# Talkie

> Select text on any web page, and have the computer read it out loud for you by simply clicking the Talkie button. 1. Select desired text on any web page. 2. Click the Talkie button in your browser bar. Or right click text, or use Alt+Shift+A.

Canonical page: [https://chrome-stats.com/d/talkie](https://chrome-stats.com/d/talkie)

## Overview

- **ID:** `talkie`
- **Platform:** Firefox
- **Type:** Firefox add-on
- **Status:** Available
- **Publisher:** Joel Purra
- **Category:** appearance,language-support
- **Daily users:** 3,785
- **Weekly downloads:** 73
- **Rating:** 3.32 / 5 (62 ratings)
- **Version:** 8.0.3
- **Last updated:** 2026-06-24
- **First published:** 2017-03-17
- **Size:** 1.34 MB
- **Data as of:** 2026-09-05
- **Store listing:** [Firefox Add-ons Store](https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/talkie/)
- **Website:** [https://joelpurra.com/projects/talkie/](https://joelpurra.com/projects/talkie/)
- **Privacy policy:** [https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/talkie/privacy/](https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/talkie/privacy/)

## Description

**Talkie** is a user-friendly Chrome extension that reads aloud selected text on any web page. Simply highlight the text and click the Talkie button in your browser bar, or use the right-click menu and shortcut (Alt+Shift+A) for quick access. It automatically detects the text language and selects a matching voice using your browser's built-in Web Speech API, ensuring seamless and natural reading.

The extension supports additional voice installations from operating systems like Windows and macOS, enhancing language and voice variety. Upgrade to Talkie Premium for customizable voice selection, speed, pitch adjustments, and clipboard reading features. Talkie values user privacy by operating locally without invasive permissions or external tracking. It's a versatile accessibility tool perfect for listening to articles, PDFs, or any on-screen text conveniently.

## Rankings

- #1,428 — Overall
- #58 — Language Support
- #230 — Appearance
- #131 — speech
- #135 — upgrade
- #152 — shift

## Permissions and access

### Permissions

- `activeTab`
- `contextMenus`
- `scripting`
- `storage`

## Safety

- **Risk impact:** Very low risk impact
- **Risk likelihood:** Moderate risk likelihood

### Analysis details

- This extension has low user count. Unpopular extensions may not be stable or safe.

> Some risk analysis details are omitted from this free response. [Upgrade to view the full analysis](https://chrome-stats.com/pricing).

## Review summary

Users praise Talkie’s quick startup and that it works on many systems (including macOS Sonoma) and admire the project. Major complaints repeatedly mentioned are bad robotic voice quality, reliability issues (stops early or won’t read selections), limited/custom voices locked behind a paid tier, and awkward controls or speed problems.

### Pros

- Fast startup — begins reading quicker than some alternatives
- Works on many systems (several users report it runs on macOS Sonoma)
- Well‑conceived project; some users praised the developer and overall design

### Cons

- Poor, robotic or unintelligible synthesized voices
- Unreliable behaviour — fails to start, stops after a few seconds, or doesn’t read highlighted text
- Limited voice selection / important voices/features appear behind a "premium" paywall
- Unintuitive controls (need to hold button or use right‑click) and occasional speed control problems

## Similar extensions and apps

- [Talkie 88](https://chrome-stats.com/d/talkie-88) — 294 users, 3.67 / 5
- [Text to Speech](https://chrome-stats.com/d/text-to-speech-add-on) — 21 users
- [ReadSpeaker® TextAid for Firefox](https://chrome-stats.com/d/readspeaker-textaid-add-on) — 344 users, 1.94 / 5
- [Read Aloud: Text to Speech](https://chrome-stats.com/d/read-aloud-text-to-speech) — 43 users, 3.20 / 5
- [Text to Speech](https://chrome-stats.com/d/text-to-speech1) — 462 users, 2.83 / 5
- [Text to Speech](https://chrome-stats.com/d/text-to-speech-simplified) — 18 users, 1.33 / 5
- [VoiceVista: Smart Text-to-Speech Reader](https://chrome-stats.com/d/voicevista)
- [Free-Text-to-Speech Extension](https://chrome-stats.com/d/free-text-to-speech-extension) — 3 users, 1.00 / 5
- [VoiceSissy Select-Text-to-Speech TTS Editor](https://chrome-stats.com/d/voicesissy) — 101 users, 2.00 / 5
- [VoiceVoyager](https://chrome-stats.com/d/voicevoyager)
- [Text to Speech](https://chrome-stats.com/d/text-to-speech-iue) — 11 users
- [Simple TTS Text to Speech Reader](https://chrome-stats.com/d/simple-tts-texttospeech-reader) — 51 users, 5.00 / 5

---

Source: [Chrome-Stats](https://chrome-stats.com/d/talkie)