OpenReader Hosting Live In 5 Minutes

Deploy OpenReader on xCloud and get OpenReader hosting for a private library that reads PDF, EPUB, DOCX, Markdown and text files aloud with synchronized highlighting. xCloud runs the pinned official image next to a private Kokoro text-to-speech container, generates the administrator password and storage keys, mounts a persistent volume and publishes the reader over HTTPS on your own domain in minutes.

Deploy your OpenReader

No terminal
No technical skills needed
No lock-in, cancel anytime

What is OpenReader?

OpenReader is an open-source text-to-speech document reader built with Next.js, and a self-hosted OpenReader reads EPUB, PDF, TXT, Markdown and DOCX files aloud with multilingual, synchronized read-along playback, as a self-run alternative to a hosted reader such as Speechify. Upstream highlights word-by-word alignment, layout-aware PDF parsing and audiobook export in M4B or MP3. It was previously named OpenReader-WebUI and uses the MIT licence.

On xCloud the install runs OpenReader v5.2.0 and a private Kokoro-FastAPI v0.2.4 CPU container, both pinned by digest. The app, its SQLite database, storage and audio worker share one container, and the openreader_docstore volume holds documents, generated audio and settings. The worker needs its own Audio playback domain, and Kokoro reads slower than real time on a small server.

From Sign-Up to Listening In Just 3 Easy Steps

A read-aloud server normally means an app container, a text-to-speech engine, document storage, an audio address, generated secrets and a certificate before the first page is read. This is the same result without assembling any of it.

Step 01
Sign Up
Create your xCloud account and pick OpenReader from the OneClick catalog. Choose your domain and enter the administrator email — that is the only field in the install form.
Step 02
We Deploy It For You
One click. We bring up the official OpenReader image and a private Kokoro text-to-speech container, both pinned by immutable digest, mount the openreader_docstore volume, generate the administrator password, session secret and storage keys, and publish the reader over HTTPS on your domain. Allow a few minutes for the first start.
Step 03
Sign In And Add A Domain For Audio
Sign in with your administrator email and the generated password, then change the password in Settings, Account. Map the Audio playback domain on the site's Domain page — the browser loads spoken audio from it — then upload a document and press play.

Everything OpenReader Does, On Your Own Server

OpenReader runs in full here: a read-aloud document library on your own domain, with the speech engine on the same server.

Five Document Formats
Read EPUB, PDF, TXT and Markdown, plus DOCX converted by the worker, with synchronized read-along playback.
Word-By-Word Highlighting
Upstream aligns speech to text with an ONNX Whisper model, so the highlight follows the voice as you listen.
Bundled Kokoro Text-To-Speech
A private CPU Kokoro-FastAPI container is included, so no paid API key is needed. It reads slower than real time on a small server.
Layout-Aware PDF Parsing
PDFs are parsed with the PP-DocLayoutV3 ONNX model, which detects structured blocks and stitches text across pages for accurate highlighting.
Approval Before Anyone Joins
New sign-ups wait for administrator approval by default, and anonymous sessions are off.
Storage And Database Built In
S3-compatible document storage and the database run inside one container, so there are no extra services to run.

Everything You Need To Run Your Read-Aloud Library 24/7

Managed hosting for OpenReader, so the parts that keep it online are not your problem.

OpenReader v5.2.0 deployed instantly
Official image pinned by digest
Admin password and secrets generated for you
Kept behind xCloud nginx
Free SSL certificate
Server backups and snapshots
Server security updates included
30+ server locations
Unused balance refunded

What You Can Do With OpenReader

Listen to your reading pile
Upload articles, papers and ebooks once and have them read to you while you follow the highlighted words, instead of reading every page on a screen.
Run a private read-aloud library for a team
Let colleagues register, approve them in Settings, Admin, Users, and keep every uploaded document on a server you control rather than in a vendor's account.
Skip per-character voice fees
Use the bundled Kokoro engine on the server's CPU instead of paying a cloud voice service by the character, accepting that it reads slower than real time.
Turn documents into audio files
Export a document as an M4B or MP3 audiobook, which upstream assembles from the same playback cache the reader uses, to listen on another device.

OpenReader Screenshots

An uploaded document in the OpenReader library

OpenReader reader with synchronized highlighting

OpenReader vs Alternatives

Speechify: Speechify is a hosted text-to-speech reading service run by its vendor. As a Speechify alternative, OpenReader is open source and runs on your own server, with the speech engine on the same machine.
NaturalReader: NaturalReader is a hosted text-to-speech reader operated by its vendor. OpenReader keeps your documents and the library on infrastructure you own.
ElevenReader: ElevenReader is ElevenLabs' hosted reading app. OpenReader instead pairs with a self-hosted Kokoro engine, with cloud voice APIs optional rather than required.
Audiobookshelf: In an OpenReader vs Audiobookshelf comparison, Audiobookshelf has its own OneClick page. It serves audiobooks and podcasts that already exist as audio, while OpenReader generates speech from your documents.

Simple Pricing. Everything Included.

Dedicated Cloud VPS sizes, pre-configured for OpenReader hosting. Pick the one that fits, and resize any time.

Cloud VPS 6 GB

Cloud VPS 16 GB

More headroom if OpenReader sits alongside other media and document apps.

$59.99per month

16 GB RAM
6 vCPU cores
200 GB NVMe SSD
30 TB
Unlimited

Get started

Every size is a dedicated Cloud VPS we provision, patch, monitor and restore. Billed monthly with no lock-in — delete the server and the unused balance comes back to your account. OpenReader is licensed by its maintainers under MIT; the bundled Kokoro-FastAPI is Apache-2.0.

Docker hosting

Already Have a Server? Bring Your Own

Connect any VPS — DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS, Hetzner or bare metal — and deploy OpenReader on it through the same panel, for a per-server management fee instead of a Cloud VPS rental.

Free

Start your journey without cost.

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1 server
10 sites

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The same platform, discounted at 6–10 servers.

$4per server / month

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Unlimited sites
All features included
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Agency

The same platform, discounted at 11+ servers.

$3per server / month

11+ servers
Unlimited sites
All features included
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Priced per connected server, so your rate adjusts automatically as you add or remove servers. You pay your own provider for the server itself.

Self-managed hosting

Ready To Run Your Own Read-Aloud Reader?

OpenReader on xCloud runs on a dedicated Cloud VPS that we provision, patch, monitor and restore. Deploy faster. Own the server. Stay in control.

Fast Provisioning
Deploy faster using an xCloud Managed Server built with optimized stacks and high-speed SSDs.
Enterprise-grade security
Protect your infrastructure with a free SSL certificate and more advanced security features at no additional cost.
Intuitive Control Panel
From Server creation to application deployment, everything can be managed from our intuitive control panel.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns you may have.

Can you self-host OpenReader with Docker?

Yes, and this template is OpenReader Docker hosting without the setup. Upstream is self-host friendly with Docker; here xCloud runs the pinned OpenReader and Kokoro containers, generates the secrets, mounts openreader_docstore and publishes two HTTPS domains, one for the app and one for audio.

How much RAM does OpenReader need?

The template asks for 2048 MB of RAM, 2 CPU cores and 10 GB of disk, and measured idle use in QA was about 1.5 GiB for the app plus Kokoro. The 6 GB plan is the entry rung here, leaving headroom for speech generation.

Who can sign up to my OpenReader server?

Sign-ups wait for administrator approval by default and anonymous sessions are off. Sign in first with the install email and the generated password, then change it in Settings, Account to reveal the Admin tab. Email is not configured, so approval does not verify an address.

Why does OpenReader need a second domain for audio?

The browser loads short-lived signed audio links straight from the app's built-in worker, which needs its own HTTPS address. Map the Audio playback domain on the site's Domain page. Without it, reading works but spoken audio does not play.

How fast is the bundled OpenReader text-to-speech?

Kokoro runs on the server's CPU only and reads slower than real time on a small server: about 18 seconds to prepare a first short passage in QA. Word-timing and PDF layout models also download from Hugging Face on first use, so the server needs outbound internet.

How large can an OpenReader upload be?

The app's default limit is 200 MB per document, adjustable by an administrator, and the template's proxy accepts requests up to 256 MB. Cloudflare-managed SSL rejects uploads above about 100 MB regardless, so compress or split very large files.

What should I back up on an OpenReader server?

Back up the openreader_docstore volume, which holds the SQLite database, uploaded documents, generated audio and settings, plus the generated values in the environment file. Keep AUTH_SECRET stable: changing it signs everyone out and makes saved provider keys unreadable.

Backups in xCloud

How do I upgrade OpenReader?

The install stays on its pinned OpenReader v5.2.0 and Kokoro-FastAPI v0.2.4 images until you adopt a newer template version. Back up openreader_docstore first, ideally with the app stopped, and check the upstream release notes. Running sites never upgrade on their own.

Is OpenReader free?

Yes. OpenReader is MIT-licensed and the bundled Kokoro-FastAPI is Apache-2.0, so both are free to run. Your costs are the dedicated Cloud VPS that runs the reader and any cloud voice provider you choose to add yourself, since the bundled engine needs none.

Is OpenReader an alternative to Speechify?

For reading your own documents aloud, yes in purpose: both turn text into speech. OpenReader is open source, keeps the library on your server and bundles a CPU Kokoro engine, but it reads slower than real time on a small server.

Is there an OpenReader cloud service?

Upstream documents Vercel and Docker Compose deployments, so you host it yourself either way. This page is OpenReader cloud hosting in that sense: xCloud provisions a dedicated Cloud VPS and deploys the open-source containers there, and your documents stay on that server.

Can I cancel anytime?

Yes. There is no lock-in — cancel any time. Hosting is billed monthly and charged for what you actually use, so when you delete the server the unused balance is refunded to your account, less up to 10% in payment-processing fees.