Alternatives to Audible for Cheap or Free Audiobooks

I love sharing my money-saving tips, and these tricks are for all my fellow traveling bookworms. I’ve mastered maximizing several free and cheap alternatives to Audible. Finding the books I want to read on the different apps is like a fun little game.

I read a lot—like 70+ books a year. This hobby could add up if I allowed it, especially since I prefer audiobooks while traveling. In 2019, I spent about $360 on accommodations for three weeks in Latvia, Estonia, Finland, and England. That’s equal to about 14 audiobooks if they cost $25 each.

So, if you’re a voracious reader like me and want to save money to travel, start using these resources ASAP.

If you’re short on time, here’s a quick description of my top recommendations:

I use Libby, Hoopla, and Cloud Library as free alternatives to Audible. I usually find what I want to read on one of these free apps.

My next stops are my Amazon Prime and Spotify Premium accounts, which include some audiobooks. These are subscription-based alternatives that I already pay for, so I count them as sunk costs – that’s the correct term, right? I try to take advantage of them as much as possible to get my money’s worth.

If I can’t find what I’m looking for on those apps, my last-ditch effort is an e-book, which I can turn into an audiobook using the Amazon Alexa app.

Audiobooks.com, Everand, and Libro.fm are more ethical subscription-based audiobook service options for those who want to avoid Amazon products.

Finally, there’s Chirp Books, a pay-per-book site with steeply discounted audiobooks.

Alternatives to Audible For Free Audiobooks

Let’s start with the free stuff, shall we?

Disclaimer: Your results may differ. I listen to audiobooks on my iPhone, MacBook, and sometimes my Roku. The library tips are based on my experience as a Massachusetts resident.

Libby, Hoopla & Cloudlibrary Apps

These apps allow you to browse and check out audiobooks and e-books using your library card. I can usually find the audiobook I’m looking for on at least one of these three apps.

Libby | My Favorite Alternative to Audible!

Libby is a digital library app that works with local libraries across North America.

Here are some of my favorite features about listening to audiobooks on Libby.

1. Partner libraries

Partner libraries allow users to log in and borrow audiobooks using their home library number. For example, my home library is the CLAMS system on Cape Cod, and I use that library card to add up to seventeen library systems across Massachusetts.

Partnering libraries have limitations, and not all libraries will partner with others. For instance, I don’t qualify for all seventeen Massachusetts libraries since some are universities you must be a student of to use.

2. Multiple library holds on one book

3. Hold Deferment

4. Multiple library cards

The feature I love most about this app is putting audiobooks on hold and then passing your turn to the next person in line if you aren’t ready for the book without losing your place. A recent update to the app is the option to defer your turn to check out a book for 1-180 days. This is helpful if you’re not ready to read the book because you’re reading another or don’t have the time for it.

All libraries provide different digital products depending on their unique community. So, it’s excellent that Libby allows you to use multiple library cards, which is what I do. When one library doesn’t carry an audiobook that I want, I check the other library before moving on to another resource.

One downside to borrowing audiobooks from the library is that you have 7-21 days to finish listening before returning them. Even though I read daily, I don’t always finish a book in that time. So, I’m forced to put it on hold again and must wait – sometimes months – to borrow it.

Hoopla & Cloud Library

Some libraries may use Hoopla or cloudLibrary instead of or in addition to Libby. For instance, I have a local library connected to Hoopla, which is part of the larger library system that is a partner library on Libby.

They are similar to Libby and have their own pros and cons.

I am currently connected to the Anaheim Public Library on Cloudlibrary. It’s a California library, but for now, they offer non-resident library cards for free.

Hoopla Pros

1. Most e-books and audiobooks are available to borrow immediately despite having long wait times on Libby. If a book I want to read has a long hold on Libby, I will check to see if it is available on Hoopla before any other of these options.
2. You can also borrow movies and TV shows with Hoopla. You can watch them right on your phone or use the Hoopla app on your smart TV, Roku, Apple TV, etc.

Hoopla Cons

1. You can only use one library card at a time on the Hoopla app.
2. Depending on your library, some books may not be available at all, which is always a bummer.

Cloudlibrary Pros

1. They allow multiple library cards, just like Libby. However, I haven’t encountered a second library that uses the app yet.
2. Most books are available for immediate checkout.

Cloudlibrary Cons

1. The app interface is horrendous. You must use the search feature to browse books – it’s weird. And the sleep timer doesn’t have an end-of-chapter option, so you can stop listening at a logical and convenient spot.

Amazon Alexa App + eBooks

Sometimes, I will use the Amazon Alexa app to turn e-books into audiobooks using Alexa’s text-to-speech feature.

Alexa can narrate any book from my Kindle library, including e-books borrowed from the library. When I borrow e-books in Libby or get advanced reader copies from Netgalley, they are automatically delivered to my Kindle – a setting I selected in those platforms.

Now, Alexa’s narration is quite monotonous. It doesn’t have the same expressiveness as a human narrator, so I use this option as a last resort.

Netgalley

NetGalley is a platform where publishers provide digital copies of books to readers before they are published, sometimes called galleys or advanced reader copies (ARC), in exchange for honest reviews. The platform mainly offers e-books, but sometimes audiobooks are also available.

This option suits book reviewers, librarians, educators, and media professionals who can access new titles for free and help generate buzz for upcoming books. Surprisingly, I was granted access to Netgalley in 2016 with a young blog and a small audience.

I have yet to write a review for a single galley I’ve received. Sorry, Netgalley – I’ll do better!

Subscription-Based Audible Alternatives

If you don’t have the patience or desire to pilfer through all of the free audiobook options above, try one of the following subscription options.

Audiobooks.com

Everand

Libro.fm

Amazon Prime Reading

One benefit of being an Amazon Prime subscriber is Prime Reading, which gives you access to many e-books to borrow and read at your own pace (there is no due date when borrowing from Prime Reading). Some of these Prime Reading e-books also have Audible narration, making them audiobooks you can borrow!

If you’re an Amazon Prime member and want to try this feature, download the free Amazon Kindle app on your phone. Click Discover > Prime Reading > Books with Audible Narration in Prime Reading in the app to find a book you like.

Select Read and Listen for Free to download the e-book. Once downloaded, click the Audible Narration button on the bottom to download the audiobook. Then hit play when you’re ready to listen!

There are other ways to achieve the same results, but this seems the most straightforward.

One advantage of reading Prime Books with Audible Narration is that you can seamlessly switch between reading the e-book and listening to the audiobook.

Side Note: While writing this post, the Amazon Kindle app hasn’t let me see more than a handful of Prime audiobooks, but I know there are over 300 books to choose from. An alternative way to add Prime audiobooks to my library is to use my Amazon Prime account on my computer. Click the hamburger menu (three stacked lines) in the upper left corner, then select Book & Audible > Prime Reading > Books with Audible Narration in Prime Reading > See more. Follow the same basic steps to borrow, and the books will appear in your Library in the app.

Pay-Per-Book Audiobook Deals

Chirp Books

Chirp is an app for audiobooks purchased at a discount from Chirp Books. I signed up for their daily email, which included a curated list of audiobooks I might be interested in. Sometimes, they are discounted to less than $1.

These steep discounts are usually for a limited time – a few days or a week. However, even when they aren’t heavily discounted, regular prices at Chirp Books are still lower than the publisher’s price.

The advantage of buying audiobooks through Chirp Books is you own them forever, and you can take as long as you wish to finish reading them.

You CAN Save Money with Audible

Before I wrap this up, I must mention that I’m not saying not to use Audible if you want to. It can still be a good deal. A monthly subscription to Audible that includes one audiobook costs $14.95. This is already cheaper than regularly priced audiobooks, but you can save more if you take advantage of their promotions.

I signed up during a promotion once and got a free three-month subscription plus three additional months at half-price ($7.47 per month). So, I got six audiobooks for about $22.50, or about $3.75 per audiobook.

This was back in 2016, and I signed up to stock up for all my future bus rides around New Zealand. At the time, this was the only way I knew of to get digital audiobooks. I didn’t listen to all 6 of those audiobooks while I was there, so present me appreciated past me’s planning!

The current promotion (I assume for previous subscribers) is $7.95 per month for four months. That’s a great deal that doesn’t include sifting through daily emails or being on a waiting list!

First-time users of Audible can get TWO free audiobooks when they sign up for a free trial. Try it out, get the two free audiobooks, and see if you like the service! If not, you now have three alternatives to work with.

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