How to Have Articles Read Aloud to You (Free)

There are only so many hours in a day, and not all of them are suitable for reading. Commuting, exercising, cooking, and doing chores all occupy your hands and eyes but leave your ears free. Text to speech technology lets you turn any article, blog post, or document into audio so you can consume content while doing other things. Here is how to set it up for free.

Method 1: Copy and Paste into a TTS Tool

The simplest approach works with any article on any website:

1. Open the article you want to listen to.
2. Select all the text (or the portion you want) and copy it.
3. Open our Text to Speech tool in another tab.
4. Paste the text and hit play.

This method gives you full control over the text, lets you adjust reading speed, and works regardless of whether the original website supports read-aloud features.

Method 2: Use Your Browser's Built-In Reader

Some browsers have built-in text to speech capabilities:

Microsoft Edge: Right-click on any web page and select "Read Aloud," or press Ctrl+Shift+U (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+U (Mac). Edge offers excellent voice quality and speed controls.

Safari (Mac/iOS): Use the Reader View (click the icon in the address bar) and then access the Speak function through Edit > Speech > Start Speaking, or use the accessibility shortcut.

Chrome: Chrome does not have a native read-aloud feature for web pages, but you can use extensions or simply copy text into a TTS tool.

Method 3: Mobile Accessibility Features

iPhone/iPad: Go to Settings > Accessibility > Spoken Content and enable "Speak Screen." Then swipe down from the top of the screen with two fingers to have the entire page read aloud.

Android: Enable "Select to Speak" in Settings > Accessibility. Then tap the accessibility button and select text to hear it read aloud.

Tips for a Better Listening Experience

• Adjust the speed. Most people can comfortably listen at 1.25x to 1.5x speed, which lets you get through articles faster. Start at normal speed and gradually increase.
• Clean the text first. Before pasting into a TTS tool, remove navigation menus, ads, and sidebar content that got selected. The cleaner the text, the better the listening experience.
• Use headphones. Better audio quality makes the voice easier to follow, especially in noisy environments.
• Start with shorter articles. Build your "listening comprehension" with 5-minute articles before tackling long-form pieces.

What Types of Content Work Best?

News articles, blog posts, essays, and narrative nonfiction work excellently with TTS. Content that is heavily visual (infographics, charts, code tutorials) does not translate as well to audio. Technical content with lots of abbreviations or specialized terminology may require a high-quality TTS engine for accurate pronunciation.

Why Listen Instead of Read?

Listening is not about replacing reading. It is about consuming content during time that would otherwise be wasted. Your commute, your workout, your household chores — all of these become learning opportunities when you can listen to articles. Many people find they consume two to three times more content when they add audio to their routine.