Turn Any PDF Into a Study Podcast
Upload a textbook chapter, research paper, or assigned reading and Scholarly turns it into a two-host audio episode with chapters, a synced transcript, and citations back to the exact pages. Built for the reading you were going to skip.
Free to start · No credit card · 70+ languages
Quick answer
Can you turn a PDF into a podcast?
Yes. Scholarly reads the PDF, extracts the key concepts, writes a two-host conversation about them, and voices it with natural AI speech. A typical textbook chapter becomes an 8-to-25-minute episode with chapter markers, a tap-to-jump transcript, and citations that point back to the pages each claim came from. It is not text-to-speech reading the file aloud: the hosts discuss the material the way a good study partner would explain it.
Updated June 2026. Episode lengths, voices, and limits reflect the current version of Scholarly.
From PDF to podcast in three steps
About a minute of your time, then a few minutes of generation while you do something else.
Upload the PDF
A textbook chapter, lecture slides, a research paper, or a study guide. Scholarly accepts up to 600 pages per source, and you can combine several PDFs into one episode.
Pick a style and language
Conversational, Exam Prep, Deep Dive, or Quick Summary, plus custom instructions like focus on chapter 7.2 onward. Generate in any of 70+ languages, including one different from the source.
Listen, jump, reuse
Stream with synced captions, skip between chapters, tap a transcript line to jump there, or download the MP3. The same PDF can then become flashcards or a practice quiz.
What does a 30-page chapter sound like as a podcast?
A 30-page chapter usually becomes a roughly 12-minute episode. That compression is the point: the hosts do not skim-read every paragraph, they rebuild the chapter around what you need to walk away knowing.
- Every definition, stated plainly and then rephrased in everyday language
- Mechanisms and cause-and-effect chains, the part exams actually test
- Formulas with when-to-use-them context, not just the symbols
- One worked example talked through end to end
- The distinctions students mix up, called out explicitly
- Repeated examples collapse into the single clearest one
- Figure walk-throughs become short verbal descriptions
- End-of-chapter exercises turn into self-test prompts at the end
- Boxed asides and historical tangents get a sentence, not a section
Because every claim is cited back to a page in your PDF, you can open the source whenever a compressed section deserves a full read.
A real episode outline
Here is the shape of an Exam Prep style episode generated from a 28-page biology textbook chapter.
Chapter 7: Cellular Respiration
Cold open
Why a sprinter's muscles burn: the ATP problem the whole chapter exists to solve.
Glycolysis
Where it happens, what goes in, what comes out, and why no oxygen is needed yet.
The Krebs cycle
The hosts trace one glucose molecule through the cycle instead of listing every intermediate.
Electron transport chain
How the gradient drives ATP synthase, plus the ATP yield numbers the exam will ask for.
Where students lose marks
Substrate-level versus oxidative phosphorylation, and aerobic versus anaerobic confusion.
Recap and self-test
A 60-second summary, then three questions to answer out loud before the episode ends.
What to expect from the audio
Concrete expectations before you generate your first episode.
Two AI hosts
A host asks the questions you would ask; a guest explains. Natural voices with real pacing and emphasis, not a monotone read.
8 to 25 minutes typical
Quick Summary stays under about 10 minutes. Deep Dive runs longest. A 30-page chapter lands around 12 minutes; you can regenerate at a different length.
Four styles plus instructions
Conversational, Exam Prep, Deep Dive, or Quick Summary, with custom instructions to steer focus toward specific sections or topics.
70+ languages
Generate in the language you study in, or keep an English source and listen in Spanish, Japanese, Hindi, and more.
Chapters, transcript, citations
Episodes are split into chapters by topic. Tap any transcript line to jump there. Claims cite the source pages they came from.
MP3 download and sharing
Download episodes for offline listening or share a link with classmates; they can stream without an account.
Where a PDF podcast helps, and where it doesn't
Audio is for review and priming. It shines when you listen to a chapter before the lecture that covers it, replay key sections on a commute, or do a final pass the night before an exam, time that would otherwise be zero studying.
It will not do your problem sets. For math-heavy chapters the hosts can state a formula and explain when to use it, but working through derivations and practice problems has to happen on paper. Figures and diagrams are described, not shown, so keep the PDF nearby for visual material.
Listening is recognition, not recall. After one or two passes, switch to retrieval: turn the same PDF into flashcards or a practice quiz so you are forced to produce the answers instead of nodding along.
PDF to podcast, frequently asked
Does the podcast read my PDF word for word?
No. Scholarly extracts the key concepts and writes a two-host conversation about them. A word-for-word read of a 30-page chapter would take over an hour and bury the important parts; the generated episode compresses it to the definitions, mechanisms, and exam-relevant distinctions, with citations back to the pages so you can verify anything.
How long is the episode for a typical chapter?
Most episodes run 8 to 25 minutes depending on source length and style. A 30-page textbook chapter typically becomes a roughly 12-minute episode. Quick Summary stays under about 10 minutes; Deep Dive runs longer. You can regenerate the same PDF at a different style or length any time.
Can I use research papers and journal articles?
Yes. For papers, the hosts walk through the research question, method, findings, and limitations in plain language, which is often the fastest way to decide whether a paper deserves a close read. Citations point back to the relevant pages and sections.
Do lecture slides and scanned PDFs work?
Lecture slides work very well because they already highlight what the instructor considers important. Text-based PDFs give the best results; scanned pages work when the text is clearly legible. One source can be up to 600 pages, and you can combine multiple files into a single episode.
What do the voices sound like?
Two AI hosts in a host-and-guest format: one asks the questions a student would ask, the other explains. The voices use natural pacing and emphasis rather than flat text-to-speech, and you can generate in 70+ languages.
Is listening to the podcast enough to pass the exam?
Honestly, no. Audio is excellent for first exposure and review, but exams reward retrieval, producing answers from memory. Use the episode to understand the chapter, then make flashcards or a practice quiz from the same PDF to actually test yourself.
Can I download episodes or share them?
Yes. Every episode downloads as an MP3 for offline listening on any device, and the transcript is available separately. You can also share a link with classmates, and they can stream it without creating an account.
Is PDF to podcast free?
Yes, every account includes a free monthly allowance of podcast generations with no credit card required. Paid plans raise the limits if you are converting readings every week.
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Turn this week's reading into audio
Free to start. Upload a chapter, listen on your commute, and keep the citations for anything worth a closer read.
Free
- 3 AI Chat messages per day
- 3 AI creations per day
- 1 file upload per day (8MB)
- 1 research report per day
- 5 quiz questions per day
- 1 exam attempt per day
- 15 voice minutes per day
- 32-page PDF to flashcards
- 500 autocomplete words per day
Use it to generate flashcards, improve a deck, make a podcast, create a video lecture or infographic, build slides, or process a recording.
Ultimate
$144 billed yearly
Everything in Free, plus:
- Unlimited normal chat & autocomplete
- Unlimited premium model messages
- Unlimited AI creations
- Unlimited file uploads (up to 300MB)
- Unlimited study sessions
- Unlimited exams & quizzes
- 1000-page PDF to flashcards
- Export to Anki
- Priority support
Pricing in USD. Local currency available in app.
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What students say
Scholarly has been a valuable tool for my studies. The AI-generated flashcards and intuitive features make organizing and retaining information much easier.
Briana
Student
This app is great for studying for big test. Drop your PDF's in the system and it'll do the trick. You can organize it specifically for your needs.
Kelvin
Student
I am currently preparing for a test that covers a substantial amount of material, and I've found that not having to physically write out my flashcards has been incredibly beneficia...
Isabelle
Student
Scholarly is great for students. I am enrolled in online university and my classes are all PDF based. All I do is upload the PDF and it creates flashcards decks for me. The greate...
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Student
Your questions, answered
Is Scholarly free to use?
Yes! The free plan includes core study tools with daily limits: AI Chat messages, 3 AI creations per day, research reports, file uploads, quizzes, practice exams, and manual flashcard creation. Upgrade to Ultimate when you want unlimited AI creations and higher limits.
What uses my daily AI creation?
Generating flashcards, improving a flashcard deck, making a podcast, creating a video lecture or infographic, building slides, or processing a recording each use the same daily free AI creation allowance. AI Chat messages, uploads, quizzes, and exams have their own separate daily limits.
Can I cancel anytime?
Absolutely. There are no contracts or commitments. You can cancel your subscription at any time from your account settings, and you'll keep access until the end of your billing period.
What payment methods do you accept?
We accept all major credit and debit cards through Stripe. Pricing is displayed in USD by default, but local currency is available in the app.
Do you offer discounts for educators?
Yes, we offer special pricing for educators and educational institutions. Contact us at hello@scholarly.so for details.
What happens when I hit a free plan limit?
You'll see a prompt to upgrade. Your existing work is never lost — limits only apply to new daily actions like AI Chat messages, uploads, quiz questions, and new AI creations. Limits reset every day.
For Educators or Schools
Contact us for special pricing at hello@scholarly.so.