dyslexiaImmersive Reader sits inside Word, Outlook, Teams, Forms, and Edge right now. It costs nothing to turn on (Microsoft Support, checked August 2026). More than 15 million people use it (Microsoft Research, checked August 2026).
Most dyslexic employees have never opened it. This article covers what it does, and where it stops short of paid tools. It ends with three settings worth changing today.
What Immersive Reader does
Read Aloud reads your text word by word, at a speed you set (Microsoft Support, checked August 2026). Line Focus narrows the page to one, three, or five lines at a time. The rest fades out.
Picture Dictionary shows a small image next to a word when you click it. That helps with a term you half-recognise but can't quite place.
Syllables breaks longer words apart. Parts of Speech colour-codes nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs across a whole document. Translate switches a word or a full page into another language, on the spot.
Edge's version reaches further than the other apps. Open a standard PDF or any webpage in Edge, and the same Read Aloud and Line Focus tools appear. No separate download is needed (Microsoft Support, Edge Immersive Reader, checked August 2026).
That matters for a payslip PDF, a supplier contract, or a government form sent to you as a file. As long as the text isn't a photo of a page, Edge can read it. It works the same way it reads a webpage.
People using the reading tech behind Immersive Reader, across Microsoft's apps (Microsoft Research, checked August 2026).
So what for you: if reading is your main barrier, not writing, this free feature covers more than you'd expect.
Where it lives, and what it costs
Immersive Reader works inside Word, OneNote, Outlook, and Teams meeting transcripts. It also works in Microsoft Forms and the Edge browser's reading view (Microsoft Support, checked August 2026).
It doesn't need a paid Microsoft 365 licence to switch on. A free personal account is enough, the kind that comes with any @outlook.com address. That covers Outlook on the web and Word Online.
If your employer already runs Microsoft 365, which most do, Immersive Reader ships inside Word, Outlook, and Teams as standard. No separate purchase order, no IT approval chain.
The mobile Outlook app carries a lighter version, Read Aloud only, without Line Focus or Picture Dictionary. For the full toolset, use the desktop app or a browser instead of your phone.
So what for you: check the View tab in Word before you ask your employer to buy anything. The reading support you want may already be one click away.
Why the price online looks wrong
Search "Immersive Reader pricing" and Microsoft's Azure page comes up first. It lists a cost per transaction (Azure AI Immersive Reader pricing page, checked August 2026).
That page prices a different product: Azure AI Immersive Reader. It's a paid tool for other firms, to help them build reading features into their own apps.
The version inside Word, Outlook, and Teams is the free one. You will not see a bill for using it at your desk.
So what for you: don't let a developer pricing page put you off. The feature is already free in the apps you use every day.
Where it stops, and when a paid tool earns its price
Immersive Reader has no word prediction and no grammar checking, so it won't tighten a sentence you're writing. Tools like text-to-speech and writing software cover that gap.
It also can't scan a paper page or a photo of one. If the text isn't digital yet, it stays unreadable to the tool.
And it only works inside Microsoft's own apps and Edge. A PDF opened in another browser, or a document in a non-Microsoft tool, won't have it at all.
If reading digital text in Word, Outlook, or Teams is your only barrier, you likely don't need to buy anything. Read&Write costs around £355 a year at UK retail (The Dyslexia Shop, checked August 2026). It earns that price through word prediction and a toolbar that follows you into other apps, not through reading alone.
Speechify costs $139 a year, about £110 (Speechify pricing page, checked August 2026). It wins when you need one reading experience across many file types, not just Microsoft ones.
| Tool | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Immersive Reader | Free | Reading inside Word, Outlook, Teams, and Edge |
| Read&Write | ~£355/year | Word prediction and writing support |
| Speechify | $139/year (~£110) | Reading many file types, beyond Microsoft apps |
Access to Work doesn't need to fund Immersive Reader, since it's free. Save that ask for the gap it leaves, like a scanner app for paper mail or Dragon for dictation. The Access to Work guide covers what the scheme will and won't pay for.
So what for you: try the free tool first. Only pay for Read&Write or Speechify once you've hit something Immersive Reader genuinely can't do, not before.
The three settings that matter
Line Focus set to three lines is the single biggest change for most dyslexic readers. It stops your eyes drifting to the wrong line partway down a page.
Read Aloud speed defaults to a pace built for someone learning to read, not an adult skimming a report. Push it up gradually until words blur, then step back down one notch.
Parts of Speech, switched on just for verbs, helps you scan a long email fast. You can spot what someone wants you to do without reading every line in full.
So what for you: set these three once, and Immersive Reader keeps them for that document. It's a five-minute setup, not a daily chore.
A real example
An operations lead at a mid-size logistics firm spent £110 a year on a mobile reading app for her commute. She used it for one task only: getting through supplier emails on her phone before she reached her desk.
She later found Outlook's own View tab had Immersive Reader built in, on the same phone, free. Line Focus set to three lines fixed the drifting she used to fight with the paid app's smaller screen layout.
She kept the paid app for one thing it did that Immersive Reader doesn't: reading PDFs saved from a scanner. Everything else moved to the free tool, and she cancelled the renewal that was due the following month.
Getting your employer to notice it exists
A workplace adjustment doesn't have to cost money to be real. Pointing your manager to a free, already-licensed feature still counts as a request. It's documented under the Equality Act 2010 and the ADA the moment you send it.
Some organisations disable optional Microsoft features through IT policy. This is common in finance and law, where add-ins get locked down by default. If Immersive Reader doesn't appear in your View tab, that's a five-minute fix for IT, not a budget question.
The reasonable adjustments builder turns a specific problem like this into a written request. Your employer can act on it in about two minutes.
So what for you: ask for it in writing, even though it's free. A written record protects you if the setting gets switched off during a system update.
What this means for you
Paying for a tool you don't need is its own kind of cost. The masking cost calculator turns unpaid workarounds into a number, salary in, workaround time out.
Before you request budget for Read&Write, Speechify, or a reading pen, try something first. Open Word's View tab and use Immersive Reader for a week. It costs nothing, and for many dyslexic employees, reading digital text is most of the daily problem.
If you still hit a wall after that week, you'll know which gap a paid tool needs to fill. You'll also have a clearer case for Access to Work funding, if you need it.
Quick setup checklist
- Word or Outlook: View tab, then Immersive Reader.
- Set Line Focus to three lines first, adjust from there.
- Push Read Aloud speed up until it blurs, then step back one notch.
- Turn on Parts of Speech for verbs only, when scanning a long email.
- Ask IT to enable it if it's missing from your View tab.