Listen Up! Discover the Best Audiobook App for Your Lifestyle

Audible is the largest and most recognizable audiobook subscription service today. Being part of Amazon’s more extensive network of companies, Audible members enjoy unique benefits and advantages.

With a standard Audible membership, you can choose one premium audiobook from their entire catalog every month. You can also pay a little bit more to access audiobooks.

You also enjoy unlimited audiobook borrowing with the Audible Plus catalog that features Audible Originals and Audible Studios productions.

Features

Here are Audible’s best features.

Downloadable Audiobooks

With the Audible app, you can download audiobooks and listen to them even offline. You see all your downloaded audiobooks in one easy-to-find library and play them when running or on a road trip with family or friends.

You can download your audiobooks on multiple devices and pick up where you left off via the Whisper Sync feature. Supported devices include Apple mobile devices, Android gadgets, Kindle devices, desktop PC, and many more.

Easy-to-use Listening Controls

On the Audible app and web player, you have an intuitive audio player that allows you to go through audiobooks relatively quickly.

The player lets you choose and listen to specific parts of any audiobook. You can adjust your reading speed with the playback speed adjuster on the Audible app.

Audible Original Titles

Audible has a set of fantastic original titles with many authors, thought leaders, and influencers, including Dennis E. Taylor, Grant Cardone, Michelle Obama, and Adam Grant.

Cons

Audible’s Audible Premium Plus plan only lets you download one audiobook monthly on its lower plan, which should be fine if you like taking your sweet time on book materials.

You’ll have to pay for more credits if you want more audiobooks.

Pricing

Here are Audible’s pricing plans.

• Audible Plus – $7.95 monthly
• Audible Premium Plus – $14.95 monthly

You can also pay for more credits with higher iterations of these base plans. Here are the options with more credits.

• Audible Premium Plus with 2 Credits – $22.95 monthly
• Audible Premium Plus Annual with 12 Credits – $149.50 annually
• Audible Premium Plus Annual with 24 Credits – $229.50 annually

Spotify is one of the most popular music streaming services. When you do a quick search, you should be able to find and listen to many audiobook titles.

This app has self-help audiobooks and audiobooks from other genres, like biographies, popular fiction, and science fiction.

Spotify lets you stream audiobooks for free if you don’t mind occasional ads.

Features

Here are Spotify’s features.

Easy-to-use streaming app

Using Spotify is easy. You can access their mobile app and enjoy various features, including an intuitive player, other audiobook recommendations, and a personal library for future reference.

If you go for their paid plan, you can also download audiobooks and other audio content for offline listening.

Free access

Spotify’s freemium model provides you with much audiobook content without having to part with your hard-earned money.

However, Spotify does insert ads between tracks. You can get rid of them by subscribing to a paid plan.

Free content

You get access to other free content, including music and podcasts.

Spotify is one of the most popular libraries for audio content. You will never run out of good listens when working out, smashing your to-do list, or chilling at home.

Cons

You get many ads on Spotify’s free plan, which can sometimes be disruptive. You’re also not able to download audiobooks for offline listening if you don’t have a paid plan.

Spotify doesn’t have an annual plan, so you can only do the monthly subscription fee.

Spotify isn’t an audiobook player, meaning its player’s functions will not be as extensive as other audiobook apps created for audiobook listening.

Pricing

Here are Spotify’s pricing plans.

• Individual – $9.99 monthly (1 account)
• Duo – $12.99 monthly (2 accounts)
• Family – $15.99 monthly (6 accounts)
• Student – $4.99 monthly (1 account for an eligible student)

One of the other top audiobook apps to check out is Kobo Books. It’s a marketplace by Rakuten that provides both ebooks and audiobooks to listeners.

You can get a book in audiobook format or an ebook if you want. There’s also the option to buy audiobooks one by one or subscribe to a fixed plan.

If you want some great titles, then Kobo is one of the best audiobook apps in the market. It also makes great suggestions based on your reading history.

Features

Here are Kobo’s features.

Per-listen Payment

If you don’t want to pay for a monthly subscription, you can choose Kobo instead and pay for audiobooks per download and listen to them. That way, you don’t pay for a service fixed every month.

Ereaders

Kobo has a selection of e-readers that can be great for listening to audiobooks and reading ebooks.

Some of their amazing readers include the Kobo Nia, Clara 2E, Libra 2, Sage, and Elipsa. These readers don’t have a backlight that harms the eyes, making the device great for reading without hurting your eyes for long periods.

Kobo’s players also have many listening tools and features, including a timeline scrubber bar, time skip buttons, chapter navigation, and playback speed configuration.

Kobo Super Points Loyalty Program

Kobo is one of the few audiobook apps with a loyalty program. You get rewarded with points when listening to audiobooks or reading ebooks in the Kobo app.

You can then use those points to access more ebooks and audiobooks.

Cons

You can save money by paying for Kobo’s fixed monthly subscriptions. However, their selection of audiobooks isn’t quite as extensive as their ebook repository.

Kobo has over 1.3 million titles in ebook format in its library but only about 100,000 audiobooks. So as an audiobook app, it’s pretty limited in terms of options.

Regarding their e-reader, Kobo’s devices don’t do anything besides give you access to your ebooks and audiobooks.

You’ll have to bring your e-reader and your mobile device when traveling. Some readers might find that e-readers can be too bulky for light traveling.

Pricing

Here are Kobo’s fixed pricing plans.

• Kobo Plus Read – $9.99 monthly
• Kobo Plus Listen – $9.99 monthly
• Kobo Plus Read and Listen – $12.99 monthly

Audiobooks is one of the best audiobook player options. It’s also one of the best audiobook apps for people who want pre-selected title suggestions.

It’s also among the handful of audiobook apps that offer several free audiobooks without needing a subscription. When you sign up for Audiobooks, you get access to over 10,000 free titles.

Features

Here are Audiobook’s features.

Audiobook Clubs

The Audiobook Clubs make it easy for audiobook listeners to select titles.

There are eight categories of audiobook clubs.

• “Best of” audiobook club
• Romance
• Mystery & Thriller
• Sci-Fi & Fantasy
• Health & Wellness
• Business & Economics
• Kids
• Religion & Spirituality

Great Selection of Bestsellers

While Audiobooks has a smaller collection than options like Audible, it has a high-quality collection of bestsellers and traditionally-published books.

No Membership Necessary

With Audiobooks, you can access thousands of DRM-free audiobooks and some VIP titles without a membership or subscription.

Cons

With Audiobooks, you can’t return or exchange titles, which most options on this list will allow.

If you join your Audiobook Club, it will use up your monthly credit. There will still be a limit on how many audiobooks you get monthly.

Pricing

Audiobooks has one pricing plan, which costs $14.95 monthly. With this app, you get two audiobooks instead of one every month.

Did you know that Google also has a Play Books store? It provides you with a wide selection of ebooks and audiobooks. They also have textbooks, comics, and more.

There’s no shortage of options with Google Play, making it one of the best audiobook apps for people who want variety. The digital media service lets you choose from over a million ebooks.

Features

Here are Google Play Books’ features.

DRM-Free Audiobooks

There are many DRM-free audiobooks in Google Play’s library, giving you access to many free ebooks and audiobooks.

Google Play App and Chrome Extension

You can listen to audiobooks or read ebooks through the easy-to-use app or Google Chrome extension. Other apps don’t have an extension, which sets Google Play Books apart.

The audiobook experience on their player is also quite intuitive.

Cons

Google Play Books app isn’t compatible with iOS devices. You can use the Google Chrome extension, but then you’ll only be able to listen to audiobooks on a Macbook.

Pricing

Google charges you per audiobook instead of a monthly cost. They don’t have a monthly plan if you want that option.