A read-aloud app for ADHD on Mac: listen while you read

Short answerTurn on Speak Selection for quick listening, then use a reader with a word-by-word highlight so your eyes and ears stay on the same word. Aloud (ours, $19 once) adds a reading window with highlight, click-to-seek, a focus mode and resume, so a distraction does not lose your place. This is a reading tool, not a treatment.

Start with what your Mac already has

1. Turn on Speak Selection. Open System Settings → Accessibility → Read & Speak (called Spoken Content on macOS 14 and 15) and switch on Speak selection.
2. Download a better voice. Choose System voice → Manage Voices and download an Enhanced or Premium voice in your language.
3. Read any selection. Select text and press Option-Esc. Press it again to stop.
4. Set a comfortable speed. Use the Speaking rate slider in the same settings.

Tips that help focus

• Follow the highlighted word with your eyes; do not just listen.
• Go a little faster than feels comfortable, 1.2x to 1.5x, so your mind has less room to wander.
• Break long documents into sections and stop at headings.

Related: reading app for dyslexia on Mac and listen instead of reading.

Make it easier with Aloud

Aloud (ours, $19 once per Mac, macOS 14 or later) is built for listening every day:

• Select text in any app and press Control-Option-S (or right-click → Services → Read with Aloud).
• A reading window with a word highlight and click-to-seek, so you can jump to any sentence.
• Speed from 0.75x to 2x, changed mid-sentence, and resume from the last sentence.
• Natural voices: your Mac's Enhanced and Premium voices, the on-device Kokoro neural voice (Apple silicon, macOS 15+), or ElevenLabs/Cartesia with your own API key.
• Private by default: with Apple or Kokoro voices nothing leaves your Mac; no account, no analytics in the app.

Buy Aloud, $19 once   No subscription, no account.