Audiobooks are great for commutes, long trips, and dull tasks. Here are a number of places you can download Audiobooks legally, and for free. And they’re not all public domain stuff.
Many of the audiobook sites you can find on the internet let you download classic books in the public domain for free, but some sites have better quality books than others. We’ve rounded up some of the best of those sites, plus some ways you can get other kinds of audiobooks for free, too.
Here’s where to download audiobooks for free Open Culture. Open Culture is one of the better gateway websites for educational and cultural media. Lit2Go offers one of the finer looking free sources for audiobooks. Scribl (formerly Podiobooks) showcases some of the best. Dec 03, 2018 But the truth we have to face with is that the price of audio books don't always come cheap. So here I write a summary for you about some best sites to download free audio books. Note: For Audible audiobooks, if you want to freely listen to their audiobooks on any audio player, Audible Converter can help you to convert Audible AA/AAX to MP3.
Project Gutenberg & LibriVox
Project Gutenberg is a volunteer-run repository, started in 1971, that works to digitize and archive cultural work to encourage the distribution of eBooks. But they’re not just about eBooks. Project Gutenberg also has an extensive library of human-read and computer-generated (read by a computerized voice) audio books from the public domain.
LibriVox.org is another volunteer-run initiative that aims to release public domain audiobooks. Volunteers read chapters of books, and then LibriVox releases that audio back into the public domain for anyone to download.
The two services work together, with most audiobooks available on Project Gutenberg coming from the LibriVox site. Each site does have some books the other doesn’t have, so it’s worth checking them both out. Both sites let you listen to books right on the website, subscribe by iTunes, or download the book to your device in various formats.
Since they use books no longer under copyright, most of the books on the sites were written before 1923. So keep that in mind when searching for something to listen to. And if you enjoy the service and like what they are doing, it’s easy to volunteer if you have spare time to read a chapter or two and be part of history.
Spotify
Spotify now has a playlist of audiobooks added to its repertoire. Again, most of them are classic works in the public domain. They don’t have near as many titles as sites like Project Gutenberg and LibriVox, but if you’re already a Spotify user, access the books is super easy. Just hit up the playlist.
You can listen to audiobooks on Spotify with a free account, but you will have to listen to adds at the beginning of each title. If you subscribe to a premium account, you can listen without ads.
RELATED:Spotify Free vs. Premium: Is it Worth Upgrading?
NewFixtion
NewFixtion is in a category all to itself. It doesn’t have many titles, but what it does have are original stories delivered in daily episodes. Each episode is voiced by trained actors, which gives it a more rounded feeling. It’s really more like listening to an old-time radio drama than simply having a book read to you.
You can’t download titles from NewFixtion, though. You have to listed to them through your desktop or mobile browser.
Digital Book
DigitalBook, formerly Librophile, lets you search through a database of public domain books from places like Librivox, Gutenberg, Open Library, and also includes books from Amazon (and Audible). Although not all books are free, a large number of them are, and they boast a catalog of over 100,000 free audiobooks and eBooks.
If you sign up for a free membership, you can save books on a personal bookshelf to read later without having to download.
Internet Archive
Internet Archive is a non-profit archive of internet sites and other cultural artifacts, made available to users in digital form. It’s one of the larger and more well-known sites out there for access pretty much anything in the public domain. Providing free access to an archive of over 4 million audio recordings, 11 million books and texts, and 3 million videos.
Learn Out Loud
LearnOutLoud is home to thousands of free audiobooks ranging from fiction to educational. They offer content through their website and a couple other sites already mentioned in this post.
In addition to audiobooks, LearnOutLoud gives access to some of the best audio and video learning content on the web, including courses, documentaries, lectures, interviews, and speeches. It’s easy to lose track of time while scrolling through the amount of content they have to offer.
Don’t Forget Your Public Library
No longer do you need to leave the house in order to borrow a book from the library. Now, with the help of a couple sites and apps, you can access thousands of audiobooks from your mobile device. All you need is a valid library card.
OverDrive is the collection of more than 30,000 libraries across the world. It’s a site that allows you online access to the catalog of a library near you, where all you need to ‘rent’ a book is a valid library card number. The use of LibbyApp, the mobile and tablet version of OverDrive, lets you check out audiobooks straight to your handheld device. It’s available for iOS, Android, and Windows.
RBDigital offers an extensive collection of audiobooks, magazines, and eBooks, with the largest independent collection of unabridges audiobooks.
YourCloudLibrary is an application for Windows, Mac, iPhone, and Android that offers access to millions of ebooks and audio to download.
HooplaDigital also lets you check out audiobooks, ebooks, music, movies, and TV shows from local libraries straight to your computer, tablet, or phone.
What apps and services you use will just depend on what your library’s chosen to go with.
RELATED:How to Check Out Library Books on Your Kindle for Free
If You’re an Amazon Prime Subscriber, You Can Get Free Audiobooks There, Too
If you’re already an Amazon Prime subscriber, you have access to their Audible Channels content at no extra charge. You can stream from a rotating group of over 50 audiobooks in the Channels tab of your Audible app. Prime members have unlimited access to audio series and select audiobooks for streaming only.
Free Trials
If you can’t find what you need on any of those websites and you aren’t an Amazon Prime subscriber, there are a couple sites that offer a free trial to get an idea of the type of service they offer. Typically these trials are more than enough to listen to a few books.
BookBeat offers unlimited listening to thousands of audiobooks, new and old. They offer a free 2 week trial and after the period ends it costs a flat rate of £12.90/month ($17 US).
Kobo is home to 5 million ebooks and audiobooks with an ever-growing catalog. Kobo might be one of the biggest competitors battling Amazon’s Kindle line. Free 30-day trial, cancel anytime. $12.99/month for an audiobook subscription after that point.
Audible is probably one of the largest suppliers of new audiobooks on the web and they offer a free 30-day trial, once the trial has ended a membership of $14.95/month is required to access unlimited audiobooks.
Have a great source for free (legal) audiobooks we didn’t cover? Let us know in the comments!
Image source: Kaboompics, Pexel
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Fitting in time for reading nowadays is harder than ever. But whether you're trying to cram a few more books into 2019, revisit your favorite novels, or pass the time on your commute, there are plenty of audiobooks waiting to help you out.
For people who like to have their books read to them, Audible is the biggest name in the field, but it's certainly not the only option. Here we've picked the very best sites for finding and downloading top quality audiobooks – both free and premium. Save yourself a trip to the library and build up a sizeable library from the comfort of your computer or smartphone.
1. Audible
Amazon's platform offers an unbeatable choice of premium audiobooks
Undeniably the biggest name in the world of audiobooks, Audible has earned its position at the top of the charts.
The selection of audiobooks on Audible is amazing, and the subscription plans are easy to understand. There are two options available for customers in the US and UK: pay US$14.95/£7.99 per month, and you can download one audiobook per month; pay US$22.95/£14.99 and you can listen to two. There's one plan for Australian users: AU$16.45 per month for one audiobook.
There's also a 30-day trial you can take advantage of, meaning you can get your first book free of charge. You can also buy audiobooks one at a time without a membership, but this is rather more expensive.
There are tens of thousands of books to choose from, including many exclusive titles. You should find it easy to find something you like, but if you select a book and change your mind about it, you can exchange it for another free of charge.
You can listen to your audiobooks on Windows Phone, iOS and Android devices, Windows and macOS machines, and any device with Amazon Alexa.
2. Google Audiobooks
A new subscription-free service that's taking the fight to Amazon
Audiobooks are the latest addition to the Google Play Store. The newly minted service is clearly designed as a rival to Audible, with Google making a virtue of the fact that books are sold individually, with no subscription.
Like Audible, Google Audiobooks lets you listen to books on virtually any device. There are apps for iOS and Android, a web app, Chromecast, and any device with Google Assistant. There are only a few voice controls for Audiobooks at the moment (you can ask it to stop reading after a certain time, for example), but we expect these to be expanded as the service grows.
Google Audiobooks launched with thousands of titles, including many bestsellers, but the selection isn't yet as extensive as Audible's.
The Google Play Store has sold ebooks for many years, but has struggled to establish a foothold in face of Amazon's mighty Kindle platform. We'll be interested to see how its Audiobooks service fares in the face of Audible.
3. Kobo Audiobooks
The cheaper but slightly less extensive competitor to Audible
Ereader manufacturer Kobo has taken the fight to Audible with its own audiobook service, which launched toward the end of 2017. The selection isn’t as extensive as Audible's, but you'll find most of today's most popular titles.
We went through 10 books that we already owned on Audible (mostly bestsellers from the last few years), and found nine of them on Kobo.
Kobo’s benefit over Amazon's service is a lower price at $9.99/£6.99/AU$12.99 a month for one audiobook a month, compared to Audible's $14.95/£7.99/AU$16.45 per month.
As with Audible, you can also buy audiobooks individually, but we found it more expensive to do this on Kobo. For example, Fire and Fury by Michael Wolff is US$21.31/£17.49/AU$31.21 on Audible at the time of writing, but is US$21.59/£19.99/AU$35.99 on Kobo.
If you’re planning to read big name titles every month and want a subscription package, Kobo's affordable package may suit you well, but if you’re planning to buy titles separately you may want to look elsewhere.
4. LibriVox
A brilliant selection of public domain audiobooks to download free
In contrast to Audible, LibriVox is completely free of charge. This, of course, means making compromises. You won't be able to download the latest bestsellers here, and the library of titles is rather smaller than Audible's.
You're limited to public domain audiobooks, but there are still thousands to choose from. Many of the books included here are classics that are now out of copyright, and LibriVox gives you the choice of downloading audiobooks so you can copy them to any device you want, or just listening to them online.
While audiobooks on Audible are often read by celebrities or the authors, audiobooks on LibriVox are read by volunteers from around the world – and you can offer to take part if you have the time and want to support the community.
There are mobile apps available, so you can access your books from your smartphone. The reliance on public domain titles means LibriVox is a little limited, and the quality of recordings varies, but for classics, it's a great resource.
5. Downpour
Premium audiobooks from one of the biggest producers around
Like Audible, Downpour is a subscription-based service. For US$12.99 (about £10, AU$15) per month, your subscription buys you one credit, which should be enough to buy one audiobook. If you need more credits because you want more than one book per month, or you want a book that costs more than one credit, you can buy more credits as and when necessary. If you cancel your subscription, you can keep your books.
Downpour is the work of Blackstone Audio – producer of many, many audiobooks, and offers an impressive selection of titles. Some audiobooks are only available to buy in the US, but there's still a good choice for listeners in the rest of the world, and there's even the option of renting audiobooks.
Downpour offers a mobile app, but unlike Audible this only allows for playback, not purchasing, so you'll have to stock up on books via the website first.