The following is a list of current screen readers that are being worked on. If I think a screen reader is abandoned or discontinued, it will be noted under the screen reader's name.
Odilia is a screen reader for Linux that is under active development. According to its website, it aims to provide the accessibility that Linux has always needed, including add-ons, object navigation, OCR, and other features similar to those in NVDA. I do not have a Linux install at the moment, so I am unable to test it for you. However, I will provide you with a link to the project's webpage. If you test it, it would be great if you could provide feedback to the developers. The website can be found here.
BRLTTY is a background process (daemon) that provides access to the Linux/Unix console (when in text mode) for a blind person using a refreshable braille display. It drives the braille display and provides complete screen review functionality. Some speech capability has also been incorporated. I have no idea if this project is abandoned or not, as I could not find any information on when the site was last updated. You can visit their website here.
PC-Talker is a screen reader made in Japan. That is all the information I can give you at the moment since the website is in Japanese and requires a translator. If you want to try to navigate this website, the link is here.
Since someone sent me the link to the installer for PC-Talker, I will provide it here as well. Thanks to whoever did that, I could not have done it myself. Download the setup file for PC-Talker. Note that your system must be set to Japanese; otherwise, the screen reader will refuse to run.
The Chrome Screen Reader extension is a showcase of a fully featured screen reader for the web built using only web technologies such as HTML and JavaScript. This extension specifically works within the Chrome browser to read content aloud. For more comprehensive solutions, we recommend the use of full system screen readers like ChromeVox on Chrome OS, VoiceOver on Mac, JAWS, NVDA, or Narrator on Windows. Please note that this screen reader is for the web only, as mentioned above. This means that it will probably not work if you close the browser. I have no idea if it works fully though. The screen reader extension can be found here.
SuperNova is a screen reader developed by Dolphin Computer Access. The latest release is SuperNova 21, which includes these features:
They have also dropped support for Windows 7 and 8, as mentioned on their website. Dolphin wants to ensure that people who are blind or partially sighted get the most from the latest updates to the Microsoft Windows platform. To continue delivering accessibility to these latest innovations, SuperNova no longer includes support for devices that run Windows 7 and Windows 8.1. While SuperNova may continue to run on Windows 7 and 8.1 devices, the Dolphin team is not able to fix any issues that occur on these operating systems. If you currently use SuperNova on a device that runs Windows 8.1 or earlier, please contact their friendly team in the UK for advice on computer packages that will support the latest upgrade to SuperNova 21. If you live outside the UK, please contact one of their trusted local Dolphin Dealers for further advice.
If you want to try the free trial of SuperNova, their website can be found here.
JAWS for Windows (JAWS) is a screen reader developed by Freedom Scientific. It has existed since the days of DOS back in the 1980s and is still being developed to this day. JAWS offers a free trial, meaning that you can use it within a specific time frame. This trial is 40 minutes, meaning that after 40 minutes, you will have to reboot your PC to continue using JAWS. If you want to check out the free trial, you can download it here.
The following is a list of prices for the different kinds of licenses for JAWS for Windows:
NVDA is a screen reader that was first released in 2006, 16 years ago at the time of writing, by NV Access. It is open-source and developed in Python and C++. Be aware that this screen reader works only on Microsoft Windows and not on any other platform. However, NVDA is not only in English; it supports, at the time of this writing, 62 languages.
Here is a little timeline of development from 2006 to 2013:
"Concerned by the high cost of commercial screen readers, in April 2006, Michael Curran began writing a Python-based screen reader with Microsoft SAPI as its speech engine. It provided support for Microsoft Windows 2000 onwards and offered screen reading capabilities such as basic support for some third-party software and web browsing. Towards the end of 2006, Curran named his project Nonvisual Desktop Access (NVDA) and released version 0.5 the following year. Throughout 2008 and 2009, several versions of 0.6 appeared, featuring enhanced web browsing, support for more programs, braille display output, and improved support for more languages. To manage continued development of NVDA, Curran, along with James Teh, founded NV Access in 2007. NVDA's features and popularity continued to grow. In 2009, support for 64-bit versions of Windows was added, and greater program stability came in 2010. Major code restructuring to support third-party modules, coupled with basic support for Windows 8, became available in 2011. Throughout 2012, NVDA gained improved support for Windows 8, automatic updates, an add-ons manager to manage third-party add-ons, improved support for entering East Asian text, and introduced touchscreen support, the first of its kind for third-party screen readers for Windows. NVDA gained support for Microsoft PowerPoint in 2013 and was updated in 2014 to support PowerPoint 2013; NVDA also added enhanced WAI-ARIA support that same year. Also in 2013, NV Access introduced a restructured method of reviewing screen text and introduced a facility to manage profiles for applications, as well as improving access to Microsoft Office and other office suites."
If you would like to download this screen reader or visit its GitHub page, you can do so from the links below:
Go to NVDA's GitHub page Download the newest version of NVDAThis is another product from Dolphin Computer Access. Dolphin ScreenReader is fast, reliable screen reading software for people who are blind or severely visually impaired. It can be customized to meet your exact requirements:
The trial version mentions a price, which is around €1195. If you wish to download this screen reader, you can do so here.
Microsoft Narrator is the screen reader built into Windows by default. It has been available since Windows 2000 but wasn't very good back then. Nowadays, however, it is becoming quite usable. To use this built-in screen reader, press Windows + Control + Enter on your keyboard. If you somehow do not have Narrator installed, you will need to find a copy of it somewhere, but it should be included by default. No download link is available.
VoiceOver is the built-in screen reader for Mac and iOS devices. It's built-in by default, so no need to install anything. On iOS, since it's a touch device, it allows a blind person to double-tap on things to activate them. For example, to open an app, you and I would tap on the app once to open it. However, with VoiceOver, the app announces the name of the element you're currently on, and you have to double-tap on the item to activate it. If you're wondering how to enable VoiceOver on the Mac, I have no idea, as I have never used a Mac device. Download link not available for obvious reasons.
ZDSR is very similar to NVDA in that it can provide support for add-ons and has its own cloud. The main difference is that, like certain other screen readers, it is a trial version, and you probably have to pay monthly for a license. Since the website is in a foreign language, I am unable to translate it and provide you with the download link. However, I will provide the homepage link, or at least what I believe to be the homepage. The site can be found here.
Before you go clicking through the installer, note that it is likely in Chinese, as is the screen reader. I remember testing it a while back and couldn't do anything with it, but things could have changed.
Sunshine is another Chinese screen reader. Unfortunately, I have no information about this screen reader, as I have never tested it and the website is in a different language. Here is the link to their website: go to Sunshine's website.
Commentary Screen Reader is an Android screen reader made by Weilang Lee. It entered the international market around 2016 and was initially called TalkMan before Mr. Lee changed the name to Commentary Screen Reader. He then changed it to Jieshuo around 2019, before another name change to Jieshuo+. Mr. Lee is also known in some places on the internet as Nirenr. Commentary is a paid screen reader, but many features are free and very useful. Some free features include:
Some paid features include:
Commentary has a GitHub page, which can be found here. A person named Juan has recorded a little introduction to Commentary, which you can listen to and download here.