Immersive Reader is free, built into Word, Outlook, Teams, and Edge, and it's genuinely good at what it does. What it does is help you read. It doesn't check your spelling, explain a homophone, take dictation, or work anywhere outside Microsoft's own apps.
Here's the honest split between the two.
Free tier, or £6.99/month
Free
Immersive Reader and DyslexiaWrite aren't really competing for the same job. Immersive Reader helps you take text in — reading it, hearing it, breaking it into syllables. Dyslexia Write helps you put text out — writing an email, an essay, a report — and it works wherever you're writing it, not just inside Microsoft's apps.
| Feature | DyslexiaWrite | Immersive Reader |
|---|---|---|
| Built for Grammar/spelling correction is a separate Microsoft product (Editor), not part of Immersive Reader | Reading and writing support | Reading support only |
| Cost | £0 (free tier) or £6.99/month | £0 — built into Microsoft 365 and Edge |
| Phonetic spelling correction | ✓ | — |
| Homophone help with meanings | ✓ | — |
| Grammar and spelling check Not an Immersive Reader feature at all | Basic | — |
| Voice dictation | ✓ | — |
| AI document decoding (explain any document in plain English) | ✓ | — |
| Read-aloud with word highlighting This is one of Immersive Reader’s genuine strengths | ✓ | ✓ |
| Syllable breakdown and picture dictionary | — | ✓ |
| Line focus, spacing and font customisation Immersive Reader’s text customisation is more granular | Basic — three reading modes | ✓ |
| Translation (120+ languages) | — | ✓ |
| Works outside Microsoft apps (Gmail, Google Docs, any website) Immersive Reader only works inside Word, Outlook, Teams, OneNote and Edge | ✓ | — |
| Access to Work fundable Nothing to fund — it’s already free | ✓ | — |
| School site licence with teacher dashboard | ✓ | Included free with Microsoft 365 Education |
Immersive Reader features from microsoft.com and learn.microsoft.com as of November 2026.
Reading customisation and comprehension support: syllable breakdown, a picture dictionary, line focus, and translation into 120+ languages, all for free inside apps you probably already have open. If reading support is genuinely all you need, and you live entirely inside Word, Outlook, or Edge, there's a real argument for just using what's already there.
Writing. Immersive Reader has no spelling correction, no grammar checking, no dictation, and no homophone help — that's not a gap in the product, it's simply not what it's for (Microsoft Editor covers grammar, separately, and still won't handle spelling that's phonetically distant from the target word). DyslexiaWrite also works everywhere you write, not just inside Microsoft's own apps — Gmail, Google Docs, Slack, and the open web included.
Yes, easily — they don't overlap. Use Immersive Reader to read a document Word or Teams handed you; use DyslexiaWrite to write the reply.
Access to Work grants can cover the full cost of DyslexiaWrite. We'll send you a quote and spec sheet formatted for the application.
See how Access to Work funding works →Site licences start at £300/year for up to 30 students — worth it once pupils need writing support Immersive Reader doesn't provide.
See school and college pricing →No. That's Microsoft Editor, a separate product. Immersive Reader is a reading tool — it reads text aloud and makes it easier to look at, but it doesn't check or correct anything you write.
Yes, completely, and it's built into Word, Outlook, Teams, OneNote, and Microsoft Edge. If reading support inside Microsoft apps is all you need, it's a genuinely good option.
No — it only works inside Microsoft's own apps and the Edge browser. Dyslexia Write's Chrome extension works on any website, including Gmail and Google Docs.
No card needed. Works via the Chrome extension and web editor in under two minutes.