Best Audiobook Services
Audiobooks provide you with a convenient way to fit more books into your busy life as you can listen to them on your commute, while you’re lounging around on vacation, or while you’re completing boring tasks around your house. These books are very easy ways to cultivate a consistent reading habit.
To listen to audiobooks all you need is a subscription to an audiobook platform that will give you access to the best audiobooks out there. There are a lot of audiobook services available today so you need a guide in order to make the right choice. Here’s a list of best audiobook platforms you can rely on for the best .services.
Audible
Audible is one of the leading audiobook services with a library that contains over 200,000 different book titles in every category you can. The service is a subsidiary of Amazon which explains its sheer size. When it comes to audiobooks, Audible offers you a lot of options and features. You can either buy, stream, or rent audiobooks. The platform also offers the option to download your preferred audiobooks so that you can listen to them offline. This platform gives you two Audible Originals every month as a bonus and every member gets 30% off all audiobooks. All Audible books are yours to keep even if you decide to cancel your membership. Audible has a live sync feature that tracks progress. That means that the next time you resume listening to your book, you would just have to press “Play” and resume listening from where you left off. Another very good thing about this platform is that you can return and exchange any audiobook if you didn’t like. Just try this platform and see how good it is.
Blinkist
Blinkest is unique for having a library that consists of only non-fiction titles. If you want to focus on self-development and learning then this is a good choice for you. Another thing that makes Blinkist unique is that the content of each audiobook is condensed into bite-sized chunks, leaving only the most important things. This platform offers a 7-day free trial for anyone who wants to try the platform. Its Premium plan includes unlimited access to over 5,000 non-fiction titles that can be downloaded for offline learning. Most audiobooks end up being just 20 minutes long so if you don’t have a lot of time on your hands, then this is a good option. The platform has thousands of non-fiction books on a variety of topics from parenting, wildlife, and economics to health, relationships, and psychology. It is also very affordable with an annual plan costs $89,99 per year or $7,49 per month. This is a platform you should go for.
Scribd
Scribd is another very good audiobook platform that can give you the best satisfaction you desire. Though this platform may not be as popular as Audible but it certainly gives Audible a run for its money. When Scribd was first launched, its initial focus was on e-books. However, today Scribd users get access not only to thousands of e-books, but also to audiobooks, magazines, and sheet music. You can use Scribd on your browser or download an app and use it on your mobile device. Scribd gives its users an option to download audiobooks for offline listening and streaming when on the go.
Audiobooks.com
Audiobooks.com is another very good audiobook subscription services. It was launched back in 2011 with features that are similar to Audible in many ways. It also has its own advantages and unique features. The service can be used through a web browser or mobile app on a number of devices. Audiobooks.com has a very extensive library, almost as big as Audible. Just like Audible and Scribd, Audiobooks.com comes with a free 30-day trial. If you decide to sign up for a trial, you will get one free audiobook plus one audiobook from the VIP section as a bonus. You also get one audiobook from the Audiobooks.com curated VIP section every month at no extra cost. Audiobooks.com gives its members access to a podcast section that features over 70,000 podcasts. You get to keep all the audiobooks you purchased even if you cancel your subscription. Every audiobook comes with a 3-minute preview that you can listen to before you purchase it.
LibriVox
LibriVox is another great audiobook streaming and download platform that comes with hundreds of audiobooks across many categories including fiction, non-fiction, educational, and motivational. LibriVox is the only service on this list that will let you listen to an amazing collection of books without forking out a single cent. All audiobooks on LibriVox are in the public domain. These books are read by volunteers which makes them completely free. You can listen to LibriVox audiobooks on your computer, iPod, or mobile devices. If you fancy classics, then LibriVox should be one of your primary destinations. LibriVox also gives you the opportunity to volunteer through reading public domain books so other people can listen. A great way to give back.
Kobo
The Kobo app is a free app from a Canadian company that allows you to read books from a collection of more than 5 million titles for a paid subscription fee. On this platform you can borrow library books for free through Overdrive. It is integrated with Pocket, enabling you to read longer articles you saved in your account while you were using your desktop computer. The App offers your first audiobook for free and you have access to millions of audiobooks and eBooks right away. The app also provides custom recommendations based on the books you have read.
Hoopla
Hoopla is a free app that connects to your local library account, allowing you to instantly borrow somewhere between 10 and 20 titles a month, depending on your library. This app also includes audiobooks, but also eBooks, music albums, comics, TV shows and movies. You can borrow titles from your library instantly, instead of having to place holds and wait for weeks or months as you do in similar apps such as Overdrive. You can use the app on your phone or borrow and stream a movie or audiobook from the browser of your laptop. The catalog in the app is easy to use and well-organized. You can keep audiobooks for three weeks, and movies for approximately three days. The app offers a wide selection, with more than 500,000 titles available, and titles change fairly regularly to update the selection. You can download an audiobook or other title to avoid streaming or using data. The app is totally free, and there are no late fees or fines.
Google Audiobooks
Google’s audiobooks are priced individually, ranging from approximately $1.99 to $40 each, offering listeners the opportunity to own books from their extensive catalog through the Google Play Books app. You can use the timer feature to automatically stop the book after a certain amount of time, which is helpful if you are listening at night and do not want to lose your place if you fall asleep. You can increase the speed of the narrator’s voice if you feel that he or she is reading too slowly. You can keep a book forever when you purchase it. Your progress is synchronized across all of your devices. It does not require a monthly subscription fee. You do not necessarily have to download any app—you can listen solely through your browser.
Downpour
With Downpour, users can purchase or rent individual titles or pay for a subscription. You can save titles you would like to listen to in a wishlist. You can adjust the speed of the narration. It has a sleep timer setting so that you can set it to stop at a certain time. You can rent titles as cheaply as $1.99, and they do not use up your monthly credit allowance if you have a subscription. Rentals are good for a month or two months, and you can rent for even longer if you pay a bit extra. You can purchase additional credits each month. Downpour credits last for a year, which means that if you go a few months without using any, you can save them up. You can use Downpour through the app or in the browser on your computer. There are 22 genre categories and hundreds of subcategories, which make it easier to find exactly the type of audiobook you are searching for. You can read through reviews of the title right in the app. The customer support team responds quickly and helpfully.
Libby
Libby is another very good platform used by millions of library patrons all over the world to enjoy ebooks & audiobooks from their public libraries. Libby is Overdrive’s library reading app available for iOS, Android, and Amazon as well as on the web. Over 45,000 libraries support OverDrive, a service that makes it easy to check out audiobooks and ebooks for free, right from your smartphone or tablet. All you need is your library card and a library in your community that supports the service.
Libby is completely free as long as you have a library card for whichever library (or libraries) you want to use. Yes, your selection may vary by library, but Overdrive’s website does a great job of showing you other locations where you’ll be able to find a book you might want to read (or listen to). This platform offers the opportunity to read ebooks and listen to audiobooks offline, and you can pick up where you left off no matter how you’re listening to your content.
Spotify
Spotify has an audiobook feature that is also reliable. Spotify has had audiobooks available for purchase on its platform for about a year, but the service recently rolled out a feature that allows Premium users 15 hours of free listening time per month with access to more than 200,000 titles. Once you hit that limit, you’re cut off unless you purchase the book or a 10-hour top-up (note that hours don’t roll over month to month).
