Audiobooks don’t need to be expensive – there are, in fact, many places online where you can download audiobooks for free. This alphabetical list consists of 100 sites where you can legally download free audiobooks online.

19 Nocturne Boulevard has 3 ongoing audio dramas.  All are available for free download in MP3.

A Daring Adventure has a free audiobook called Don’t Hesitate – Meditate! available for download in MP3 or MPEG4 (iTunes compatible).

Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine Podcast has a collection of crime fiction for free download in MP3.

Alvie, The Little Brown Burro has 7 stories designed for preschoolers available to download in MP3.

Ambling Books offers an easy way to browse and download Librivox books. Note: this is generally a pay site and registration is required to download audiobooks. Also, you will need to download their book player.

Americana Phonic offers American historical works recorded by Michael Scherer, a professional narrator, for download in AAC.

Assistive Media offers several new audiobooks for download each month under their current offerings.

Audio Anarchy has 7 anarchist audiobooks available for download in MP3.

AudioBooks.org offers a number of classic novels for download.

AudioBooksForFree.com offers free audiobooks for download in MP3. Note: registration is required.

AudioBookTreasury.com offers a free collection of classic audiobooks for download in Mp3.

The Audio Drama Directory is a convenient way to search for dramatized audio available online.

Audio Literature Odyssey is a classic literature podcast narrated by professional voice-actor Nikolle Doolin.

Audio Treasure has the Bible and other religious texts available for download in a variety of languages in MP3.

BookBox has free audiobooks for children in a variety of languages available for download in MP3.

Books Should Be Free is a convenient way to find and download public domain audiobooks in a variety of languages.

BrokenSea has original audio productions available for download in MP3. Genres includes fantasy, sci-fi, horror, drama, comedy and audio versions of films such as Planet of the Apes.

Candlelight Stories has several high-quality classic children’s audiobooks with voice characterizations, music and sound effects.

christianaudio give away one free Christian audiobook book download each month. Note: registration is required.

Christian Classics Ethereal Library offers a collection of classic Christian texts for download in MP3.

Cinnamon Bear is a an old time radio program first broadcast in 1937. The 26 original episodes are available to download in MP3.

Clarkesworld Magazine is an award-winning science fiction and fantasy magazine. Each issue contains at least three pieces of original fiction from new and established authors.

ClearBits distribute high quality, open-licensed audiobooks (and other digital media) with  BitTorrent files (.torrent files). If you are unfamiliar with BitTorrent files refer to the sites FAQ page for guidance.

Common Sense Atheism offers links to 90+ free audiobooks about religion. Most audiobooks are from LibriVox.

Cthulhu is a horror podcast inspired by the writings of H.P. Lovecraft and Cthulu Mythos.

Decoder Ring Theater has an entertaining collection of audio adventures in the tradition of the classic programs of Radio’s Golden Age.

The Drabblecast is an award-winning audio magazine which features “Strange Stories, By Strange Authors, for Strange Listeners”. Each episode is released as a weekly, free to download podcast.

Earthbound Series is a 5 part science fiction series available for download in MP3 or for online listening.

Easy Media Broadcast has a small collection of novels available for download in MP4 (zip).

eBookdb has links to 15 free audiobooks.

ejunto has a nice collection of historical and philosophical audiobooks available for download in MP3.

Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine Fiction Podcast  releases an audio story each month from the magazine’s archives. Stories are available for free download in MP3.

Escape Pod is a science fiction audio magazine which releases free weekly short stories in MP3 and podcast format.

Faith Comes By Hearing offers several versions of the Bible in many different languages. Note: their software is required for listening.

First Audio Bookshas a children’s story called Once More ‘Round the Apple Tree which is intended to encourage an understanding of the ideals behind conservation.

FreeAudio.org is a small collection of mostly U.S. historical audiobooks available for download in MP3.

FreeAudioBooks.Co.UK has a collection of free classic audiobooks which can be listened to online or downloaded  in MP3.

Free Audio Review provides personal reviews and download links to free audiobooks available online.

Free Christian Audio Books has a small collection of mostly computer-generated Christian audiobooks for free download in WMA, MP3 or AAC.

Free Classic Audio Books has a collection of both human-read and computer-generated classic audiobooks available for download in MP3 or iPod friendly m4b.

Free Keene offers 3 audiobooks on the topic of individual liberty available for download in MP3.

Free Listens is a blog which publishes reviews of free audiobooks, including a download link.

The Globe Radio Repertory (Internet Archive) offers dramatizations of 4 major series of classic literature –  Don Quixote,  Dead Souls, Madame Bovary, and 16 Stories by Anton Chekhov.

Homeschool Radio Shows  has a collection of children’s audiobooks and stories available for free download in MP3.

James Patrick Kelly (Internet Archive) has a number of works by science fiction writer James Patrick Kelly available for online listening or download in MP3 or Ogg Vorbis.

Kayray Reads to You offers readings of the popular children’s stories.

Kids Audiobooks has 200+ audio stories for kids available in MP3.

Kiddie Records Weekly offers a nice collection of children’s stories from the mid-1940s to the early 1950s. Many of these recordings are extravagant Hollywood productions featuring big time celebrities and composers.

Kindersite offer a number of stories in flash for reading and listening online, as well as games, lullabies and songs.

Land of Magic has a collection of Biblical and kids audiobooks available to listen online or download in MP3.

LibriVox has a huge collection of audiobooks recorded by volunteers available for download in MP3 or ogg vorbis.

Librophile provides a clean, simple interface for browsing audiobooks available from LibriVox.

Lightspeed is an online science fiction and fantasy magazine which has original fiction and fiction reprints available to listen online or download in MP3.

Light Up Your Brain has a collection of audio stories for children read by Chuck Brown available for listening online or download in MP3.

Lit2Go is a free online collection of stories and poems in Mp3 from Florida’s Educational Technology Clearinghouse . You can browse authors, genres, collections and readability.

L. Lee Lowe has two novels, Mortal Ghost and Corvus, available for listening online or download in MP3.

LoudLit.org has a small collection of free public domain audiobooks available for online listening or download in MP3.

Magic Keys has 4 audio stories available for online listening. There are 3 for young children and 1 for young adults.

Maria Lectrix describes itself as a podcast of free public domain audiobooks for people with Catholic tastes.

Mark Moxon’s Travel Writing offers a collection of travel writings available for download in MP3 or AAC.

The Metamor City Podcast is a sci-fi/fantasy audio fiction series which is available for online listening or download in MP3. The productions include music, sound effects and full vocal cast.

Miette’s Bedtime Story Podcast offers a unique collection of short stories available for listening online or download in MP3.

MightyBook has a collection of free illustrated, animated audio stories for children.

Musical Tales has the original  the story of Helena and The Orchestra Of The World Of Mist available as an audiobook, video or illustrated text.

Naropa Poetics Audio Archives has over 5,000 hours of recordings made at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. It contains readings, lectures, performances, seminars, panels and workshops conducted at Naropa by many of the leading figures of the U.S.literary avant-garde (e.g. Anne Waldman and Allen Ginsberg).

NewFiction has a unique collection of audiobooks that are performed by multiple actors. These “iSoaps” resemble modern-day radio dramas. Note: registration is required.

The Online Library of Liberty offers a collection of computer-generated audiobooks on topics related to individual liberty. They can be listened to online or downloaded in MP3.

Open Culture has a large list of free audiobooks available for download either directly from the site or from other sites.

OverDrive is a download service which libraries can use to make audiobooks and other digital content available for browsing, checking out and downloading. More than 13,000 libraries worldwide offer audio books via OverDrive. Audiobooks are available in MP3 or digitally-protected WMA format. OverDrive also has the OverDrive Media Console App that lets you download MP3 audiobooks directly to your listening device (e.g. iPhone or Android).

Oxford Owl has 5 children’s audiobooks available for online listening.

PDGene  is nice collection of links to online audiobooks and short stories.

Peopletalk is a non-profit group of British trained actors, writers, producers, musicians, short film and documentary makers who produce  audiobooks, anecdotal stories and documentaries in MP3.

PodCastle is a fantasy audio magazine which offers weekly short stories for online listening or download in MP3.

Podiobooks offers serialized audiobooks distributed via RSS, much like a podcast. There are 500+ audiobooks available which are spread through a wide variety of genres including chick lit, fantasy, humor, magical realism and thrillers.

Pseudopod offers horror fiction podcasts for free listening online or download in MP3.

The Poetry Archive is an online collection of recordings of poets reading their work which you can listen to online for free.

RIF Reading Planet has a collection of free audio stories available for listening online.

Robert Munsch has 50+ audiobooks written and read by Robert Munsch available for download in MP3.

Scott Sigler has several audiobooks available for free listening at Podiobooks or download in iTunes.

The Secret World Chronicle is a superhero science fiction podcast. You can subscribe via iTunes or listen/ download completed stories from the website.

Seth Harwood offers 5 of his works for online listening or download in Mp3.

Speakaboos offers about 100 audiobooks for children available for listening and viewing online through a flash viewer. Downloads are available for a fee, though some are available free after registering.

Speak The Speech has audio performances of Shakespearean works available for online listening or download in MP3.

Spoken Alexandria Project is a free library of spoken word recordings, consisting of classics in the public domain and modern works (with permission). Audiobooks are available for download in AAC, Ogg Vorbis, and MP3 format. You can view the Top 25 downloads or browse the catalog by genre, length or reader.

Stories Now offers a free collection of science fiction, fantasy and children’s audiobooks for download in MP3.

Storyline Online has children’s audiobooks available for online listening and viewing via a flash player. The site is a production of the Screen Actors Guild Foundation and features some well known actors as the readers.

Storynory  is an online collection of free audiobooks for kids.  There are original stories, fairy tales, classic authors (e.g. Rudyard Kipling), educational stories and stories for younger children.

Sultan.org has a number of audio resources of Islamic works.

SYNCis a audiobook publishers’ and AudioFile Magazine project designed to introduce young adults to listening audiobooks. It currently offers two free audiobooks (1 young adult and 1 related classic) per week for download in MP3.

Tales From The Forest has 11 free audiobooks for kids (4 original and 7 classics) available for free listening online or MP3 download.

Talking History has a collection of audio documentaries, speeches, debates, oral histories, conference sessions, commentaries, archival audio sources, and other aural history resources. They also have weekly internet based radio broadcasting program which covers all aspects of history.

The Story Spieler offers a collection of audiobooks narrated by Roy Trumbull, a retired radio and TV broadcaster.

Thought Audio has a nice collection of professionally produced classic literature and philosophy titles. You can listen to them online or download them in segments in MP3 format.

Turnstyle.org  offers the book, Free Culture, by Lawrence Lessg for listening online .

Truth For The End Of Time has a number of Christian audiobooks available for listening online or download in MP3.

verkaro.org is a group of actors and technicians based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, that creates original audiobook recordings. Currently they have 20+ audiobooks available for download in MP3.

Voices in the Dark offers a number of classic audiobooks, including a transcript, for download in MP3. Audiobooks are searchable by genre, title or author.

Wil McCarthy offers his work The Wellstone for download in MP3. Note: the audiobook is computer-generated.

Wired For Books has a collection of Beatrix Potter books as well as a few others available for online reading and listening.

World of Tales has stories for children, folktales, fairy tales and fables from around the world available for online listening.

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Do you know of any free audiobook sites not listed above? If so please leave a comment below.