5 Best Cheapest Audiobook Apps like Audible

Listening to audiobooks is a great way to cultivate a regular reading habit, especially if you are short on time. Numerous apps and services offer access to a wide selection of audiobooks.

Each one has its own set of benefits and drawbacks. Choosing the best one for your needs can be daunting and time-consuming. One of the most important considerations is pricing.

While popular services like Audible offer the best audiobook variety and quality, the high single-credit subscription costs can put you off. Fortunately, there are cheaper apps similar to Audible available. This article explores some of the best and most affordable audiobook apps.

1. Everand

Everand is a digital content subscription platform operated by Scribd Inc. It offers millions of audiobooks, podcasts, eBooks, newspapers, and magazines.

While Everand is not as popular or large as Audible, it comes close in terms of value for money. You can download Everand as an app or use it on your browser.

The platform's impressive catalog includes titles from authors like George R.R. Martin, John Grisham, and Lena Dunham.

Pricing

Everand has a free 30-day trial option, where you can access thousands of audiobooks from their library. The monthly cost is $9.99 and you can access all the content on the platform for that price. It was the first subscription app to provide unlimited access to its library.

Reasons to Get

This platform gives you the option to stream audiobooks on the go or download to listen offline. You can also use Everand across multiple devices. Other notable features include a sleep timer, which allows you to set a time for an audiobook to stop playing.

Reasons to Avoid

One notable disadvantage of Everand is that you don't keep the content when you cancel the subscription. While it's significantly cheaper than Audible, it's also the costliest option on this list.

2. Librivox

LibriVox is kind of a hidden gem and stands out as the cheapest audiobook service in this list. It is an excellent audiobook download and streaming platform with thousands of titles across many categories.

These include non-fiction, fiction, motivational, and educational. If you prefer reading classical works, this is one of the best free platforms to do so.

You can listen to this amazing library without paying a single cent. Yes, LibriVox is completely free. All the audiobooks on the platform are in the public domain (copyright has expired). This is possible since a group of volunteers worldwide record, catalog, and upload the audiobooks.

The catalog includes works from authors like Arthur Conan Doyle, Mark Twain, and Charles Dickens.

Pricing Free

Reasons to Get

You can use LibriVox on your smartphone or computer. The platform also enables you to volunteer to read public domain books to contribute to the service. LibriVox also features sample reading and summary for each entry in its library. This way you can easily peruse the platform to find your next listen.

Reasons to Avoid

While LibriVox has an incredible value proposition, it does have its own share of cons. Most importantly, the service has a significantly smaller selection of audiobooks in its library compared to other platforms.

Fortunately, volunteers are constantly publishing new works on the platform. In addition, since non-professional narrators record the audiobooks, the quality can be low at times.

3. Hoopla

Hoopla is a free app that allows you to connect your local library account to the platform. This enables you to borrow and download anywhere between 10 and 20 audiobook titles a month. Note that the number of works you can borrow depends on your local library.

You can borrow books instantly, eliminating the need to place holds and wait, as is the case for similar platforms like Overdrive. The app allows you to keep the audiobooks for three weeks.

The Hoopla service also includes eBooks, comics, movies, TV shows, and music albums.

Pricing Free

Reasons to Get

You can also stream audiobooks and other content from your computer. Hoopla features a well organized and user-friendly interface. Its audiobook selection is wide with hundreds of thousands of titles available.

Further, Hoopla updates its audiobook catalog regularly, so you will have no shortage of work to get into. Another great aspect of the platform is that they do not charge you late fines or fees.

Reasons to Avoid

However, Hoopla does have some downsides. The app only allows you to borrow and download a limited number of titles every month. If you do not read an audiobook, it still counts as one of your uses.

4. Blinkist

Blinkist is an excellent and affordable audiobook service if you are into non-fiction works. This is a book summary subscription platform that offers access to condensed audiobooks. The service also includes summarized podcasts (short casts). Blinkist boasts an impressive library of thousands of audiobooks, with new titles added every day. The catalog is divided into a wide variety of categories, including but not limited to:

• Career and success
• Health and nutrition
• Personal development
• Philosophy and sociology
• Motivation and inspiration
• Management and leadership

Pricing

Blinkist offers a free 7-day trial period if you want to try it out at no cost. The service offers monthly and annual Premium subscriptions. By subscribing, you get access to thousands of audio blinks and podcast summaries, including discounts on full-length audiobooks.

The premium monthly and annual plans are $7.50 and $89, respectively. Currently, you can get significant discounts on the annual Blinkist subscription plan. In some cases, the yearly plan offers more value for money.

Reasons to Get

What makes Blinkist stand out is that the service summarizes the main points in the non-fiction works. The audiobooks (Blinks) are in a brief audio format- typically 10 to 15 minutes long- that helps you save time.

Experts curate the titles by cutting all the unnecessary information to allow you to focus on a title's key ideas. Blinkist is a great option if you seek to learn and self-develop on the go.

You can download the app on Android or iOS. The platform has an intuitive user interface with audiobook summaries that highlight a title's key points.

Cons

The main disadvantage of Blinkist is that the service's library does not include fictional titles. In addition, audiobook summaries are not the same as reading the entire title. If you want to gain in-depth knowledge, you have to pay for full-title access.

5. Libby

Libby is a free app that OverDrive provides to connect you to your local library. This service enables you to access your library's complete selection of audiobooks and eBooks. All you need is your local library card.

Some libraries will allow you to sign up for a card through the app. The platform works with any public libraries that use OverDrive. Fortunately, this includes up to 90% of public libraries. If your local library is not included, you can simply sign up using a different zip code.

Libby allows you to borrow audiobooks for a period of 21 days. You can request extensions if time runs out before you complete the books. The services boast a great selection of classic and popular works in high quality.

Pricing Free

Reasons to Get

The app has a visually appealing and user-friendly interface that enables you to find your favorite titles quickly. You can stream or download audiobooks to read offline. The app has a feature that allows you to see the titles that are available and those that are on hold. You can put up to 10 titles on reservations at a time.

The app indicates the estimated hold time and your place in the waiting queue. Another neat feature that Libby provides is a progress bar that indicates your progress with an audiobook. Other notable things you can do on the app include adding bookmarks, placing sleep timers, and syncing with your other devices.

Drawbacks

The notable con to using Libby is that the audiobook library is limited to your local library's database. As such, you may have to wait for your library to catalog certain books to access them. This can take weeks or months or never happen at all. The app also has a time limit to finish listening to the audiobooks. Typically, most libraries allow you about three weeks. The period may be less for highly popular books.

Fortunately, you can request to extend your time in some cases. In addition, if you love listening to your audiobooks on a computer, Libby has no desktop capabilities.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I purchase books on audiobook apps without a subscription?

Yes. The above audiobook services allow you to buy titles without a subscription. There are regular discounts and seasonal sales on select titles.

Is there a difference between streaming and downloading an audiobook?

Streaming allows you to listen to audiobooks without taking up space on your device. Downloading is viable for offline listening, especially if you're going somewhere with a poor internet connection.

Why do some books have hold lists?

Your local library has to purchase every copy of each title available on their database. If users check out all copies of a title, you have to place a hold.

Helpful Tool to Transfer Audiobooks and Other Files

Once you zero in on a platform that suits your needs, you may need a file transfer tool and device management solution. If you are an avid audiobook listener, chances are you will be downloading and handling numerous audio files.

AirDroid Personal is one of the best device management suites. Our service helps you transfer files between your devices (smartphone, tablet, and desktop) and across platforms (Android, Windows, iOS, and MacOS) in their original quality. If you seek a comprehensive all-in-one solution to simplify your file management efforts, AirDroid is your go-to vendor.

Conclusion

Hopefully, this article can help you make an informed decision on the best audiobook app for you. There are many other excellent and affordable platforms for streaming and downloading audiobooks. The good news is that most of these offer free trial options, so you can try the services out before spending any money.