The best audiobook sites are worth considering if you're an avid reader but can't always have a book in hand everywhere you go.
While it's hard to beat the feeling of a paperback in your hands, physical books aren't always practical. You can't read a book while you drive your car to work or prepare dinner, and the shelf space needed to house them all can get out of hand quickly. There's also the expense. If you like to read a lot, the cost mounts up quickly, with new paperback releases often starting at around $10. Even if you buy second-hand, you come back to the problem of storage space.
Audiobooks, on the other hand, are much more convenient. You can download titles anytime you want, as long as you have Wi-Fi, and can listen to them almost anywhere. All you need is a phone or tablet with enough space to house your downloads - no shelves required.
Finding the time to sit down and read is something that so few of us manage to do. Audiobooks make consuming books easier than ever - while audiobook subscriptions and services often make doing so more affordable.
Soak up some Dickens in the bath, swoon over Jane Austen while doing the grocery shop, or even recoil at Harlan Coben on the school run (no one needs to know). Your luggage will also be especially grateful when you go on vacation, as you don't need to take up crucial flip-flop space with mountains of heavy books.
With so many audiobook sites available, it can be hard to know which is best. So, we've done the legwork for you. We've tried all the top audiobook sites and services and put together this list of our top picks. So, no matter what you're interested in reading (or, rather, having read to you), or whether you want a free service or a subscription, there is something on this list for you. Take a look at our picks below.
The best audiobook sites 2024
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Audible is unquestionably the biggest name in the audiobook space and our top pick for the best audiobook site. In addition to its giant library of more than 200,000 audiobooks and podcasts, which covers nearly every category you can imagine, Amazon's platform gives you access to hundreds of Audible Original titles you can’t find anywhere else.
Audible subscriptions work using "credits". Each month, you get one credit you can use to obtain an audiobook for free, regardless of its price. A US$14.95/£7.99/AU$16.45 per month plan gets you a single monthly credit, but you can upgrade to two credits per month. If you run out of credits or purchase a slightly cheaper “credit-free” subscription, your membership still grants you access to plenty of free titles and offers you heavy discounts on paid Audible titles.
The great thing about Audible is that if you don’t like an audiobook you’ve purchased, you can exchange it free of charge. Also, if you aren’t entirely sure Audible is the right service for you, you can cancel your subscription for free in the first 30 days. Audible books work on more or less any device, including products running iOS, OS X, Android, Windows, and Amazon Alexa.
Google Audiobooks may not be as established as Audible, but it's a worthy competitor. The key difference between Google Audiobooks and Audible is that the former isn't a subscription service. Instead, Google sells audiobooks individually, so you don't need to pay a monthly fee to access its affordable prices.
Our price comparison of a handful of best-seller titles showed that Google Audiobooks consistently prices audiobooks equal to or cheaper than a single credit monthly subscription with Audible. That means if you only listen to around a dozen titles a year, Google's offering will probably work out cheaper.
Its selection of titles is smaller than Audible’s, but there are still thousands of audiobook titles available through the Google Play store. As you'd expect, you can listen to audiobooks from Google on any Google OS device, such as Android and Chromecast products, but there’s also a Google Audiobook app for Apple products.
The best way to listen to a Google audiobook is through Google Home or a device that supports the Google Assistant tool because the service works with various voice commands that allow you to jump chapters or adjust playback speed without pressing a button.
If you want access to a library of books without spending a dime or signing up for a subscription service, LibriVox is probably the best audiobook site for you. Unlike the other audiobook services on this list, LibriVox lets you download and listen to audiobooks for free - no catch.
How is that possible? Well, LibriVox only offers public domain titles, typically based on novels or non-fiction works written decades ago, long enough for their copyright protection to have expired.
This means LibriVox has a smaller collection than its competitors, and its library mostly consists of older books, but if you want to listen to classics, you can't go wrong with this service.
Another unique thing about LibriVox is that some of its titles are read and recorded by volunteers who make community submissions from anywhere in the world. Plenty of LibriVox audiobooks are read out by celebrities or authors, too.
LibriVox isn't as convenient as Audible and Google Audiobooks, but you can download MP3s or stream recordings in your browser or use a handful of apps created by third-party developers to access the LibriVox library on your smartphone.
If you're looking for a more affordable service than Audible but with more modern choices than LibriVox, then it's worth considering Kobo.
Kobo is a Toronto-based company known for producing a slick range of e-readers. Just as Kobo’s physical devices rival Amazon in the ebook space, the Rakuten Kobo store is competing with Amazon’s Audible in the audiobook space.
Kobo's model is fairly similar to Amazon's - but more affordable. Its subscription costs US$9.99/£6.99/AU$12.99, a bit cheaper than Audible, depending on your region. As part of the subscription, you get one credit a month to purchase a paid audiobook, but there are plenty of included titles, too.
Again, like Audible, you can purchase standalone titles through the Kobo store, but buying Kobo titles without a membership is typically more affordable than Audible, but title availability depends on your region.
If you’re worried that the Kobo audiobook range might not be extensive enough for your tastes, you can always try it out for free, as subscriptions begin with a 30-day free trial period.
Downpour works like Kobo and Audible. It’s an audiobook subscription site that, for a membership fee, gives you a recurring monthly credit you can use to purchase almost any audiobook in the Downpour collection. According to Downpour’s own statistics, over 80% of its titles can be obtained with a single credit.
No matter where you are in the world, a Downpour subscription costs $12.99 per month, putting this service in the middle of Kobo and Audible in terms of pricing.
Downpour is brought to you by Blackstone Audio, one of the biggest independent audiobook publishers in the USA. Blackstone has around 30,000 titles in its back catalog, so Downpour members have an enormous selection of works to choose from, including the latest bestsellers.
The Downpour purchasing system is a bit more basic than other paid audiobook subscription services, however. While you can listen to audiobooks on mobile devices, you can only buy them through a desktop browser - making it less convenient than Audible if you want to buy and play titles on the go.
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