How to read a Word document out loud
Upload your Word file to Read-Along and listen to it, with each word lighting up as it is read. Everyone gets one free document a day, no card needed. Premium has no daily limit and puts your documents first.
Hear a sample
Under a minute, read to you.
Press play and follow the highlighted words — this is exactly what your documents become.
The Tortoise and the Hare, by Aesop.
A Hare one day ridiculed the short feet and slow pace of the Tortoise, who replied, laughing: "Though you be swift as the wind, I will beat you in a race." The Hare, believing her assertion to be simply impossible, assented to the proposal; and they agreed that the Fox should choose the course and fix the goal.
On the day appointed for the race the two started together. The Tortoise never for a moment stopped, but went on with a slow but steady pace straight to the end of the course. The Hare, lying down by the wayside, fell fast asleep.
At last waking up, and moving as fast as he could, he saw the Tortoise had reached the goal, and was comfortably dozing after her fatigue.
Slow but steady wins the race.
From Aesop's Fables (public domain). Read by Heart, one of our AI voices.
Steps
- Choose your Word (.docx) file on our home page.
- Sign in with your email or phone, no password.
- Watch the progress page, then press play. Each word is highlighted as it is read.
What you hear
A short document is ready in a few minutes; a long one takes about half as long as it takes to listen. It reads aloud with a computer voice. You can pause, jump back 10 seconds and change the speed. We skip page numbers, headers and footers that repeat on every page, endnote lists and web addresses, so you hear just the text.
Other files
Upload a PDF, Word, ePub, RTF, ODT, Markdown, text or HTML file (up to 3 GB), or paste a web link.
What it costs
Everyone gets one free document a day, no card needed. Premium has no daily limit and puts your documents first. Premium is $14.50 a month, or $69 a year. It renews until you cancel.
Questions
Does it read Word files?
Yes. Upload a .docx or .doc file.
Does it read page numbers and headers?
No. We skip page numbers, headers and footers that repeat on every page, endnote lists and web addresses.
Is it free?
One document a day is free with no card. Premium has no daily limit.