Read Out Loud in Acrobat Reader
Acrobat Reader can read a PDF aloud for free with its Read Out Loud feature. It's a little hidden and has to be activated before use. Here's how to use it, what it does badly, and when it's enough.
How do you turn on Read Out Loud in Acrobat Reader?
Go to View (under the main menu on Windows, at the top left on Mac), choose Read Out Loud, then Activate Read Out Loud; Adobe also lists the shortcut Shift + Ctrl + Y, or Shift + Command + Y on Mac. The feature must be activated before it can read anything.
Menu labels can vary with your version of Acrobat, since Adobe changes its interface regularly. You often need to activate it again when you open a new document.
How do you read a single page or the whole PDF?
Once Read Out Loud is activated, go to the page you want, then choose Read This Page Only or Read To End Of Document in the same submenu. Keyboard shortcuts for these commands, if any, depend on your version, so the menu is the reliable way.
Read To End Of Document moves through the pages without you doing anything. However, you can't click a sentence to jump straight to a specific passage.
What voice does Acrobat Reader use?
Acrobat Reader has no voice of its own: it uses the text-to-speech engine and voices installed on your computer. Adobe states that a speech engine must be present on the system.
Quality therefore depends on Windows or macOS, and the voice may sound more mechanical than an online service. You choose it in Acrobat's preferences, under Reading, a name that can vary with the version.
Why does Acrobat read my PDF out of order, or not at all?
According to Adobe, the document must be accessible, meaning tagged with a reading order; otherwise it's read in the wrong order or not read at all. This is common with PDFs in columns, word processor exports and older documents.
A scanned PDF, made only of images, stays silent. Our guide why won't my PDF read aloud helps you recognize each case in a few seconds.
When is Acrobat Reader enough?
If your PDF is well built and you already have it open in Acrobat, Read Out Loud is enough: it's free, unlimited and uses your system's voices. It also reads every language your system can speak.
For a nicer listening experience on Windows, Microsoft Edge Read aloud highlights the text being read and offers online voices, also for free.
When does Readotte do better than Acrobat?
When the PDF isn't tagged, or when you want to listen comfortably over several sessions. Readotte rebuilds headings, lists and paragraphs from the position of the words, leaves out headers, footers, page numbers, small-print notes and citation marks, and highlights the spoken word.
It resumes at the sentence where you stopped and offers 10 voices. Its limits: French and English only, no scanned PDFs, 25 MB maximum per file, about 10 minutes free a day, and MP3 download, for personal use only, with Readotte Plus at €3.99 a month.
| Acrobat Reader | Readotte | |
|---|---|---|
| Installation | software to install | none, in the browser |
| Voices | system voices | 10 voices (French, English) |
| Untagged PDF | order sometimes wrong | order rebuilt |
| Headers and page numbers | read aloud | left out when they repeat |
| Price | free | free for about 10 min a day, Plus €3.99 a month |
Listen to your document
PDF with selectable text, 25 MB max. Scanned PDFs (images only) are not read yet.
ListenFrequently asked questions
I can't find Read Out Loud in the menu. Why?
Acrobat's interface changes between versions: look under View (in the main menu on Windows, at the top left on Mac), or use the shortcut Shift + Ctrl + Y. Acrobat on the web works differently, with its own read-aloud button in the top bar.
Can Acrobat Reader save the reading as an MP3?
Read Out Loud in Acrobat Reader reads the document; it doesn't create an audio file. Readotte Plus lets you get an MP3 of the whole document, for personal use only.
Reading stops when I switch documents. Is that normal?
Yes, Read Out Loud often has to be activated again when you open a new PDF.