Audiobooks are becoming popular amongst book lovers. It is an enjoyable experience to relax and listen to your favorite book while on the go. To enjoy reading with an audiobook, you need to choose a suitable audiobook app that is compatible with your device and can make reading a fulfilling venture.
In this article, we have pinpointed the best free audiobook app for your reading pleasure.
10 Best free audiobook apps
01. Audible
Audible is the best free audiobook app, powered by Amazon, and is one of the largest and most advanced audiobook platforms popular across the world. There is a wide selection of books on the platform, you can buy the ones made for the platform and even bring from other platforms. Many audiobook lovers have used the Audible app at one time in their audiobook journey, and this is because it has the nicest features to make your reading experience.
On Audible you can choose a preferred way of getting the books, either by buying audiobooks one by one or buying an entire Audible subscription. Buying subscriptions means that you can download and enjoy audiobooks any time you want without switching to a browser to complete your purchase. Purchases are budget-friendly from $17.99 upwards.
The in-app audio player offers premium-quality audio, with no interruptions, you can go forward or backward, as well as adjust the narration speed. You can download this device on your iOS device or Android device and start listening to your favorite audiobook even when you are offline.
02. Apple Books
On the Apple Book app, you can access millions of books in audio format which you can easily buy and read. This app however is available for iPhone and iPad users and only available in a few regions.Â
You can easily search for an audiobook, buy and then listen to it from the app. All recently listened audiobooks appear in your Reading Now section and you can easily access them to continue where you previously stopped. You can also add books to your wish list and buy them when you are ready.
You can sync your audiobooks and listen to them in the car while on the go. The Apple Books app can be downloaded from the App Store for all iOS users.
03. Google Play Books
On Google Play Books you can buy and listen to your favorite audiobooks, including eBooks, comics, manga, and textbooks. You can use the app on your Android or iOS device to read any book in audiobook format. Google has one of the largest ebook libraries, maybe not as large as Amazon Kindle, and you can easily purchase books and listen to them on the app. For dedicated users of Google services, the Google Play Book app is good.
Also, you can connect your audiobooks to your car from the app and listen while you are driving. In addition, audiobooks are synced so you can continue from other devices like your PC. The audiobooks are subscription-free and easily accessed, you can buy books one at a time instead of buying a whole subscription. All you need to do is connect via your Gmail credentials and enjoy your audiobooks from the Google Play Books app.
04. Libby
Libby is another cool audiobook app you can check out. Developed by OverDrive, the Libby audiobook service has about 20,000 participating public libraries. Libby allows you to borrow eBooks and audiobooks from multiple libraries and you can register more than one library card. After signing up, you can connect to these libraries, and then borrow audiobooks from there to read on the Libby app.
This shared digital library on Libby allows these libraries to loan titles for 7, 14, or 21 days to users. Then automatically return or renew if no one is waiting for the title. Users will have to place a request for a book and then wait in line. All the content borrowed from any library appears on the Libby shelf whether audiobook or eBook, and you can play or read them on the app.
You might have to wait a few days before you can successfully borrow popular books. But, with multiple library cards, you can place a request for new releases and bestsellers that have longer waiting periods, and one of your cards might be loaned the book.
You can read the audiobooks offline or stream online. The books offered by the public library might not be as expensive as other apps such as Audible, but the Libby app offers you a legal way to listen to audiobooks for free.
05. Kobo
Kobo is a popular eBook app, however, in 2017, they added audiobook format to the app. So Kobo is now a single app to read eBooks and audiobooks. You can purchase the books from the Kobo online store and read them directly on the app.
The audiobook feature on Kobo, although still undergoing changes but so far has proven effective when playing your audiobook. You can use the slider on the app to navigate through the book with just one tap. The audiobook player also displays information on the book you are listening to and how much time is left to finish it. You can also slow down or speed up the audio however you want.
06. Audiobooks.com
The Audiobook.com platform offers at least more than 100,000 audiobooks, and about 8000 can be downloaded for free. The app is based on subscription, but once you sign up the first book you get is free and you enjoy a 30-day free trial period. The subscription is a monthly fee of $14.95.
The app audio player allows you to adjust narration speed while reading or set a sleep timer. You can also access customer service within the app, you can chat with them and narrate whatever situation you have.
07. Scribd
The Scribd app is another subscription-based audiobook platform. However, you get a 30-day free trial. After which you pay a $8.99 monthly fee to gain unlimited access to different kinds of digital content; audiobooks included.
Aside from audiobooks, you can also find other digital content such as articles, newspapers, and eBooks. You can even get a featured article from The New York Times.Â
Once you get a subscription, you can listen to an unlimited number of audiobooks per month.
08. Amazon Kindle
Amazon Kindle is the most popular book-reading app supported by all devices. The app doesn’t offer an audiobook player feature as such, but it provides another exciting solution that gives the user the chance to listen to books. You can listen to books on the app, you can buy an eBook and add an audiobook feature to it and you have one book in two formats to access anytime you like.
Then use the Whisper sync Voice technology to switch between reading and listening to a book. The app saves your last-read location and syncs them across other devices between book versions and your devices.
With the Amazon Kindle app, you can read that book in eBook or audiobook format, you have the freedom to choose the format that suits your mood.
09. Libro.fm
Libro.fm audiobook app offers books that are DRM-free. That is, books here do not have digital rights management licenses. But this is because to gain access to the app, you need to pay a one-time subscription fee of $14.99 per month. Part of this payment goes to an independent bookstore which gives you one credit each month towards a title of your choice.
The audio listener control buttons are intuitive and accessible to help you enjoy your reading experience.
10. Spotify
Spotify, the popular music streaming platform, has entered the audiobook game. On Spotify, you can now listen to their favorite audiobook on the app. There are over 200,000 books in the app you can stream once you subscribe to Spotify
The audiobook platform is very interactive and gives good recommendations powered by its AI algorithm. The app interface is user-friendly and allows for listener control such as increased volume, speed ups, forward and backward, all aimed at giving readers a great reading experience.
As a Spotify Premium subscriber, you have access to 15 hours of audiobook listening time. In addition, you can buy individual titles from the Spotify Web Player store to stream or download to your app device for offline listening.
Final thoughts
Audiobook is here to stay, and more book lovers are tilting towards using the best audiobook apps for a wonderful reading experience.
