PDF to Audiobook turns English PDFs with selectable text into downloadable chapter MP3s. Your original PDF is parsed in your browser and is not uploaded. When you submit for narration, the service receives your selected text, the document and chapter titles, and generation settings such as voice and speed. For scanned PDFs, use a separate OCR tool to make the text selectable first. See the privacy policy for details on how submitted text is handled.
Check the text before listening
- Open the PDF workspace and choose a PDF you own or have permission to convert.
- Compare the extracted text with the PDF. Check reading order, especially across columns, along with missing words, line breaks, hyphenated words, numbers and symbols.
- Decide which repeated headers, footers and page numbers belong in the narration. Use Preview PDF cleanup to review proposed changes to selected pages before applying them. Review footnotes and citations yourself before removing any context.
- Imported pages start as sections. If the PDF has chapter bookmarks, Preview bookmark chapters can propose groups of whole pages in reading order. Clean up the pages first if needed. You can undo the last applied PDF change before editing further. For manual changes, place the cursor where a chapter should begin and choose Split at cursor, or select sections and choose Merge selected. Review their titles and order, checking that no passage is omitted or repeated.
- Recheck the final text and character count before confirming a generation request. Signing in alone does not submit a conversion.
Text extraction is a starting point, not a verified transcript. Tables, formulas and complex layouts need particular attention.
Try the two-column PDF cleanup example to download the sample PDF, hear the before-and-after audio, and follow the steps in the workspace.
The workspace keeps draft text in this browser tab so you can return to editing. Use Download reviewed text to keep your own copy, or Clear document to remove the draft. A browser draft is separate from a saved audio job in your library.
Supported files and current limits
The converter does not accept password-protected or DRM-restricted PDFs. It does not translate documents.
The current local limits are 20 MiB per PDF and 600,000 characters per conversion request. These are technical limits for this review version, not a purchased allowance or an approved plan. A file within those limits can still contain text that needs correction.
Understand the character count
The conversion workflow measures the final text prepared for speech in characters, including spaces and punctuation. PDF pages, file size and estimated listening hours are not interchangeable with that count. Removing unwanted text or changing chapter content can change the total.
Review the displayed amount before confirming. Changing text, voice or speaking speed is a new generation request, not a retry of the same job. See the pricing page for current allowances and purchase availability.
The listening time estimate uses your selected text and narration speed. Generation time varies. Compare the total for separate one-time packs with the recurring monthly price when both options are shown.
Read the job status before retrying
Once a job has been saved, use its entry in your audio library to check progress. Reopening a job is different from submitting the document again.
| Status | Meaning and next step |
|---|---|
| Queued | The request is saved and waiting to be processed. It does not yet have completed audio. |
| Processing | Work is in progress. Check the same job instead of creating a duplicate; no fixed completion time is promised. |
| Completed | The job has completed its chapter audio. Review the available chapters and download them while signed in. |
| Failed | Part of the work could not be completed. Read the error and use the job's retry action only when it is offered. Successful segments are reused; they should not be generated again as part of that retry. |
| Unknown | A submitted segment has no confirmed outcome. The request may have reached the speech service. It needs investigation before a retry or credit adjustment; do not submit a replacement job. |
A failed or unknown status is not proof that a payment was refunded. Check the job and credit history, and include the job reference in a support ticket if the outcome is unclear. The refund policy explains the difference between restored credits and returned money.
Private downloads and deletion
Saved jobs and chapter downloads belong to the account that created them. Sign in to that account to reopen a job; a chapter download link is not a public sharing link. Selecting a PDF alone does not create any audio to download.
Open the saved job and read the delete confirmation. Once accepted, deletion removes its stored text from the active database and revokes downloads. Remaining audio is removed by background cleanup. Job deletion does not remove your original PDF, browser draft or downloaded copies. Clearing a browser draft does not delete a saved job.
See the job retention details and download audio before access expires. For account or support records, use the separate privacy request process.
Account access and help requests
The sign-in page shows the available sign-in methods. For a forgotten password, check the account recovery page.
If you are signed in, you can create a persistent on-site support ticket and revisit the conversation there. Saving a ticket does not send an email or guarantee a reply within a particular time. If you are locked out, see contact support for the available ways to reach us.