Orate — read-it-later, for your ears

Native macOS · On-device Select text in any app, press ⌥⌘L, and Orate reads it aloud in a natural voice, in a listening queue, entirely on your Mac. Free 14-day trial. $4.99 one-time to keep · macOS 14+ · Apple Silicon (M1 or later)

Now Playing · real sample Walden Henry David Thoreau · Heart voice -0:16 left 1.0×

How it worksFrom a highlight to a headphone moment. You don't copy-paste, upload, or wait on a server. Orate lives in your menu bar and turns anything you're reading into something you can listen to. 01 Capture Select text in any app and press ⌥⌘L, or right-click and choose Add to Orate. The window title becomes the title. 02 Queue It lands in your listening queue and starts rendering on-device, cleaned up for the ear, with paragraphs and pauses intact. 03 Listen Play, pause, scrub, change speed or voice, from the menu bar or the library. It remembers where you left off.

A closer lookYour whole listening queue, in one place. A calm library for everything you've saved, and a menu-bar home you can glance at without leaving what you're doing.

Orate Up Next 3 items · 12 min1.0× The Case for Slow ReadingArc#raptitude ~2 minUp next SM-0924 — PR review commentsGitHub#work ~4 min40%

Notes on on-device AISafari ~1 minPreparing 60% T The Case for Slow ReadingArc · voice Heart -4:121.0×

It lives in the menu bar. No dock clutter. Click the waveform in your menu bar to see what's playing and what's next, switch to the HD voice, or jump into the library, all without leaving the app you're in. Capture from anywhere with ⌥⌘L, and control playback from right here. 〜 OrateUp Next · 3 Now PlayingHD The Case for Slow ReadingSafari -4:12 left1.0× 1SM-0924 — PR review comments✓ 2Notes on on-device AI

What's insideA small app that takes listening seriously. Entirely on-device Speech is synthesized on your Mac. Your text and audio never leave it. No account, no cloud, no tracking. Voices with character 14 built-in voices, American & British, plus an optional HD voice for extra naturalness when you want it. Your pace 0.5× to 2× with pitch preserved, and a time-remaining that re-times to your speed. Skip forward and back. A real queue Up Next, tags, notes, and resume-where-you-left-off. Your library survives a relaunch. Lives in the menu bar No dock clutter. A quiet home for what's playing, where you are, and what's up next. Yours to keep One-time $4.99 with all minor updates included.

The version you buy keeps working, forever.

Reading, another wayNot everyone reads the same way. Orate is on-device text-to-speech that turns anything on your Mac into audio you can actually get through. For a lot of people that isn't a nice-to-have — it's what makes the reading happen at all. Dyslexia — hearing the words alongside the page takes the friction out of reading. Low vision — listen at a comfortable pace instead of straining at small text. ADHD & focus — audio keeps you moving through the long read your eyes want to bounce off. Eye strain & migraines — rest the screen without giving up on your reading list. And when your eyes are just busy — cooking, walking, on the commute — your reading list comes along for the ride.

Private by designNothing leaves your Mac. The text you capture and the audio Orate produces are synthesized and stored on your own device. Never uploaded, never logged, never ours. There's no account and no telemetry. The only time we hear from you is when you buy a license.

PricingA one-time price, no subscription. $4.99 one-time · pay once, own it All minor updates included 14-day free trial, no card to start Perpetual license: the version you buy keeps working Works fully offline, on your Mac Buy Orate · $4.99Secure checkout via Polar · instant license by email · or start the free trial Requires an Apple Silicon Mac (M1 or later) · macOS 14 or later