This is another question that I see frequently on social networks regarding text-to-speech apps.

It comes as no big surprise as @Voice Aloud Reader is the most popular text-to-speech app on Android, and many people find the app called Voice Aloud Reader on the iPhone’s App Store and get puzzled on how those two apps could be so different, and how it could be that the same app on the iOS is significantly worse.

The answer is simple – those apps are not related in any way but by the almost same name.

That means:

  • Developers are different. On Android the app is developed by the US company Hyperonics Technology, while on the iOS it is developed by Polish developer Martin Olawski.
  • Icons are different
  • Names are slightly different.
  • Features are different.
  • The iOS app is not even called Voice Aloud Reader in most non-English speaking countries, in those countries its title is unrelated and made of keywords that maximize sales for those countries.

To conclude those apps come from entirely different universes:

  • @Voice Aloud Reader for Android is a legitimate app. It was one of the first apps on Android and it was developed in many years during which many features have been added which makes it one of the most fully featured apps on Android. It has never paid the attention to the design and that is its downside combined with the fact that the ads are getting a bit intrusive recently, but still one must praise the developer effort put into this app in many years.
  • Voice Aloud Reader for iOS is a shady app. Technically it works and provides some very basic features to users. So it can’t be called a scam. But its tactics to impersonate other much more popular and advanced apps to gain popularity are rogue.

If you are looking for the app that has the same feature level as @Voice Aloud Reader for Android, there are probably just two apps that can match or exceed this on iOS and those are Voice Dream Reader and Speech Central. However Voice Dream Reader requires the upfront payment of 29.99$, so it might be a good idea to try Speech Central as it has a free tier and you can see how well it works for you.

On Android the competition is much more fierce, but if you are looking for much better designed app that still has all features of @Voice Aloud Reader and is even a bit less expensive in its premium tier it might be a good idea to try Speech Central on Google Play.