Want to listen to Kindle books without Audible? Let's compare Kindle's built-in tools, iPhone and Android screen readers, and AI text-to-speech apps.
Ever wanted to listen to a book on your Kindle without actually having to buy the audiobook version?
You can, and it's probably a lot easier than you might think!
Read on for everything you need to know about how to listen to Kindle books without Audible, including three easy built-in methods for Kindle, iPhone, and Android. We'll also explain what each method can (and can't do), and when it's worth looking beyond your device's built-in tools and using a dedicated text-to-speech app like ElevenReader instead.
If you're looking for the quickest way to have a Kindle book read aloud to you, Assistive Reader is the best place to start. This is Amazon's built-in text-to-speech (TTS) feature, and it's available in the Kindle app for iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac, and Fire tablets.
Once Assistive Reader is turned on, it uses your device's text-to-speech voice to read the book out loud while highlighting each word on the screen. Although Assistive Reader is primarily designed as an accessibility feature, it can still be handy if you're just wanting to rest your eyes for a moment, or if you're reading in another language and want to follow along as you listen.
There is one important limitation of Assistive Reader, though: it doesn't work with every Kindle book. The title must support Enhanced Typesetting, so if the option doesn't appear in your Kindle app, you'll need to find another way to listen to your book.
If your book is compatible with Assistive Reader, getting started is super easy. Simply open the book in your Kindle app, tap the center of the screen to reveal the reading controls, then tap Aa > More and switch on Assistive Reader. Once playback begins, you can also adjust the reading speed or skip backward using the on-screen controls.
If Assistive Reader isn't available for your book, your phone or tablet also has built-in accessibility tools you can use. These features work at the operating-system level, meaning they can read the text visible on your screen regardless of the app you're using.
Apple offers Speak Screen for iPhones and iPads, while Google provides Select to Speak for Android devices. Kindle e-readers also have a VoiceView screen reader that works with Bluetooth audio.
The following table provides step-by-step instructions for enabling your device's screen reader.
| Device | Accessibility feature | How to start listening |
|---|---|---|
| iPhone & iPad | Speak Screen | Go to Settings > Accessibility > Read & Speak, turn on Speak Screen, open your Kindle book, then swipe down from the top of the screen with two fingers. |
| Android | Select to Speak | Go to Settings > Accessibility > Select to Speak, enable the shortcut, open your Kindle book, activate the shortcut, and tap the text you want to hear. |
| Kindle e-reader | VoiceView | Pair your Kindle with Bluetooth headphones or a speaker, enable VoiceView, and use the screen reader to navigate and read supported content aloud. |
If you've tried your device's built-in tools and found the voices to be unlistenable for longer periods of time, it's worth trying a dedicated AI text-to-speech (TTS) app like ElevenReader.
For example, with ElevenReader, you can listen to Kindle online with natural-sounding AI narration. So rather than reading every sentence with the same tone and pace like a traditional TTS tool, the voices are capable of responding to dialogue and emotion, which creates a more enjoyable listening experience.
Want to hear the difference for yourself? Here's how ElevenReader compares to Amazon's Assistive Reader, Apple's Speak Screen, and Android's Select to Speak.
Getting started with ElevenReader couldn't be much easier. Once you've downloaded the ElevenReader app, all you have to do is open the built-in browser, select Kindle and sign in to your Amazon account, then open your book and press Play to start listening.
Please note that Read Aloud is a live listening feature in ElevenReader that simply reads the text that's visible on the page you're viewing. It doesn't import, download, copy, store, or create audio files from your Kindle books.
If you're a Kindle Unlimited subscriber, you may be wondering if your membership also includes audiobooks, and if so, how you can listen to Kindle Unlimited audiobooks.
The answer is that some Kindle Unlimited titles come with professionally narrated audio, but not all of them. To see if a book includes narration, look for the "With Narration" headphone icon on the book's page or filter the Kindle Unlimited catalog to show narrated titles.
If a borrowed book includes narration, you can listen using that official audiobook. If it doesn't, you can still read the eBook as normal and, depending on the title and your device, use Assistive Reader, your device's built-in screen reader, or a live read-aloud tool like ElevenReader.
One final thing to keep in mind is that the Kindle Unlimited catalog changes regularly, so it's always worth checking a book's page to see what's included before you borrow it.
Life doesn't always leave room to sit down with a book, but modern text-to-speech makes it possible to fit more reading into the moments you already have.
If this is something you've been looking for but you haven't found a voice you genuinely enjoy listening to, we'd love for you to give ElevenReader a try. You can sign up for free today to receive up to 10 hours of text-to-audio each month, which is plenty of time to make a serious dent in your Kindle reading list!
Yes, but it depends on what you mean by "audiobook."
You can use Amazon's built-in Assistive Reader, your phone's built-in screen reader, or a third-party screen reader (like ElevenReader) to hear the text of a standard ebook on Kindle.
If you want a professional audiobook recording, Audible offers a Read & Listen feature that syncs your position across the Kindle and Audible apps. However, you must own or have access to both the eBook and the matching audiobook.
ElevenReader reads the text exactly as it appears on the page. If the content includes unusual formatting, abbreviations, special characters, or spelling quirks, you may occasionally hear a word pronounced incorrectly.
If you spot an example, we'd love to hear about it. Send it to us through our product feedback form so we can continue improving accuracy over time.
Read Aloud works with Kindle, Google Docs, Wikipedia, and a growing list of other supported websites. You can use it to listen to ebooks, news articles, newsletters, documents, and reference content. New sites are added regularly, so make sure to check the in-app list for the latest supported services.
If you don't have ElevenReader on your device yet, you can create an account here.
No. An audiobook is professionally narrated by a human voice actor, while text-to-speech uses AI or system-generated voices to read the words on the page out loud. Modern AI voices sound much more natural than traditional screen readers and are typically more cost-effective compared to buying the audiobook version of a book.
Yes. ElevenReader works with selected web content you already have access to, including Kindle online. Outside of Kindle, you can also read any books, articles, or PDF documents you own out loud.
The Kindle app's read aloud options can be hard to find. Let's take a look at how Assistive Reader works, what to do if it isn't supported, and how ElevenReader compares.
Today, we’re expanding our partnership with Deutsche Telekom to bring ElevenReader to consumers across Europe.
