How to make a Mac read text aloud

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To make a Mac read text aloud, turn on Speak selection in System Settings, Accessibility, Read & Speak, then select some text and press Option-Esc. Press it again to stop. With nothing selected, the Mac reads the text it finds in the current window. In many apps you can also choose Edit, Speech, Start Speaking. It is built in and free.

I make YapToText, a free dictation app for the Mac, and InputConfig, a free app that turns any button, switch or controller into keys and clicks. I built both because my own hands do not work well. Apple's steps are from its Mac User Guide for macOS 27, read October 10, 2026. Older versions of macOS call the same settings page Spoken Content.

Download YapToText on the Mac App StoreThis app is completely free. You don't have to make an account. There are no subscriptions, no difficult downloads, and nothing is locked. Made for Apple silicon Macs. Source on GitHub.

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Steps

  1. Open System Settings, Accessibility, Read & Speak.
  2. Turn on Speak selection.
  3. Select text in any app.
  4. Press Option-Esc to hear it, and again to stop.

Turn on Speak selection

  1. Choose Apple menu, System Settings, then click Accessibility in the sidebar.
  2. Click Read & Speak.
  3. Turn on Speak selection.
  4. Select text in any app and press Option-Esc. Press it again to stop.

If there is nothing the Mac can read, it plays a sound instead.

Change the shortcut, the highlight and the controller

Click the info button next to Speak selection:

  • Keyboard shortcut. Press the combination you would rather use, such as Option-Tab.
  • Highlight content. Words, sentences, or both, highlighted as they are spoken, in colors you pick. Sentences can be underlined or given a background color.
  • Show controller. An onscreen controller to pause, change the speaking rate, and skip forward or back a sentence. It is most useful for long text.

The voice is chosen in the same Read & Speak settings, where Manage Voices downloads more.

Other things the Mac can speak

  • Announcements. Speak announcements reads dialogs and alerts, with a voice, an opening phrase and a delay you choose.
  • Under the pointer, and as you type. Read & Speak can speak items under the pointer, the keys you press and the characters you type.
  • Everything. VoiceOver, the screen reader, describes every item on the screen. The VoiceOver guide covers turning it on and off.
  • Reading view. Apple's vision page describes Accessibility Reader, which changes how text looks in any app and can read it aloud.

Read aloud and dictation, together

Reading aloud is half of a loop that helps a lot of people, especially with dyslexia or low vision: say it, then hear it. Dictate a paragraph, select it, press Option-Esc, and listen for what sounds wrong. Mistakes that eyes skip are easy to hear.

YapToText is my free dictation app for the first half. One key starts it, and its cleanup removes filler words and fixes punctuation on the Mac. When something sounds wrong, select it, tap Right Option, and say the change. The dyslexia guide walks through the whole loop. YapToText does not read text aloud itself: that part is the Mac.

Download YapToText on the Mac App StoreThis app is completely free. You don't have to make an account. There are no subscriptions, no difficult downloads, and nothing is locked. Made for Apple silicon Macs. Source on GitHub.

Read aloud from a button

Option-Esc is a two-key chord. InputConfig, my other free app, has a Speak Selection output that presses it for you from any control: a mouse side button, a controller button, a MIDI pad or a switch. Select text, press the button, and the Mac reads. Press again and it stops. If you change the Speak selection shortcut in macOS, change it back or bind your new combination as a Keyboard Key output instead. InputConfig's page on dictation, Zoom and Speak Selection has the steps.

The short version

  • Turn on. System Settings, Accessibility, Read & Speak, Speak selection.
  • Use. Select text, Option-Esc. Again to stop.
  • Tune. Shortcut, highlight, controller, voice.
  • With dictation. Say it, then hear it back.
  • One button. InputConfig's Speak Selection output.

If the setting has moved in your macOS version, open an issue on GitHub. Every one gets read.

Download YapToText on the Mac App StoreThis app is completely free. You don't have to make an account. There are no subscriptions, no difficult downloads, and nothing is locked. Made for Apple silicon Macs. Source on GitHub.

About the author. Ryleigh Newman is a developer whose hands make typing difficult and who dictates every day with YapToText, the app this site describes. Facts about other apps come from their own sites, with the date they were read. More about the project.

Sources

Questions

How do I get my Mac to read text out loud?

Turn on Speak selection in System Settings, Accessibility, Read & Speak, select the text, and press Option-Esc.

What is the text to speech shortcut on a Mac?

Option-Esc by default, once Speak selection is on. You can change it in the Speak selection options.

How do I change the voice my Mac reads with?

In the Read & Speak settings, choose a voice, or pick Manage Voices to download more.

How do I make my Mac stop reading?

Press the Speak selection shortcut again, Option-Esc by default, or use the onscreen controller.

Where is Spoken Content on macOS 27?

Apple's macOS 27 guide calls the page Read & Speak, under System Settings, Accessibility.