Mac · Menubar · Listen and talk
Hear anything read aloud.
Highlight anything on your Mac and a keystroke reads it aloud, or sums it up, in a voice worth listening to. Or just talk to it, hands-free, about what's on your screen.
How it works
From highlight to audio in one keystroke.
Highlight text
Anywhere. A Substack article, a Claude response, an email, a PDF. Whatever is in your selection.
Press your shortcut
Set it to whatever you like. It reads your selection, or the whole window if nothing's highlighted.
Listen
First audio plays in under two seconds. Pause and resume with a keystroke; click away to release it.
Features
Built for people who read a lot.
Eight voices, built for listening
Eight hand-picked voices, all tuned for long-form listening. Pick the one you want to spend time with, and change it any time.
Summaries on demand
Flip on Summary mode and every read comes back as a tight spoken summary: roughly half the length, the key points kept, the filler dropped. Made for long articles and AI chat replies.
Talk to it, hands-free
Hold your talk shortcut and ask about whatever you're looking at. It sees your screen and answers out loud in your chosen voice. Give it the keys and it takes real action: edits files, runs commands, gets things done. Runs on your own ChatGPT subscription, no API key.
Two shortcuts, your keys
One to read or summarize, one to talk. Set both to whatever you like, with a click-and-record picker like every other Mac app.
On-device voice
The voice runs entirely on your Mac. Plain reading never touches the network. Summaries and the assistant use the cloud by nature: summaries through our backend, the assistant through your own ChatGPT.
Works in everything
Claude, Notion, Mail, Substack, Safari, Notes, Preview. Anywhere you can highlight. No browser extensions. No per-app setup.
Voices
Pick the voice that fits your day.
Eight voices, hand-picked and tuned for long stretches of listening. Press play to hear each one, then pick your favorite, and switch any time.
Charles
Measured and articulate.
Mary
Warm and natural. An easy, unhurried read.
Jean
Low and grounded. The steady voice of the saguaro.
Anna
Bright and friendly. Sure-footed and clear.
Michael
Clear and engaged. Makes the technical feel effortless.
Caro
Calm and even.
George
Warm and easygoing.
Vera
Confident and composed.
Pricing
Simple. One price. Cancel any time.
Start with the free trial: forty thousand characters, about forty-five minutes of audio. Then subscribe to keep going: unlimited reading, a flat rate, no caps and no metering. Cancel any time.
- Unlimited reading, no caps, no metering
- All eight voices
- The hold-to-talk assistant
- Cancel any time
- Unlimited reading, no caps, no metering
- Two months free vs. monthly
- All eight voices + the assistant
- Priority email support
Prefer to try first? Just download the app and you get forty thousand characters of trial automatically on first launch. Got a beta invite code? Redeem it here.
FAQ
Questions you might be wondering about.
What is Saguaro?+
A Mac menubar app with two shortcuts. One reads, or summarizes, any text you've highlighted, in any app. The other lets you talk to it hands-free about what you're looking at. The voice runs on your Mac.
Will the voice sound robotic?+
No. Saguaro speaks with a natural voice that runs entirely on your Mac, with no cloud round-trip for plain reading. Pick from eight voices tuned for long-form listening.
What apps does it work in?+
Any app that exposes selected text to macOS Accessibility. Claude, Notion, Apple Mail, Substack, Safari, Notes, Preview, Apple Books, most browsers and editors. If you can highlight it, Saguaro can read it.
What's the talk assistant, and do I need a ChatGPT account?+
Hold the talk shortcut and talk to it. It sees the window you're looking at and answers out loud, and with your permission can take real action on your Mac. It runs on your own ChatGPT subscription, so it needs a paid plan (Plus or above); there's no API key and no extra fee. Reading and summaries don't need it. You can taste it on a free ChatGPT plan, but ChatGPT cuts free accounts off after a short window.
How does the free trial work?+
You get 40,000 characters free, roughly 45 minutes of audio — a full day of active reading and talking. After that, subscribe to keep listening.
Can I cancel?+
Yes, any time from Settings → Account in the app. Your subscription stays active through the end of the billing period after cancellation. We offer prorated refunds within seven days if it doesn't work for you.
Does Saguaro send my data anywhere?+
Plain reading happens entirely on your Mac, and the text you highlight never leaves the machine. Two features use the network by nature: summaries go to our backend (we don't log or retain your text), and the talk assistant goes to your own ChatGPT. See the Privacy page for details.
Why does it ask for Accessibility permission?+
macOS requires Accessibility permission for any app that reads text from other apps. Saguaro uses the Accessibility API to extract the text you have highlighted. It does not record your screen, log keystrokes, or watch anything else.
What if I have a beta invite code?+
Redeem it at /beta. You'll get unlimited reads during preview.
Try it free
Read less. Hear more.
Free trial built in, no card to start. Requires macOS 14 or later, Apple Silicon.
Apple Silicon · macOS 14+