press Control-Option-S, open a PDF, read a screenshot with Control-Option-O, or the front browser tab with Control-Option-A.

What it costs

The provider charges your account for every character Aloud sends. A 1,000-word article is about 6,000 characters. Sentences already fetched are kept while Aloud is open, so pausing, changing speed or going back a little doesn't charge you again. Current rates: ElevenLabs pricing, Cartesia pricing.

Privacy

Cloud voices are off by default. When you read with an ElevenLabs or Cartesia voice, that text (selections, articles, PDF pages and text recognized in screenshots) is sent to that service with your key. Apple and Kokoro voices keep everything on the Mac.

ElevenReader vs a bring-your-own-key Mac app

ElevenReader is ElevenLabs' own reader on phone and web, metered in listening hours, with no audio export. Aloud with your key reads in any Mac app and exports .m4a. More in Aloud vs ElevenReader.