Paste your script, press start, and read. Speed is set in words per minute, mirror mode works with beam-splitter glass, and nothing needs installing.
Recording needs the camera. Turn it on, or keep reading with the script on its own.
Drag the box to move it. Drag the corner to resize. Press space to play or pause.
An autocue is a screen that scrolls your script near the lens so you can read while looking forward. The hardware costs thousands. The scrolling does not have to cost anything.
Full-screen scrolling with adjustable speed, font size, line spacing, and colours — plus mirror text for beam-splitter glass. The same reading workflow an Autocue-branded prompter gives you, in a browser tab.
Most autocue software uses unlabelled speed steps you tune by trial and error. Here the scroll rate is set in WPM from 10 to 500, so it maps directly to a script you have already timed.
Say “next”, “previous”, “pause”, or “restart” to control the autocue without leaving frame — no operator and no keyboard reach required.
The short definition, then the detail — because “autocue” is a word, a trademark, and a piece of software all at once.
Autocue (noun) means a display that scrolls a script beside or in front of a camera lens so a presenter can read it while still appearing to look at the audience. Used in a sentence: “the newsreader delivered the bulletin from an autocue.” The word is chiefly British; American English says teleprompter. Both are the same thing, and this page is one.
It began as a product name. Autocue® was founded in 1955 to build prompting equipment for broadcast, and in the UK the brand name became the everyday noun for the device — the way “hoover” came to mean vacuum cleaner. That is why the dictionary definition and the trademark point at the same object.
Two jobs, and only two. It holds your words close to the lens so your eyeline stays forward, and it moves them at the speed you talk. Everything else — the glass, the hood, the mount, the operator — exists to serve those two jobs. Software can do both on a screen you already own.
Autocue and teleprompter are the same device under two regional names. A prompter is the same word shortened. A cue card is the analogue ancestor — hand-held card, no scrolling, no speed control. If you are searching for any of the first three, this page does the job.
There is no functional difference. The two words describe the same device, and the split is geographic rather than technical.
In the UK, Ireland, Australia, and much of the Commonwealth, the device that scrolls a presenter’s script is called an autocue. In the US and Canada the same device is a teleprompter. Broadcast crews use both words interchangeably.
Autocue® has been a prompting hardware company since 1955, which is why the word doubles as a trademark and a generic noun. Searching for “autocue” returns both the manufacturer’s studio rigs and free software like this one.
Whichever word you use, the job is identical: hold text near the lens and move it at reading speed. That is what this page does, with no rig, no operator, and no licence fee.
Three steps from a blank tab to a scrolling script.
Drop the full text into the box above. There is no character cap — a 30-second link or a 45-minute conference script are handled the same way, and the text is kept in local browser storage between visits.
Choose a speed in words per minute. Prepared delivery usually sits between 120 and 150 WPM, so 130 is a sensible starting point. Adjust font size and line spacing so you can read from your actual camera distance.
If the screen sits under beam-splitter glass, switch on mirror mode so the reflected text reads correctly. Without a rig, leave it off and place the window as close to the lens as your setup allows.
A professional autocue system is a mount, a beam splitter, a monitor, and prompting software. Three of the four have cheap substitutes.
Any tablet, laptop, or spare monitor works. An iPad or Android tablet is the usual choice for a home autocue because it is bright, light enough to mount, and already in the house.
A beam-splitter frame reflects the screen into the lens axis so your eyeline stays on camera. Entry-level frames start around $80–$150 — the one part of an autocue system worth buying rather than improvising.
This page. Load it on the tablet, turn on mirror mode, set your WPM, and the rig behaves like a studio prompter. No licence, no operator, no per-seat cost.
Browser-based autocue software runs anywhere. On Apple devices there is also a native app when you need offline use.
Open this page in Chrome, Edge, Safari, or Firefox on any Windows PC, laptop, or Mac. Full-screen the tab on a second monitor and you have desktop autocue software with no installer, no licence, and no admin rights needed.
The layout adapts to touch, so a tablet slots straight into a beam-splitter rig. This is the setup most people mean when they search for a free autocue app.
The free native app adds Camera mode with the script overlaid on a live preview, offline scripts, and voice control — useful when you are recording away from a reliable connection.
Autocue terminology, cost, and setup — answered before you start.
Autocue means a display that scrolls a script beside or in front of a camera lens so a presenter can read it while still appearing to look at the audience. The word is chiefly British English; American English uses teleprompter for the same device. It began as a brand name — Autocue was founded in 1955 to build broadcast prompting equipment — and became the everyday noun in the UK.
Yes. Autocue is the British English term and teleprompter is the American one, but they describe the same device: a screen that scrolls your script beside or in front of the camera lens so you can read while looking forward. Autocue is also a registered hardware brand founded in 1955, which is why the word is used both generically and as a company name.
Yes. There is no account, no email, no trial, and no paywall. Every feature on this page — scrolling, speed control, mirror mode, camera recording, and voice commands — is free to use in the browser.
No. This autocue runs entirely in the browser on Windows, macOS, ChromeOS, Android, and iPad. If you want offline use and direct video recording on Apple devices, the free Teleprompter-Scrolling Scripts app covers iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
Yes. Mirror mode flips the text horizontally or vertically so it reads correctly when reflected off beam-splitter glass. That makes a laptop, tablet, or monitor usable inside a standard home autocue rig.
Professional Autocue-branded studio prompters run from roughly $1,000 for a small on-camera unit to over $10,000 for conference and studio systems. A home autocue built from a beam-splitter frame plus a tablet running this browser autocue costs under $150.
Set the speed to match your natural speaking pace. Most prepared delivery lands between 120 and 150 words per minute, so start at 130 WPM and adjust after one read-through. Speed here is set in words per minute rather than unlabelled steps.
This browser autocue works on Android and iPad without an app. For iPhone, iPad, and Mac there is also a free native app that adds offline scripts, Camera mode with script overlay, and voice control.
Yes — this one. Voice control is on by default and free: say “play”, “pause”, “next”, “previous”, or “restart” and the script responds without you leaving frame or reaching for a keyboard. That matters most in a beam-splitter rig, where the screen sits behind glass and you cannot touch it mid-take. Voice control needs a microphone permission and an HTTPS connection, both of which this page already has.
For reading a script in a browser, look for four things: a scroll speed set in words per minute rather than vague numbered steps, mirror mode for beam-splitter glass, no cap on script length, and no account. Most free browser prompters give you one or two. This page gives you all four, plus voice control and in-browser recording. If you also need offline scripts and to record with the script overlaid on the camera, the free native app for iPhone, iPad, and Mac covers that.
Not for a browser autocue. In a studio, an operator rides the scroll speed so the text tracks a presenter who speeds up or slows down. Solo, you replace the operator two ways: set the speed in words per minute so it already matches your natural pace, and use voice commands to pause and resume when you go off script. That covers the operator’s job for everything short of live broadcast.
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The best free autocue apps for iPhone, iPad, Mac, and browser compared side by side. No hardware needed — pick the right one and start reading scripts today.
The free native app adds direct video recording with script overlay, offline use, and voice control — all without a browser. Free for iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
