Text to Speech for Accessibility — Free, Private, Keyboard-Friendly
freetexttospeech.app is a free, browser-based text to speech tool for people with low vision, dyslexia, reading fatigue, or anyone who simply prefers listening to reading. There's no account, no tracking, and nothing is ever uploaded.
Who this page is for
Full-time screen reader users already have NVDA, JAWS, or VoiceOver — tools that narrate your whole operating system. freetexttospeech.app is the simpler case: you've got a block of text (an email, an article, a PDF selection, a message) and you want to hear it read aloud, cleanly, without installing anything or giving a service access to the content. It's useful on its own and it works well alongside a full screen reader.
Accessibility features built into freetexttospeech.app
- Keyboard-only operation. Tab moves between controls. Space plays or pauses when focus is outside the text area. Esc stops. Enter activates focused buttons.
- Dark mode. One click in the header. Low-glare surfaces, high-contrast text.
- Browser zoom. Ctrl + + (Cmd + + on Mac) enlarges the entire page. The tool reflows to fit.
- ARIA labels. Every control is labelled so that a screen reader over the top of freetexttospeech.app still announces it correctly.
- Word highlighting. The currently-spoken word is highlighted as freetexttospeech.app reads, helping dyslexic readers and anyone with tracking difficulties follow along.
- Adjustable rate and pitch. Slow the voice down to 0.5× when comprehension matters, or speed up to 2× when you just need to skim.
- No motion animations. The interface uses only short (<0.2s) transitions, which respect
prefers-reduced-motion.
Why listening helps readers with dyslexia
Many readers with dyslexia describe text as "slippery" — words seem to move or blur on the page. Pairing the visual text with audio anchors the eye to the correct line. The highlighting in freetexttospeech.app makes this even easier: whichever word is being spoken is visually marked, so your eye follows the voice. A lower rate (0.9×) and a familiar voice tend to work best for first-time users.
Why listening helps people with low vision
Even with OS-level zoom, long reading sessions cause fatigue. freetexttospeech.app lets you paste the content, lean back, and listen — while still having the text on screen in large print if you want to glance back. Because the tool is a single page with no clutter, there's less chrome in the way of the words themselves.
Privacy matters for accessibility tools
Many accessibility tools quietly phone home, logging the content people need read aloud — including private emails, medical letters, and financial paperwork. freetexttospeech.app has zero analytics, zero third-party requests after the initial font load, and no backend. Your text stays in your browser.
Open freetexttospeech.app — free, no sign-up
Keyboard-friendly, private, works offline.
Open the reader →Frequently asked questions
Is freetexttospeech.app a replacement for a screen reader?
No. A full screen reader like NVDA, JAWS, or VoiceOver reads every part of your operating system. freetexttospeech.app is a focused reader for text you paste into it — useful alongside a screen reader, not instead of one.
Does it work with a keyboard only?
Yes. Tab navigates every control. Space plays or pauses when the textarea isn't focused. Escape stops. All buttons have ARIA labels.
Can I make the text bigger or high-contrast?
Yes. Dark mode is built in (toggle in the header). Browser zoom works normally (Ctrl/Cmd and +). The reader pane is a standard textarea so your OS-level accessibility zoom applies.
Will it help with dyslexia?
Many readers with dyslexia find it easier to follow text when they hear it at the same time. freetexttospeech.app highlights the current word as it's read, which helps anchor your eye to the right line.
Is my text private?
Yes. Speech synthesis happens in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, logged, or tracked. freetexttospeech.app has no backend.
Can I use it offline?
Yes. freetexttospeech.app is a progressive web app. After your first visit it works without a connection, and most built-in OS voices are available offline.