Readel: Text to Speech — Read Aloud & TTS Voice Reader

Tracking since Apr 14, 2026.

Changelog

• Apr 26, 2026
  permissions

  storage, offscreen, activeTab

  storage, offscreen, activeTab, scripting

• Apr 21, 2026
  description

  Readel reads any webpage out loud with natural, high-quality voices. Just hover over text and hold Alt.
  
  HOW IT WORKS
  
  Hold Alt - hover over any paragraph and hold Alt (Option on Mac). The text highlights and starts reading. Release to stop.
  
  Double tap Alt - starts reading from that paragraph through the rest of the page. Press Alt to stop.
  
  That's it. No buttons on the page, no right-click menus, no floating widgets.
  
  FEATURES
  
  • 6 natural-sounding voices
  • Adjustable speed (0.5x – 2x)
  • Volume control
  • Text highlighting follows along as it reads
  • Auto-scrolls to keep up with playback
  • Works on any webpage
  • PDF READER COMING SOON
  
  SETTINGS
  
  Click the Readel icon in your toolbar to change voice, speed, and volume.
  
  FREE
  
  No sign-up. No character limits. No accounts. Just install and use it.
  
  PRIVACY
  
  Readel doesn't collect any data on you. No tracking, no analytics.
  
  ---
  
  Feedback or ideas? Use the feedback link on readel.app

  Readel is a free Text to Speech (TTS) extension for Chrome. Hold Alt over any text on any webpage to read aloud with natural AI voices. No sign-up, no account, no limits — the simplest text to speech voice reader on the web.
  
  
  HOW TO READ ALOUD
  
  ▸ Hold Alt — hover over any paragraph and hold Alt (Option on Mac). Readel highlights the text and reads it aloud. Release to finish the sentence and stop.
  
  ▸ Double-tap Alt — starts reading from that paragraph straight through to the end of the article. Press Alt again to stop.
  
  That's it. No buttons. No right-click menus. No floating widgets. One key, and any webpage reads itself out loud.
  
  
  WHERE READEL WORKS
  
  - Gmail — read aloud full email bodies without copy-pasting
  - AI Chat Apps — listen to AI assistant responses out loud
  - Substack, Medium — any reader-style layout
  - Wikipedia, news sites, blogs, documentation
  - Any article, anywhere on the web
  
  If it's text, Readel will read it aloud.
  
  
  NATURAL AI VOICES
  
  Readel uses high-quality AI text to speech voices that sound genuinely human. 7 voices to choose from. No robotic TTS. No awkward pauses. Just natural speech that streams in real time so you can start listening immediately — no waiting for the whole page to load.
  
  
  WHO READEL IS FOR
  
  ▸ Readers with dyslexia or ADHD who absorb content better by ear
  ▸ Accessibility users who need a lightweight screen reader for articles
  ▸ Students and researchers who want to listen to long papers
  ▸ Anyone who wants to listen to articles while cooking, walking, or commuting
  ▸ Writers and editors who proofread by hearing their drafts read aloud
  ▸ Anyone learning English who wants to hear natural pronunciation
  
  
  FEATURES
  
  - Free Text to Speech (TTS) for any webpage
  - 7 natural AI voices
  - Adjustable reading speed and volume
  - Auto-scroll that follows along as it reads
  - Read selected text or the whole page aloud
  - Custom keyboard shortcut support
  - Subtitle mode for caption-style display
  - Works inside same-origin iframes (Gmail message bodies)
  - Streams audio in real time — start listening instantly
  - Press Alt to stop reading anywhere, anytime
  
  
  FREE AND PRIVATE
  
  - No sign-up. Ever.
  - No character limits.
  - No tracking, no analytics, no telemetry.
  - No data collected.
  - No account required.
  - Completely free text to speech, forever.
  
  Readel is a solo project built by one developer.
  
  
  SETTINGS
  
  Click the Readel icon in your toolbar to change voice, speed, and volume. Customize the keyboard shortcut in the same popup.
  
  
  Feedback or ideas? Visit readel.app

• Apr 21, 2026
  short_description

  Modern, minimal, free text-to-speech. Hold Alt over any text to listen. No sign-up, no buttons, no menus.

  Free Text to Speech (TTS) for any webpage. Hold Alt on any text to read aloud with natural AI voices. No sign-up required.

• Apr 21, 2026
  name

  Readel: Free, Modern Text to Speech

  Readel: Text to Speech — Read Aloud & TTS Voice Reader

• Apr 21, 2026
  host_permissions

  https://api.cartesia.ai/*

  https://api.cartesia.ai/*, <all_urls>

Permissions & access

Permissions

storageoffscreenactiveTabscripting

Host access

https://api.cartesia.ai/*, <all_urls>

Screenshots