VoicedByMe / Use cases / Edge Read Aloud
Guide · Microsoft Edge · Updated 28 October 2026
To make Microsoft Edge read a page out loud, open the page and press CtrlShiftU, or right-click and choose Read aloud. A small bar appears at the top where you can pause, skip ahead and pick another voice or speed. It's free and works on web pages and PDFs. The catches: the best voices only work while you're online, it only reads inside Edge, and it can't save what it reads as an audio file.
Samples made offline with ready-made voices. All of them are AI-generated.
Start it
Any web page works. For a PDF on your computer, right-click the file and choose Open with → Microsoft Edge.
Press CtrlShiftU, or right-click anywhere on the page and choose Read aloud. Want just one part? Select it first, then right-click and choose to read the selection.
Pause and play, jump back or forward a paragraph, and open Voice options to change the voice and the speed. Edge highlights the words as it reads.
Voices
Edge lists a lot of voices. The ones with Online (Natural) in their name sound the most like a real person. They're made on Microsoft's computers, not yours, so they only work while you're connected to the internet.
The other voices are the ones installed on your computer. They work without the internet, but they sound flatter and more robotic. If you lose your connection, switch to one of those.
Too fast or too slow? The speed slider is in Voice options too.
Not working?
The PDF is probably a scan: a picture of a page, with no actual text in it, so there's nothing for Edge to read. What to do about scanned PDFs.
You're offline, or your network blocks them (some work and school networks do). Try another connection, or pick a voice without "Online" in its name.
Wait for the page to finish loading and try again. If it still won't start, try a different website: some pages don't work well with it.
Update Edge: open Settings, then About Microsoft Edge, let it update and restart Edge.
On Windows, open Settings, then Time & language, then Speech, and make sure at least one voice is installed.
Its limits
It only reads what's open in Edge. Not your email app, not Word, not a PDF in another reader.
There's no way to save what it reads as an MP3 or any other audio file.
On a plane or with bad Wi-Fi, you're left with the robotic voices.
Text inside an image, a screenshot or a scanned page is skipped.
When you need more
If you only want a web page read to you now and then, Edge is free and good enough. Keep using it.
If you read a lot, VoicedByMe goes further: select text in any app and press CtrlAltR to hear it in a natural voice, with or without the internet. It reads scanned PDFs and text in pictures, saves what it reads as an audio file, and can even read in your own voice. It costs $30 once, for Windows and Mac.
Open the page and press CtrlShiftU, or right-click on the page and choose Read aloud. There's nothing to install.
While it's reading, click Voice options in the bar at the top. You can pick another voice and drag the speed slider.
Its best voices, the ones marked Online (Natural), are made on Microsoft's computers and need the internet. Offline, only the voices installed on your computer work, and they sound more robotic. VoicedByMe's natural voices work offline.
No, Edge can only play it. To save text as an audio file, see how to turn text into an audio file.
Most likely the PDF is a scan, a picture of the pages with no text inside. Edge can't read pictures. VoicedByMe can: it recognises the text in scanned pages first.
No, only inside Edge. Windows' Narrator can read other apps, but it reads everything you move to, buttons included. VoicedByMe reads whatever text you select, in any app.
Yes, it's built into Microsoft Edge on Windows and Mac.
$30 once for the first 50 customers, then $50. No subscription. The full app is free for one day so you can try it first. A license is for one computer.
For Windows 10 and 11, and Macs with Apple silicon
$30once. Launch price for the first 50 customers, then $50.
One computer. No subscription.
The full app, free for 24 hours. Purchases aren't refundable, so please try it first.