How to have Pages read your document aloud on Mac

Short answerClick where you want to start (or select a passage) and choose Edit → Speech → Start Speaking; choose Stop Speaking to end. For word highlighting and speed controls, turn on Speak selection and press Option-Esc on selected text. Aloud reads a selection with Control-Option-S in its own reader with click-to-seek and speed changes mid-sentence.

The free built-in fix

1. Place the cursor or select. Click where to start, or select a passage.
2. Start Speaking. Edit → Speech → Start Speaking.
3. Stop. Edit → Speech → Stop Speaking.
4. Add highlighting. Turn on Speak selection in System Settings → Accessibility → Read & Speak (called Spoken Content on macOS 14 and 15), select text and press Option-Esc.

Tips: proofread by listening on a Mac.

The better fix: Aloud

If the built-in tools keep getting in your way, Aloud (ours, $19 once per Mac, macOS 14 or later) is made for this:

• 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   Launch offer: code LAUNCH25 takes 25% off until Oct 31. 3-day free trial, no card or account.