Alternative to NVDA
A voice-first companion to NVDA — built for blind users by a blind founder.
NVDA reads your screen. Darvy uses it. Keep NVDA for what it's great at; add Darvy for everything that's faster by voice.
Why a voice agent, not another screen reader
Screen readers describe the interface so you can navigate it with the keyboard. That works — and after years of practice it can be fast. But the cognitive cost of memorizing app-specific shortcuts and waiting through linear announcements adds up. For multi-step tasks, an AI agent that just does the work is dramatically faster.
Darvy isn't trying to replace the precise control NVDA gives you. It's a second mode: when you'd rather speak the goal and let software handle the steps, Darvy is the tool. When you need fine-grained NVDA control, NVDA stays.
NVDA + Darvy, side by side
| Task | NVDA alone | Darvy |
|---|---|---|
| Check unread email | Open Gmail / Outlook → Insert+Down through messages → manually summarize headers | "Check my email" → Darvy reads back the top 3 unread with sender and one-line summary |
| Reply to a specific message | Navigate to message → Tab to reply → compose → screen-read your own draft to confirm | "Reply to the one from Sarah saying I'll be there at 4" → Darvy drafts, reads it back, sends on confirm |
| Write into a Google Doc | Switch to Docs → place cursor → type → confirm with the screen reader | "Create a doc called Project Plan with these three sections..." → Darvy creates it and writes the content |
| Get the gist of a webpage | Insert+F7 → arrow through landmarks → headings list → maybe miss the main content | "Summarize this page" → Darvy pulls the article body and reads a short summary |
| System control (volume, brightness, wifi) | Settings app → tab through panels → reach the toggle | "Volume to 30 percent" → done |
| Read a PDF you just downloaded | Open the PDF → hope it's tagged → manually navigate | "Read me the PDF I just downloaded" → Darvy finds it and reads it back |
Designed to coexist with NVDA
- Darvy and NVDA run at the same time. They don't fight for focus.
- Darvy speaks through its own voice (ElevenLabs) so it's instantly distinguishable from NVDA's voice.
- The push-to-talk key is Alt by default. NVDA's Insert/CapsLock keys are untouched.
- Darvy uses its own Chrome profile — your NVDA-tuned browser state stays clean.
Where NVDA is still better
Darvy is honest about the tradeoffs. Use NVDA when:
- You're navigating a complex app (developer tools, accounting software) where you need exact control over what's focused.
- You're proofreading character-by-character — line-by-line spelling review is what screen readers do best.
- You're somewhere a voice assistant isn't appropriate (a meeting, a library, on public transit).
- You're offline — Darvy needs an internet connection; NVDA doesn't.
The best workflow for most blind users is both: NVDA running quietly for line-level control, Darvy for everything that's faster spoken.
Built by a blind founder
Darvy is built by Majd — who lost most of his vision over 5 years and got tired of how cognitively expensive screen readers were for routine tasks. He couldn't find a voice agent that did the job, so he built one using AI to write the code. He's the daily user; every bug he hits gets fixed the same week.
Try Darvy alongside your NVDA setup
3-day free trial, no commitment beyond a card on file. Keep NVDA running; install Darvy; try one task with each and see which is faster. Cancel any time before day 4 and the card never gets charged.