Speakoala

Speakoala is a text to speech extension that reads web pages and local documents aloud. It supports more than 70 languages, including English, Chinese and Japanese, and it highlights the text as it is read so you can follow along. You can point it at a page, or upload a PDF or Word file and listen to that instead. Playback speed runs from 0.25 to 4 times, and there are ambient sound effects such as rain, park or library noise if you want background atmosphere. The free version gives you robotic voices, and the paid plan at 4.99 dollars per month unlocks dozens of natural ones.

- Have any web page read aloud while you do something else.

- Upload local PDF and Word documents and listen to them.

- Play only a selected area, or highlight a snippet and start instantly.

- Change the speed, pause, replay, or add ambient background sound.

- Commuters who want to turn travel time into reading time.

- Fitness enthusiasts whose hands and eyes are otherwise busy.

- People with poor eyesight who need an audio route to the same content.

- Language learners who want listening practice across many languages.

The free version gives you robotic voices, which are understandable but tiring over a long session, so the natural voices are the main reason to pay. That plan is listed at 4.99 dollars per month, and pricing can change, so check the current page before subscribing. Because it is a browser extension, it needs installing and permission to read the pages you visit, which is worth thinking about if you handle sensitive material. Reading speed is capped by the voice itself: a long paper still takes as long as it takes, even at 4 times. Highlight following works well on clean article pages but can wander on complex layouts, ads and paywalled content. Finally, it is a reading aid, not a note taking tool, so keep your own record of anything important you hear.