How do you read and listen to a book at the same time?
The most complete way is Amazon's pairing of a Kindle ebook and its Audible audiobook: Immersion Reading highlights the text as the narrator reads, and Read & Listen (formerly Whispersync for Voice) keeps your place when you switch between the two. You need both formats, and Immersion Reading in the Kindle app needs purchased titles. For free read-alongs with kids, Libby has interactive read-alongs, and for any text at all, iPhone's built-in Speak Screen or an app like Speechify reads it aloud with highlighting.
By the Best Reading Apps editors · Checked 30 October 2026 · Desk research
Our pick
Price: $8.99Audible
Our pick for reading and listening together
Immersion Reading highlights the Kindle text in real time while the Audible narrator reads, and Read & Listen syncs your place between the ebook and the audiobook, so you can read at home and listen on the train without hunting for your spot.
The catch: You need the Kindle ebook and the Audible audiobook. Amazon's help page says Immersion Reading and the Audible player in Kindle apps need purchased titles, although syncing works for borrowed titles too.
Also good
Best value if you would rather borrow
Kindle app
Kindle+ costs $11.99 a month plus tax in the US, and Amazon says thousands of its ebooks include companion audiobooks, so you can switch between reading and listening at no extra cost.
The catch: Only for titles that carry the companion audiobook, and only while you subscribe.
Best free read-along for kids
Libby
Interactive read-alongs let you read and listen with your kids, free with a library card.
The catch: Read-alongs are a picture-book and children's format, and what you can borrow depends on your library.
Best free option for any text
Speak Screen and Speak Selection
Built into iPhone: Speak Screen reads everything on the screen with a two-finger swipe down from the top, and highlighting shows each word as it is spoken.
The catch: A synthetic voice, not a narrator, and it reads whatever is on screen, so it works best in a clean reading view.
What is Immersion Reading?
Immersion Reading is Amazon's name for reading and listening at the same time: the words highlight on screen as the Audible narrator reads them. Audible's help pages describe it as a way to read and listen at once, and say you need both the audiobook and the Kindle ebook.
Its companion feature, Read & Listen, used to be called Whispersync for Voice. It keeps your place in sync, so you can stop the audiobook on your commute and open the ebook at the same sentence later. Audible's help page says a title that supports it shows Read & Listen (formerly "Whispersync for Voice-ready") in its product details, and Kindle ebook pages show an option to add Audible narration.
How do you set it up?
- Buy the Kindle ebook, then look for the Add Audible narration option on its Amazon page.
- Download both in the Kindle app on iPhone or Android.
- In the Kindle app, open the book and start the narration; the text highlights as it plays.
- To move to the Audible app instead, open the More menu in your Kindle book and choose Listen on Audible.
Our full walkthrough of the rename and what changed is in Whispersync for Voice is now Read & Listen.
What if the book is not in Amazon's store?
Kobo's app has text-to-speech Read Aloud, but on select ebooks only. Apple Books sells ebooks and audiobooks separately, and the listing we read does not describe a synced read-along mode.
For a paper book, Speechify can photograph a page and read it aloud, highlighting each word as it goes. That is a reading aid, not a narrated performance, and it costs a subscription after the free tier. See apps that read books to you for the trade-offs.
Who gets the most out of reading and listening together?
Readers who lose focus on the page often find that a voice keeps them moving, and listeners who drift often find the text pulls them back. Amazon's own help page pitches it for language learners and children learning to read. If you are reading with ADHD, our page on reading apps for ADHD readers covers it alongside other practical tools.
If you stop partway and come back days later, a recap that stops at your place helps more than either format. Magic Bookmark works with audiobooks as well as print and ebooks for its supported titles: enter the last phrase you heard. See how to get back into a book.
Questions
- Is Whispersync for Voice still available?
- Yes, under a new name. Audible's help pages now call it Read & Listen, formerly Whispersync for Voice. It syncs your place between a Kindle ebook and its Audible audiobook.
- Do I need to buy both the ebook and the audiobook?
- For Immersion Reading, yes: Audible says you need both, and Amazon says the Kindle app's Immersion Reading and Audible player need purchased titles. Kindle+ subscribers can switch between reading and listening on titles that include a companion audiobook.
- Can I read and listen at the same time for free?
- With kids, Libby's interactive read-alongs are free with a library card. For any text on your screen, iPhone's Speak Screen is free and highlights words as it reads.
- Does Kindle+ include audiobooks?
- Amazon says thousands of Kindle+ ebooks include companion audiobooks, so you can switch between reading and listening at no extra cost while you subscribe.
Sources
- Audible Help, Learn about Read & Listen, read 30 October 2026.
- Amazon, Switch between reading and listening with Audible audiobooks, read 30 October 2026.
- Apple App Store (US), Audible: Audiobooks & Podcasts, read 2 November 2026.
- Apple App Store (US), Amazon Kindle: Reading App, read 2 November 2026.
- Amazon News, Kindle Unlimited is now Kindle+: Everything you need to know (updated 22 October 2026), read 2 November 2026.
- Apple App Store (US), Libby, the library app, read 2 November 2026.
- Apple Support, Hear iPhone speak the screen, selected text, and typing feedback, read 30 October 2026.
- Apple App Store (US), Kobo Books & Audiobooks, read 2 November 2026.
- Apple App Store (US), Speechify: Text to Speech PDF, read 2 November 2026.
- Apple App Store (US), Magic Bookmark: Book Recaps, read 3 November 2026.