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How to make your Mac read text aloud

4 minute read · updated October 28, 2026

7 sources: 1 peer-reviewed research, 6 product documentation

Choose Apple menu > System Settings > Accessibility > Read & Speak and turn on "Speak selection." Select text in any app and press Option-Esc to hear it; press Option-Esc again to stop. On macOS Sequoia 15 the same switch is under Accessibility > Spoken Content.

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A Mac can speak any text you select with one keyboard shortcut. Apple lets you change the shortcut, highlight words or sentences as they are spoken, and show a small controller for speed and skipping.[1] It is handy for proofreading an email by ear, listening to a long report while you take notes, or resting your eyes.

Turn on Speak selection

Have your Mac speak selected text

  1. Choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click Accessibility in the sidebar. You may need to scroll down.[1]
  2. Click Read & Speak.
  3. Turn on Speak selection.
  4. In any app, select the text you want to hear and press Option-Esc. If nothing is selected, the Mac reads the text items available in the current window.[1]
  5. Press Option-Esc again to stop.

There is also a menu route that needs no setup in many apps: choose Edit > Speech > Start Speaking, then Edit > Speech > Stop Speaking when you are done.[1]

Settings worth trying

Click the Info button next to "Speak selection" to find these options:[4]

  • Keyboard shortcut: press a new key combination if Option-Esc clashes with another app.
  • Highlight content: highlight words, sentences, both, or None, and pick the word color and sentence color.
  • Sentence style: show the current sentence with an underline or a background color.
  • Show controller: choose Automatically, Never or Always. The controller changes the speaking rate, moves forward or back a sentence, pauses and stops.[4][1]

To change the voice itself, use the System voice pop-up menu on the Read & Speak screen. Click the Info button next to it to download more voices, play samples, and adjust how fast or loud the voice speaks. Apple notes that a new voice is not available until its download finishes, and that voices are not available in all languages.[5] If a name or term is always mispronounced, turn on Pronunciations and define how it should sound.[5]

Accessibility Reader for long documents

The current macOS guide also describes Accessibility Reader, a full-screen view that can read text aloud and lets you change fonts, colors and spacing. Turn it on in Read & Speak, then press Command-Escape in any app, or choose Edit > Speech > Open in Accessibility Reader.[6] Inside it, line, word and character spacing each have Default, Loose and Open choices; you can also pick a readable content width and switch playback highlighting on or off.[6]

Troubleshooting

  • You hear a sound instead of speech. Apple says a sound plays when there are no text items to speak. Select some text and try again.[1]
  • Option-Esc does nothing. Check that Speak selection is on, and check whether you changed the shortcut under the Info button.[1]
  • The Mac is describing everything on the screen. That may be VoiceOver, the built-in screen reader. Apple says Command-F5 turns it off; on a Mac or Magic Keyboard with Touch ID, hold Command and press Touch ID three times quickly.[4]
  • The voice reads a passage in the wrong language. Turn on Detect languages so the Mac switches language when the text does.[4]

For text you have copied from a printout, a scan or another device, the focus reader here is an alternative: paste the passage in and it is spoken back with the current line in view.

Quick answers

What is the keyboard shortcut for text to speech on a Mac?

The default is Option-Esc, once Speak selection is turned on. Press it again to stop.[1]

Can my Mac highlight words as it reads?

Yes. Under the Info button next to Speak selection, set Highlight content to words, sentences or both, and choose the colors.[4]

How do I get a better-sounding voice on my Mac?

Click the Info button next to System voice in Read & Speak, then click a voice name to download it. Play a sample before switching.[5]

Review status

Source-checked, not expert-reviewed

Drafted with AI assistance. Each factual claim was checked against the source it links to on 2026-10-28. No clinician, psychologist or dyslexia specialist has reviewed this page. See the claims register.

Sources

  1. [1]Have your Mac speak text that is on the screen (macOS User Guide). Apple, 2026. Accessed 2026-10-28. Product documentation
  2. [2]Have your Mac speak text that is on the screen (macOS Sequoia 15 version). Apple, 2024. Accessed 2026-10-28. Product documentation
  3. [3]Have your Mac speak text that is on the screen (macOS Tahoe 26 version). Apple, 2025. Accessed 2026-10-28. Product documentation
  4. [4]Change Read & Speak settings for accessibility on Mac. Apple, 2026. Accessed 2026-10-28. Product documentation
  5. [5]Change the voice your Mac uses to speak text. Apple, 2026. Accessed 2026-10-28. Product documentation
  6. [6]Listen to or change how text appears in apps with Accessibility Reader on Mac. Apple, 2026. Accessed 2026-10-28. Product documentation
  7. [7]Does use of text-to-speech and related read-aloud tools improve reading comprehension for students with reading disabilities? A meta-analysis. Wood SG, Moxley JH, Tighe EL, Wagner RK. Journal of Learning Disabilities 51(1):73-84. doi:10.1177/0022219416688170, 2018. Accessed 2026-10-28. Peer-reviewed research

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