9 Alternatives to Audible: Free & Paid Options
Alternatives to Audible – Get Your Audiobooks Elsewhere!
Audible is easily the most recognizable audiobook service, but since it’s a part of Amazon, many readers would rather support other businesses instead. Thankfully, there are plenty of options to find audiobooks elsewhere!
I created this list of alternatives to Audible to help you find audiobooks in other ways!
I’ve included both paid subscriptions, similar to Audible, and options for finding audiobooks for free! I personally use a mix of these alternatives to Audible depending on which title I’m looking for and how long I’m willing to wait.
If you’re a romance reader, I also shared a list of my favorite romance audiobooks to get you started!
*Disclosure – I earn a small commission if you purchase books from some of the links below at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting this book blog!
Quick Recs: If You’re Short on Time, My Top 3 Alternatives to Audible
- Libro.fm – Same price / style as Audible but supports indie bookstore
- Chirp – Varying selection of audiobooks at prices less than $5
- Libby – A library lovers dream for free audiobooks
Alternatives to Audible: Paid Options
My number one suggestion as an alternative to Audible is Libro.fm. This company is similar to Audible in every way, EXCEPT they support indie bookstores!! Rather than giving your money to a large corporation, you can hand pick which bookstore will receive a portion of your purchase.
They offer individual audiobooks as well as a monthly subscription, so you can choose whichever makes the most sense for your reading habits. Get 2 months for the price of one Here with code: CHOOSEINDIE ! Subscription Cost: $15 / month
If you’d rather pick and choose audiobook than lock into a subscription, Chirp is a great option! Their Featured Deals page includes a constantly changing selection of books from $.99 to $3.99!! Just recently I found The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang, Call The Midwife by Jennifer Worth, and Girl, Forgotten by Karin Slaughter for those prices!
In addition to the Featured Deals, you can find almost any audiobook on the rest of their site. Some of reasonably discounted and some offered at regular prices. | Chirp Audiobooks
A unique subscription that gives you virtually unlimited access to audiobooks and eBooks! Scribd has an ever changing collection of books so you always have new options to read each month. Colleen Hoover, Stephen King, Ruth Ware…all authors you can find in their catalog! Plus, your subscription includes magazines, podcasts, sheet music, and documents!
When I used this for a few years, I always found a book I was interested in. I’d end up reading or listening to 2-3 books each month, making the $12 regular price well worth it.
You can try it free for 30 days here! The regular price is only $12 / month. | Scribd
This immensely popular book subscription box is now offering audiobooks in addition to hardcovers! You can use your monthly credit on an audiobook (or add an audiobook as an add on to your box)
The monthly subscription costs $15.99 / month but you can include add-ons for only $10.99 each! Their selection features all the hottest new releases from a selection of hugely popular authors in all genres! Get your first month here for only $5!! | Book of the Month
A website that offers both individual audiobook purchases as well as their Kobo Plus subscription, which gives access to unlimited listens of 100,000+ audiobooks. While this sounds great, I couldn’t find many authors I knew in the romance section. At only $7.99/month though, it’s undeniably a terrific deal if you want to read anything you can get your hands on! | Kobo Audiobooks
Alternatives to Audible: Free Options
It’s time to sing the praises of libraries!! There are 3 different apps I use to download audiobooks for free. I’m sharing each of them as alternatives to Audible in the hopes that your local library will use at least one. You can check out your library’s website to find out if they work with any audiobook provider or ask your librarian!
As a bonus, most of these include both audiobooks AND eBooks!
To my fellow Pennsylvanians, the Free Library of Philadelphia allows anyone who lives in the state to get a virtual library card. This gives you access to their catalog on Libby, which has almost every book I’ve ever wanted!
If you live in a different state, it’s worth checking if the library in one of your major cities offers a similar option!!
This is my most used app, since it’s user friendly and easy to browse! You can search with a variety of filters, including audiobook vs eBook, subject, publication date, availability, and more. There are also lots of options for managing books on hold. I often have a book delivered at a later time if I’m not quite ready to read it when it becomes available! | Libby
Hoopla is still a great alternatives to Audible if your library doesn’t have Libby! One of my favorite features is the personalized recommendations. The app actually does a decent job picking out books I’d like based on what I’ve read in the past. | Hoopla
Easily the most clunky to use of these free alternatives to Audible bunch, but it’s available in a pinch. CloudLibrary has the worst search function I’ve ever seen if you’re trying to browse lol. But if you have a specific title or author in mind you can at least find out if they’re available. | CloudLibrary
Physical CDs
Along with apps, most libraries still have extensive collections of books on CD! Enjoy the experience of browsing in person and just pop the CD in your car on the way home!
Which of these alternatives to Audible will you try first?