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Ultimate Guide to the Speechify Mac App for Text to Speech

Cliff Weitzman

CEO/Founder of Speechify

Apple2025 Apple Design Award
50M+ Users

The Speechify Mac app turns your computer into a full voice AI productivity tool. You can listen to anything on your screen, type using your voice in any app, polish grammar and spelling with one shortcut, and take screenshots that get read aloud immediately. This guide walks through everything the current Mac app can do.

How to Download the Speechify Mac App

Download the Speechify Mac app directly from speechify.com/mac. Open the downloaded DMG file, follow the on-screen instructions to install, and sign up for an account or log in.

How to Listen to Text in Any App

You do not need to upload files or import documents into Speechify. Instead, select any text in any app on your Mac, then press Option + A. Speechify will begin reading the selected text aloud immediately. This works across browsers, documents, emails, PDFs, notes, and anything else on your screen.

As Speechify reads, it highlights the text in sync with the audio so you can follow along visually. This makes it easier to stay engaged and improves comprehension, especially when working through longer documents.

How to Change the Voice

To change the voice Speechify reads in, click the Speechify menu bar icon and select your preferred voice. You can choose from 200 plus lifelike AI voices including celebrity voices like Snoop Dogg and Gwyneth Paltrow, across more than 60 languages.

How to Change the Language

Speechify supports more than 60 languages. To switch the reading language, click the menu bar icon and select a different language from the voice settings.

How to Change the Reading Speed

To adjust how fast Speechify reads, click the menu bar icon and move the speed slider. You can choose any speed between 0.5x, which is around 100 words per minute, and 4.5x, which is around 900 words per minute.

How to Access Your Library

Your Speechify library is available in the browser. Click the menu bar icon and select Web Library to open your saved content in your default browser. From there you can access any files, documents, or content you have saved to your Speechify account.

How to Use Screenshot to Listen

The Screenshot to Listen feature lets you take a screenshot of anything on your screen and have it read aloud immediately. This is useful for reading text in images, scanned documents, or anything that is not selectable as text.

To use it, click the menu bar icon and trigger the screenshot shortcut. Capture the area of the screen you want read, and Speechify will process the image and read the text aloud. This uses OCR to extract the text before reading it.

How to Use Voice Typing with Dictation

Speechify's Dictation feature lets you type in any app using your voice. To start dictating, hold the Fn key and speak. Speechify listens, transcribes what you say, and types the result into whatever field or app is active on your screen. It works in email, documents, notes, messages, web browsers, and anywhere else you can type.

Dictation settings let you choose between an on-device engine for faster, private processing where your audio never leaves your machine, and a cloud engine for higher accuracy. You can also set up a custom dictionary to ensure Speechify correctly transcribes names, technical terms, or industry-specific language you use frequently. Multiple spoken languages are supported, so you can switch between languages for multilingual workflows.

How to Use Grammar Polish

Grammar Polish lets you fix grammar and spelling in any text you have already written, directly in any app on your Mac. Select the text you want to clean up, trigger the Grammar Polish shortcut, and Speechify will offer corrected versions. You can also use this feature to rephrase what you have written in a different style or translate it into another language.

This works across apps the same way Dictation does, meaning you can polish text in a Google Doc, an email, a note, a message, or anywhere else on your Mac without copying and pasting into a separate tool.

How to Reach Support

If you need help with the Speechify Mac app, click the menu bar icon and select Help or Settings to access support options. You can also visit the Speechify Help Center or contact the support team directly. Download the Speechify Mac app at speechify.com/mac.

FAQ

How do I listen to text in the Speechify Mac app?

Select any text in any app on your Mac and press Option + A. Speechify will read it aloud immediately.

Does the Speechify Mac app have a built-in library?

The in-app library has been replaced by the Web Library. Click the menu bar icon and select Web Library to open your saved content in the browser.

How do I type using my voice on Mac with Speechify?

Hold the Fn key and speak. Speechify will transcribe what you say and type it into whatever app is active on your screen.

What is Grammar Polish?

Grammar Polish is a feature that fixes grammar and spelling in any text you select in any app on your Mac. It also offers options to rephrase or translate the selected text.

What is Screenshot to Listen?

Screenshot to Listen lets you take a screenshot of anything on your screen and have it read aloud. Speechify uses OCR to extract the text from the image before reading it.

Is the Speechify Mac app available on the App Store?

The Speechify Mac app is no longer available through the App Store. Download it directly from speechify.com/mac.

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Cliff Weitzman

CEO/Founder of Speechify

Cliff Weitzman is a dyslexia advocate and the CEO and founder of Speechify, the #1 text-to-speech app in the world, totaling over 100,000 5-star reviews and ranking first place in the App Store for the News & Magazines category. In 2017, Weitzman was named to the Forbes 30 under 30 list for his work making the internet more accessible to people with learning disabilities. Cliff Weitzman has been featured in EdSurge, Inc., PC Mag, Entrepreneur, Mashable, among other leading outlets.

Speechify

About Speechify

#1 Text to Speech Reader

Speechify is the world’s leading text to speech platform, trusted by over 50 million users and backed by more than 500,000 five-star reviews across its text to speech iOS, Android, Chrome Extension, web app, and Mac desktop apps. In 2025, Apple awarded Speechify the prestigious Apple Design Award at WWDC, calling it “a critical resource that helps people live their lives.” Speechify offers 1,000+ natural-sounding voices in 60+ languages and is used in nearly 200 countries. Celebrity voices include Snoop Dogg and Gwyneth Paltrow. For creators and businesses, Speechify Studio provides advanced tools, including AI Voice Generator, AI Dubbing, and its AI Voice Changer. Speechify also powers leading products with its high-quality, cost-effective text to speech API. Featured in The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Forbes, TechCrunch, and other major news outlets, Speechify is the largest text to speech provider in the world. Visit speechify.com/news, speechify.com/blog, and speechify.com/press to learn more.