Orate
Listen to your docs.
Listen to long text documents on the go
Select a document, grab an article from a URL, or just paste some text. Orate turns it into podcast-quality audio with chapters, a live transcript, and playback controls you'd expect from your favorite podcast app.
Completely private - 100% on-device processing.
Your content never leaves your phone.
Reading backlogs don't shrink
You've got articles saved in read-it-later apps, PDFs downloaded to your phone, documents bookmarked across three browsers. You genuinely want to engage with all of it.
But your screen time is already maxed out. Your eyes are tired. There's never a quiet moment to sit down and read. And ChatGPT just blurted out 2,000 words that you have to read and you need to pick up the kids or walk the dog.
Orate is built for how you actually have time to consume content — while commuting, walking, cooking, or exercising.
Import. Generate. Listen. Organize.
Import
Paste, import, or grab from a URL
Bring in text, markdown, PDF, or DOCX files. Paste from clipboard. Or point Orate at a web article—it extracts the content automatically via Readability.
Generate
On-device text-to-speech creates podcast-quality audio
Apple's Speech Analyzer converts your document into natural-sounding audio right on your device. No cloud services or internet connection required.
Listen
Podcast-style controls, chapters, transcript
Skip forward and back, adjust speed, use lock screen controls. Navigate by chapter. Follow along with a sentence-level transcript that highlights in real time.
Organize
Episode library, search, recently played
Your episodes live in a searchable library with recently played, now playing bar, and full episode management. Export and import episode packages.
Everything happens on your phone
Most text-to-speech services send your content to the cloud for processing where you have no idea what happens to it. We took a different approach.
Orate uses Apple's built-in AVSpeechSynthesizer for text-to-speech
and Apple Intelligence for smart chapter detection and organization —
all
running locally on your device.
No servers. No uploads. No account required.
Not because we're paranoid. Because it's faster, works offline, and means your documents are nobody's business but yours.
- • On-device text-to-speech — Audio generation happens locally
- • On-device chapter detection — Your content never leaves your phone
- • On-device AI organization — Apple Intelligence powers smart features
Built for people who'd rather listen
Commuters, gym-goers & walkers
Turn saved articles into a personal podcast for your commute. Listen to that long-form piece while you walk the dog.
"I load up all the long documents I haven't got to at work and the listen to them while I'm on the treadmill."
Researchers & students
Listen to papers and study materials hands-free. Review with the transcript, jump to specific chapters, search for key passages.
"It takes me 20 minutes to ride to school, I can get through a couple short papers using Orate during my commute."
People with reading fatigue
Give your eyes a break, let your ears do the work. After a long day of screens, listening is a different kind of engagement entirely.
"By 6pm my eyes are done. Orate lets me keep learning without another screen."
Accessibility-minded users
Full VoiceOver support, Dynamic Type, Full Keyboard Access, and Switch Control. An alternative way to consume text that works for everyone.
"Finally, an app that treats accessibility as a first-class feature, not an afterthought."
One app instead of a workaround
Right now you're cobbling together text-to-speech shortcuts, podcast apps, and read-it-later services to do what Orate does in one place.
Orate combines them—with local processing throughout.
| Orate | Workarounds | |
|---|---|---|
| On-Device TTS | ✓ | rarely |
| Chapter navigation | ✓ | No |
| Real-time transcript | ✓ | No |
| Works offline | ✓ | No |
| No account required | ✓ | No |
| Cost | One-time unlock | $5-15/month |
Fair pricing. No subscriptions.
sistnt believes in building useful tools for a fair price. You shouldn't pay subscription rates for a pencil or a hammer.
USD$4.99
- • Unlimited document imports
- • On-device TTS with multiple voices
- • Chapter navigation & AI organization
- • Sentence-level transcript with search
- • Export/import episode packages
- • All future updates included
One purchase. Yours forever.
Frequently Asked Questions
Privacy
Is my data really private?
Yes. Text-to-speech runs entirely on your device using Apple's built-in AVSpeechSynthesizer. We don't have servers to store your documents, even if we wanted to.
Do you use cloud AI?
No. AI features use Apple's on-device models for chapter suggestions and organization. Nothing is sent to OpenAI, Google, or any external service.
Features
What file formats are supported?
Plain text, markdown, PDF, and DOCX files. You can also paste text from the clipboard or provide a URL to extract article content.
Does it work offline?
Completely. All text-to-speech generation, playback, and organization works without an internet connection. URL import requires connectivity to fetch the article, but everything after that is offline.
Can I control playback speed?
Yes. Multiple speed options are available, along with skip forward/back controls and lock screen playback controls.
What languages does Orate support?
While Orate's user interface is English, it uses your device's text-to-speech and voice synthesis. So if your device is configured for French with French voices, it can read and convert French documents. So basically, whatever language you configure your device to use, Orate can read and speak.
Business
What if Orate shuts down?
Your episodes are stored locally on your device. Even if we disappeared tomorrow, the app and your content stays with you.
Get your eyes off the screen. Start listening.
Your reading list keeps growing.
Orate gives you a way to actually get through it.
Documents to audio. All on your device.