OpenStax text to speech

Listen to OpenStax textbooks read aloud

Turn any OpenStax section into audio. ArticleAudio reads the online version of your textbook in a natural voice and highlights each word as it’s spoken, so you can follow along, review on a walk, or give your eyes a break.

Add ArticleAudio to Chrome

1,000 words free. No credit card required.

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How can I listen to an OpenStax textbook?

Open your book’s online version on openstax.org, go to a section, and click Listen to this page in the ArticleAudio extension. To hear one example, definition, or summary, select it and press Shift+Tab. Words are highlighted as they’re read, and you can set the speed anywhere from 0.5x to 2.5x.

Does OpenStax have audio?

OpenStax’s online textbooks don’t include their own read-aloud voice. OpenStax’s audio guidance recommends the web view as the most accessible format and notes that browser extensions can add read-aloud. Some titles also have audiobooks recorded by faculty at partner schools, and students with a verified print disability can get audio formats through Bookshare.

ArticleAudio reads whichever title and edition you have open, so you can listen to the exact section your instructor assigned, the day it’s assigned.

How to listen to OpenStax with ArticleAudio

1. Install the extension

Add ArticleAudio to Chrome, Microsoft Edge, or Firefox on your computer.
2. Open a section

Open the online version of your textbook on openstax.org and go to the section you’re studying.
3. Press play

Click the ArticleAudio icon and choose “Listen to this page”, or select a passage and press Shift+Tab. Pause, skip, and change speed from the player.

Listen to a whole section

Click the ArticleAudio icon in your browser toolbar and choose Listen to this page. ArticleAudio picks out the section text, including learning objectives and examples, and skips the book’s menus.

Listen to selected text

Want to hear one paragraph, one worked example, or the key terms again? Select just that text, then start playback in any of these ways:

Click the orange play button beside your selection.
Press Shift+Tab with the default shortcut enabled.
Right-click and choose Listen with ArticleAudio.

Selecting text is also the best way to skip past an equation-heavy example or a table you’d rather read on screen.

Study a textbook section by ear

Listening helps when you’re tired of the screen, reading in a second language, or working with dyslexia or ADHD. A few ways students use ArticleAudio with OpenStax:

Listen first, then read

Play a section before you read it closely. Hearing it once gives you the outline, so the second pass with the text in front of you goes faster.

Follow along word by word

Each word is highlighted as it’s spoken, and the page scrolls with the audio, which makes it easier to stay with a dense explanation.

Replay what didn’t stick

Select a definition, a worked example, or a key concepts summary and hear just that part again.

Change the pace

Set the speed anywhere from 0.5x to 2.5x: slower for new material, faster when you’re reviewing before an exam.

Long sections

For pages over 2,000 words, choose between the full text and a short summary. Full-page listening handles pages of up to about 10,000 words.

Natural voices

Choose from five natural AI voices, and switch the player between light and dark themes for late-night study.

Equations, tables, and figures

Text to speech works best on prose. In math, physics, and chemistry titles, equations and formulas may not sound natural when read aloud, tables can be hard to follow by ear, and images aren’t described (figure captions in the text are read).

For those sections, listen to the explanation and read the equations on screen, or select the paragraphs before and after a worked example. Writing-heavy titles in subjects like psychology, sociology, history, and biology are the easiest to listen to from start to finish.

Web view or PDF?

For listening, use the online version. ArticleAudio can read a whole section there, highlight words as it reads, and scroll along with the audio.

If you’ve downloaded the PDF, open it in your browser, select the text, right-click, and choose Listen with ArticleAudio. The keyboard shortcut and full-page listening don’t work in PDFs because of browser limits. To turn a whole chapter PDF into audio, try the free PDF to audio tool.

Does your course link to OpenStax from Canvas? ArticleAudio works there too. See how to listen to Canvas.

4.8 on the Chrome Web Store · 28 ratings

What readers say about ArticleAudio

“Very useful for getting me through my Master's program! Update: I recently submitted feedback regarding an accessibility option to minimize the player window, and the team implemented the update instantly! Truly incredible responsiveness—kudos to the development team for prioritizing accessibility.”

Charlotte Maldonado Chrome Web Store review · Sep 2, 2026

“Best Text-2-Speech on the market! I have looked around extensively as I have issues reading longer forms of text and this is by far the best one on the market. Easy, works well on almost all webpages, automatically detects different languages and constant updates!”

Jim Deng · Oct 19, 2026

“This resource does really well: I love hearing a realistic and non-robotic voice, and the highlight as it reads feature works fine. It seems to be fairly well adaptable to any site.”

Isaac Smith · Oct 14, 2026

Read all reviews on the Chrome Web Store

Questions about listening to OpenStax

Does OpenStax have a read-aloud feature?

OpenStax’s online textbooks don’t include their own read-aloud voice. OpenStax recommends the web view as the most accessible format and notes that browser extensions can add read-aloud. Some titles also have audiobooks recorded by faculty at partner schools, and students with a verified print disability can get audio formats through Bookshare.

How do I listen to an OpenStax textbook?

Install ArticleAudio in Chrome, Edge, or Firefox on your computer. Open your textbook’s online version on openstax.org, go to a section, click the ArticleAudio icon, and choose “Listen to this page”. To hear one passage, select it and press Shift+Tab, or right-click and choose “Listen with ArticleAudio”.

Can ArticleAudio read OpenStax PDFs?

Yes, with selected text. Open the PDF in your browser, select the text, right-click, and choose “Listen with ArticleAudio”. The keyboard shortcut and full-page listening don’t work in PDFs because of browser limits, so the online version is better for listening. To turn a whole PDF into audio, use the free ArticleAudio PDF to audio tool.

Will it read equations, tables, and figures?

Text to speech works best on prose. Equations, chemical formulas, and tables may not sound natural when read aloud, and images aren’t described. For math-heavy sections, listen to the explanation and read the equations on screen.

Can I listen to OpenStax textbooks in Spanish?

Yes. OpenStax publishes some textbooks in Spanish. ArticleAudio detects Spanish text and reads it with a Spanish voice. It also supports English, French, Portuguese, Italian, and Chinese.

Is ArticleAudio free?

ArticleAudio includes 1,000 free words with no credit card required, enough to try it on a few sections. After that, Premium Monthly costs $6/month, or you can pay $15 once for Lifetime. See the pricing page for current plans.

Does it work on a phone?

ArticleAudio is a desktop browser extension for Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Firefox. On a phone, your device’s built-in accessibility speech tools are the closest option.

Is ArticleAudio affiliated with OpenStax?

No. ArticleAudio is an independent browser extension. OpenStax is a nonprofit educational initiative of Rice University and doesn’t make or endorse ArticleAudio.

Try it on your next assigned section

Open a chapter, press play, and hear how it sounds. You get 1,000 words to try ArticleAudio for free.