Best Free Audiobook Apps for Android & iPhone in 2024

List of best audiobook apps for Android and iPhone that give you access to both free and paid audiobooks.

Reading books was once a popular hobby and a pastime, but individuals can no longer find the time to read a book from beginning to end due to their hectic schedules.

Audiobooks make it simple for you to listen to your favorite book instead of reading it. You can do this while traveling to work, during your daily commute, at work, or even while running on the treadmill at the gym. It is one of the fastest-growing categories of digital publishing, which has resulted in a surge in demand for professional voice-over artists for audiobooks, as a skilled audiobook narrator may make the difference between a bestseller and one that is a flop.

17 Best Free Audiobook Apps for Android & iPhone

If you’re looking for the finest audiobook apps for Android and iPhone, I’ve put together a comprehensive list of free audiobook apps to select from.

Audible

You might’ve come across audible, this is now under the amazon branches as is the top app for audiobook. Audible is an audiobook publisher owned by Amazon and is known for its compatibility with Amazon devices such as the newer Kindles. Audible is one of the most popular audiobook apps, with over 200,000 English and Hindi audiobooks and original titles, including 400 titles that are by Indian writers.

A 30-day free trial of Audible India is available. It allows you to listen to Audible Original episodes for free indefinitely. Most significantly, you may access all of your downloaded audiobooks in your Audible collection even if you quit your membership (after the 30-day trial period).

Another feature is, Amazon’s Whispersync for Voice function ensures that books purchased through the Amazon Kindle Store are synchronized with their audio version, giving you a terrific way to listen to what you’re reading while on the road. So hop on the train by purchasing a digital audiobook to listen to your Kindle reading app, Kindle devices, Fire tablet, and other devices.

Downpour

The downpour has approximately 80,000 audiobook titles in its library, ranging from modern fiction to classic nonfiction. Once you’ve downloaded your audiobook, the player syncs across all of your devices and allows offline listening. There’s variable playback speed and chaptered songs, as well as the ability to add bookmarks and notes to things worth remembering, which is a good feature. It provides an audiobook renting service, which allows you to save up to 70% on audiobooks compared to purchasing them. In addition, you have 30-60 days to finish your book before it is automatically returned to you and removed from your device.

Kobo

If you’re a total newbie to Kobo, what you must know is that you’ll get a 30-day free trial and your first audiobook for free, after which you’ll have to pay $10 a month to subscribe. The subscription operates in the same way as Audible does. Even if you quit your subscription, you can keep your audiobooks, and you can purchase Kobo Originals, which are special audiobooks developed for Kobo and not accessible anywhere else.

Hoopla Digital

Hoopla Digital is a digital media service that lets you borrow audiobooks, movies, eBooks, music, and more to view on your mobile devices, desktop PCs, tablets, and televisions. It contains a massive selection of hundreds of thousands of titles from which you can choose.

It allows you to stream digital stuff or download it and watch it later when you have more time. It’s worth mentioning that to use the app, you must be a member of your local public library, as you’ll need your membership number to join up. If you want a single app to accomplish everything and don’t mind renting content, this is a good option; not to mention, all rentals are free.

It contains a massive selection of hundreds of thousands of titles from which you may pick. It allows you to stream digital stuff or download it and watch it later when you have more time. Undoubtedly, an app that has everything at one place, Hoopla is limited to people across Canada and the United States. If you happen to be from one of these regions, you’ve found your pick!

Audiobooks

This free audiobook app is available for iOS and Android mobile devices. It allows you to listen to audiobooks in real-time or download them to listen to later. The program works on a credit basis, which means your first 30 days are free, and you’ll get your first premium audiobook as well as two extra books from the VIP section. The app also provides you with access to over 1.2 million podcasts, so if you’re searching for an audiobook and podcast player both in one app, look no further.

Listen

Listen is universal audiobook software, which means it’s an audio player that doesn’t have its library of audiobooks to choose from. Still, it’s meant to operate with DRM-free audiobook files from any source. This benefits listeners who want to look through all of the various sites for their free book dose but want everything in one place. But the only limitation, as you might say, is that it is only available for Android Devices.

LibriVox

LibriVox is one of the greatest free audiobook apps available, and it’s a good alternative for beginners who want to sample audiobooks before investing in a subscription plan. With variable speed choices, limitless bookmarks, and a sleep timer, the music player is simple and lacks many features, but it’s beautifully designed and gets the job done. LibriVox is a non-commercial, non-profit, and ad-free project in which volunteers worldwide donate recordings to the public domain in various languages.

Bookmobile

Bookmobile is an audiobook player that works with all audio files, including DRM-enabled and DRM-free files, M4B audiobooks, and MP3 audio files from Apple Music, Audible, LibriVox, public library downloads, and other popular sources. Bookmobile is free to trial for 60 days and adds up to five audiobooks, after which a $4 in-app purchase unlocks the full experience.

Voice

Voice is an open-source audio player that can open any Android audiobook folder and play the books it detects. Some of the customization choices found in other players are missing from the interface. However, you can still add bookmarks for those late-night reading sessions, switch between day and night modes, modify playback speed, and set the sleep timer.

Serial Box

This is yet excellent audiobook software free to download and use. You get both the audiobook and the eBook for one low fee with Serial Box, which you can listen to or read on your phone, tablet, or laptop. Furthermore, their Flow Reader function allows you to switch back and forth with a single button press. This audiobook app includes a variety of genres, including sci-fi/fantasy, drama, comedy, fiction, non-fiction, and more. It also provides a free preview of almost all titles, allowing you to read/listen to the eBooks and audiobooks before purchasing them.

Google Play Books

This app is available on iOS and Android and is a great place for audiobooks, comics, and ebooks. The downside here is that few of the audiobooks have just the preview, while the whole thing has to be bought individually. Interestingly, all downloaded audiobooks are instantly synced across all of your Google-connected devices, allowing you to pick up just where you left off. It enables you to transfer audiobooks between cellphones, e-readers, computers, and tablets with ease.

Stories

Stories are the greatest audiobook app for Android and iPhone devices, with over 120,000 titles. Its extensive library contains fiction and nonfiction audiobooks and mystery and thrillers, history, young adult novels, NYT bestsellers, and new releases, among other genres.You can locate your next favorite audiobook using customized search, which you can stream or download for offline listening. It can also sync your audiobooks across (up to) 10 devices automatically. If you are not happy with your purchase, the eStories audiobook app offers unlimited cloud storage and a 30-day refund policy.

Scribd

Scribd is an eBook and audiobook subscription business based in the United States that provides quick access to over one million publications. The software is available for iOS and Android smartphones to download. It is the world’s biggest digital library, with customers able to read/listen to a limitless number of eBooks and audiobooks at any time and from any location. However, compared to the other audiobook apps on this list, its selection of audiobooks is somewhat tiny.

The Libby App by Overdrive

You may borrow and read eBooks and audiobooks from your local public library for free with this audiobook app. You may choose from classics to children’s stories to New York Times bestsellers and listen to them whenever you choose. Apart from streaming material, the Libby app allows you to download audiobooks to listen to offline on your Android/iOS smartphone or Kindle.

Spotify

Spotify is a great source of audiobooks, and this app is really easy to use. Spotify is a music streaming service headquartered in Sweden that offers a good range of audiobooks. All Android and iOS devices can use the audiobook app. Its book collection includes biographies, popular fiction and nonfiction, children’s books, science fiction and fantasy, and more. The diverse assortment of audiobooks caters to the needs of people of all ages, including children, teenagers, and young adults. You can also listen to millions of podcasts available on Spotify for free or at a premium if you want to listen without the interruption of advertisements.

Loyal Books

What’s better than an audiobook app that swanks its way to claiming loyalty as a free service? From classics to contemporary postmodernist novels, from poetry anthologies to fairy tales, Loyal Books offers just about anything a book lover could seek. Satiating an appetite that doesn’t wait for an internet connection, the Loyal Books library can be downloaded and stored into local memory. You can be sure to never run out of books to listen to with such a promising app. As a cherry on the cake, the app also allows you to filter languages.

Nook Audiobooks

If you happen to have an iPhone, Nook audiobooks can be your resort for their compatibility with both apple and android systems. The app pledges to a massive selection a la carte. You name a book, and Nook will surf its database to find all you need. Encompassing choices from all genres and languages, this app is apt for those who wish to access good industry-quality audio reads at zero cost. A quick trivia that could blow an avid reader’s mind- it is run by the Barnes and Nobles publication house. Could it get any more ideal?

Hope our suggestions have helped you make use of the best audiobooks available online.