How to read a PDF aloud on Windows
On a Windows PC, the simplest way is often to open the PDF in Microsoft Edge, which is already installed, and use its Read aloud feature. Narrator is there too, but it's a full screen reader, built to drive the whole computer. Here's when to use one, the other, or an online reader.
What's the easiest way to read a PDF aloud on Windows?
Open the PDF in Microsoft Edge, then press Ctrl+Shift+U or right-click and choose Read aloud. Edge reads the document and highlights the text as it goes.
Edge comes with Windows, and Microsoft's documentation lists Read aloud among the features of its built-in PDF reader. It's a very good free option; our page on Microsoft Edge Read aloud covers its settings.
Can Windows Narrator read a PDF?
Yes, but it's a screen reader: it also announces buttons, menus and windows, and it's controlled with its own shortcuts. You start and stop it with Windows logo key + Ctrl + Enter, and the Ctrl key stops the current reading.
Microsoft's guide lists commands to read a document or read from the cursor with the Narrator key (Caps Lock or Insert by default), such as Narrator + R to read from the cursor. Just to listen to a PDF, it's less direct than Edge.
Can you get a more natural voice with Narrator?
Yes: in Narrator settings, the Add natural voices option lets you download more natural-sounding voices. Microsoft lists natural voices in many languages.
These voices are for Narrator, not necessarily for Edge, which has its own online voices. Option names can vary with your version of Windows.
What about Acrobat Reader on Windows?
Acrobat Reader has its own Read Out Loud feature, which you turn on from the menu before using it on a document. It uses the speech engine installed on your computer.
If Acrobat is your default PDF viewer, see our page on Acrobat Reader Read Out Loud, its settings and its limits.
When is Readotte a better fit than Edge on a PC?
For a long PDF you listen to over several sessions: Readotte remembers the sentence where you stopped in each document and keeps a library, available on another device if you create an account. It also removes headers, footers, page numbers and small-print notes, which Edge reads like everything else.
It works in Edge, Chrome or Firefox, with no extension. On the keyboard, Space pauses and the arrow keys move from one sentence to the next, and the speed goes from 0.75x to 3x.
What are the limits of each option?
Edge and Narrator are free, unlimited and read many languages; on the other hand, they read everything on the page and don't resume at the right sentence on their own. Readotte reads only French and English, doesn't read scanned PDFs and offers about 10 minutes of free listening a day.
Readotte Plus, at €3.99 a month with no commitment, removes the daily limit and lets you convert a PDF to MP3, for personal use only.
| Edge | Narrator | Readotte | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | everyone | blind and low-vision users | long documents |
| How to start | Ctrl+Shift+U | Windows logo key + Ctrl + Enter | in the browser |
| Headers and page numbers | read aloud | read aloud | left out when they repeat |
| Resume at the sentence | no | no | yes |
| Price | free | 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.
Free, no account: about 10 minutes of listening a day. The text is extracted and read by our servers in Europe.
Frequently asked questions
Edge doesn't offer Read aloud on my PDF. Why?
Check that the PDF is actually open in Edge and not in another app. If it's a scanned document, there's no text to read: see why won't my PDF read aloud.
How do I stop Narrator if it starts by mistake?
Press Windows logo key + Ctrl + Enter again. The Ctrl key alone only stops the current reading.