Google Docs read aloud

Have your Google Doc read to you

Last updated

Audhio reads your Doc out loud and highlights each word as it goes, so you can listen and follow along. If your mind wanders, the highlight shows you where you are.

30 free minutes a month. No credit card.

First, the honest answer

Can Google Docs read to me?

Sort of. Google added a Listen button to Docs in 2025, but only on paid plans: Google AI Pro and Ultra, plus some work and school accounts.

Open a Doc and check the Tools menu. If you see Audio there, you're set, and honestly, try that first. If you don't, that's what Audhio is for.

Three steps

How to get Google Docs to read to you

  1. 1

    Add Audhio to Chrome and sign in with Google.

  2. 2

    Open your Doc. The Audhio player sits in the bottom right corner.

  3. 3

    Press play.

Want to start partway down? Hold Alt (Option on a Mac) and click a word. A normal click still just puts your cursor there, like it always does.

One catch: on a Chromebook, Alt+click opens the right-click menu instead. There's no fix for that yet, so use the play button for now.

Where it helps

Checking your writing, and getting through long Docs

Proofreading
When you reread your own writing, you tend to see what you meant to say, not what's on the page. Hearing it out loud makes the missing words and clunky sentences easier to catch.
Long stuff other people send you
Course notes, a study guide. If your mind wanders off, the highlight shows you where you are.

A few more things

There are four voices, and you can go anywhere from 0.75x to 3x. All of that is on the free plan.

It isn't only for Docs. The same player reads web pages and PDFs you open in Chrome. See how Audhio reads web pages and PDFs.

What it costs

30 minutes a month is free. If you need more, Pro is $9.99 a month or $99 a year, and you can listen as much as you want.

If money's tight, email lex@audhio.com and ask for Audhio Access. It's free Pro, and you don't have to prove anything.

Questions

Questions people ask

Does it work on a Doc someone shared with me?

Yep. If you can open it in Chrome, Audhio can read it. Share links included.

Does Audhio keep my Doc?

Not with your name on it. When you press play, the text goes to Audhio's server and to ElevenLabs (the company that makes the voices) to turn it into audio. The audio and its text get saved for up to 90 days, so the same text loads faster next time. That copy isn't tied to you or your account. Audhio also logs basic usage, like when reading starts and the address of the page you were on, but never the text itself. The privacy policy at audhio.com/privacy has all of it.

Is there a free text to speech extension for Google Docs?

Audhio is free for 30 minutes of listening every month, with all four voices. No credit card. If you need more, Pro is $9.99 a month or $99 a year for unlimited listening.

From the blog

Reading help, if you want more

Try it on your next Doc.

Open a Doc, press play, and follow along.

Add to Chrome

30 free minutes every month. No credit card.