Increase Productivity with Text-to-Speech: Speechify vs. Listening

If you have a large amount of reading to get through or prefer auditory learning, it is worth considering text-to-speech (TTS) technology. By using text-to-speech, you can have the book, webpage, article, or other written document read aloud. This can be beneficial for multi-tasking, such as during a long commute or to increase your own reading speed, as you follow along with the words being read aloud. Regardless of the reasoning, a TTS application provides immense value for many, especially by allowing the speed to be increased, thereby reducing the time required to complete the reading in question. We will examine two popular TTS applications: Speechify and Listening. Specifically, we compare the paid versions of each service.

Both Speechify and Listening have many of the same features available through a paid account. You can upload PDFs, utilize web links, or add browser extensions to read text in almost any format. They both have options to highlight the text as it is being read, facilitating the ability to follow along. Additionally, both provide the ability to adjust the speed and select from a variety of voices (this can be a lifesaver compared to the robotic voices often used for unpaid TTS services).

Webpages

Given that much of the content we read is online, we will start with how each service handles webpages. There are two options for reading webpages. First, you can import the webpage into the TTS application. Second, you can install a browser extension to allow the text to be read directly from the webpage. Both options have their advantages. If speed and ease are the priority, the browser extension allows you to read the webpage without navigating to the TTS application. Simply click the extension to start having the text read aloud.

On the other hand, importing the webpage to the application is more beneficial if you want to refer to the web article at another time. By importing it, you will have an easy way to find and listen to articles whenever a convenient opportunity arises. Additionally, you can organize the articles into folders based on your preferences.

When it comes to importing webpages, the two applications behave slightly differently. To import a webpage into Speechify, you have to open the application and paste the link from the webpage. Once you do this, Speechify generates a mirror image of the webpage, including images and content other than text. In contrast, when importing a webpage to Listening, the images are removed, and the page produced is text only. If looking at an imported webpage on the Speechify mobile application (not on the web version), it behaves like Listening and strips the images.

In addition to copying and pasting links into the TTS application, Listening provides an alternative method for importing webpages. Within the Listening browser extension, there is an option to “Send this page to app.” When this button is clicked, the page is automatically imported without any copying and pasting of links. While a relatively minor difference, this option is faster and more convenient than opening the application to paste a link, and this feature makes Listening stand out from Speechify.

Uploading PDFs

If you have a PDF article, both applications allow easy uploading. For Speechify, the upload process is fairly rapid, and you can start listening in about 10-20 seconds after uploading. Additionally, you can upload the file directly to the folder of your choice. For example, if you have a specific folder for sports articles, you can directly upload to that location.

While uploading PDFs to Listening is relatively similar. There are two primary disadvantages. First, it takes much longer to process the document before you can start listening. Listening’s file upload page indicates, “After uploading, it takes minutes to convert to audio. Check the status in the files page.” While the process is often completed within a minute or less, it is significantly slower than Speechify. Second, uploads in Listening go to the home page. You cannot upload directly to a folder, so you have to manually move the PDF to the appropriate folder after the upload. While this is a relatively simple process, it is less convenient and takes slightly more time.

Folder Organization

Both Speechify and Listening allow the creation of folders to keep files organized and easy to find. However, this is where the similarities stop. Speechify has more diverse options, including the ability to create subfolders, as well as sort items within the folders. In contrast, Listening only allows folders; there is no option to organize beyond this point. Additionally, there is no easy sorting feature to arrange files by date or name.

Security

When it comes to security, we are specifically referring to the browser extensions available for both TTS applications. You will notice upon installation that both applications require you to “Allow this extension to read and change all your data on websites.” This extensive level of permissions is likely concerning to many users. After all, do you want these applications to read passwords and other information on websites you regularly use? While extensions in the Chrome Web Store (or other browser extension stores) have been screened, you should still be cautious about what permissions you allow applications to have. To increase security and prevent the applications from having access to sensitive websites, like financial institutions, go into the extension settings and change the selection from “This can read and change site data” to “When you click the extension.” This change will require you to manually click the extension for each webpage before the software can read the content.

Cost

To unlock all the features available, a paid subscription is required. Both applications offer substantial savings by using a yearly subscription instead of a monthly subscription. At the time of this article, Speechify costs $139 per year or $29 per month. Thus, the yearly subscription offers an annual savings of $209. Listening is more affordable at $39 per year or $12.99 per month. The yearly subscription saves just shy of $117 annually.

Before committing to either TTS software, you can try them out. Both Speechify and Listening offer free trial subscriptions. However, be sure to cancel the subscription you do not want prior to the end of the trial period. If you miss the date, you will be charged for the full month or year, depending on your subscription choice. We recommend signing up for the services through the websites, not through the mobile version on your phone, as the cancellation steps differ.

Conclusion

Both Speechify and Listening provide similar services and quality when it comes to reading text aloud. However, Speechify is faster at converting uploads and imports to audio, and it has better organization options, such as subfolders and sorting. On the other hand, Listening is slightly more convenient when importing webpages, as the browser extension has a button to send the page directly to the application, rather than copying the link. Additionally, Listening is considerably cheaper $39 per year, compared to $139 per year for Speechify. Overall, both TTS applications are useful. Whether the additional features of Speechify justify the increased cost is a personal choice based on how you plan to use the service.