Turn your own PDF into an audiobook you can follow word by word
Do you have a PDF, a school handout or a report you would rather listen to? Read-Along reads your own file out loud and lights up each word as it goes, in a web browser with nothing to install.
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.
Can Audible read my PDF?
No. Audible plays the audiobooks in its store. Some of them come with a PDF to look at, but that is a file that goes with the audiobook; it does not read out your own files. Audible's help page on this is linked below.
How to do it with Read-Along
One: upload a PDF or Word file, or paste a web link. Two: press play when it is ready; a short document takes a few minutes. Three: follow the highlighted word as it is read. It all happens in a web browser, so there is nothing to install.
What it's good for
Class readings, work reports, handouts and letters. It can help people with dyslexia or ADHD keep their place, and English learners who want to hear and see each word. See the pages for dyslexia and for English learners (links below).
Free to try
One document a day is free, no card needed. Premium is $14.50 a month or $69 a year; it renews until you cancel. Premium has no daily limit and puts your documents first.
Honest limits
Scanned PDFs and photos of printed English pages work, up to 30 pages. Handwriting does not, and a blurry photo may fail; then your free document is given back. Read-Along is also not a store of finished audiobooks; it reads the files you bring.
Questions
Can Audible read PDFs?
Audible plays the audiobooks in its store. Its help page only covers the PDF that comes with some audiobooks, not reading your own files.
Can I put my own book on Audible?
Only by publishing it for sale, for example through ACX or Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing. That is for authors selling audiobooks, not a way to listen to your own file.
Is it free?
One document a day is free with no card. Premium is $14.50 a month or $69 a year and renews until you cancel.
Does it work on my phone?
Yes. The read-along page works in the web browser on phones, tablets and computers.