📚 Reading apps and reading coaches · 🔊 Reading aloud and accessibility · 🧩 Learning differences
Learning Ally
By Learning Ally, Inc. (nonprofit). Visit Learning Ally
Desk research from the maker's own pages. Not yet tried by us. Checked 2026-10-24.
Learning Ally is a US nonprofit library of more than 80,000 audiobooks read by human narrators, including school textbooks and popular novels. Students with dyslexia, blindness or other print disabilities listen in an app that highlights each word as it is read, so they can follow along in grade-level books. Families can buy a yearly membership, and many schools provide it free to eligible students. A free five-minute dyslexia screener is also offered.
Our take: A strong choice for a child with dyslexia or a print disability who needs grade-level books; check first whether the school already provides it free.
| Ages it suits | grades PreK-12, plus college and adults |
|---|---|
| What its terms say about age | Not stated as an age in the terms. Use is limited by copyright law to people with a reading deficit, blindness, low vision or physical disability confirmed by a qualified educator or evaluator; parents sign up for children. (terms) |
| Price | Paid. Family membership $135 a year (Oct 2026); free to students whose school or district has a membership. US only. |
| Works on | Web, iPhone and iPad, Android |
| Account | A parent's account |
| Ads | None |
| In-app purchases | None |
| The AI in it | No AI; books are read by human narrators. |
What's good
- Human narration, not robot voices
- Huge textbook and novel library
- No IEP or 504 plan required to qualify
- Nonprofit with no ads
Watch for
- Proof of eligibility needed within 30 days or the account is paused
- Only 3 books until eligibility is confirmed
- US only
- Yearly fee for families without school access
Data and privacy
Learning Ally says its data practices follow COPPA even though nonprofits are exempt, and that it does not sell or rent personal data or store credit card numbers. AI training is not stated. Read the privacy policy.
Does it work?
Learning Ally reports an 8-week randomized trial with MIT researchers (2019-20 school year) that found vocabulary gains, presented at a 2024 conference; a school district case study also reports gains. These are shared by the maker; no peer-reviewed independent review found.
In the Big Index
Alternatives to Learning Ally
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Bookshare
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C-Pen Reader
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Cboard
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A low-cost way for families and therapists to try AAC on existing devices; families who need a fully supported, ad-free system funded through insurance may prefer a dedicated AAC product.
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Kami
Kami (Kami Limited, also maker of Book Creator) · ages grades K-12 (about 5-18), plus adults
A practical school tool for marking up and turning in work, especially for kids who need read-aloud or translation; parents rarely need it at home.
Where these facts come from
- https://learningally.org/
- https://learningally.org/families/
- https://learningally.org/terms-of-service/
- https://learningally.org/solutions-privacy/
- https://learningally.org/privacy/
- https://learningally.org/resources/evidence-based-new-mit-study-validates-learning-allys-audiobook-solution-for-k-12-vocabulary-gains/
Prices, terms and features change. Nobody paid to be listed, nothing here is an affiliate link, and Peabody never rates itself. Where we and the maker disagree, the maker's own pages are the ones to trust.