Compare · ElevenReader vs Speech Central
ElevenReader vs Speech Central
ElevenReader: ElevenLabs’ mobile reader app that reads aloud any text, book or document with AI voices. Speech Central: Text-to-speech app for reading PDFs, web articles, books and documents, sold as a one-time purchase with no ads or data collection. Here is how they differ, and where Book2Speech fits if what you want is your books as audiobooks.
Choose ElevenReader if…
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Offline listening on the phone (Ultra: 150 hours of downloads a month).
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A very large voice catalogue, including celebrity narrators and custom voices.
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A large catalogue of premium audiobooks for Ultra members.
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Native Android app available today.
Choose Speech Central if…
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One-time purchase instead of a subscription, and free for blind users and schools.
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Works offline with the device’s own voices; runs on iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac and Windows.
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Export of text to audio files for offline listening (format not stated on the fetched pages).
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Deep customisation and accessibility profiles for ADHD, dyslexia and low vision.
Or, for your books: Book2Speech
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Any book, not just the bestsellers that got an audiobook: fewer than 1 in 100 books ever does.
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Unlimited free listening in English with Standard voices, no trial clock.
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A real audiobook file to keep: M4B with chapters and cover, or MP3. One is included on the Free plan.
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Built for whole books: the book’s own chapters, a start past the front matter, page clutter left out of PDFs.
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265 narrators in 42 languages, and 70,000 free classics ready to play.
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Paid plans from $4.99 a month.
Notes on the comparison
Prices in USD from the vendor pricing page on 2026-10-07 ($11/month, or $99/year = $8.25/month).
Pricing page: “audio files can’t be exported from the app”; the vendor FAQ says export is only on the ElevenLabs web platform, so in-app export is marked no.
App Store listing says uploads of “PDF, doc, ePub, or article link” and “other text files, docs”; DOCX and TXT are not named explicitly and are shown as not verified.
Skipping headers, footers and filler text (“Smart file imports”) is an Ultra feature.
Price in USD from the US App Store in-app purchase list on 2026-10-07; the vendor homepage gives no figure (“One-time purchase. No ads. No data collection.”).
Formats from the App Store description: PDF (including scanned), EPUB, Word (.docx), PowerPoint, OpenOffice, HTML, TXT, RTF, Markdown. MOBI absent.
Word highlighting and the sleep timer (now “Sleep Assistant”) are confirmed on the vendor’s own blog. Chapter detection and pronunciation editing were not stated on a fetched page.
Questions people ask
Which is cheaper, ElevenReader or Speech Central?
ElevenReader: Ultra $11/month or $99/year (unlimited text to audio, 150 hours of offline downloads a month); the US App Store also lists Plus at $10/month and 10/20-hour packs. Speech Central: One-time purchase: Speech Central Pro $9.99 in-app purchase (US App Store). For books, Book2Speech starts free and from $4.99 a month.
Which has a better free plan, ElevenReader or Speech Central?
ElevenReader: Free: 10 hours of text to audio a month, no offline downloads. Speech Central: Free download with a one-time in-app upgrade; free access for blind users with VoiceOver and for schools deploying through Apple School Manager. Book2Speech’s Free plan has unlimited English listening with Standard voices.
Can I download audiobooks with ElevenReader or Speech Central?
ElevenReader: no audio download. Speech Central: not confirmed on its own pages. Book2Speech downloads an M4B with chapters and cover, or an MP3, and the Free plan includes one.