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Headphones and an open book.

9 Audiobook Apps for all Bookworms

What is the Best Audiobook App?

An audiobook is any book that you can listen to instead of physically read. This book format started being used in the 1970s through cassettes. Audiobooks were traditionally used by blind people in the early 1970s and they are now used by anyone who enjoys listening to them. Let’s take a look at what the best audiobook app may be.

Audiobooks are a very efficient way to enjoy a good book wherever you are, regardless of what you are doing. For example, if you are going on a long road trip or flight, you could simply plug in your earphones and enjoy a classic Star Wars, sci-fi adventure.

Another thing that makes audiobooks a favorite among busy readers is that you can listen to them without having to stop what you are doing. Audiobooks can be found on different types of apps and devices, and they do not always have to be expensive, as you can get cheap or free apps with basic features. Let’s take a look at some of these apps.

Audible

Audible is always the first app that people think about whenever there are discussions about audiobooks, because of the extensive library that the app offers. You can enjoy over 450,000 books on this app via a player that offers bookmarks, chapter navigation, a background player for multitasking and various playback speeds.

The Audible app is also going through an extensive integration program with the Amazon Kindle system to offer Kindle users discounts if they want to listen to their ebooks. Audible is available on Android and iOS devices; it is also fully integrated with Amazon’s smart speakers so you can use Alexa to open an audiobook for you.

To get audiobooks on the iOS version of the Audible app, you will have to buy them on audible.com before downloading the recordings on the app.

Audiobooks.com

Audiobooks.com is a cloud-based service that has a library with over 150,000 audiobooks and over 720,000 podcasts that fit into every genre. You can pick up your listening session from where you left them off by using bookmarks on this app.

You can also sync your reading progress on all your devices so you will not have to lose your reading progress when you switch between your phone and tablet. Audiobooks.com allows its subscribers to access books or podcasts even when they are offline. Subscribers can also download the app on iOS and Android systems.

Since the Audiobooks.com app is a cloud-based service, you can save space on your device by streaming audiobooks. To stream or download audiobooks, you will have to create an Audiobooks.com account and login to the app.

Serial Box

Serial Box is perfect for you if you are not interested in spending a lot of your time listening to long novels or non-fiction books. This app allows you to consume books in a similar way to how you would consume your favorite TV series; it plays books in short episodes that keep you intrigued.

On Serial Box, you can now enjoy the first episode of any fantasy, drama or sci-fi book for free, and only pay for every other episode that you want. You can get entire books at a discount by paying for a subscription or a seasonal pass. Serial Box is also now available on Android and not just iOS.

Getting audiobooks on Serial Box is easy. All you have to do is browse through their catalog, choose a book and preview it before downloading.

Google Play Books

Despite being a traditional ebook reader,
Google Play Books also has audiobook features built into it that allows users to preview books that interest them. Some of the integrated audiobook features that are in this app include scrolling a book's playback timeline and the ability to skip parts or go to preferred chapters.

Google Play Books prides itself on not charging a subscription fee to users. However, this does not mean that the service is totally free. You will still need to buy the books that you want, but this is a one-time fee and you can enjoy your books on PC too.

To listen to audiobooks that you have downloaded, you will have to tap the library option and then Audiobooks. After that, tap the audiobook you want to play.

Listen Audiobooks Player

Listen Audiobooks Player is one of the best players for audiobooks that do not have DRM protocols programmed into them. If you have an audiobook on an old CD of yours, you can rip it and play it on this app. Since Listen Audiobooks Player does not have its own library, you can get books from sites like Overdrive and Downpour.

This app was previously called Akimbo and it has an extensively configurable interface that allows you to assign functions to certain headset buttons. You can use this app to control how you want your audiobook to sound with the native equalizer. You can also control this app from the lock screen.

Voice Audiobook

If you are new to audiobooks and want to try them out, Voice Audiobook will be the best app for you as it is completely free. However, you are going to miss out on features that are in paid apps like extensive libraries and menus due to its Spartan design.

Even though this player does not have many features, it does have day and night themes to protect your eyes. It also has adjustable playback speeds. To add audiobooks on this Android app, you have to assign a folder for each book and then put these folders in a central audiobook folder.

Nook Audiobooks

Nook Audiobooks is a Barnes & Noble online outlet where they sell their audiobooks without charging you to use their app. This app has a library that consists of more than 120,000 books; most of these books are bestsellers and they are sold at discounted prices.

Some of the bestseller titles that you will find on Nook Audiobooks include the Harry Potter series and books from famous authors like James Patterson, Danielle Steel, and Stephen King. This app also offers free samples of most of its books alongside some free complete audiobooks to iOS and Android users. Unfortunately, you cannot get audiobooks directly on the iOS app, but you can buy them online and download the books on the app.

Audiobooks Now

If you are looking for an app that will offer you a lot of discounted books, you should make sure that you get Audiobooks Now. For the first audiobook you buy, this app will give you a 50% discount, and after this, you will get discounts of up to 40% if you get a subscription.

The Audiobook Now app has over 100,000 books you can buy at discounted rates in the first month without signing up for a subscription. If you have a subscription, you can cancel it at any time and you still get to keep all your books.

You can get any of these books by browsing the pre-set categories, choosing a book, listening to a sample and choosing a discount option.

Librivox Audio Books

Librivox Audio Books is for the book lover who is willing to forgo the luxury of having the latest bestseller books in their collection and wants to enjoy over 24,000 free books. These books include new indie releases and some old bestsellers; you can stream or download these books without having to pay for a subscription.

This app supports Google Cast, Android Auto and you can also control it via Bluetooth, which means you can listen to books while driving. Besides books, Librivox Audio Books also has recordings of old radio dramas and poems.

The Librivox organization did not develop the Librivox Audio Books app, as BookDesign made it. The app was developed to allow people to access the Librivox online library on an app.