Alternative

Best Audible Alternatives – Free and Paid

Times are changing. People are slowly drifting away from the paperback versions of books to a more eco-friendly alternative called audiobooks. And, a platform that has been ruling this space is Audible. But, its pricing and lack of certain features are making audiobook listeners look for Audible alternatives. No! We neither hate physical books nor Audible, but in this day and age, it is a boon to have alternatives, isn’t it?

Let’s have a look at some of the audiobook alternatives to audible. In this blog, we shall even look at apps like audible that are free and we shall even look at free alternatives to Audible that you can access online (without an app).

Also Read: Best Audiobooks For Android

Best Audiobook Alternatives To Audible 2021

1.   Scribd – Is This The Next Netflix For Audiobooks?

Often touted as Netflix for books, Scribd is an affordable alternative to Audible. It has a decent interface and allows you to adjust the narration speed to a pace that you can understand or concentrate upon. It offers a large number of audiobooks, one million titles to be precise.

Price: 30 days free trial and US$ 9.99/month after that

Pros

One of the best user interfaces

With a paid subscription, you can read an unlimited amount of books

Customize narration speed functionality

You can set a sleep timer

Offers latest and bestselling titles

Cons

Users have reported that despite paying for a subscription they were restricted to some titles

Visit Scribd

2.   Audiobooksnow –  A Cheap Audiobook Alternative To Audible

Audiobooksnow is one of the best audiobook alternatives to Audible. It is one of the cheapest and affordable alternatives to audible. It offers more than 120000 titles spanning between fiction and non-fiction genres. Even at a cost much less than Audible, it holds no straps on customization of the interface.

Price: 30-day free trial after that US$ 4.99 + You get 50% off on your first audiobook

Pros

80000 titles inclusive of bestselling and classic titles from some of the legendary authors

Available as a website and on smartphone and computer

Download audiobooks offline

Set a timer when you need

Cons

Some audiobooks protected by DRM can’t be downloaded offline

Website, Android/ iOS/ Kindle

3.   Rakuten Kobo Audiobooks

Rakuten Kobo makes its way to the list of one of the best apps like audible. It has a huge collection of not just audiobooks but eBooks as well. It offers over 94000 audiobooks and 599000 eBooks across several genres.

Price: 30-day free trial and after that US$ 9.99

Pros

Facility to adjust the listening speed

Set sleep timer

Keep ebooks and audiobooks in one place

Your collection of audiobooks stays with you even if you choose to cancel your subscription

Multilingual support

Cons

Search functionality could have been better

Visit Rakuten Kobo for Audiobooks

4.   OverDrive – Free For Members

For someone like me who wants to quench the thirst for listening to audiobooks, OverDrive is a great audiobook alternative to Audible. The best part is that if you are a student or someone who has already subscribed to OverDrive, audiobooks are free for you.

Pros

You get access to over 30000 libraries

Consist of the companion app Libby (for everyone) and Sora (for students) which user friendly and flexible

You get to listen to the latest releases and best sellers

Easily create a Wishlist of books you like

Cons

You may have to wait for popular books because there might be certain books you like and which might not be available in your library

Visit OverDrive For More

5.   Spotify

The list of apps like Audible will remain incomplete without Spotify. Most of us know Spotify as a well-known music streaming service and you probably have been using it to listen to music or podcasts to the maximum. But, did you know Spotify also has a great collection of some of the best audiobooks?  Let’s put it this way, if you are someone who’s both an avid music lover and reader, Spotify is the right choice for you.

Price: 30 days trial and after that US$ 9.99 per month

Pros

Download audiobooks offline

Decent library containing some great audiobooks

High customizability

Great audio quality

Available as a website and on smartphone and computer

Cons

Takes a hit on a variety of available genres

Get Spotify

6.   Hoopla – An Audiobook Alternative With A Decent Collection

Quite like OverDrive, if your library offers you an option like Hoopla, you can easily stream not audiobooks but also videos, music and even read eBooks

Price: Free if you have a Hoopla library card

Pros

Download audiobooks offline

Select from over 50000 titles

Easy filtering by release date, use rating, date added, language

Select to listen to titles apt for children only

Cons

You need to finish titles within a limited timeframe or else they’ll expire

Visit Hoopla

7.   Loyal Books – A Decent Free App Like Audible

Loyal Books is one of the free apps similar to audible. Although you might be a little disappointed with a limited number of audiobooks, the collection isn’t that small that it won’t quench your desire to listen to audiobooks.

Price: Free

Pros

Adjust playback speed as per your need

Add a sleep timer

Option available for downloading books

Available for both Android and iOS

Cons

The collection of audiobooks is less as compared to many of its counterparts

Download on iOS and Android

8.   Project Gutenberg – One of The Best Free Alternatives To Audible

Project Gutenberg is a free alternative to Audible that you can access anywhere, provided you have an internet connection. It is one of the oldest digital libraries online dating back to 1971. It houses audiobooks recorded by both volunteers as well as computers.

Price: Free

Pros

Free of cost

Over 60000 free ebooks are available as downloadable mp3 files

Consists of various popular titles in both fiction and non-fiction genre

Search audiobooks by title, author, type, subject, language, and more

Cons

Sometimes you might find your favorite e-book being read mechanically by a computer

Visit Project Gutenberg

9.   LibriVox

In quest of a free alternative to audible? LibriVox can be a great option worth checking out. And, despite being free, it offers a great library of audiobooks. You will be able to listen to some of the classics – novels, biographies, short stories, history, and poetry.

Pros

It has a collection of over 50000 audiobooks

Available in more than 30 Languages

Several genres available

Search collection by author, title, and even narrator

Cons

Not as premium as audible as far as audio quality is concerned

iOS, Android, website

10.  eStories

Looking for other apps like Audible? Have a strong penchant for stories? eStories is an Audible alternative you can consider. And, not just fiction, its 120000 long library contains some of the best non-fiction audiobooks as well.

Price: Free 30 day trial after that US$ 11.99 per month

Pros

DRM independent platform, you can download and play audiobooks anywhere on any media player

The library is constantly updated with new books

Contains more than 120000 titles across several fiction and non-fiction genres

Cons

The UI experience could have been better

Download on Android, iOS

Wrapping Up:

Do give these audiobooks alternatives for Audible a spin and let us know which of the above paid or free alternatives would you opt for. For more such tech content, keep reading Tweak Library, till then happy listening! 

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