Audible alternatives · Updated November 2026
7 Best Alternatives to Audible in 2026
Audible is the best-known audiobook service, but it isn’t the only one. These seven alternatives cover subscriptions, pay-per-book deals, free library loans, and a way to support your local bookstore.
Not sure about leaving? You can pause Audible while you try these.
By Peter Clemens · Originally published December 2023 · Updated November 2026 · This post contains affiliate links.
Our Top Pick
Audiobooks.com
A subscription service that works much like Audible, with a catalog of 700,000+ premium titles and an easy-to-use app. It’s $14.95 a month for one credit. The 30-day free trial gives you 3 audiobooks: one from the full catalog plus two from the VIP selection. It’s not an Amazon company, which matters to some listeners.
Read our review →Subscriptions
Libro.fm
Buy audiobooks through an independent bookstore you choose, and Libro.fm shares the profit with it. Plans are $14.99 a month for 1 credit, $23.99 for 2 credits, or $169.99 a year. Extra books are 30% off, credits don’t expire, and the audiobooks are DRM-free. New monthly subscribers who use code AUDIOBOOKADDICTS get a bonus audiobook.
Read our review →
Everand
Formerly Scribd. One subscription covers audiobooks, ebooks, magazines and more. Standard is $11.99 a month with 1 unlock, Plus is $16.99 with 3 unlocks, and Deluxe is $28.99 with 5 unlocks. Plans include a 30-day free trial, and you don’t own the books you unlock.
Read our review →Pay per book or borrow free
Chirp
No subscription. Chirp is free to join and sells discounted audiobooks that you keep. Pick the genres you like and it emails you new deals daily, so you only pay when a book catches your eye. It’s a good companion to a subscription service, and it’s available in the US and Canada only. Use code CHIRPAA30 for an extra 30% off your first purchase.
Read our review →
Libby
Borrow audiobooks free with your library card, using the Libby app on Android and iOS or in your browser at libbyapp.com. Availability depends on your library, and new releases and bestsellers can have a wait. It works well as your main service if you’re patient, or alongside a paid one for the books you can’t wait for.
Read our review →Bundled with something you may already have
Spotify
Premium includes 15 hours of audiobook listening a month from a catalog of 700,000+ titles (US), and you can spread those hours across as many books as you like. Audiobooks sit in the same app as your music and podcasts, so there’s nothing extra to set up. If you run out of hours, the optional Audiobooks+ add-on is $11.99 a month and adds 15 more.
Kobo
Kobo sells audiobooks individually and offers Kobo Plus subscriptions, with audiobook-only and read-and-listen plans. Audiobooks play in the Kobo app and on Kobo e-readers with Bluetooth, so you can switch between reading and listening on one device. These are Kobo-store audiobooks, not Audible ones, and they’re only available in select countries. Check Kobo for current plans and pricing.
Audible alternative questions
What is the best alternative to Audible?
For a service that works most like Audible, I recommend Audiobooks.com. If you want to support independent bookstores, choose Libro.fm. For the cheapest listening, use Chirp deals and your library through Libby.
Is there a free alternative to Audible?
Yes. Libby lets you borrow audiobooks free with a library card, though popular titles can have a wait. Audiobooks.com also gives you 3 audiobooks in its 30-day free trial.
Which alternatives let me keep my audiobooks?
Libro.fm and Chirp sell audiobooks you keep, and Libro.fm’s are DRM-free. Everand, Libby and Spotify are access services, so you don’t own the books.
Can I try these without cancelling Audible?
Yes. You can pause Audible while you try the alternatives.
Never run out of audiobooks to listen to
One email a week: the best current audiobook deals and one editor’s pick.
I love SCRIBD because can have lots of books to try, no risk. Also Libby, although it can be a pain to wait if not available and you have to return books on time if someone waiting, which can be tough for 14-hour books. That’s when you go back to scribd!
I use Libby and Audible. Libby is fantastic except for exactly what is stated above. They do not have every book you want when you want it. I just finished Grishams “The Judges List” which I waited for 14 days. They have a very limited Harlan Coban list but what they have is free.
So, Audible appears to have removed its filtering options from its Browse section. Last week I was able to search within categories and sub-categories by selecting a book’s duration, rating, and price, as well as language and how long it has been featured NOW, when I select “Browse”, Audible just dumps a random selection of books in front of me from within one of its overly-wide categories and I have to wade through all of its selection to locate a book I might want to hear. They should rename the “Browse” section the “Badly Managed Jumble Sale” section.
Anyway, that’s why I’m here – looking for a better alternative to Audible – the audiobook service for people that don’t really like audiobooks
I use Scribd because I am not required to buy the book and I can listen to as many as I’d like. I won’t compile a library. The monthly fee is very affordable. The only problem with Scribd is they don’t always have a complete series on audiobook. Four of five might be audio, but the fifth is either pdf, or unavailable. When choosing a series, the first thing I do is make sure I can get all of them in audio format.
Thank You for publishing alternatives in such a well thought out manner. I knew there were options but WOW to have it all explained her is a real public service. I had audible but life got in the way of the subscription model. It works for Audible, not for me
I also am looking for a new audiobook company other than audible. I have a light listening membership because my family likes to give me credits for special occasions however, I now find that Audible is getting harder and harder with more rules. now there is one where you can’t return a book unless you are a preimum member or don’t use your credit card to purchase an audio (not sure how not to use a credit card when audible is an online only company so how do they expect you to purchase books without a credit card. Thank you for the other choices you are giving me I will select or use these other options going forward.
Hi Christine, I’m glad you this guide helpful!
Alas, no, nothing can compete with Audible, sadly. And, yes, I did try the alternatives listed here.
I was an Audible member long before Amazon acquired it and became distressed at the changes over time.
Originally they provided a clunky DOS-like desktop program – Audible Manager – that supported all sorts of devices and did a good job of letting you organize your library. That was the first to go.
Subsequent desktop programs were slicker and the number of devices became fewer over time. But you could still listen to an audiobook on a nice, tiny MP3 player that was not connected to anything and fit into a regular shirt pocket.
But then their desktop program stopped working for me. Yet I could still download their audiobooks and transfer them to my little SanDisk Clip Sport Pro. But suddenly, as of just a few months ago, I could no longer review them unless I listened to them on, yes, their damned app.
What this means, of course, is that they required me to submit to Amazon monitoring directly what I read and how much I read. Anyone who thinks that’s okay has little grasp of history. So, I explored the alternatives.
First was Audiobooks.com. As I test I typed in the search term, William Falkner. ZERO results! Uh…so I tried some others. Slim pickings plus they’d give me results completely outside my search parameters. But they have book clubs, or so they say. Yet every one of them is a broad mass-market category such as Science Fiction, Mystery, Health and Fitness, and…oh…the worst one, Faith and Spirituality *smacks forehead* I suppose you could put Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, or Sam Harris in that category as they do approach that subject as critics of religion but, no, that wasn’t the point. But I digress.
The larger issue was that require you to use their app to listen. Yes, you can get around that by using IDM to extract an MP3 version because they don’t bother to protect their content.
ScribD was next. They too have a thin catalog. They too deliver search results outside your search parameters. And, yes, they too require you to use their app.
In summary, nothing competes with Audible. Nothing. Well…if you’re into best sellers and mass-market publishing categories and you LOVE your silly smartphone, you’ll be fine on other services. But, if you look at What’s Trending as only useful in telling you what to avoid, if you’re wise to the painfully obvious formulas employed in mass-market anything, and you’re interests are broad, then, with sadness, Audible remains your best choice sorry to say. 🙁
Have you tried Libro.fm? They provide DRM-free audiobooks.
Thank you for your well spoken review. This has been my experience and frustration as well. I’m an voracious audiobook listener and I simply cannot find the selection availability in the library and if I’m forced to pay a subscription, I will stick with Audible as it is only a few dollars more and it has my entire library.
Thank you, sir!
I might be wrong but don’t you have to use an Amazon device to use Audible? Trying to understand the “LOVE your silly smartphone” comment.
Also, this list is comprised of the best ALTERNATIVES to Audible… recognizing Audible clearly has the furthest reach/largest library.
To correct myself… Rather than saying Amazon device, I meant Amazon device or audible app.
Another plus with Libro.FM (I have been happily using them for two years)
They only deal in DRM free, if you buy an audiobook you OWN it, they will hand over the files and everything. I love them for this
I am just looking for something where I can listen to best sellers and sports documentaries and biographies and be able to listen to more than 1 in a calendar month — currently in the Audible trial but did not know I would only be able to get 1 a month. Thats a major turn off because the first bio I am listening to is 10 hours. Certainly won’t take me 30 days to listen to it.
Audible membership also includes access to the Audible Plus catalog, you can check out the collection here: https://www.audible.com/ep/audible-plus-member-
Otherwise, I’d suggest you check out Scribd.
I am visually impaired and use Audible.com as I can download a book to my computer and transfer it to a device. I use a Victor Reader Stream which is for print impaird readers. Audible.com is one listening option. I’d like to know if there are any other services besides libro which allow one to do this. Thanks.