Comparison
Zimplfy or Speechify?
Both read text aloud with a natural voice. One is a reading app you bring text into. The other is a popup that works on the text where it already is.
Speechify is built around listening. You add articles, PDFs, books and scanned pages, and it reads them with a large choice of voices in many languages, at high speeds, on phone, tablet, computer and in the browser. Scanning a printed page with the camera and listening to it is a real strength. The free version is limited and Premium unlocks the better voices and speeds. Check their site for current plans.
Zimplfy reads aloud too, but from where the text already is. Select a paragraph in Mail, a web page, a PDF or a chat, press one shortcut, and a popup reads it with a natural voice in Swedish or English, marking each word as it is spoken. The same popup can also Explain the text in plain words, Summarize it into a to-do list, Rewrite it, or take your Dictation and give clean text back.
So the question is less which voice sounds best, and more what you do with a text. If you mostly listen to long reads, Speechify is made for that. If you meet many short, dense texts during the day and want to understand and answer them, Zimplfy is made for that.
| Zimplfy | Speechify | |
|---|---|---|
| Read aloud with the word marked | Yes | Yes |
| Voices | One natural voice per language | Many voices and accents |
| Languages for read aloud | Swedish and English | Many |
| Speed | 0.8×, 1.0×, 1.2× | Up to very high speeds |
| Works on selected text in any app | Yes, one shortcut | Partly, via extension and import |
| Scan a printed page | No | Yes, with the camera |
| Explain a text in plain words | Yes | No |
| Summarize into a to-do list | Yes | Partly, AI summaries on some plans |
| Rewrite and dictate | Yes | No |
| Phone app | No, web reader on the phone | Yes, iOS and Android |
| Account needed | No | Yes |
Pick Speechify when
- You listen to whole books, long articles and course material, often on the phone.
- You want to pick between many voices and listen at very high speed.
- You scan printed pages and want them read.
- You need languages beyond Swedish and English.
Pick Zimplfy when
- The text is already on your screen and you want it read right there, with no import.
- Hearing it is not enough: you also need it explained, or need to know what to do.
- You read in Swedish and English and want both to sound natural.
- You want to answer by talking and paste clean text back.
Before
Your application for a parking permit has been approved. The permit is valid from 1 December and must be placed visibly in the windscreen. The fee of 480 kr is charged quarterly.
Your application for a parking permit has been approved. The permit is valid from 1 December and must be placed visibly in the windscreen. The fee of 480 kr is charged quarterly.
Questions
How good is the Swedish voice?
It is a natural voice from ElevenLabs, chosen for Swedish. English uses a separate voice. You hear the result before you decide anything, and the free plan includes a daily voice allowance.
Can Zimplfy read a whole PDF?
It reads what you select, so a page or a section at a time. For a 200-page book a dedicated reading app is the better fit.
Is there a phone app?
Not yet. The web reader at /read works in a phone browser: paste a text and have it read, explained or summarized.