How to read a Word document aloud on a Mac

Short answerIn Microsoft Word for Mac, choose Review → Read Aloud. In Pages or TextEdit (which opens .docx files), choose Edit → Speech → Start Speaking. Anywhere, select text and press Option-Esc with Speak Selection on. Aloud reads selected text from any of these with Control-Option-S, in its own reader with word highlight, click-to-seek and resume.

The free built-in fix

1. Word: Review → Read Aloud. Open the document, click where to start, and choose Review → Read Aloud.
2. Pages or TextEdit. Open the .docx, click in the text and choose Edit → Speech → Start Speaking.
3. Any app. Select text and press Option-Esc with Speak Selection on.
4. Proofread. Read your draft back at normal speed to catch missing words.

More on this: 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.
• Export to .m4a to listen to a long document later.

Buy Aloud, $19 once   Launch offer: code LAUNCH25 takes 25% off until Oct 31. 3-day free trial, no card or account.