NaturalReader - Text To Speech Reviews

by Popfly38

I’ve used every version of NR since version 4. On my phone. On my desktop. On my laptop. I used the paid version and bought the premium voices. In short I loved most everything about It. Last week I upgraded my phone to an iPhone 12Pro and most apps transferred seamlessly except for Natural Reader. It did transfer sort of but my library was erased and new books wouldn’t load so it was essentially useless. I went to NaturalReader Store and downloaded the new version. It’s cloud based and the interface is much different and of course it is now subscription based. I hate that but whatever I use it regularly especially when I travel so I purchased it with a year subscription. I’ve tried to use it several times now and it regularly locks up after reading a few paragraphs. Today I stuck with it through several lockups and it reached the daily 20 minute limit for the unpaid version and it displayed the upgrade screen. What? I just paid $60 for a yearly subscription. I checked the profile page and it says I’m logged in but it won’t read anymore. I haven’t called customer service yet and am disappointed that I even have to. NaturalSoft the online version needs a lot of work. Please make the personal version available on the iPhone.

by Brown & Friends

Currently, there is a connection issue among iPad, iPhone, and Chrome browser extension app, where pronunciation edits are not getting synchronized. For example, out of 432 edits I made, only 125 edits are synchronized across the platform.
Developer, please look into this issue and fix them as soon as possible. I’ve been manually inputting on each platforms that I use.
Overall, I enjoy using NaturalReader to read the texts for me when I’m working on something else or when I want to focus on the reading. I also like how the AI automatically drops unrelated stuff when you copy and paste a webpage, i.e. disregarding menus when reading the text out loud. But, this synchronization issue is getting bit annoying.

by Debtwhiler

It’s very easy to upload documents to NR through the desktop app and access them on my devices, but there are inconsistent results.

iPad Pro 2020: Documents will load but will not play. I have an imperfect workaround where I’ll play docs through NR on my phone and read along on the iPad in NR or Acrobat (if I need to annotate the doc), but it would be nice to be able to read/listen all from one device.

iPhone 11: Documents uploaded to NR through desktop will load and play, but audio playback will often timeout when I’m away from WiFi and using my data plan — this happens both when the device is locked and unlocked. This can be frustrating when I’m listening while driving/biking and I would have to pickup and unlock my phone in order to resume audio playback on NR.

iOS generally: It is difficult to share documents accessed originally through iOS devices to the NR app. I can easily share articles, webpages, etc. to other apps I use like Instapaper or Evernote, but in many cases it’s not possible to share directly to NR (especially through Chrome for iOS).

Hopefully these issues can be addressed in an update soon. The text to speech (particularly the Plus voices) with NR is second to none and has made grad school obligations and my ADHD so much more manageable. I just wish it was a cleaner solution on devices/iOS.

by Jonathan Hanner

I found this on my pc and downloaded the application, and decided that the mp3 download would be highly useful, after making the purchase for the plus agreement I realized I was having a difficult time trying to transfer the mp3 to my phone to use Mobil editing software. Then I found the application on my phone, and logged in and it’s still asking me to pay for a plan... if I already payed on my pc and sighted in with the same account, why do I have to pay again on my phone?

by MamaMirn

I’m glad my school recommended this program. It is helping me to read all the material I need to get thru. Also, it will help me to read faster if I can follow along. I learn better if I can hear it read aloud. I liked the fact that you can select the type of voice that is most appealing and soothing to you. The only thing I would recommend is that it sound less robotic.

by AltTabris

I want to share my experience in hopes this problem gets onto your backlog. When NaturalReader is open the AI can detect the margin and footers and will work as expected. When the phone is locked the AI stops detecting margins and footers. Manually setting the margin and footers when the phone is locked then when the reader gets to bottom it stops instead of reading the next page.

by Hairyroxs

I am dyslexic so I have tried dozens of reading apps and websites originally found it as a website and used it for two whole semesters of school before I went to check if it was an app and then immediately download it The free voice is honestly not that different from the paid one you get to try for the first 20 minutes of reading but overall NaturalReader is super easy to use and I reach for it often

by Vow2LivHoly

I LOVE NaturalReader! This is a TOTAL game changer for me in my first year of Graduate school! THANK YOU!!! However, I have run into some snags with certain articles and the apps/webpage extension when I couldn’t “flip” the pages to be in the correct direction and when an article was scanned with two pages on a page, there was no way for me to separate it and have NR read one page at a time! Needless to say, I didn’t get to get through those two articles! Overall though, I am super excited I found this!

by Z1212121847z

I have ADD so it’s already difficult to read large articles. Reading through the screen is really bad for the eyes and also DOESNT allow the mind to absorb the information as much as it would reading on paper.

I really appreciate the free version of NaturalReader. I was able to listen to my class readings without getting a headache.

If I read a lot down the road, I’d buy the premium version from you all instead of another app. Solely because you gave a free version without being greedy. THANK YOU. People will reading disabilities really appreciate this.

Tip: remove headings/footers from articles before uploading to NaturalReader . It didn’t bother me much but it might bother y’all. You have to do that on all reading apps so just get in that habit :)

by GADSavage

NaturalReader is really great. I had downloaded many other text to speech apps before I found this one and now this is the only one I use. But after a previous update if I pause the story I was listening to instead of resume where it left off it resumes at the beginning of the text. Before I would be able to have it paused for about 10 minutes and it still would of been able to pick up where it left off. Still it’s a great app and won’t I be thinking about switching to another one anytime soon.

by TimGris

Only few minor issues.
First, sometimes it is challenging to set the borders of the page so it ends up reading titles/footers, skip forward to the rescue. Second, some OCR may miss and you have to pause and look at the page to comprehend. Third is when playing from my phone over Apple Car Play while also having maps read directions. When the map reads directions, NR does not resume similar to music apps. Instead, I have to hit play again to get it to resume reading. Ideally, it would resume like music apps and/or it had a car mode similar to Audible where the buttons are large to be more accessible while driving.

by MrsMomErica84

It’s wonderful! I love how it picks up where you left off, even when you close out of NaturalReader . I was no longer able to use the Text to Speech one that I had used for years because the update broke it and the developer never fixed it, so luckily I came across this one. It’d be awesome if the page moved and followed along with the words instead of the little box at the bottom, but I still absolutely love it. I use it to help teach my boys to read and it’s perfect for audio books! Thanks for giving us this!!

by Rockzilla2020

To put things simply, I use this not only for work, i also use this to read my stories i write to my family, NaturalReader is more than a tool in my opinion. It barely has a limit on how much you can type.

The only thing I wished wasn’t there was the mp3 installation thingy, I’m kinda disappointed you have to pay money for that, perhaps one could be added that you don’t have to pay for and will have the non premium voices, just a thought, but I can hardly complain about NaturalReader.

by John Goodin

finally got it installed and it seems to be working fairly well. Just wish setting a default font and size was easier. I’m almost 68 years old and my vision isn’t nearly what it once was. How about the ability to set a default font and size in settings? A specially when first setting up NaturalReader . I also set my iPad Mini 2 to read back words as I type them in. It helps make NaturalReader even cooler. That and the SwiftKey Keyboard.

by JHenra

I work in digital marketing, and if you also operate in a profession that’s always changing and improving itself there is a lot keep up with, but a quick copy paste and you stay up on everything hands free😬. Every tried having the news read to you, how about articles on your favorite sports team or celeb couple, all of that is much more enjoyable when the extra step of holding a device while reading is removed😬

by Rhadiyah F

Just what the doctor ordered! I kept searching for something better than speechify and this was right under my nose!

I have so many books that I just don’t have the time to read (the regular way),…this is so freeing (to be read to)! I love that if I want I can follow along (word for word), as this helps with my learning style, thusly making it easier for me to fully grasp and remember what I read (or in this case what is read to me). This is a Godsend! Thank you!

by Rokymtnkowgirl

I can listen in the truck when running errands, to school readings, and use it to proofread my writings. Great app with voice options so you don’t get burnt out or annoyed with one voice. Plus version gives me access to plus voices which is so much less agitating than the robot voices. I like to think myself to be very frugal and seriously debated on if this was worth the money. After trying out other apps I came back to this app and bit the bullet and paid for a year’s subscription. I don’t regret it. This has been worth the money. Saves me studying time and gives me access to listen anytime.

by Rangaty

I've been trying about 6 different text reader apps this month, and this is far and away the best one- paid or free. The plus voices are superb, I've found nothing else like them, and even more expensive paid tiers on other services have nothing comparable; meanwhile the free voices are decent, in fact in line with the paid voices on some others I used. The fact that you can directly input URLs is also huge. It also has zero issues so far parsing special characters like em-dashes, which I've encountered in a lot of other apps. Cannot recommend this highly enough if you truly are looking for the power to turn anything into a decent-quality audiobook.

by Dragon Story Review

This has got to be the best voice reader I have ever found, and trust me, I’ve searched a lot. The voices in the premium are miles better than anything any other company produces, most certainly better than comes standard on my laptop. That is why I give this five stars, because NaturalReader deserves it.

That being said, it’s still not perfect. I use this primarily to read back my work while I am writing. It’s incredibly helpful to do so, to separate my mind from my work. However, the reader does not distinguish the purposes of punctuation, such as quotation points or ‘...’s (I cant for life of me remember it’s name), nor does it hesitate when it jumps from paragraph to paragraph.

Then again, I do understand why it works like that (most people use this for reading articles or things like that). All I’m asking for is perhaps an option that allows the reader to change between the normal reading and the ‘writer-story’ reading.

by Soniaawan4

This application is the best I am a college student this application has really helped me focus on my assignments and it is simply the best take my advice and pay for the updrade on the membership the mp3 version is prefect for someone on to go like my self as a college student this application is amazing five stars highly recommend if you are audio leaner like my self you need this application

by Ajh125

Emailed them about the program not reading my files. No response. No service. They got my 10$ but will not renew. Even on the files I could get it to read, it was pretty tough to listen to.

by Dissapointed Subscriber 99

I paid for the premium voices got 5 minutes before I get promoted that I have used my five minutes of free premium voices. Cancelled the subscription immediately, but still out the $9.99. Honestly after listening to the free voices for the past month the premium voices are not worth ten dollars a month.

by Queen Of The Wild Frontier

The first few times I was able to see the article while listening but now it’ll only show the images and footers. Grumpy because I paid for premium.

by Two Years For Nothing

I use this to help editing my book on both my phone and PC. On PC, on the web this works beautifully. On APP its CRAPPY. Often, it’ll stop me give me a limit on both Plus and Premium. I pay $20 a MONTH and have so for 6 months.

WITH WIFI CONNECTED, I sign in and out hoping itll realize I am a paying customer but it never works and i am stuck with using the free voices. I am promptly unsubscribing and finding a new service.

by SGTS78

I’m a grad student who would love the ability to listen to papers while commuting. But the reading cadence is significantly off for certain cases that I ran into fairly commonly. For example, when pronouncing CO2, there is a long pause between the O and the 2, which is longer than the pause between sentences. It becomes hard to understand where each sentence begins and ends unless I’m giving it my full attention, which defeats the purpose for me.

by TheBSDude

The paste-field works great, but the PDF reader skips any paragraph split between pages.

EDIT: “Adjust Screen Reader Area” reduces the frequency of the problem, but does not eliminate it. Even at 0%, the reader skips the last line on a page with small margins.

by WhoHits

Thank you so much for making this a thing, I been using your website daily cause I can’t read... but I have been learning how to read by using your website due to the auto voice that speak to whatever I type or whatever I copy and paste.

by Appppreviewer

I downloaded Speechify and immediately deleted it because I felt like it had all the control. This one I was able to figure out instantly and make it work the way I wanted it to. I haven’t used a lot of the features but so far I really like it.

by College Dyslexic

I never leave reviews but I have to rave about this!! I’m a dyslexic in college and when I say this product has changed my life I mean it!! You can take pictures or scan copies or your textbook and it will read it to you! Highly recommend!

by Keagon Fehely

Works great for people like myself that have issues making it through the pages and retaining the information they have read.

by Angle Thomton

NaturalReader is great if you don’t want to read but you have to pay and well I don’t have money to get that premium stuff

by Demezat

I asked a friend of mine if he could read my assignment out loud while recording it so I could listen to it at work because I’m in Grad school and I work full time but most of my day is spent driving from site to site so there is not a lot of time for me to read but I can listen.

However, instead of reading it, he purchased the premium version of NaturalReader for me and as it turns out NaturalReader is a life saver.

It took about 10 minutes to get used to it but after that I was on a roll. There are so many voices from which you can choose, you can take pictures of the book pages and it will translate them into text for you, and you can instantly create MP3 files that you can save and play back anytime. I 100% can say that I recommend NaturalReader to anyone who is in school because it will make your reading assignments so much better.

$19 a month for the premium version is a bit spendy for a student so It would be nice if the developers would offer a discounted rate for students or for a bulk purchase like if I got 10-15 of my classmates/friends to purchase or if I could maybe get the school to endorse this as the official app for translating text to speech. (Hint hint wink wink)

But the free version offers some good choices and options and the plus version isn’t anything to shake a stick at as it offers a fairly wide variety of choices.

So it doesn’t matter which version you pick you will find it makes things easier.

And either way I am going to recommend it to all my classmates, because it has just made catching up on my reading SO MUCH EASIER.

Thank you so much!!!!