Select text in any app and tap the ▶ bubble that pops up. Almost instantly, a voice that sounds human starts reading — while you keep working.
press ▶ on the player to hear Shmia — and run your cursor through the wave
Tap the play bubble that appears when you select text — browser, PDF, email, doc — or use the keyboard shortcut. No importing, no library, no app-switching.
Powered by ElevenLabs, the most realistic AI voices there are. Pick any voice in your library and preview it before you commit.
Shmia never waits for the whole selection. The first sentences stream immediately; the rest generates while it speaks.
0.75× to 2×, pitch-preserved, applied instantly mid-sentence. Your pick becomes the default — and it never costs extra credits.
A small window appears top-right with a live timeline, play/pause, speed and voice — always on top, never stealing focus.
No API keys, no accounts to wire up. Download it and your screen can talk within a minute — voices stream straight from the Shmia cloud.
Other apps process your entire text, then start. Shmia splits your selection into chunks: the first is tiny so the voice starts immediately, and the pipeline always stays three chunks ahead.
Chunk 1 is kept small on purpose — that's why the first words arrive in about a second.
Shmia speaks with ultra-realistic ElevenLabs voices. Meet a few of the cast — tap ▶ and they'll introduce themselves.
Warm British storyteller — long reads and deep dives.
Calm and clear, like your favorite news anchor.
Deep and steady — easy on the ears for hours.
Velvety British actress — a little drama in every line.
Energetic Australian — makes everything sound fun.
Bright and playful — blogs and stories, minus the homework feel.
…and 17 more voices waiting inside the app. Download Shmia to meet the whole cast.
Reader apps want you to bring your text to them — import it, upload it, paste it. Shmia works the other way: it comes to wherever your text already is.
| Shmia | Speechify | NaturalReader | ElevenReader | macOS built-in | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Native desktop app (Mac & Windows) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ iPhone/Android only | ✓ |
| Reads selection in any app, one keystroke | ✓ | partial | ✗ import first | ✗ | ✓ |
| Human-sounding AI voices | ✓ ElevenLabs | ✓ premium tier | ✓ premium tier | ✓ | ✗ robotic |
| Starts instantly on long text | ✓ streamed chunks | varies | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Floating mini player, live timeline | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Pricing | Free unlimited · Premium $19.99/mo | ≈ $139/yr | ≈ $110/yr | subscription | Free |
Based on each product's published capabilities, July 2026. “Partial” = works in some apps via their own extension or reader window.
Anywhere on your Mac or Windows PC where text can be selected: every browser, Mail, PDFs, Notes, Slack, Word, code editors — everything. If you can highlight it, Shmia can read it.
Listening is free and unlimited with Shmia’s built-in voices, which run privately on your computer. Shmia Premium ($19.99/month) adds studio-grade premium voices (3 hours a month) and 40 AI summaries; Ultra ($39.99/month) raises premium voices to 10 hours. When premium hours run out, reading simply continues on the free voices — it never stops. Details in the terms.
A library of two dozen ultra-realistic voices — male and female, warm and energetic, American, British, and Australian — all previewable in Settings.
With the free built-in voices, your text never leaves your computer — speech is generated entirely on-device. Premium voices and AI summaries go through Shmia’s server to ElevenLabs or Anthropic and stream straight back; we don’t store your text — only seconds of usage are counted.
Yes — instantly, with pitch preservation so it never sounds squeaky. Speed is applied at playback, so it doesn't re-generate audio or spend extra credits.
$0
Unlimited listening with 10 built-in voices that run privately on your computer. Shortcuts, the bubble, the floating player — all included, forever.
$19.99/month
Everything in Free, plus studio-grade premium voices (3 h/month) and 40 AI summaries. Past the hours, reading continues free — it never stops.
Go Premium$39.99/month
For heavy listeners: 10 premium-voice hours a month plus 40 AI summaries. Cancel anytime.
Go UltraNo API keys, no accounts to set up — download, select text, listen.
Download and your screen starts talking — nothing to configure. Free unlimited listening, right out of the box.
Windows: run the installer — it sets everything up and opens Shmia for you (click "More info → Run anyway" if SmartScreen asks; we're a young app). Mac: open the file, drag Shmia into Applications, then right-click → Open the first time.