Is there a way to get unlimited audiobooks? Yes, there sure is! In this guide, I review five services that offer unlimited audiobooks, each in its own unique way. Why unique? Simply because you aren’t going to find an audiobook service that allows unlimited immediate access to every possible book you might be interested in. Still, each of these unlimited audiobook subscriptions offers great value; I’ll cover all of their pros and cons to help you decide which is right for you!
- Scribd – Unlimited Audiobooks & Other Digital Media
- Audible – Unlimited Audiobooks with Audible Plus
- Audiobooks.com – Unlimited Listening with Audiobook Clubs
- Kindle Unlimited – eBooks with Free Audiobook Companions
- Libby – Unlimited Audiobooks from the Library
- Verdict – the Best Unlimited Audiobook Service?
Best Unlimited Audiobook Services
Scribd – Unlimited Audiobooks & Other Digital Media
Scribd is a subscription service that provides members access to millions of audiobooks, ebooks, magazines, comics, and sheet music selections. The subscription fee is currently $11.99 USD per month and membership includes access to an unlimited number of audiobooks and other content (although restrictions on certain titles may apply).
Scribd’s massive digital library offers a wide range of reading material in both print and audio formats at a price that seems very fair for everything you get. Stephen King has endorsed the service, describing it as “like Netflix for word wonks.”
Click here to visit the Scribd website to create a basic, free account. You can then activate a free trial of the premium membership for 60 days to get access to Scribd’s library of content. Note: this Scribd 60-day trial is exclusive to Audiobook Addicts readers (normally, the trial is 30 days).
Read my Scribd review to learn more about the service.
Audible – Unlimited Audiobooks with Audible Plus
Audible is the world’s largest seller of audiobooks. Audible Plus is its listen-all-you-want catalog with thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, Audible Originals, and more. When browsing Audible, look for the “included” tag and hit “play now” to instantly stream from the app. You can also save these titles to your Library or download them to listen offline.
I find the Audible Plus catalog has an interesting selection of older and new content to suit any taste. For example, I enjoy the Words + Music series which blends personal storytelling with never-before-heard performances from popular artists exclusively for Audible listeners. Other worthwhile series include The Great Courses and The Sleep Collection. Note: many but not all of the titles in these series are included in the Plus Catalog. It does help, however, to have a wide variety of listening interests and not be afraid to try new things. If you’re very particular about what you’ll listen to or do not like to venture outside of your comfort zone, the Plus Catalog will probably not be of much interest to you as it has few mainstream or well-known authors, and almost no notable new releases.
You can click here to visit Audible and try Audible Plus free for 30-days (after 30 days it costs $7.95 USD a month, you can cancel at any time).
You can also access the Plus Catalog with Audible’s other main membership option, Audible Premium Plus. This membership includes everything in Audible Plus, with the added bonus of 1 credit per month to be used to redeem any title from Audible’s Premium selections. Premium Plus also unlocks a 30% discount for any additional content you purchase from the Premium catalog. Click here to try Audible Premium Plus for free (after 30 days it costs $14.95 USD a month).
Audiobooks.com – Unlimited Listening with Audiobook Clubs
Audiobooks.com is another popular audiobook service. Audiobooks.com offers Audiobook Clubs, a unique membership option where you can join one of 8 clubs for 30 days of unlimited listening to thousands of bestselling and classic audiobooks. These clubs are:
- “Best of” Audiobook Club
- Romance Audiobook Club
- Mystery & Thriller Audiobook Club
- Sci-Fi & Fantasy Audiobook Club
- Health & Wellness Audiobook Club
- Business & Economics Audiobook Club
- Kids Audiobook Club
- Religion & Spirituality Audiobook Club
While a regular Audiobooks.com membership entitles you to one book every month that you can keep forever (plus an extra VIP book), Audiobook Clubs give you access to all of the audiobooks in your selected club for 30 days. You can choose whether to use your monthly credit on a single premium title or on access to a Club. And if you want the best of both worlds, you can do both, as you can purchase additional credits at any time.
Click here to go to the Audiobooks.com website and sign up for a 30-day free trial (after the trial ends it costs $14.95 USD a month).
Read my Audiobooks.com review to learn more about why I like the service.
Kindle Unlimited – eBooks with Free Audiobook Companions
Kindle Unlimited (“KU”) is Amazon’s subscription service for books, audiobooks, and magazines. Subscribers have access to over 2 million eBooks, plus a selection of accompanying audiobooks. And you can use KU on any device you want — not just a Kindle — through the Kindle app or on the Kindle Cloud Reader.
You can borrow up to 20 eligible Kindle Unlimited titles at a time. Magazines you borrow don’t count towards your borrowing limit. There are no due dates, and you can return titles at any time.
To find audiobooks with the service, look for the Kindle Unlimited ‘With Narration’ icon on Kindle book pages or browse the catalog of titles with free audiobook companions: Books with Narration in Kindle Unlimited.
When you borrow Kindle Unlimited books with narration, you will receive the Audible narration automatically. The audiobooks are added to your Audible library and you can listen to them in the Audible app. You do not need an Audible membership to get access! Simply log into the Audible app with the login and password you use for Amazon and you’ll see your Kindle Unlimited audiobooks in the Audible library.
A Kindle Unlimited subscription costs $11.99 USD a month and you can cancel anytime. If you haven’t tried KU before, you can sign up for a free trial. At the end of your free trial, you’re automatically converted to a monthly paid subscription plan.
Click here to try Kindle Unlimited free for 30 days.
Libby – Unlimited Audiobooks from the Library
Public libraries are a great option for listening to unlimited audiobooks for free! Just like a visit to the library, a particular title may not be in stock. Availability will depend on factors including the size of your library, how popular a title is, and how many audiobooks are stocked. I suggest keeping a To Be Read (“TBR”) list, having some patience, and spending some time obtaining multiple library cards (many libraries in the US offer reciprocal cards).
Libby is my favorite service for listening to audiobooks from the library. Libby is available for Android, iOS, Windows 10, some Chromebooks, and in your browser. Read our Libby review or watch the following video to learn more about getting started with the Libby app:
Verdict – the Best Unlimited Audiobook Service?
As you can see, there are some great options for unlimited audiobooks. What is the best unlimited audiobook service? Each service reviewed here has its own spin on “unlimited audiobooks” and offers a lot of value but, for me, the top pick is:
Scribd – for what I think is a very reasonable price you get instant access to a massive digital library of not just audiobooks but also ebooks, magazines, comics, and sheet music selections. Scribd has millions of users and the service has been endorsed by major publications:
Would you like to try Scribd free for 60-days? Click here to visit Scribd and start a free trial.
Have you tried these unlimited audiobook services? What do think? Please share your experiences in the comments section below.
SCRIBD advertises unlimited audio books but every month after you listen to a couple of books, all the other books you want to listen to are suddenly unavailable until the next month. They will be marked with a “Available Soon” label. It is very frustrating and I will probably discontinue my subscription.
Hi Joyce,
Yes, this is definitely something to be aware of with Scribd. I’ve run into this as well and agree it can be frustrating. That being said, even when content starts to be restricted, the library is large enough that I can find something interesting to listen to.
This is how I explained it in my dedicated Scribd review:
“You can read or listen to as many books as you can with your subscription, so in this sense Scribd is unlimited.
However, depending on your activity, you may run into restrictions (“throttling”). According to Scribd, “Occasionally, some titles in our library may be temporarily unavailable to you depending on your recent reading activity.”
My understanding of this policy is that there is a certain cost to Scribd each time someone reads or listens to a book, and this cost is greater for new releases and bestsellers. If you were to read or listen to a lot of these more expensive books it would become unprofitable for Scribd, therefore you may find access to specific titles is managed.”
Read more: https://audiobookaddicts.com/scribd-review/
I find it VERY frustrating this throttling. I read a huge range of authors but only in 2 genres. They throttle the genres on me after only 7 days out of my 30 days – authors I understand but whole genres????. I feel I am being ripped off. I can re-read to titles I have read or listen to before but nothing new after less than 10 days. I would be happy to subscribed to an extra payment plan but even that option is NOT offered not us there ANY way to contact them directly.