Books are an excellent escape from the daily grind of modern life. It’s becoming harder to find time to read a good book. Audiobooks offer a wonderful solution to this problem. They are the ideal format to enjoy a few chapters while on the go or working.
What’s the best way to find your next audiobook online? Amazon’s Audible site is the most well-known in the industry thanks to its huge advertising budget. There are many other places where audiobooks can be found.
We’ve compiled a list of the best audiobook websites. These services will allow you to access both classics as well as the most recent releases. All recordings are high-quality, and all audiobooks are read by engaging actors.
Here are the top audiobook websites at a glance
- Audible
- Google Audiobooks
- Librivox
- Kobo Audiobooks
- Downpour
(Image credit: Amazon)
1. Audible
Amazon’s platform is distinguished by its vast library
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There are many reasons to buy
+A huge selection of titles+Listen from any device+Unique Audible Originals
Avoidable reasons
-Relatively costly
Audible is the most well-known name in audiobook, with more than 200,000 titles. You’ll have access to hundreds more Audible Original titles through this platform than you would find on any other service.
You might have seen Audible ads on podcasts. It lives up to its marketing hype by offering simple subscription plans that offer something for every audiobook lover.
Credits are the currency used to subscribe to Audible. You can use each credit to get an audiobook at no cost, regardless of the price. A US$14.95/PS7.99/AU$16.45 per month plan will get you a single monthly credit, but you can upgrade to two credits per month as well. A membership can be used to get discounts on Audible titles if you run out credits or buy a less expensive subscription.
Audible’s great feature is that you can exchange any audiobook you have purchased for a refund. If you’re not sure Audible is right for you, you can cancel your subscription free of charge within the first 30 days. Audible books can be used on almost any device, including devices running iOS, Android, Windows and Amazon Alexa.
2. Google Audiobooks
You can purchase premium audiobooks without a subscription
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There are many reasons to buy
+ It doesn’t tie you into a subscription+ You can use your voice to control playback+ All the most recent bestsellers
Avoidable reasons
-No membership discounts
Although Google Audiobooks was launched in 2018, it isn’t quite as established as Audible. However, it is clearly built to succeed. Google Audiobooks’ key difference is the fact that audiobooks can be purchased individually and you don’t have to pay a monthly subscription to get access to affordable prices.
A few of the best-seller titles were compared in price and we found that Google Audiobooks prices audiobooks at a fraction of the cost of an Audible credit. Google Audiobooks will likely be cheaper if you listen to fewer than a dozen titles each year.
Although the selection is smaller than Audible, there are still many audiobooks available through Google Play. You can access audiobooks from Google on all Google OS devices, including Android and Chromecast, but you also have the option to download the Google Audiobook app for Apple devices.
Google Home, or any other device that supports Google Assistant, is the best way to listen and play a Google audiobook. Google Audiobooks can be used with voice commands to skip chapters and adjust playback speed.
(Image credit: Librivox)
3. Librivox
Public domain audiobooks are the best way to save money
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There are many reasons to buy
+Free to Use+Download in MP3 Format+Involved Open Source Community
Avoidable reasons
-Lacks many contemporary titles
LibriVox may be the best website for you if you don’t want your savings to go through monthly audiobook subscriptions. This website offers completely free audiobooks that you can download and listen too, unlike other audiobook services.
How is this possible? LibriVox offers only public domain titles. These titles are often based on novels and non-fiction works that were written decades ago. Their copyright protection has expired.
LibriVox’s unique feature is that many of its titles can be read and recorded by volunteers from all over the globe who submit community submissions. Many LibriVox audiobooks can be read by authors or celebrities.
LibriVox offers a limited selection, but it is a great place to listen and enjoy classic works. You can stream audio or download MP3s directly from your browser. You can also listen to the LibriVox library via your smartphone using a few apps developed by third-party developers.
(Image credit: Rakuten)
4. Kobo Audiobooks
An audiobook subscription that is more affordable
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There are many reasons to buy
+Save on audiobooks subscriptions+Brand-new works by big-name authors+Slick interface & apps
Avoidable reasons
Selection could be more
Kobo, a Toronto-based company, is known for its high-quality e-readers. The Kobo ebook devices compete with Amazon, and the Rakuten Kobo store rivals Amazon’s Audible for audiobooks.
You can also purchase standalone titles from the Kobo shop, just like both subscription platforms that we have already looked at. Kobo is usually more affordable than Audible when you buy without a membership. In some cases, however, you may not be able get new titles in every country. The latest Malcolm Gladwell book, Talking to Strangers, is a great example of this. This title is currently unavailable on Kobo UK, but it costs US$26.98/AU$14.99 respectively in Australia and the USA at the time of writing. Meanwhile, it’s available in all regions with Audible at US$41.88/PS31.99/AU$48.62.
But the real advantage of Kobo is its affordable subscription pricing model which costs US$9.99/PS6.99/AU$12.99. Depending on where you live, it’s about a third less expensive than Audible. The subscription service offered by Kobo works in a similar way to Audible, offering a universal credit that allows you to listen to one audiobook each month.
You can always test this service free of charge if you are concerned that the Kobo audiobook selection might not be sufficient for you. You get a 30-day trial of Kobo audiobooks.
5. Downpour
One of the largest publishers in audiobooks
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There are many reasons to buy
+Membership gives you access to nearly all audiobooks+Easy-to-use catalog+Retain audiobooks after cancellation
Avoidable reasons
-Cannot purchase in-app
Downpour functions in the same way as Audible and Kobo. It is an audiobook subscription site. For a fee, you can purchase any Downpour audiobook. Downpour’s own statistics show that you can get over 97% of the titles with just one credit.
A Downpour subscription costs US$12.99/month, regardless of where you live in the world. This puts Downpour in the middle of Audible and Kobo in terms of pricing.
Blackstone Audio is the publisher of Downpour, which is the largest independent audiobook publisher in the USA. Blackstone holds over 30,000 titles, so Downpour members can choose from a wide range of works.
Downpour’s purchasing system is slightly more simple than other audiobook subscription services. You can download Downpour audiobooks to your mobile device, but you cannot purchase them through a desktop browser.
