10 Best Audible Alternatives in 2020
You came here in search for Audible alternatives for audiobooks, which seems that you already know what audible is and why it is useful. But in case if you don’t know then, it is an Amazon’s Audiobook Service which is commonly known as “Audible” which stands at a high level in today’s crowded market.
It has more than 4 lacs audio programs from well-known publishers, broadcasters and entertainers. It is also The World’s Largest Producer of all downloadable audiobooks and also a one-stop platform for bibliophiles.
According to the survey, it is said that more and more people prefer listening to audiobooks rather than reading e-books.
Since Audible is fairly expensive these days so there are Audible Alternatives with cheaper price and better service. Here I have picked the top 10 Audible alternatives for your choice and they are:-
AUDIOBOOKS NOW
Similar to the Audible Audiobook service, the Audiobooks Now is one of the most strong audible alternatives because it has a collection of more than 85000 titles and also have apps which are available for both iOS and Android platform.
So, just don’t forget to try it, if you want to have both: great collection of audiobooks and at low price. The app has a collection of both fiction and non fiction. It is very similar to audible because it also allows you to fine-tune the interface for an enhanced listening experience.
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The users will also get the option to set a timer or choose the speed according to themselves. You can also download your favourite Audiobooks for offline listening.
When it comes to the pricing, the Club Pricing Plan is the best deal because the Audiobooks Now offer a Club Pricing Plan for $4.99 with 50% off on your first audiobook and 35-40% off in each month.
You can also stream the titles through the web browser without installing any applications on your device.
DOWNPOUR
This is one of the most popular Audible Alternatives among its users because it not only provides DRM free content but also offers the Audiobook rentals which means that you don’t have to own the audiobook for the lifetime, instead you can just rent an Audiobook.
It has got a library of 80,000 titles and each title have something unique for everyone. It also has an option to add quick note so that we don’t forget any important points. This application is available on every platform. It also offers some of the finest classics like the Pulitzer, Nobel, Man Booker, etc.
In the pricing section the rentals are up to 70% less than the retail price of the Audiobooks with the time span of 30 to 60 days to finish them. The monthly fee is $12.99. The users can also purchase the extra credits for exchanging the audiobooks.
SCRIBD
The Scribd is one of the best audible alternatives present here. I personally love this alternative because I feel that it is much better than audible.
Just like the Amazon, the Scribd also has a team of editors and directors in the studio. Over here you will find a collection of 1,50,000 E-Books along with Audiobooks, newspapers, magazines and articles on the same platform.
This application also has a pretty impressive user interface which offers a plenty of customisation. It also has a feature of sleep timer which automatically stops playing the audiobooks at the set time.
Just like the audible Scribd also allows its users to download the Audiobooks as well as you can comfortably listen to your favourite books even offline.
As some of the people prefer more personalisation so I have found the latter a touch better. It also allows you to make notes and create them according to your customize font size and you can even choose a nice background colour to bring some fun to the elements present in the mix.
The Scribd comes with an unlimited subscription program for the E-box and the Audiobooks. Just like the Audible or Libro.fm over here also you don’t have to own any of the titles but you can listen to unlimited number of times.
The membership plan of the Scribd, is priced at $8.99 where you will get everything mentioned above plus every month as a member you will get three book credits and one Audiobook credit. This is because some Audiobooks and some premium E-Books are not included in the plans. But you can read them freely.
This will bring the Scribd at par with other services but at a lower rate. You can also get accessed to the renowned old magazines and newspaper like the Times, NYT, WSJ and many more.
LIBRIVOX
The LibriVox is a versatile and popular audible alternative because it claims to have over 50,000 audiobooks including the best sellers in the several different genres, novels, history, biography, short stories, poetry and many more in 30 languages.
The company also provide a free public domain Audiobooks to the listeners around the world. Which means that you can not only can listen free Audiobooks on this website but also can be the volunteer to record the public domain book.
The users can get upto 15,000 Audiobooks under the public domain and all are completely free. At last I can say that LibriVox is a great place to discover old classic for free.
The company produces 1000 items in a year which may not be a big number for a die-hard Audiobook lovers but they would certainly be more than enough for a normal listeners. By considering all the pros and cons, it shows that the LibriVox has got enough quality to be safe in the roster of free alternatives for audible.
NOOK AUDIOBOOKS
The Nook Audiobooks have always been the strong competitors of the Kindle, Barnes and Nobles. It can be easily added in the list of Best Audible Alternatives . The largest retailer of books in US has released the Nook Audiobooks to compete to the Audible. The users will find a collection of more than 60,000 titles in the library of this Audiobook.
This application is available on both iOS and Android platform. This application will suit the people who are not a prolific readers. The user interface is smooth and clean as you will expect from a company like B&N. This application may also prove to be a helpful asset for those who prefer simplicity.
If you are a starter then this Audiobook is the second to the none when it comes to the quality of Audiobooks. Sometimes it may not have a pleasing interface as that of Audible but it also won’t disappoint you either. It has also made a fine balance between the variety of features and customisation.
This audiobook has no subscription plan which means that the user does not need to subscribe the Nook Audiobooks to get their favourite Audiobooks. Suppose, you found your favourite Audiobook then you can just directly buy it without any payment.
PLAYSTER
The Playster is a type of application which allows all-in-one subscription with an unlimited access to the books, Audiobooks, music, movies and games. It truly has an unlimited Audiobook service with no credit requirement and no limitations.
The collection present over here is not in a huge no. when compared with others, but it does not run on a credit system. If you are a prolific Audiobook listener then this app will prove to be a cheaper option.
The Playster owns more than 1,00,000 titles with a subscription service starting at $1.5 per month. If you are listening to more than one Audiobooks every month and do not want to keep the audiobook permanently then you should try Playster as its membership includes unlimited streaming and Audiobook downloads.
There are many different plans available on this application based on what you are looking for. An all access plan will cost you $24.99 and will include everything they have to offer. So if you want only Audiobooks then it will set you back by $14.99 which is same as Audible. There is no extra additional cost except for what you pay on a monthly basis.
GOOGLE PLAY AUDIOBOOKS
Just like the Nook Audiobooks, the Google Play Audiobooks is also a competitor of Amazon. It was launched in the beginning of 2018. You can only listen the Audiobooks from the device which supports the Google assistant.
Since there is no official report from Google to show that how many titles does this Audiobooks have, but I can assume that the titles are less than the Audible because it is still a new member in the Audiobook industry.
It can be easily one of the Best Audible Alternatives cause the reach of google play services is far more than what Amazon can ever have.
If you are not a regular listener of Audiobook then this app is a good choice to have. The basic features of this Audiobooks are that you can listen up to 2* the speed, a sleep timer, a sync across multiple devices out there. It is available in 45 countries and in 9 languages.
When it comes about the personalization then this app keeps the track of what interests you the most or the sort of content that always catches your attention first and offers the recommendation according to it.
The biggest difference between the Google Play Audiobooks and the Audible is that it does not have any subscription plan. Which means that you do not have to pay for a membership that gets you home with one audiobook per month but instead you can choose to purchase the audiobooks anytime you want with the Google special discount.
APPLE AUDIOBOOKS
If you are an iOS user then you are deep into the Apple ecosystem and if you are looking for a reasonable good Audiobook app that can rival Audible on most fronts then look for none other than Apple books.
Just like Google, Apple also sells Audiobooks on iTunes. On your Mac Launch the iTunes store uses the drop-down list at the top to select the Audiobooks. Over here you can also check out various Audiobooks or search for the one you want to listen.
For apple users it is one of the Best Audible Alternatives because of the Apple Ecosystem.
This app is not a feature-packed app but it is also a good enough to cater to your Audiobooks. It contains a large section of mysteries, and the ever increasing catalogue of thrillers which are fully covered pretty much like Audible.
The app also provides a curated collection depending on what interests you the most. To keep the track of the books which are trending the app has a feature of top charts collection where you can get access to all the popular books and Audiobooks.
The app also has a feature to organise your library in a way so that it keeps a close watch on your listening or reading and offers a better inside. It also motivates you to enhance your reading habits. The Apple Audiobooks is very similar to the Google Audiobooks in the subscription model.
You can buy any available Audiobook from the catalogue and keep it forever. It is said that Apple also releases free Audiobooks from time to time. Sometimes, the selection even includes of the books that are of $14.99 or less than that which is appealing if you are on a budget.
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KOBO AUDIOBOOKS
The Kobo Audiobook is assumed to be the most liked audible alternatives available for consumers. It was started in 2017 and now has a large collection of more than 5 million of world’s best E-books and Audiobooks.
The biggest drawback of this Audiobook is that you can only listen with from the Kobo app (ANDROID & iOS) which means that you cannot listen to Audiobooks on your computer. The app also has got an elegant looking interface which makes it an excellent audiobook listening.
The people who like to customise their Audiobooks then they would appreciate the several notable features which make it more than a personalized experience. It also has got a super handy night mode so that you can explore your collection comfortably during the nights.
The subscription plan for this audiobooks cost only for $9.9 per month which is much cheaper than Audibles. It is very similar to Audible because it allows the users to redeem Audiobooks via credits. The users can get only one credit which can be redeemed for only one audiobook.
OVERDRIVE
The last alternative in our list of best audible alternatives is the Overdrive because it has the ability to get all the Audiobooks that are available in the local public library. It has more than 30000 libraries but the user needs to have a library card and a library community which supports this service.
This apps provides a different app to download and listen to the Audiobook which is Libby. The Libby is a modern designed, pretty common user-friendly application. The Libby has got a feature to automatically download your rented books.
The Overdrive has got an amazing feature where you can create a wishlist of all your favourite books and can be able to return the title with ease. Once the title are returned automatically the users don’t have to worry about the late fees.
Similar to the audible the Overdrive is also available on a wide range of platforms like the iOS, Android, Windows and many more. So if you are hunting for a free alternatives for audible and wanted to listen to great Audiobooks then you should check out the Overdrive.
This is a free application which has a feature of a lending system, where the users can rent and listen to the audiobooks at no cost. They only necessity is that they should be a member of the local public library.
At last I want to say is that these were the best Audible Alternatives , do use them and tell us that which alternative did you choose.