Opens the book as written
Headings, paragraphs, lists, block quotes and tables are preserved; front matter and navigation files are left out of the reading.
EPUB · read aloud · free
Listen to an EPUB without converting it first
Drop an EPUB into the reader and it opens chapter by chapter, read out loud in the voices your computer already has, with each sentence and word marked as it is spoken.
No account needed to start. Reading happens on your device.
EPUB text to speech
An EPUB reader that reads the book back to you.
An EPUB is a book, and books are long. Being read to is the natural way to get through one, but every route to it usually starts with converting the file, signing up somewhere, or handing an entire book to a service that will render it into audio on its own servers. Lumotext skips all of that: the file is unpacked in your browser and read aloud there.
The reader walks the book’s spine in order, converts each chapter into clean reading text, headings, paragraphs, lists, block quotes and tables, and speaks it with the same follow-along highlighting the rest of the app uses. Images and navigation documents are skipped, because they are not part of the reading.
Because the file never leaves your machine, this works for anything you own: a DRM-free purchase, a Project Gutenberg download, a manuscript a friend sent you, a draft of your own. If you are working with papers rather than books, reading PDFs aloud keeps the original page layout the same way.
A chapter at a time, in a clean column, with your place kept between sittings.
How it reads a book
A whole book, chapter by chapter.
Word-level highlighting
The same three-level highlight as the rest of Lumotext, so you can read along on screen while the voice carries the pace.
Your place is kept
Stop in the middle of chapter nine and come back to chapter nine. With a free account, your place follows you between devices.
No conversion, no upload
The EPUB is unzipped and parsed in the browser. No copy of the book is sent anywhere.
Read at your pace
Slow it right down or run it fast; skip a sentence at a time; click into any paragraph to start from there.
Free, with no quota
No per-month character limit, because nothing is being metered on a server. A whole book costs nothing to read.
Step by step
How to listen to an EPUB.
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Open the reader on a desktop browser
Go to the app. EPUB unpacking needs a reasonably current browser, Chrome, Edge or Safari from 2023 onwards.
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Import the .epub file
Drop it in. Chapters are converted to reading text in spine order and the reading view opens straight away.
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Press play and read along
Pick a voice and a speed. Save the book to your library with a free account if you want your place kept across devices.
FAQ
EPUB questions, answered.
Does it work with books bought from Kindle or Apple Books?
Only if the file is DRM-free. Lumotext opens ordinary .epub files; it does not remove copy protection, and a DRM-locked purchase from a store will not open in any third-party reader.
Is the book uploaded?
No. The archive is unzipped and parsed inside your browser, and the speech comes from your system voices. The file itself stays on your machine.
Can I edit the text?
No, EPUB and PDF imports are read-only by design, so a book you are listening to cannot be accidentally rewritten. Pasted text and markdown are editable.
Which browsers can open an EPUB here?
Any browser from roughly 2023 onwards that supports decompression streams, current Chrome, Edge and Safari all do. Very large books using the zip64 format are not supported yet.
Is there a limit on book length?
No. Chapters are processed as you reach them, and there is no character quota to run out of.
Start reading in the next minute.
Paste something in and press play. No email, no account. Sign in later if you want it saved.
Free to use. An optional free account syncs your library across devices.