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AI Audiobooks

Comparison

Speechify Alternative for Making Audiobooks You Can Publish

Speechify is built to read text aloud to you, on your phone, in the browser and on the desktop. If you need a Speechify alternative that produces a finished audiobook, the job changes: chapter files, a narrator plus a voice for each character, and audio you can share or sell. Here is an honest comparison, starting with the cases where Speechify is the right tool.

Updated 5 min read
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A reading app and an audiobook studio do different jobs

A reading app is a player. You open a document, web page or ebook, press play and listen at the speed you like, often with the words highlighted as they are read. The audio exists for that session, which is ideal for getting through reading faster or more comfortably.

An audiobook studio is a production tool. An AI audiobook generator turns a manuscript into audio files with chapters, tags and a cast, so other people can listen in any player. You listen to check the work, then publish or share the result. Speechify also offers voiceover tools for creators; check their current plans for export options and commercial use.

Stick with Speechify if this sounds like you

For many people a reader is exactly the right tool, and switching would only add steps.

  • You mainly want to listen to articles, PDFs, email and documents yourself
  • You like fast playback with the text highlighted as it is read
  • You move between phone, browser and desktop and want your place kept
  • You read for study or work and never need to share the audio
  • Reading support is the goal, for example with dyslexia or tired eyes

Look elsewhere if

  • You need audio files to publish, upload or hand to listeners
  • Your book has dialogue and each character should sound different
  • Listeners will expect a chapter list in their audiobook app

Speechify vs AI Audiobooks at a glance

Speechify’s apps and plans change over time, so treat its column as a general description and confirm specifics on Speechify’s own site.

Speechify vs AI Audiobooks at a glance
AI AudiobooksSpeechify
Built forProducing audiobook filesListening to text on any device
OutputMP3 per chapter, ZIP, M4B with chapter markersPlayback in its apps; check plans for export
Voices per bookA narrator plus up to 10 named charactersA chosen reading voice; casting is not its focus
ChaptersDetected from the EPUB contents or your headingsFollows the document as you listen
DirectionsBracket notes and sound tags on the lines you chooseNot its focus
Fixing a lineEdit and regenerate that one lineNot needed for live reading
Files inEPUB, DOCX, text PDF, TXT and Markdown, or pasteMany document types and web pages
CostCredits per 1,000 characters; import and casting freeCheck their current plans

From a playback session to a file you can publish

Chapters listeners can jump between. Your EPUB’s table of contents or your Word headings become named chapters. In the M4B export they are chapter markers, so Apple Books, BookPlayer or Audiobookshelf show a proper chapter list.

Separate character voices. Dialogue tags tell the studio who is speaking. The narrator reads the prose and each named character gets a voice of their own, so a two-hander romance or an ensemble fantasy sounds like a production rather than a read-through.

Lines you can direct and fix. Put [whisper] or [furious] in front of a line to change how it is performed, and regenerate only that line if a name comes out wrong. A live reader cannot keep a corrected take; a studio can.

Audio that leaves the app. Download the files and they play anywhere, from a car stereo to your own web store. Where you can sell them depends on each store’s AI narration rules, compared in where to sell AI audiobooks.

What it costs to go from listening to a finished audiobook

Importing a book, chapter detection and casting cost nothing. Generating audio uses credits charged per 1,000 characters, about $9 to $12 per finished hour with Standard voices, so a 9 hour novel lands around $80 to $110. Plans start at $9.90 a month for 400 credits, with Pro and Studio plans for longer books, and yearly billing costs less; see pricing.

That is a one-off production cost per book rather than a fee for listening. Reader apps price their plans around reading time and features instead, so the two are hard to compare directly; check Speechify’s current plans if you use both.

Switching from Speechify in four steps

  1. 1

    Find the source file

    Use the original EPUB, DOCX, text PDF or TXT. DRM-protected store books will not open.

  2. 2

    Upload and check the chapters

    The file opens in your browser and the chapter list appears before you spend anything.

  3. 3

    Review the cast

    Choose a narrator whose pace you would happily hear for hours, then make sure the main characters sound distinct.

  4. 4

    Generate and download

    Generate a short sample free, then the rest, and export M4B or MP3.

Turning books you did not write into audio

A reader app reads anything you open, for you alone. Making an audiobook file is different: a private copy of a DRM-free ebook you own is for personal listening, while sharing or selling it needs the audio rights. Public domain classics are open to everyone. Audiobook rights explains where the lines sit.

From the blog

Speechify alternative: FAQ

Can Speechify make an audiobook file I can sell?

Speechify’s main apps are for listening. It also offers creator tools for voiceovers, and what you can export and use commercially depends on the plan, so check their current terms. For a chaptered audiobook with a different voice for each character, a studio built for books is the more direct route.

Is there a free Speechify alternative for audiobooks?

For listening, browser read aloud features and the voices built into your phone or computer are free. For making an audiobook, AI Audiobooks lets you import a book and see its chapters and cast for free, and a Google sign-up comes with 100 gift credits (valid for 7 days, about 12 minutes on Standard; usage varies by text and voice tier) to generate a short sample. A whole book needs paid credits.

Can I still listen at double speed?

Yes, in your player. The export is ordinary MP3 or M4B, and nearly every audiobook app, including Apple Books, BookPlayer and Smart AudioBook Player, lets you speed up playback. Narration is generated at a natural 150 to 160 words per minute, which leaves plenty of room to speed it up.

Does AI Audiobooks have a reading app?

No. It is a studio that produces audio files. Projects are saved in your browser under My Audiobooks, and you listen to the result in whichever player you like. If you want a live read aloud app for articles and email, a reader such as Speechify is the better tool.

Can it read scanned PDFs or photos of pages?

No. AI Audiobooks needs text-based files: EPUB, DOCX, TXT, Markdown or a PDF with selectable text. Scanned PDFs and page photos are not supported because there is no OCR. Run OCR in another app first, or paste the recognised text straight into the studio.

Which is better for students and teachers?

For reading your own course material, a reader app is usually simpler. For a teacher turning a class text into audio with character voices that every student can play on any device, an audiobook file works better; the classroom read aloud page shows how. Audiobooks for dyslexia covers reading lists as audio.

Make the audiobook, then press play

Upload a manuscript and generate a chaptered, full-cast short sample for free.