If you don’t want to download and get used to a different browser, we’ve got good news: Speechify is an app that plugs straight into your existing browser (or you can use the in-app functions) to read webpages, PDF files, Microsoft Word documents, and more out loud.
However, Speechify does have a cost in the form of monthly or yearly subscriptions if you want the premium features. The exact cost will depend on the preferences you select, but you can try it for free for three days before paying anything. This independent review says it’s worth paying for if you intend to use it regularly – Speechify’s text-to-speech converter is pretty accurate, so it’s useful for reading many different forms of text out loud.
Speechify on Apple devices
Here’s how to get and set up Speechify on Apple, as well as how to activate the Safari plug in:
Download Speechify from the App store. It will look like this:
- Once you download and open Speechify, you’ll be prompted to set your preferences such as choosing a narrator and reading speed. This is also where they present you with an option to subscribe or try Speechify for free for three days. After you’ve completed this process, you’re in.
- You can now check out Speechify tutorials to learn how to maximise your subscription, or get started with adding content for reading!
- If you want to use Speechify in Safari (the default Apple browser), you can easily activate the Speechify plugin. First, open your device settings and find Safari in your list of apps (or search for it). Select ‘Extensions’.
- In Speechify’s settings, select the slider to turn it on.
- Now, return to Safari and follow the prompts to set Speechify up in-browser. It will ask you for permission to access websites, and you can safely grant this permission if you are happy to.
Speechify on Android devices
Here’s how to get and set up Speechify on Android (Speechify does not plug in to Android browsers but you can still use the app).
- Download Speechify from the Play Store. It will look like this:
- Once you download and open Speechify, you’ll be prompted to set your preferences such as choosing a narrator and reading speed. This is also where they present you with an option to subscribe or try Speechify for free for three days. After you’ve completed this process, you’re in.
- You can now check out Speechify tutorials to learn how to maximise your subscription, or get started with adding content for reading. You’ll notice there’s no option to install the plugin for your Samsung browser – at this stage, Speechify does not offer this feature. However, by following the simple tutorials, you can easily get any book, website, or file read out loud to you.
Speechify for Google Chrome
- In the Chrome store, find the Speechify app by searching for ‘Speechify’.
- This is the page that will come up. Select ‘Add to Chrome’
- On the pop-up that appears, select ‘Add extension’.
- Select the jigsaw piece icon near your browser search bar and select the pin icon next to ‘Speechify’.
Once we found these solutions, we were quick to give Lou a call and talk her through her options. In the end, she opted for Speechify and now she can listen to our newsletters, Enhanced Lifestyles Board papers (and papers from the other Board she serves on) easily through text-to-speech. We hope that, by sharing these how-to’s, we can help someone else navigate the complicated (and sometimes expensive) world of screen reading!
If you have any suggestions for other screen reading options, feel free to send them through to marketing@el.org.au and we may just add it to this article for other people to enjoy.
Please note: this post is not sponsored by any of the companies mentioned within. We’re just sharing what works!