Audible is a beautiful website to hear podcasts and hear audiobooks, and it comes with a premium subscription. Today we will be sharing the top 10 Audible alternatives that come for free of cost.
Books have been an integral part of our community, and we have been following and reading its virtues since ancient times. Apparently, in the modern era, these have been replaced by ebooks, an electronic medium through which the books can be read. While we know that there is nothing called permanent, and this goes with technology, audiobooks are now taking place in the market.
Nowadays, it is easier to listen to audiobooks than reading them; of course, book lovers will always love reading, but people like us want to hear it after a stressful day. The best part of audiobooks is that you can listen to them while doing activities such as jogging, running, exercising, and even cooking; this saves your time and lets you multitask.
Audible is a company that deals in such types of things and is a subsidiary of Amazon Inc. The company has become famous throughout the world as it provides a wide range of audiobooks for learning, understanding, researching, entertaining, etc.
Audible being one of the largest audiobook producers and retailer, comes with a monthly subscription, and many of us cannot afford it. Hence, we have selected the ten best free audible alternatives for you.
The 5 Best Free Audible Alternatives In 2021
We all are familiar with how good Audible is and the services provided by them. However, this doesn’t change the fact that they are charging a nominal amount for their services, and we cannot afford it; moreover, if something is available for free, then why pay? Without wasting our time, let us check out the best audible alternatives below.
1. Overdrive
Overdrive is one of the closest audible alternatives that are available in the market. The service comes free of cost; however, you must acquire a local library card. If you already have a library card, then you can avail of the services efficiently.
Overdrive lets you borrow various types of books from more than 30,000 libraries available on their website. You can rent individual textbooks for a particular amount that you pay to your local library. The only difference is that you will be able to hear it rather than reading it.
There are more than two million audiobooks listed on the Overdrive application. You can avail of these if you have an Android smartphone or an iOS-based device. Overdrive is also available for Windows 10.
2. Librivox
Another excellent audible alternative available in the market is Livribox that provides audiobooks for its listeners worldwide. In Livribox, you can volunteer to record audiobooks for the public domain, isn’t t unique?
Librivox comes in different languages and has a massive collection of audiobooks from regional to technical. Hence, the search for local languages audiobooks ends here for you.
You can get Librivox without paying for any subscription or rent. The only drawback of this beautiful service is that you won’t get any application for Android or iOS. Librivox can only be streamed online through the website.
3. Libby
Libby is one of the services similar to Overdrive that lets you explore audiobooks in a wide range. Libby has a better user interface and has customization options for better navigation.
You can also arent books using your local library card, just like Overdrive. Libby also offers you to download the audiobooks and listen to them later; it also lets you synchronize the audiobook listening position so that you can resume it on another device.
4. Spotify
One of the most popular music streaming and downloading service. Spotify has a massive collection of music worldwide; it also supports live podcasts, audiobooks, etc.
Spotify comes for both free and paid; the paid version lets you download audio files at the highest quality. However, you can listen to audiobooks for free but cannot download them on the free subscription.
The audio quality in the free subscription is non-comparable to any other audio streaming services. Spotify has a transparent navigational system that is well organized and lets you create a playlist and share it with others.
5. Hoopla
Hoopla is available for free, and most of their services offered can be availed without any issue. However, we cannot mention it to be a complete Audible alternative. Hoopla is similar to Overdrive; that lets you borrow and rent books from various libraries available.
The user interface is similar to Audible and well organized; you should not expect many features of it. Although, you will experience it much better if you haven’t used Audible earlier.
Top 4 Affordable Audible Alternatives In 2021
The free versions of Audible alternatives might not meet your expectations, but some good and affordable ones might soothe your pocket. Check out the five affordable Audible options below:
1. AudioBooksNow
AudioBooksNow offers more than 120,000 audiobooks, and more are getting added every day. The user interface in this application is customizable, and features like setting the timer, listening speed can be fixed.
The services and offers are top-rated in AudioBooksNow compared to Audible. They offer new books every month at a 50% discount, and the subscription is just $4.99 per month. The app is available on Windows, iOS, and Android.
2. StoryTel
StoryTel is one of the services that best suit Indian users. There are many regional languages support such a Hindi, Bengali, Urdu, Marathi, etc.
One of the best Audible alternatives with a clean user interface and the things are well organized for a better user experience.
Furthermore, StoryTel also lets you recommend the books you listen to with others through social media platforms.
2. Scribd
Scribd is a service that provides both text and audiobooks. One of the better options to choose from over Audible is over a million audiobooks available to explore for free.
Scribd is a lot similar to Audible and offers a one-month free trial, and the subscription costs $9.99 per month.
3. Estories
Estories is an application for Android and iOS-based devices that offers more than 120,000 books from various genres, languages, categories, etc.
The subscription for Estories is higher than Audible, but it is worth the penny. There are three types of subscription: basic, plus, and premium that starts at $11.99 per month.
4. DownPour
One of the most popular book reading service providers with over 80,000 audiobooks available worldwide. DownPour has an application that offers you customizations option such as: adjusting the narration speed, creating a wishlist, etc. You can also make a quick note while listening to an audiobook.
The subscription cost of DownPour is $12.99 per month.
Final Thoughts
Audible is non-comparable to any other alternative services that are available in the market. You can get Audible for 30 days trial and pay $14.95 per month while it is just ₹199 per month after a 30-day trial for Indian users (you can subscribe to Indian Audible using a VPN). We would suggest you check out the free audible alternatives or use Audible’s free trial before subscribing.