I’ve written about the benefits of listening to audiobooks on this site previously, but I haven't talked about how I listen to them. In this post I'm going to talk about exactly that, as I've used several audiobook services and I thought I'd look at the differences, and perhaps answer the question:

Which is the best audiobook subscription?

Let's start with one of the biggest on the market -

Amazon Audible Audiobooks.

Audible was first launched in the market back in 1995, so it's well-established by now. It's a subscription model, so for a fee each month you get one credit, allowing you to listen to the audiobook of your choice. Doesn't matter if it's seven or seventeen hours - your credit is good for one title. So for example 'The Stand' by Stephen King is a whopping 47 hours 47 minutes, so plenty of bang for your buck there.

Whatever you're looking for, you'll find it here. It has everything current, bestsellers etc, which isn't always the case with the other audiobook subscription services. Lots of Agatha Christie audiobooks, always popular. And if you do use your credit and find you're still hungry for more, included with your membership is the Plus Catalogue. I enjoy the podcast exclusives (From the Oasthouse by Alan Partridge has been one of my favorites, as was 'West Cork' about one of Ireland's most famous unsolved murder cases.)

But there's also a cracking selection of books in the plus catalogue - a quick peruse finds Sherlock Holmes read by Stephen Fry, to Bill Brysons ‘A short history of nearly everything.’ Put it this way you won't be stuck for something to wrap your lugs around, and if you're anything like me you'll get analysis paralysis - there's so much choice.

Audible Return Book Policy

Audible even allows you to return a book. Maybe you've taken a chance on a book, but you don't like the narrator or the title doesn't take your fancy, then as a member you can return it (if your account is in good standing).

This is at the discretion of the audible, and there's no point in trying to return a twelve hour audiobook after ten hours. For me this is a great feature as I like to try different narrators but if I know someones voice is going to annoy me, I'm not going to be spending 14 hours with them. The narrator's voice is so important to me; you're hanging out together, so they have to be good company.

Can you pause audible membership? Not to the best of my knowledge, though you can cancel any time.

Let’s not forget you can also use Alexa Audible as a household speaker for your audiobooks, if it’s not like mine and gathering dust somewhere. The amazon audiobook company is so dominant in the market that it’s natural to ask; ‘Are there any alternatives to audible?’ Oh yes, as we will see.

Spotify Audiobooks

I've been a premium Spotify subscriber for several years, and I hadn't heard about the audiobook offering until it was launched on Oct 23.

With my premium account, I have access to 15 hours a month, which works out on average of about one and a half or sometimes two books a month, depending on length. And if you run out of time, you can buy ten more hours and add them to your account - this will run on for a year.

I’ve been impressed with the range of titles available here - anything I’ve wanted to listen to, I’ve been able to find. ‘Power of Now’ by Eckhart Tolle was something I wanted, as was the latest from broadcasting legend Alan Partridge, ‘Big Beacon’. Both were available, so I was a happy listener. According to Spotify themselves, they have 200,00 available to listen to, so you should be able to find something here.

How to listen to audiobooks on Spotify? I just search for the title I’m after, and select the audiobooks tab. There’s a audiobook tab on the phone Home Screen as well. Often I just browse through the categories until something takes my fancy. Don’t forget to download so you can listen on the go.

If you enjoy longer audiobooks, it probably won't suit you and I can imagine it would get frustrating if you got towards the end of a book and your 15 hours ran out and you had to wait until it reactivated. I use Spotify for music and podcasts, so it suits my needs without paying extra. And I also use other services, which we'll come to later.

Chirpbooks

Competition is healthy, and the arrival of Chirpbooks to the audiobook market certainly provides another alternative. It’s run by same team behind bookbub, whose emails I receive daily, providing details of available book deals. I’ve picked up a fair few bargains this way.

One immediate advantage is that opening an account is free - you just provide your email, and download the app. Unfortunately, it only seems to be open to US & Canada residents, so I wasn’t able to progress with my own membership.

All you need to do is download the app and keep an eye out for the emails which show the various audiobook deals. Going by the website there are a wide range of choices across various genres. Perhaps not current bestsellers, but plenty of choice nonetheless.

If it’s anything like bookbub, I presume these emails will become curated according to your own tastes. Interestingly, you own the book and it stays in your chirp book app library - handy for repeated listening, and not worrying about expiry dates.

I like the sound of chirpbooks, and can only hope it opens in my own territory soon enough.

Apple audiobooks

I am an Apple user, so I have used the Books app. I’ve listened to the Stephen Fry 'Chronicles', 'I Partridge', and 'David Copperfield' by Charles Dickens in recent years. No subscription here - you purchase the books, so you have them to listen to any time you want to. This would be particularly useful to those of us who have favorite audiobooks and like to listen to them repeatedly. How to listen to audiobooks on the iPhone? Just download them and away you go.

Libby Audiobooks

Libby is another audiobook service I have used for several years. The best thing about the app compared to the others is that it is free and couldn't be simpler - download the app, link it to your library card, and away you go.

On the downside, it doesn’t have the range that the other subscription-based models do, as you’d probably expect. But you just might be surprised by what you have found on there, and I’ve found plenty in the past. If you come across something you like, but it’s currently in use (due to licensing there are only so many copies available) be sure to add your name to the waitlist. One of the things I like to do when I’m waiting in a queue for a book in Libby to become available is to borrow an audiobook to listen to that is currently available, whilst I’m waiting.

Libby isn’t available in every country, and if it isn’t check in with your local library (as a reader you should be doing this anyway) and ask what they have available. You might be surprised. How to listen to libby audiobooks offline? Simply download it on your phone and you can listen to it any time you wish. It will automatically leave your shelf once the loan has expired, so get listening.

Borrowbox is also a favourite of mine and is also used by many libraries, and it is also free with a great range of titles.

Librovox also gets a mention, because it’s free and concentrates on public domain titles - that’s books that are out of copyright, so if you want to explore the classics, this might be the one for you. Some of the titles are read by celebrities, while volunteers have also read some of the others, which is absolutely commendable. Lots of Agatha Christie audiobooks as well! I’ve only just discovered Librovox and will be using it in the future.

Can you listen to audiobooks for free? Yes, if you use Libby, borrowbox or librovox.

Others

Those are the audiobook subscriptions I have used and have experience of. There are a few others that I think are worth a mention.

Libro FM

Libro FM is what is known as a social purpose corporation, and is a growing independent company owned by its employees. What's particularly great about it is that you can donate a portion of your audiobook purchases to your chosen bookstore (always support your local bookstore, obviously)

So you can purchase books or use their subscription services, and they seem to have the majority of the bestsellers. The subscription gives you one credit per month, as well as a discount (up to 30%) on selected titles, and there's a good sales section as well. The company claims to have access to '99% of what appears on the New York Times bestseller lists' but they don't have access to the exclusive deals that publishers do with Amazon Audible.

They also do returns and you can cancel at any time. You just download books to your phone and off you go - couldn't be easier. I haven't used Libro yet, but I'm intending to.

If you’re not a Kindle user, Kobo also produces e-readers and is slightly cheaper than Audible, but without as many titles. There’s a 30-day trial period in which you can check out the catalogue.

There's also Google audiobooks, and apparently it’s not a subscription-based service, so you just purchase the books that you want.

Keep an eye out for various deals and subscription codes for audiobook services, you can switch between them until you decide on the best one for you.

Summary

So there you have it, my guide to audiobook subscription services. In answer to the question of which is the best audiobook subscription, Libby/borrow box/LibroVox are obviously the way to go. These are great alternatives to audible.

No doubt listening to audiobooks has become a favorite way for people to read these days (or even get out of a reading slump) so I hope you found something useful here. Happy listening.