The Best Free Speed Reading Apps, Ranked by What You Really Get
Facts checked October 9, 2026 by the Read Fast team. How we compared
Search for a free speed reading app and half the results turn out to be free trials, free downloads with the useful parts paywalled, or a 200-word demo. We make one of these apps, and its free tier has limits too, so we ranked every option by one test: what can you actually read without paying? Where a competitor gives away more than we do, it ranks higher.
The apps compared are Speeedy, Read Fast, Sprint Reader, SwiftRead, Reedy, AccelaReader, Spreeder and ReadingSoft.
The short answer
For the most you can get without paying anything, the best free speed reading app is Speeedy, because it opens PDF, EPUB, DOCX and web pages at no cost with no account; choose Read Fast for pasted text and web articles with a free speed test, and Sprint Reader for free reading inside Chrome.
- For free PDF and EPUB speed reading: the best option is Speeedy, because it opens PDF, EPUB, DOCX, text and URLs locally in the browser at no cost, with no account and no daily cap.
- For free reading of pasted text and web articles on any device: the best option is Read Fast, because it runs in any browser tab with no signup and gives you 5,000 words a day at up to 400 WPM, plus a free speed test.
- For free reading inside Chrome: the best option is Sprint Reader, because it is a fully free, open-source extension: select text on any page, right-click and read it.
- For free EPUB reading on Android: the best option is Reedy, because it is a free Android e-reader with RSVP and text-to-speech, though it shows ads and has not been updated since November 2024.
- For a free reading speed baseline only: the best option is ReadingSoft, because it is a long-standing free test with an optional comprehension quiz and no login.
At a glance
| Feature | Speeedy | Read Fast | Sprint Reader | SwiftRead | Reedy | AccelaReader | Spreeder | ReadingSoft |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free (open source) | Free (5,000 words/day, up to 400 WPM); Premium $19/yr or $49 lifetime | Free (open source) | Free with a daily quota; PRO monthly, annual or lifetime (price varies by region) | Free with ads and in-app purchases | Free; premium tier (URL import, AI passages) with no published price | Free basic tier; VIP lifetime reported at $67 | Free |
| Free plan | Yes, fully free | Yes, no signup | Yes, fully free | Yes, daily quota | Yes, with ads | Yes, paste text | Yes, limited (reported 200 words at a time) | Yes, test only |
| Account needed | No | No | No | Not stated | No | No | Yes | No |
| Platforms | Web | Web | Chrome extension | Chrome extension, Web, iOS, Android | Android, Chrome extension | Web, Chrome extension | Web, iOS, Android | Web |
| PDF import | Yes | Premium | Not stated | Yes | No | Not stated | Yes | No |
| EPUB import | Yes | Premium | No | Yes | Yes | Not stated | Yes | No |
| Web article import | Yes | Yes | Selected text on any page | Yes | Yes | Premium (reported) | Yes | No |
| Comprehension check | No | Speed test only | No | Not stated | No | No | Not stated | Yes |
| Top speed | 1,600 (GitHub) | 400 free / 1,000 Premium | 1,800+ (listing) | Not stated | 3,000 (reported) | Not stated | Not stated | n/a |
Read the full feature and pricing notes for each app below. “Not stated” means the vendor doesn't say and we couldn't confirm it.
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The options, ranked
1. Speeedy
Web · Free (open source)
Speeedy is a free, open-source, local-first RSVP web app with a focus-letter alignment. It opens PDF, EPUB, DOCX, text files and URLs, runs from 100 to 1,600 WPM according to its GitHub page, and works offline. Nothing is held back for a paid tier, which is why it tops a list ranked by what you get free, ahead of our own app.
- Best for
- Anyone who wants to speed-read their own PDFs, EPUBs and documents without paying or creating an account.
- Trade-off
- A young open-source project with little independent track record, and no comprehension checks or training.
2. Read FastOur app
Web · Free (5,000 words/day, up to 400 WPM); Premium $19/yr or $49 lifetime
Read Fast is our app, so weigh this accordingly. The free tier is meant to be genuinely usable: paste text or import a web article and read at up to 400 WPM, with a focus-letter highlight, 1 to 3 word chunks, keyboard shortcuts and dark mode. It also includes a free reading speed test with a comprehension check, a reading time calculator and a bionic reading converter. Premium is $19 a year or $49 lifetime if you outgrow it.
- Best for
- Students and knowledge workers who mostly read pasted text and web articles and want to start in seconds, on any device, with no account.
- Trade-off
- The free tier stops at 400 WPM, 5,000 words and 3 documents a day, and PDF, EPUB and TXT upload are Premium. No native app or browser extension.
3. Sprint Reader
Chrome extension · Free (open source)
Sprint Reader is a free, open-source Chrome extension: select text, right-click and read it word by word or in chunks, with focal guides, adjustable words per slide and a stats panel. Its listing claims speeds of 1,800+ WPM. There is no paid tier to upsell you to.
- Best for
- Chrome users who want to speed-read selected text on any page, free, forever.
- Trade-off
- Chrome only, no EPUB, and reviewers note that shortcuts break on some keyboard layouts and support outside English is weak.
4. SwiftRead
Chrome extension, Web, iOS, Android · Free with a daily quota; PRO monthly, annual or lifetime (price varies by region)
SwiftRead's developer says the free tier includes text-to-speech, PDF, EPUB and Kindle reading with daily limits. That is more file support than most free tiers, but reviewers say basic features moved behind a subscription, and its recent Chrome Web Store average is about 3.1 against roughly 4.5 all-time.
- Best for
- Chrome users who want PDF, EPUB and Kindle Cloud Reader support and can live within a daily limit.
- Trade-off
- The daily free quota is not published, PRO has no free trial (there is a 14-day refund window), and recent reviews are far below its all-time rating.
“The Swiftread Chrome extension was updated to put basic features behind a subscription.”
“the free version works quite well”
5. ReedyNot actively maintained
Android, Chrome extension · Free with ads and in-app purchases
Reedy is a free Android e-reader with regular, RSVP and text-to-speech modes for EPUB, FB2, HTML and TXT files, and a reported top speed of 3,000 WPM. Reviewers like that it is free; the complaints are missing PDF support and voice glitches after updates.
- Best for
- Android users with a library of EPUB books who do not mind ads.
- Trade-off
- No PDF support, ads, a 3.5-star Google Play rating, and no update since November 2024.
“with a good voice it is a very good reader. Especially given the fact its free.”
6. AccelaReader
Web, Chrome extension · Free; premium tier (URL import, AI passages) with no published price
AccelaReader is a single free web page from Iris Reading: paste text, set a speed and chunk size, and go. Roundups say no signup is needed. It is free in the plainest sense, but it does one thing.
- Best for
- A quick paste-and-read session with nothing to set up.
- Trade-off
- Pasted text only on the free page; URL import and AI passages reportedly moved to a premium tier with no published price, and its Chrome extension looks unmaintained.
7. Spreeder
Web, iOS, Android · Free basic tier; VIP lifetime reported at $67
Spreeder has a free basic version, but it is best seen as a taster for the paid VIP tier, reported at $67 lifetime. Its mobile apps rate well (4.7 on the App Store, 4.5 on Google Play); the recurring complaints are about being signed out and occasional hangs on EPUB import.
- Best for
- People who want to try a training-focused app before deciding whether to pay for it.
- Trade-off
- The free reader is reportedly limited to 200 words at a time, an account is required, and AI book summaries are premium only.
“makes you sign in again every single time I open the app”
“does seem to hang sometimes after I import and start reading an epub”
8. ReadingSoft
Web · Free
ReadingSoft is a long-standing free online reading speed test with an optional comprehension quiz and benchmark profiles, with no login. It also points to a free email course. It belongs on this list because a free baseline is the first thing to get, not because it will read your documents.
- Best for
- Anyone who wants a free reading speed number with a comprehension check, before choosing an app.
- Trade-off
- It is a test, not a reader: you cannot load your own text, and its FReader download page is outdated.
“Readingsoft.com was my favorite because the reading selection provided helpful information about speed reading.”
Exactly what each free tier allows
The generated table above compares features. This one answers the narrower question: on the free version, today, what can you do and what is held back?
| App | What the free version lets you do | What you have to pay for | Account |
|---|---|---|---|
| Speeedy | Everything: PDF, EPUB, DOCX, text and URLs, 100 to 1,600 WPM (per GitHub), offline use | Nothing; it is free and open source | No |
| Read Fast | 5,000 words and 3 documents a day, up to 400 WPM, 1 to 3 word chunks, paste text and web-article import, plus the speed test, reading time calculator and bionic converter | PDF, EPUB and TXT upload, speeds up to 1,000 WPM, unlimited reading, focus music | No |
| Sprint Reader | Read any selected text in Chrome, word by word or in chunks; listing claims 1,800+ WPM | Nothing; it is free and open source | No |
| SwiftRead | Web pages, PDF, EPUB, Kindle Cloud Reader and text-to-speech, within a daily quota (size not published) | Reading beyond the daily quota | Not stated |
| Reedy | EPUB, FB2, HTML and TXT on Android, RSVP and text-to-speech, with ads | Has in-app purchases, but what they add is unverified; PDF is not supported at all | No |
| AccelaReader | Paste text, set speed and chunk size | URL import and AI passages (reported premium, no published price) | No (per roundups) |
| Spreeder | A basic reader, reportedly up to 200 words at a time | AI book summaries and the VIP upgrade (reported at $67 lifetime); full free limits unverified | Yes |
| ReadingSoft | A reading speed test with an optional comprehension quiz, and a free email course | Nothing, but it does not read your own text | No |
Two things stand out. First, only Speeedy gives away free PDF and EPUB reading in a browser; on that point it beats our free tier outright. Second, "daily quota" and "200 words at a time" are very different limits: a quota resets tomorrow, while a per-session cap makes a long article awkward today.
How to choose a free speed reading app
Start with what you read most, because that decides which free limit will bite first.
- Mostly web articles and pasted text. Any free RSVP reader works. Read Fast's 5,000 words a day covers a few long articles, and our free RSVP reader opens without an email address. Sprint Reader does the same job inside Chrome.
- PDFs and e-books. Speeedy is the only free browser option with no cap. SwiftRead handles them within its quota, and Reedy covers EPUB on Android. Scanned PDFs without selectable text will not work in any of them.
- Privacy. Speeedy is local-first and is the only app here that markets itself on "no accounts, no tracking". Read Fast, Sprint Reader, Reedy and ReadingSoft also need no account; Spreeder does.
- A baseline first. Before you pick, take a free reading speed test so you know your starting WPM, then use the reading time calculator to see what a faster speed is worth on your actual reading list.
If you are new to the one-word-at-a-time method, our RSVP explainer covers how it works and where it breaks down.
Free plans vs free trials: read the small print
A free plan is something you can use indefinitely. A free trial turns into a charge. The two get blurred in app store listings, and the complaints we found are mostly about the second.
- SwiftRead offers no free trial on PRO; you pay, then have a 14-day refund window.
- Readlax reviewers say its trial converts to a paid charge quickly.
- Speechify Trustpilot reviewers describe trouble cancelling free trials before they renew.
- Read Fast Premium has a 3-day trial on the $1.99 weekly plan; the free tier needs no payment details at all. Plans are listed on our pricing section.
Whichever app you use, set a reminder the day before any trial ends. And keep expectations grounded: the 2016 review by Rayner and colleagues found comprehension, not eye movement, limits reading speed, so a paid tier's higher WPM ceiling is rarely the thing you are missing. Our page on whether speed reading works has the detail.
Apps we left out and why
- Outread. A well-rated iPhone and Mac app, but it is a free download rather than a free plan: imports and higher speeds need Outread+, from $4.99 a month.
- Readlax and AceReader. Training apps. Readlax has a free basic version with undocumented limits; AceReader has no free plan (Personal is $39 a year).
- FastReadi. A new iPhone app whose free tier includes RSVP and bionic modes. It is too new to rank on track record; the App Store showed only one rating when we checked.
- Bionic Reading. Its free tier is limited and it does not pace you. You can try the effect free with our bionic reading converter.
- Spritz. Never had a consumer app and has been quiet since about 2017.
- Speechify. Its free tier (basic voices, up to 1.5x speed) is for listening, not reading. For the paid-app picture, see our full speed reading apps comparison.
How we compared, and our bias
We make Read Fast, so treat our placement of it with appropriate suspicion. To keep this page useful anyway, every app is scored on the same attributes, using facts taken from each vendor's own website, pricing page or app store listing on the date shown above, and we say plainly where a competitor is the better choice. User quotes are verbatim from public reviews and forums, linked to their source. Prices are in US dollars and change often, so check the vendor's site before you buy.
Spotted something out of date? Tell us at hello@readfastapp.xyz and we'll re-check it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best free speed reading app?
Speeedy gives you the most for free: it opens PDF, EPUB, DOCX and web pages in the browser with no account and no daily cap. For pasted text and web articles with a free speed test, Read Fast is free up to 5,000 words a day. For reading selected text in Chrome, Sprint Reader is fully free.
Is there a completely free speed reading app with no limits?
Yes. Speeedy and Sprint Reader are both free and open source with no paid tier. Speeedy is a web app that handles files; Sprint Reader is a Chrome extension for selected text.
What is the best free speed reading app for PDFs?
Speeedy is the best free option for PDFs, because it opens them locally in the browser at no cost. SwiftRead's free tier also reads PDFs within a daily quota. Read Fast reads uploaded PDFs on Premium only, and scanned PDFs without a text layer will not work in any of them.
Is Read Fast free?
Yes. Read Fast is free with no signup for 5,000 words and 3 documents a day at up to 400 WPM, using pasted text or web-article import. Premium ($1.99 a week with a 3-day trial, $19 a year or $49 lifetime) adds up to 1,000 WPM, unlimited reading and PDF, EPUB and TXT upload.
Is SwiftRead free?
SwiftRead has a free tier with a daily quota that includes PDF, EPUB and Kindle reading, but the exact quota is not published. PRO is paid, has no free trial, and comes with a 14-day money-back guarantee.
Is Spreeder free?
Spreeder has a free basic version that is reportedly limited to 200 words at a time, and it needs an account. The paid VIP upgrade is reported at $67 for lifetime access; check spreeder.com for the current price.
Do free speed reading apps need an account?
Most of the free ones do not. Speeedy, Read Fast, Sprint Reader, Reedy and ReadingSoft work without an account, and roundups say AccelaReader does too. Spreeder requires one.
Is there a free speed reading app for iPhone or Android?
On Android, Reedy is free with ads and reads EPUB files. On iPhone, browser-based readers such as Read Fast work in Safari with nothing to install. Outread is a free download for iPhone, but imports and higher speeds need its paid Outread+ tier.
Are free speed reading apps as good as paid ones?
For the core job, yes: every RSVP reader shows one word at a time at a speed you set, and that is the part that matters. Paid tiers mostly add file import, higher speed caps, training and convenience. Try a free reader on a real article before paying for anything.
Do free speed reading apps actually work?
They can help you get from a typical 238 WPM toward 300 to 400 WPM on easy material by removing eye movements and re-reading. A 2016 review by Rayner and colleagues found no evidence that any method gives large speed gains at full comprehension, so free or paid, treat 1,000 WPM claims as skimming.