The best apps for dyslexia in 2026, for reading and writing

The best apps for dyslexia each do one job well: dictation so you can write by saying words instead of spelling them, text to speech so you can listen to what you'd otherwise have to read, and a spelling and grammar checker for the final pass. On a Mac, Sayburst handles the writing, Speak Selection or Speechify handles reading, and Grammarly catches what's left. For children learning to read and spell, structured programs like Nessy are a different category, and we cover them separately below.

Understood.org describes dyslexia as a lifelong learning disorder that affects reading and spelling, and the NHS is clear that it does not affect intelligence. Apps don't diagnose or treat dyslexia. They take work off the parts that are hard, so what you know comes through. If you think you or your child may be dyslexic, a school, educational psychologist or doctor can arrange a proper assessment.

We make Sayburst. Everything we say about other apps comes from their official sites, checked October 31, 2026.

#The short list

#Apps for writing

Sayburst: say the word instead of spelling it

Spelling is where a lot of dyslexic writers lose time and confidence, and dictation removes most of it. With Sayburst you hold fn, say what you want to write, and let go. The text lands in whatever app you're in, spelled, capitalized and punctuated, with "um"s and repeated words removed.

Here's a message to a colleague, full of words that are hard to spell, said into Slack:

"Hi Rachel, um, the questionnaire for Wednesday's workshop is attached. Could you check whether the accommodation, uh, the hotel accommodation is necessary for both nights?"

What lands:

Hi Rachel, the questionnaire for Wednesday's workshop is attached. Could you check whether the hotel accommodation is necessary for both nights?

"Questionnaire", "Wednesday", "accommodation", "necessary": all spelled right without you spelling any of them. Names and work terms can be added to the vocabulary so they come out your way every time. To fix a sentence you've already written, select it, hold the rewrite shortcut and say "make this clearer".

Speech recognition runs on your Mac, so your writing isn't uploaded while you speak, and it works offline. It's $29 once, with every 1.x update included. It needs an Apple silicon Mac on macOS 14 or later.

Apple Dictation: the free start

Built into every Mac, iPhone and iPad. Press the dictation shortcut and talk. It's fine for short messages and costs nothing; it stops after a silence and leaves cleanup to you. Sayburst vs Apple Dictation covers when the free one is enough.

#Apps for reading

Speak Selection (built in)

Turn it on in System Settings › Accessibility › Read & Speak (Spoken Content on older macOS), select text and press ⌥Esc. Apple's guide shows how to highlight each word or sentence as it's read. It's also the best proofreading tool you already own: listen to what you dictated or typed, and wrong words jump out.

Speechify

Speechify reads documents, PDFs and web pages in natural voices. The free plan has basic voices up to 1.5x speed; Premium is $139 a year and adds more than a thousand voices, scanning printed pages, and faster speeds. Apps for Mac, Chrome, iPhone, Android and the web.

Learning Ally

Learning Ally is a nonprofit library of more than 80,000 human-narrated audiobooks for students with dyslexia and other reading differences, plus college and adult learners with a documented print disability. It works on iPhone, Android and the web. Schools and families sign up through its site.

Helperbird

Helperbird is a browser extension for Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari. Its free tier changes fonts, spacing, colors and overlays, adds a reading mode and reads pages aloud. Pro ($35 a year) adds natural voices, word prediction and spell check.

#Spelling and grammar checkers

Grammarly

Grammarly's free plan catches spelling and grammar mistakes in the browser, in its Mac app and on iPhone, iPad and Android. It's the easiest checker to have everywhere at once. Paid plans add more on top.

Read&Write

Read&Write bundles text to speech, Co:Writer word prediction, Talk&Type dictation, a picture dictionary and a Check It spelling and grammar tool. It runs on Windows, Mac, Chromebook, iPad, iPhone and Android and in Chrome and Edge. Schools usually license it; K-12 teachers can get premium free.

#Learning software for children

Nessy's Reading and Spelling is a structured literacy program for reading and spelling, sold as home and school subscriptions. It's teaching, not a workaround, and it belongs alongside a school's support rather than instead of it. Ask your child's teacher or school what they already use before buying anything.

#Fonts and display

OpenDyslexic is a free typeface (SIL Open Font License) designed with dyslexic readers in mind. Its own site doesn't claim it works for everyone; it suggests you use it if you find it easier to read. Try it, and try plain larger text with more line spacing, which you can set in Safari Reader or Word.

#Putting it together

A setup that works for many adults on a Mac:

1. Write by voice with Sayburst in Mail, Slack, Google Docs and Word. Our Google Docs guide shows the setup.
2. Listen back with Speak Selection before you send anything important.
3. Run Grammarly for a final check on what matters.
4. Listen to long reading with Speechify or Speak Selection rather than forcing your way through it.

Students may also want reading tools that cut clutter; see ADHD reading tools, most of which help dyslexic readers too. New to dictation? Start with how to dictate on a Mac.

#Limits worth knowing

Dictation spells the words you say, but it picks between sound-alikes like "their" and "there" from context and occasionally picks wrong, so a read-back still matters. Sayburst is Mac-only, with no Windows, iPad or phone version; on those, use the built-in dictation key. Reading apps can't read images of text unless they include scanning, and learning software is no substitute for a structured literacy program delivered by a trained teacher.

Questions people ask

What is the best app for dyslexia?

It depends on the job. For writing on a Mac, a dictation app like Sayburst lets you say words instead of spelling them. For reading, text to speech such as Speechify or the Mac's built-in Speak Selection. For checking, Grammarly. Most people end up with one app per job.

Is there a good dyslexia app for adults?

Adults usually get the most from tools that fit into work: dictation for email and documents, text to speech for long reports, and a spelling and grammar checker in the browser. None of these look like special-needs software, and all work with everyday apps.

What is the best dyslexia spell checker software?

Grammarly's free plan catches spelling and grammar mistakes in the browser, on Mac and on phones. Read&Write combines a spelling and grammar checker with word prediction and text to speech, which suits students. Dictation sidesteps spelling for many words in the first place.

What is the best dyslexic reading app?

For listening to documents, Speechify. For human-narrated books for students, Learning Ally. For free, built-in reading aloud on a Mac, Speak Selection with word highlighting.

Is there a dyslexia keyboard app?

On iPhone and Android, Grammarly offers apps that check spelling as you type, and the built-in keyboards include predictive text and a microphone key for dictation. On a Mac, dictation replaces most typing for writing.