Speech Central vs Voice Dream Reader vs Speechify
General
|
Parameter |
|||
|
Price |
7.99$ |
24.99$ |
139.99$/year |
|
Free for the blind |
+ |
|
|
|
Free tier and free trial |
+ |
|
+ |
|
Custom design for iPad larger screen |
+ |
|
|
|
macOS app |
Native |
Native |
iPad app on M1 |
|
Apple Watch app |
+ |
+ |
|
|
Chrome extension/cross platform sync |
|
|
+ |
|
Private iCloud sync |
Reliable/efficient (CloudKit) |
Unreliable/inefficient (file sync) |
|
|
Clean of tracking technologies |
+ |
+ |
|
|
Fully accessible with VoiceOver |
+ |
+ |
|
|
Localizations |
13 (Professionals translated) |
27 (Users translated) |
10 (Professionals translated) |
|
Dark/Light theme on all pages |
+ |
+ |
|
|
Handoff continue activity from/to Mac |
+ |
|
|
|
Siri shortcuts |
4 general functions and for each item |
|
1 general function |
Speech
|
Parameter |
|||
|
Neural high quality voices |
|
|
+ |
|
Export audio file |
+ |
|
|
|
Speed setting |
+ |
+ |
+ |
|
Hi/regular speed switch |
+ |
|
|
|
Ramping up the speed |
|
|
+ |
|
Pitch setting |
+ |
+ |
|
|
Volume setting |
+ |
|
|
|
Speech settings |
For all voices |
For each voice |
For all voices |
|
Random voice picker |
+ |
|
|
|
Automatic language detection |
+ |
+ |
+ |
|
Overriding of automatic language detection setting |
+ |
|
|
|
Additional pauses between sentences |
|
+ |
|
|
Rewind to the beginning of the sentence on pause |
Smart |
On/Off setting |
|
|
Settings with gestures |
|
+ |
|
Voice Dream Reader also allows purchasing of additional voices. As those voices are depracted by their parent companies and even Voice Dream claims they are expected to stop work anytime soon this was not listed as a feature.
Books & Documents (PDF, epub, docx etc)
|
Parameter |
|||
|
Import of scanned PDFs |
+ |
+ |
+ |
|
Auto-detecting headers and footers in PDFs |
+ |
+ |
|
|
Footnote detection in PDFs |
+ |
|
|
|
Manual cropping of headers in footers in PDFs |
|
|
+ |
|
Bookshare import |
+ |
+ |
|
|
Displaying table of contents |
+ |
+ |
|
|
Minimal number of taps/swipes from Files app to speech |
2 |
4 |
6 |
|
Showing original PDF document |
+ |
+ |
+ |
|
Showing original for other documents |
|
+ |
+ |
|
Sharing original PDF file |
+ |
|
|
Voice Dream Reader and Speechify feature integration of Dropbox and Google Drive. Those features are not listed as they represent no benefit when compared to picking the files from those services using the built-in file picker dialog with Dropbox/Google Drive apps installed and they represent significant privacy and security risks. Even if you fully trust to the developer it is not granted that he won’t sell the app to someone else or accidently make a bug.
Web Capabilities
|
Parameter |
|||
|
Import articles from Safari |
+ |
+ |
+ |
|
Import articles from other browsers |
+ |
|
+ |
|
Safari exntension (listen inside Safari) |
|
|
+ |
|
Minimal number of taps/swipes from browser to speech |
2 |
4 |
2 (6 if importing) |
|
Import articles from the link in the Clipboard |
+ |
|
+ |
|
Import articles from Pocket |
Auto sync |
Manual sync |
Only Import |
|
Import articles from Instapaper |
|
+ |
|
|
RSS feeds support |
+ |
|
|
|
Turning regular web site headlines into feed |
+ |
|
|
|
Reading headlines |
+ |
|
|
|
Acquiring the text from multiple linked pages as a single document |
+ |
|
|
|
Navigating text by titles |
+ |
|
|
|
Showing original article |
+ |
|
+ |
|
Sharing article link |
+ |
|
|
Reading Screen
|
Parameter |
|||
|
Number of themes |
3 customizable |
Unlimited* |
2 |
|
Number of highlighter themes |
30 |
Unlimited* |
1 |
|
Turning highlighter off |
+ |
+ |
|
|
Number of fonts |
40 |
17 |
15 |
|
Line height customization |
+ |
+ |
|
|
Character space customization |
+ |
+ |
|
|
Margin settings |
|
+ |
|
|
Justify text option |
+ |
|
|
|
Sentence mode |
+ |
|
|
|
Word mode |
+ |
+ |
+ |
|
Hide read text |
+ |
+ |
|
|
Hide unread text |
+ |
|
|
|
Transparent read/unread text |
+ |
|
|
|
Sleep timer |
+ |
+ |
|
|
Disable screen lock |
+ |
|
|
|
Prevent jump back when scrolling while reading |
Auto-pause |
Free scroll |
|
|
Customizatable hardware audio buttons |
Fully |
Limited |
|
|
Find text |
+ |
+ |
+ |
|
Customization of reproduction after document is completed |
|
+ |
|
|
Customization of auto-play |
+ |
|
|
|
Announce text length |
+ |
|
|
|
Non visual feedback for the new text |
+ |
|
+ |
* Unlimited is the best for advanced users, but picking the accessible and ergonomic combination of colors might be hard for average users.
Knowledge Tools
|
Parameter |
|||
|
Hierarchial folders |
+ |
|
+ |
|
Display folders and items together |
+ |
|
+ |
|
Search library |
+ |
+ |
+ |
|
Filter criteria |
5 |
3 |
1 |
|
Sort criteria |
3 |
5 |
3 |
|
Manually order items |
+ |
|
|
|
Grid view |
|
+ |
|
|
List view optimized for both web articles and books |
+ |
|
|
|
Marking items as favorite |
+ |
+ |
|
|
Export text and annotation in the standard format |
Annotated document |
Either text or annotation |
|
|
Bookmarks |
+ |
+ |
+ |
|
Comments |
+ |
+ |
+ |
|
Highlighter |
|
+ |
+ |
|
Read annotations |
+ |
|
|
|
QuickNote |
+ |
|
|
|
Edit all documents |
+ |
|
+ |
|
Automatically move read items to Archive |
+ |
|
|
|
Restore recently deleted itmes |
+ |
|
|
|
List of recent reading positions |
+ |
|
|
|
Remembering position |
+ |
+ |
+ |
|
Continue to play the last item |
+ |
+ |
+ |
|
Items searchable from device home screen |
+ |
+ |
|
Other Features
|
Parameter |
|||
|
Type text for speech |
+ |
|
|
|
Scan documents |
+ |
+ |
+ |
|
Scan documents multiple column layout |
|
+ |
|
|
Show original for scanned documents |
+ |
+ |
|
|
Paste text from the clipboard |
+ |
+ |
+ |
|
Evernote import |
|
+ |
+ |
|
Reading statistics |
|
|
+ |
|
Drag & Drop import |
Text, photos, files |
Files |
Text |