Blind listener who uses text-to-speech every day switches to ElevenReader for books that sound like audiobooks

What they did

They use text-to-speech every day and have trained local open-source voice models for years. They loaded books into ElevenReader and listened with the v4 voices on the free plan. Their favorites from the default set are Lily, Jessica, Alice and Bella. A company rep replied in the thread with how blind users can apply for a free account.

How it went

They say that if they heard a v4 clip with an unfamiliar voice, they doubt they could tell it from a well-recorded audiobook. They noticed little drift or made-up words across the voices they tried.

Worth knowing

• They had only listened to a small amount so far. Another user says the table of contents in ePub files wasn't accessible; re-uploading the book fixed it for them later.
• Price check: ElevenLabs: free plan; Starter: US$6/month, or US$5/month on a yearly plan (US$60/year) (checked Nov 1, 2026).

Try it yourself

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I want to listen to an ebook or long article with an AI voice. Explain how to load an ePub, PDF or web page into a text-to-speech reader app, how to pick a natural voice and reading speed, and how to jump between chapters. Point out any accessibility settings for screen-reader users.

More people who did this

• u/prroxy (Reddit, Oct 6, 2026): Listens to ePub books in ElevenReader; fixed a broken table of contents by removing the book and uploading it again.

Original post

See u/ZB_Makes_Music_2013's original post on Reddit → (Oct 3, 2026)